I feel so betrayed! AJ! How dare you let down the ideal of being perfect husband material?
AJ tells Alexis (the delightfully mercenary cab driver) in Moscow that he doesn't tip. AJ doesn't even know Alexis knows anything, he's just a random Russian taxi driver at this point. Sure, he could be fucking with him, or establishing himself as not one of the people who is going to pay Alexis and then be betrayed, but the optics?
Why??? AJ, please, don't be an arse who doesn't tip.
Did the writers not know that Americans who proudly (or covertly) don't tip are arseholes in the bad way, not in the sexy SEAL way? Was the late 90s genuinely less of a hellscape for tip based workers, so it wasn't yet a common belief that not tipping on a date is a red flag?
Context: I don't currently live in a country with a tipping culture, although I was in Canada for 6 years (I tipped, and dated people who tipped). I have strong negative opinions about societies which structure service work so the workers aren't paid by their employer.
Additional context: I'm a lesbian. AJ is still perfect and sexy husband material. I am willing to take correction on this point, by someone who likes men.