One for the Ages

I loved this episode...loved it, every second of it. It started out with a big bang with the beast CT taking down Johnny Backpack. I must have rewound and watched that sucker at least 15 times, it never got old for me.

But this episode was great, it was chalk full of drama, exciting gulags and challenges, heartful and sincere drama, and of course old historical animosities and storylines. There was just so much here. So much. Good job MTV, I salute you!

As Jon already snapshot captured the CT/Johnny gulag, I felt I could do the same with other points through out the episode. Once again, awesome awesome show.

Jokers Wild

While reading the Challenge clue, CM and Abe decide to paint their faces and jump out and scare everyone. These two are definitely peas in a pod. I looked around the scene and no one was really scared, and there were a few laughes, but I also noticed weary faces. As in, some ppl are tired of their act. Yes, no? I believe that on challenges, ppl don't like relationships.

Little Princess Tori

In this scene, she bumps her nose and bloodies it, and then immediately jumps out and start crying. "Somebody help me!" And while I wouldn't poke fun at someone like this, I will note that in this moment, she completely "regresses" into a little girl. Do you know what I mean? Like even the way she's crying, her voice turns into a little girl. It just indicates some of her emotional maturity to me. I feel like if Laurel or Eve got their nose bloodied, they would probably get mad.

After following Tori, (aka Bug Eyes, Soul Stealer, Nostradamus), for a whole season now, I think I'm ready to pronounce her act as annoying. She was a former beauty pagent winner and is actually fairly athletic. So she isn't dainty, and is a strong competitor, but she is spoiled.

Her personality type is the homecoming queen personna, where on the outside she's nice and civil to everyone and tries to get everyone to like her, but behind closed doors, she plots and gossips and conspires against others. Consistently through the challenge she's been slowly manipulating the red team to target a particular person. Tori exhibits signs of that spoiled upbringing, a little bit of entitlement and feeling that she deserves a better shake than everyone else out there. Tori the little princess.

Street Fighter 2: Brad vs Abram

Awesome challenge. Awesome! I also liked the gang up mentality the girls had. Derrick is a scrappy fighter. In this scene, almost a mini-gulag in and of itself, Brad faced off against Abram. Watching the square off, I felt like this was a real life Street Fighter 2 match. Great editing and camera angles MTV. Abe was bouncing around on his feet kung-fu style.

I think Abram knew he was going to win from the start, but he's sportsman enough that he didn't have to say it out loud although he did hint at it. He saw fear in the eyes of the red team and Brad. That's why he didn't feel all that pumped up at first, but when he looked at Brad he was ready and said he turned on his crazy switch. That crazy switch is when you smell fear dude.

Conflict draws Conflict

Did you know that China is officially boycotting the Nobel Peace Prize award? Also, that they launched a Confucious Peace Prize just before the Nobel ceremony in order to combat the Western biases? True story. The Chinese...

But conflict tends to attract conflict. Coming back, when ppl know that the finals and money is on the line, the knives come out flying and also the hurt emotions amongst friends come out too. Paula, on the red team is hurt and now giving off negative vibes. Here in this scene, the Grey team is feuding. I just find it is interesting that the Dunbar and Tori, try to find peace and solace away from a simmering Tyler and Paula...by hanging around the Grey team feud. And standing around there.

Fair Enough

After being sent into the gulag for the 2nd week in a row, Tyler confronts Brad and comments on how he feels everyone should go into the gulag once. Brad argues with Tyler and for some reason is upset. MTV does a great editing job and shows a conversation flashback, where Tyler offers to go in exchange for Brad to do the next gulag. To which Brad says, "Fair Enough."

However, after thinking about it some more, Brad and Tori conclude that it actually is not quite enough fair for them, and that other ppl would need to go in several more times before it actually becomes fair.

In interests of winning the game, Brad and Tori are working hard and playing the right cards. But I wish they were a bit less hypocritical about it as they definately are not playing fair. At least Johnny, Kenny and Evan don't put up pretenses of being fair players, they accept being scumbags/bad boys, and they just do it. Brad still tries to argue that the ways things have unfolded on the red team is somehow fair. Stop...just stop.

Picking up some Hoo Hoo from the store

In this scene, Abram confronts Sarah and Laurel about their plans for the finals and I noticed right away, when Abram joins their conversation, Laurel's voice turns high, like a little girl. So despite her grousings that Abram is a nobody to her, Laurel does want Abram's approval. Laurel gives one of the best quotes of the series, when she tells Abram, and to his face(always important) that she believes that Abram is bringing along CM, because "at the end of the day, she is giving you a little Hoo Hoo!" CLASSIC!

In other notes, I still like Abram a lot, I always have, but I've noticed that he's a button pusher and tough love type of guy. If he ever becomes a dad, I could see him pushing his kids to be very competitive, but also maybe giving them a few complexes and cause to book a shrink when they grow up. He'd be the type that would nitpik at your flaws, b/c he thinks that would make you a better person. I do think he's sincere and well-intentioned though.

You are JV on the Varisity Team

This could be the future of the RW/RR Challenge. Two "it" girls trying to square off against each other, if not through a gulag, but through a confrontational scene. At stake, who's going to look better, and who's going to be in the right.

Laurel, actually has a decent position and reasons for getting rid of CM other than just being mean. There are some monetary advantages. She just doesn't communicate it adequately. She's a mean spirited person and a bit of bully, but that maybe b/c she was bullied herself. Grey walks into the final challenge with 100k USD in their team account to be split 5 ways for 20k each. If grey had lost, and Sarah/Laurel were able to convince Abram to side with them, and throw Luke and CM into the gulag and have them lose, then they could have had 80k USD split 3 ways for 26.6k each. Now if Laurel and Sarah were TRULY CUTTHROAT and wanted to play hardball, they might have gone up to Abram and made him a devil's deal. Perhaps they could have given him a few extra k, to see if he would sell out CM. Or better yet! Given that Laurel believes Abram is keeping CM around for the "HooHoo" she should have propositioned Abram and offered to compensate Abram with her own personal attention. Or maybe bring Sarah in as well for a threesome. Wouldn't that have been something? ;)

But anyways, in this scene, Laurel tries to convince CM that she's not good. She contends that CM is not ready and not good enough for the final. However, CM shows off that she is mentally tough and doesn't cave into Laurel's bullying. More or less, she stands up for herself in a fluent and eloquent manner. I'm sure CM is making fans out all over the world with this one.

Starting to Fall Apart

Another great classic quote here, Paula is very upset at being sent into the gulag, and even though I don't think she was backstabbed as much as she was simply, the "last one out" on the red team, she is so convinced she has been stabbed that she is reliving her past pain. Psychologists say that being excluded is a very very painful and traumatic experience. The discomfort and activity that goes on in the brain through fMRI scans is akin to physical pain. Makes sense, somewhere along our evolutionary timeline, if you were excluded from your tribe, you met certain death. It is not suprising that our biological makeup predisposes us to fear exclusion.

But anyways, Laurel here expresses her sympathy for Paula, and says something to the amount of "Poor Paula, I feel sorry for her. I can already see that she is mentally breaking down." MTV immediate pans to the scene of Paula, apparently lost deep in thought saying "I must have done have bad in a past life."

Yes MTV, we know you think Paula is crazy. ;)

To Paula

If you missed it, here is Dunbar's letter to Paula and all the juicy details. I think they must have had a connection of sorts. Remember when Paula used to act all crazy jealous around Dunbar? Actually, when Dunbar is relating the issue to Brad, he starts to act like a little boy, and his body language seems to sulk a bit. Its funny, maybe they had a thing, like a connection at one point. Hmmmmm.

CT makes the ladies twinkle

CT makes the ladies excited! Tyler included. There's definately a twinkle in their eyes! Haha.