Food For Thought

Real World

By B-Side | | 2:10 am | 33 Comments

paula3-12-06.2Two weeks into Real World: Key West, and the season is still looking surprisingly strong. For a moment, I thought everything might just fall apart as this latest episode plunged us into a silly argument about bar-hopping, but oddly enough, even that conflict turned out to be curiously engaging. It wasn’t just drunk people fighting for the sake of the camera. It was drunk people trying to grapple with new values, new experiences, and new parameters. Kind of. Don’t get me wrong — it was still a seriously dumb spat, but at least there was a sense of learning and contemplation, unlike with last season’s endless parade of Dizzy Rooster dramas.

Of course, this episode wasn’t just about one crazy night in Key West. It was about one crazy girl in Key West too: Paula! Actually, I’m not gonna say she’s crazy because that’s a little cruel, even by my standards. I will, however, say that she’s seriously f’ed up, and her battle with anorexia — as well as a handful of other deep issues — has become the transfixing signature of this season already. I feel torn when I watch her. On the one hand, I feel like her plight is probably hard enough on its own. Does she really need to be stuck in this high-stress, chaotic environment? And isn’t there something mildly exploitative about the whole thing? But then again, there’s also something fascinating about Paula, and the idealist in me thinks that this could somehow help thousands of girls across the country. At the end of the day though, it’s good television, and that’s really what it’s all about, people. Right? (Why do I feel like a jerk for saying that?)This week’s episode began with the whole gang rising and shining and heading off to breakfast. Well, almost the whole group. Paula was still asleep on the couch, still recovering the previous night’s emotional meltdown / scary hyperventilation. Everyone thought it would probably be best to let her sleep it off, so they just let her be. Besides, this way everyone could talk about her behind her back.

We then cut to a crab walking along the sidewalk — symbolic of something I suppose, not sure what — and then we found our gang of six marching down the street, looking for a good breakfast joint. A kindly old man who may or may not have been completely out of his mind invited the kids in for breakfast, but they just smiled politely and moved on. They ultimately wound up at a place called “Blue Heaven,” which probably could be named “Empty Heaven” — not a lot of patrons. Still, the roommies didn’t mind, and so they sat down for their meal and commenced the gossip.

“You ever meet somebody who says that they’re deeply, deeply saddened by something?” Svetlana asked, in regards to Paula.

“I’m deeply saddened by your feigned interest in this,” Tyler replied in the unnecessarily instigative manner we all so predicted last week. He then went on to question Svetlana’s motives, saying, “Are you really hurting about this?” She didn’t know quite what to say. There was a combination of guilt, shock, and confusion on her face, and even though Tyler had called her out, Svetlana kept to her line, and insisted that she really did care. “I’m just joking around you,” Tyler suddenly said, serving up the morning’s lamest retreat. True, Svetlana probably didn’t truly care about Paula at the same level as, say, her parents or best friends. But it sounded like she cared enough. It was a bit rude for Tyler to attack her so quickly. But then again, this is The Real World. We don’t tune in for the civil behavior.

Well, Svetlana babbled on about Paula, surmising that her problems most likely stemmed from her dad or the men in her life. “Oh my god! You don’t know shit!” Tyler rebuked, again for no real reason — except, of course, to brew up drama and conflict. Luckily, none of the roommates gave in, and nothing really became of it.

Meanwhile, back at the house, Paula had woken up and was now red-faced with embarrassment over her behavior the night before. “I am twenty-four years old, and I’m the only one who couldn’t keep it together,” she said. And so, what else is a girl to do but to hop into a kayak and (to paraphrase Enya) row away, row away, row away. Paula eventually returned from her little excursion and had a heart to heart with Jose, saying “I feel like everybody has already judged and labeled me as girl with issues.” Now why would they say that? Just because you’re a girl with issues? That’s like calling a black girl, “a black girl.” People are just ridiculous.

Anyway, Paula’s biggest fear was that people would treat her differently and walk on eggshells around her. She didn’t want everyone to worry that she was going to freak out every time they went out drinking. You know, like the first time they went out… and the second time… okay, every time they’ve gone out.

Later, we found Tyler and Zach chillin’ out on the porch during some afternoon showers. They were having a conversation that amazingly wasn’t about Paula. It was about the whole house. You see, after Zach had announced that he hadn’t eaten that day, Tyler revealed that he was concerned about everyone’s eating habits. At this point, I was hoping that Svetlana would appear out of nowhere and ask, “Are you concerned? Are you REALLY concerned?”

Turns out that Tyler’s concern was not necessarily his roommate’s health, but more his own psychological well-being. He explained that in the gay community, image is so strongly emphasized that if he’s around people who are constantly dieting or working out, he was afraid that he might get caught up in it. I would be more concerned for the ano girl in the house, but that’s just me.

But enough with all these serious issues. These people need to be getting drunk, STAT! And so we moved ahead to later that night as everyone prepared to go out. Just another exciting jaunt to the club. But wait, this wasn’t the typical foray into the Key West bar scene. That night, everyone would be going to a gay club for Studio 54 night. Might this be a recipe for drama? Well, judging by the rumbling thunder outside the house, I’d say yes. Sure enough, there was resistance to the gay club, but not by John or Jose or Zach. It was Svetlana who had the most apprehension.

“I’m just picturing like really young boys hooking up with older men,” she explained. Sounds like someone’s been spending too much time at the NAMBLA website. Nevertheless, Svetlana was totally unhinged as she announced, “I will vomit.” Uh, maybe you don’t want to say that in front of Paula.

Well, Tyler joined the conversation and asked Svetty to express what was really bothering her. She responded with a convoluted answer that had something to do with young boys who didn’t know if they were gay flocking to the club and… oh, I don’t know. From what I could discern, she was just afraid she’d see a lot of impressionable youths being lured into a lifestyle of hedonism and sodomy. And she just wanted to protect them, dammit! “That’s very caring of you,” Tyler said. Hey, what happened to Breakfast Tyler? The guy who practically sucker punched Svetlana every time she said something naive or misguided? Anyway, Svetlana got over her issues (honestly, she could have just said that she was underage and solved the whole thing), and everyone headed out.

gang_cheers
“Cheers to good friends and good times! Now, let’s start bickering!!”

At the (empty-ish) club, the group encountered some sort of drag show which resulted in John winding up on stage with his shirt unbuttoned. A few drinks and ass-smackings later, John decided he was ready for another bar, and so he and the guys left, causing the other roommates to follow suit. This predictably annoyed Tyler, especially when they all wound up at an Irish Pub. So then he and Janelle hightailed it back to the gay bar, complaining that they ever had to leave in the first place. It made sense for them to go back. After all, he was gay, and she sort of looked like a man in drag. Then next thing you know, Zach was talking about how he wanted to go back to the gay bar because he wanted to dance (swishy swishy!), and I couldn’t help thinking that as petty as this entire controversy was, at least there was some strange universal element to it. I mean, how often have you been out with a group of friends and then everyone splinters off and people get mad and then blah blah blah it becomes a whole big, stupid deal? Truthfully, I’d rather see the roommates kvetch about this junk than the ridiculous antics from Austin (Wes and the groupie drawer, anyone?). All in all, everyone wound up in the bar and club they wanted to be in, so that should be the end of that, right? Not so much.

john_dragqueen
Believe it or not, this is actually at the Hallmark Store. Key West is a crazy place, man…

paula3-12-06.1
“OMG!! I’M POINTING INDISCRIMINATELY AT SOMETHING!!! OMG!!!”

Later that night, everyone wound up in the backyard, playing in the pool and whatnot, when Tyler and John got into a little squabble. Tyler was mad that John had left the gay bar and taken everyone with him. John, meanwhile, was mad that he had put in the effort to hang out in Tyler’s bar whereas Tyler had only stayed like one minute in John’s bar. Commence the eye rolling now, America. Well, ultimately, John did what he seems to do best, go for the low blow: “I’m so glad everyone convinced me to hang out with homos tonight and not my own peeps. It’s fine dude.” Great. Everyone buckle your seatbelts. Time for another classic Real World fight.

Amazingly, Tyler didn’t explode at John. Sure, he got mad, but he kept his composure. Then again, he really didn’t have time to get that crazy because in an effort to diffuse the tension, John grabbed Tyler’s legs and knocked him into the pool. Yay! Awkward resolution!

We then cut to commercial, and when we returned, the argument was actually still going on, but now Tyler had his shirt off and was squaring off with John in the pool. The rest of the roommates, meanwhile, were all lounging around, quietly watching and snacking on chips and guacamole. It was like they were us at home, except getting to watch the show live.

pool_discussion
“No. I’m the shark and you’re the minnow.”

Anyway, after Tyler and John had babbled on long enough, Janelle finally rose up and talked some sense into the boys, saying that the evening wasn’t about gay or straight. It was about the group going one place for someone and then backing out. This caused John to have a moment of clarity (as much as someone like John can have a moment of clarity), and he announced, “People like different things… he likes one place; I like a different place.” Sadly, he did not then quote Donald Trump, who famously spoke, “That’s why they have menus in restaurants, you know? I like steak, somebody else likes spaghetti. That’s why they have menus in restaurants. It’s a great world.”

jose3-12-06.1
Jose: nonstop excitement.

jose3-12-06.2
I think somebody just peed in the jacuzzi!

Later that night, Janelle and Tyler relaxed on the hammock and further discussed the debate, eventually coming to see John’s point of view and respecting it. The whole dustup ended with Tyler then approaching John, clearing the air, and then offering to shake on it. “I don’t want a handshake. I want a hug,” John said. Aww. How very Iceman and Maverick.

With the great Bar Hopping Controversy of 2006 put behind us, we could then focus on other things, like good ol’ Paula. The next day, we found our girl lounging in the hammock, enjoying the weather and possibly on the verge of hyperventilation. Meanwhile, upstairs, Janelle learned something rather disturbing: Paula’s been taking diet pills. From the internet. Great.

Cut to nighttime, and we found the whole gang at a bar getting drunk. Paula, remarkably, was not crying or gasping for breath. Instead, she was dancing up on some stage or tabletop, having a blast. We then frantically moved back and forth between her glee and all the roommates pointing at her excitedly. I sort of thought the whole scene would turn black and white and slow motion, leading up to some sort of panic attack, possibly involving images of clowns and a maniacal woman cackling in the distance. Either that, or the masquerade scene from Labyrinth.

Well, nothing too dramatic happened at the bar, and when everyone returned home, Paula flopped down on a carpet and did snow angels (minus the snow). This then motivated the guys to roll her up in the carpet and deposit her outside where she then had a Deep Talk with John about her eating disorder.

“Paula does not have normal eating habits,” John told us. Um, actually, Paula doesn’t have eating habits. Nevertheless, she explained that her biggest fear was to be “pudgy, fat, single, alone forever.” Of course, what John should have said was that it’s better to be pudgy than unhappy or dead. But instead, he replied, “Pudgy, fat, and alone forever, dude. That’s is depressing to think about that.” At which point I smacked my forehead and shook my head. Believe it or not, John was actually trying to make the point that Paula’s outlook was needlessly sad, but as is often the case on reality shows, he wasn’t so wonderful with the whole “articulation” thing. Nevertheless, he convinced Paula to go inside and eat a hot dog (sans bun, at her request), an event which prompted a cheesy song with the lyrics, “We are all the same!” Yay! Hold hands everyone! Curing anorexia in Key West!

Nevertheless, it was a nice moment, only undermined by a cynical voice in my head questioning just how long that hot dog would stay in Paula’s belly. Anyway, the amateur therapy continued the next morning as Dr. John asked Paula if there was one thing she loved about herself. Of course, anyone who’s ever known a girl at the height of an eating disorder knows that this subject is more or less taboo, and such questions can only end in one way: tears. And sure enough, as Paula tried to describe her mindset, she eventually devolved into tears and walked away to another room. Poor girl. I personally didn’t know how she was going to survive this experience, especially after she told us, “I feel ugly all the time in this house… I’m tired of like — living. It’s weird. I just want to wake up and… BREATHE like everybody else. And be normal. And I don’t even know what normal is, but I’d just like to really, really be that.”

Paula was obviously in a bad place, and she wasn’t going to get any better on her own. Luckily, Janelle asked her if she’d be willing to get professional help, and (sigh of relief) Paula nodded yes. “I can’t live like this forever,” Paula told us, as the screen went dark and a mournful note played in the background. And that was the chilling, sad end of the episode. So, um, fun times!

What do you think about the Paula situation? And what about the whole John/Tyler thing?

About

33 Comments

  1. 1
    ldini79
    Posted March 13, 2006 at 5:54 am

    loved the captions on jose’s pics, that was hilarious. i feel bad for paula, but at the same time, i completely agree with something someone (holyterror?) said last week about her controlling the whole house by always being on the verge of a breakdown. i want to not like john, but he seems like basically a good guy despite his frat boy moments.

  2. 2
    EdHill
    Posted March 13, 2006 at 7:37 am

    I like watching people try to have conversations about serious subjects while wasted.

    The paula thing is no longer entertaining even on a Real World train wreck level. She is seriously ill and they need to take her out of that house. Getting advice from drunk 20 year olds about her anorexia is not going to help.

  3. 3
    saralina
    Posted March 13, 2006 at 8:02 am

    did anyone else notice how zach was play-wrestling/cuddling with john when they were playing basketball in the pool? i was hoping you would screencap it B-side. coupled with his “i just want to dance!” comment we may be on to something.

    so far this cast is better than last season but overall i think the real world has had its time and needs to end. when it first started it was revolutionary because it was the first to show real people. but now it is COMPLETELY POINTLESS. every other show on tv now is reality and they all have a twist be it eating bugs/finding a husband/surviving/any fish out of water situation. the real world is too boring now so it has turned into college coeds gone wild. at least change the title.

    oh yeah, and the paula thing is ratings gold for bunim/murrey. they should have referred her to a doctor after seeing her video, not invited her to a second interview!

  4. 4
    Posted March 13, 2006 at 8:06 am

    Excellent recap, as usual!

    1) Thanks for the Labrynth comment…now I have “You remind me the babe…what babe? The babe with the POWER..” stuck in my head.
    2) I was totally distracted by the fabulous MTV editing of the 2 nights out at the club being spliced together at the last minute. When exactly did John get Paula to eat the wiener? Her clothes suggest the 1st drunken episode…Confused.
    3) Anyone else think that this is going to get old REALLY FAST?
    5) Not even a second’s worth of comment in regards to Svet’s whining and hot dog teasing of her own? One of those boys may get to see her fun bags, yet!
    6) Am I the only one who thinks that Jose looks like a spanish Justin Timberlake?

  5. 5
    Lisa
    Posted March 13, 2006 at 8:19 am

    John seriously needs to leave Paula alone, or at least stop asking her questions directly related to her condition. It seems like every other minute, he’s figured out a new question or comment to make her feel worse about herself. He keeps putting her on the spot and it’s not fair — No one asks him what it’s like to be a douchebag! He’s probably a sports psychology major so he thinks he knows what he’s talking about. The girl needs a professional.

  6. 6
    wik0rch
    Posted March 13, 2006 at 8:33 am

    1) Key West is going to get VERY old VERY fast. They’ve already been to My Blue Heaven, Irish Kevin’s and the gay bar.

    It’s a little place. And sure there are a lot of bars. But how often can you go to Sloppy Joe’s or the Hog’s Breath Saloon before getting drunk with acid-wash wearing tourists gets old? I doubt they’ll be making frequent trips to the Ernest Hemmingway House… I’m excited to watch the Claustrophobia of living on Key West kick in. Soon.

    2) I had hoped, in the past that the Producers would mix some “older kids” in with the bunch. You know. For some perspective. I got my wish…too bad the “older kids” are just as f*cked up as the young’uns, and we’re going to have to listen to the psychobabble stylings of Svetlana the Russian JAP/Spoiled Baby/Attention-whore pain-in-the-ass.

    3) Janelle is my new favorite.

    4) I can’t wait till Svetlana’s breakdown next weekend. Nothing like watching a spoiled girl cry home to mom. Ahhhhhh…nineteen year olds.

  7. 7
    Leah3t
    Posted March 13, 2006 at 8:51 am

    Janelle is awesome. That girl’s skin is amazing!

    get off the screen paula. we all knew you in college and after freshman year none of us cared about you.

  8. 8
    Rvrctylady
    Posted March 13, 2006 at 9:43 am

    Ok, I know anorexia is a scary, horrible disease for the people who have it, BUT I am so over Paula after two shows. She is as she says 24 years old, so grow up already, get some serious help and best yet..leave the show. She is just annoying at this point.

  9. 9
    k37744
    Posted March 13, 2006 at 9:49 am

    Daaaaannnnng B-side. I’m confused.

    How in the world can you say this season is looking ‘surprisingly strong?’ I’ve never seen a group of Real Worlders more disinteresting and predictable than this cast. These losers aren’t intriguing IN THE LEAST. I’d (bite my tongue) take a groupie drawer or a Mel & Danny episode just to liven this crap up anyday. (Just bit my tongue clean off).

    Is Jose even on the damn show? He better have a personal crisis/family drama/drug problem soon or come up with his own eating disorder to get some camera time. He might as well be filming the damn season himself.

    Get the poor anorexic girl off my tv. That’s just sad. I guarantee one of the episodes this season will start with a shot of an ambulance outside a bar. It’s plain old sad and not entertaining. I can only hope it helps shed light or wakes little girls up or whatever the benefits are supposed to be. Right now it’s a train wreck and a ‘how-to’ guide for aspiring anorexics. (Ladies, you should never eat the bun if you want to fit in a bikini. FYI: Miller Lite is a-ok and Jello has practically no calories).

    Austin was painful to watch…but painful in a good way. Now I can only daydream about short-brimmed hats and everyone acting reTAHded.

    But you bet your ass I’ll still watch
    every. single. episode.

  10. 10
    stacyrocks
    Posted March 13, 2006 at 10:19 am

    I’m surprised Paula already accepted ‘professional help’ on episode 2! I remember when Frankie from the San Diego season was cutting herself and they had some special message and even had Dr Drew give some phone number or some shit for help. I guess they’re not taking her as seriously…

    -B-Side;

    I loved the captions for Jose, and the Donald Trump “I prefer steak!” line. Very on point, B-Side. LoL

  11. 11
    SkipToMyLu
    Posted March 13, 2006 at 12:07 pm

    I’d rather watch Real World Austin! That isn’t saying much.

    Love the recap

  12. 12
    hollabackboy
    Posted March 13, 2006 at 12:29 pm

    I think you guys are being kind of wishy-washy. When the Austin season aired, except for the Danny’s mom episode and his skull incident, nothing about it was real or even that interesting. It was just drunken twentysomethings getting into stupid arguments. All you did was complain about how boring it was. Then the Real World *gasps* starts getting real with this season with an issue some people in the real world actually face (body issues, self esteem, eating disorders) and now you complain that it’s boring? Of course it’s not what it used to be. Back when it aired, it was really the first reality show. You just can’t please some people. There is promised to be plenty of conflict and drama this season. Especially with Tyler, who is acting like a real ass, and Svetlana’s next-episode breakdown. But, I mean, come on, can you not allow this show to start to tackle some real issues, not a broken basketball hoop or mail-sent ice cream. And I don’t think John was trying to make Paula feel bad, but just trying to get her to become happy with herself and healthy. I agree with B-Side. This season has a lot of potential and, sans Jose and Zach, the Key Westers seem a lot more interesting than those idiots in Austin.

  13. 13
    holyterror
    Posted March 13, 2006 at 12:31 pm

    I agree, Leah3t — I knew her and plenty more in college, too, and was damn sick of finding regurgitated food on every toilet seat and being made to feel like a meanie for making my dinner.

    At the rate she’s going, Paula won’t have to worry about her fear of being “pudgy,” but she’ll certainly be alone. She already looks 10 years older than she is.

    There are excellent, readily available medications for depression, and the stigma of seeking counseling is more or less gone — unlike 20 years ago. I’m surprised her family and friends let her fall this far. She’s just a tragedy, and should seek help in privacy and with dignity — not with a bunch of strangers and not in front of millions of people on infinite repeats.

  14. 14
    anonym.
    Posted March 13, 2006 at 12:33 pm

    “At the end of the day though, it’s good television, and that’s really what it’s all about, people. Right? (Why do I feel like a jerk for saying that?)”
    don’t worry, B-side..we know you have a heart..unfortunately, that phrase above is 9i’m 99.9% positive) the exact same phrase that probably came out of the bunim/murray camp when gettting this cast together.

    does anyone else think svetlana is a whiny bitch? yeah, she’s 19, but since when does being a year or two younger than everybody else give someone the right to throw a tantrum and complain when she doesn’t get her way? (a la the ‘gay bar’ event). she’s quickly getting on my nerves..oh, and i recant my post last week that i’d probably “hate” tyler…props to him for calling svetty out on her fake concern for paula

  15. 15
    heehaw
    Posted March 13, 2006 at 12:36 pm

    ok, i think paula is skinny, but NOT THAT SKINNY. from the way she talks and the other idiots in the house speak of her you would think she has that sudanese look. i personally think she looks pretty hot. she is not a poster child for anorexia. i really think she just likes the attention she gets for “being anorexic”. she is an over the top drama queen who can work herself into a tizzy at the drop of a zantrex 3. ALL PHONY BAD ACTTING! just the way we like it.

  16. 16
    Firecat
    Posted March 13, 2006 at 12:56 pm

    Tyler was being an @ss towards Slutlana. Jerk.

    BTW, she is hot…I hope she doesn’t hook-up with any of those other losers in the house.

  17. 17
    Ash
    Posted March 13, 2006 at 1:02 pm

    Does anyone else hate Tyler? I think he’s trying too hard to fill the role of “I just say it how I see it” or whatever, he drives me crazy!

  18. 18
    Firecat
    Posted March 13, 2006 at 1:58 pm

    Yeah. He’s a punk bitch

  19. 19
    Leah3t
    Posted March 13, 2006 at 2:34 pm

    hollabackboy- real issues would be interesting- like, if we had ever found out more about cystic fibrosis when frankie was on, that would have been interesiting. anorexia, while def a real and upsetting problem for many people, is something any female who graduated high school has discussed to death. this is just rw being exploitative. Pedro inspired me and I still think about his attitude toward his illness. frankie’s cutting was interesting because she could articulate what the battling issues were. this girl isn’t in a position to give insight, she’s just throwing weekly temper tantrums. Does have a real problem and need help? yes. am i interested in watching it? not really.

  20. 20
    sweetcaroline
    Posted March 13, 2006 at 3:27 pm

    when i saw the first episode of this season, i was afraid that paula and her eating disorder would be exploited for ratings. however, i think that, so far, the show has done a very good job at showing how difficult it is to deal with this disease. they aren’t glorifying paula or her stick thin figure, but showing her daily struggle for what it is.

    many people feel that eating disorders are an issue somewhat over-discussed. those people have obviously never been affected by one.

    sure, there are the girls that are seemingly over-concerned with their weight, probably exercise too much and don’t get enough to eat. many of these girls do not take it to the extreme, and grow out of it when they gain a bit of maturity.

    and then there are people like paula, whose physical obsession is a mental affliction.

    i really hope the show continues to follow her struggle and i would really like to see her get help. as a girl who has suffered with her own bouts of anorexia and drug abuse, i think it would send a strong message to girls across america that eating disorders are serious, that they are not a joke but a serious mental disease, and that you can reach out and get help.

    ps; b-side, you are amazing.

  21. 21
    Keyser Soze
    Posted March 13, 2006 at 4:05 pm

    holyterror: her family knew she was anorexic. She was in denial about it, and unless someone is a danger to themselves or others, you cannot force them into treatment. If her weight had fallen any further, she would have qualified for commitment as a medical necessity, however she and Bunim/Murray thought she would do much better on a high exposure TV show.
    Having worked with many eating disordered people in the past, it appears she is in the thick of it at episode 2, meaning her eating d/o is raging, and insight on her part at this point is not even possible. When your brain is starved of nutrition, it is difficult to gain the benefits of therapy, because it involves mental labor. She has a long road ahead of her in therapy, especially if, as she says, she has never sought any help.

  22. 22
    Leah3t
    Posted March 13, 2006 at 4:15 pm

    oh, and sarah had eating issues on philly two seasons ago. and someone in chicago did too. so this is not new territory.

    though to be fair they re-hash race and gender issues and so on every season so maybe i’m being too hard on paula/rw. so i’ll take a step back from my stance. but i still maintain im not super interested in this season.

  23. 23
    shorts
    Posted March 13, 2006 at 6:24 pm

    So far I think this is the best season since San Diego, and this cast is a lot more likable than Austin

  24. 24
    antebellum
    Posted March 13, 2006 at 6:48 pm

    I think that regardless of whatever “real” issues The Real World or any other reality show tries to present, viewers will still bash it as being exploitative or the person begging for attention on national TV. I’m really not sure what the case is with Paula.

    I guess John is trying to help and just innocently constantly makes Paula feel like crap. I can’t imagine anyone purposefully doing that to an anorexic or anyone else with serious problems.

    Something about Svetlana and her gay bar argument that there would probably be young boys hooking up with older men there– Doesn’t that happen a lot of the time at straight bars with young girls and older men, and less often vice versa? I wonder what her real reason for not wanting to go was.

  25. 25
    heehaw
    Posted March 13, 2006 at 7:59 pm

    every paula episode occurs after one of the other girls gets more attention than she does. it is all very calculated behavior. she is a manipulator, starving for attention, not food. the only thing she suffers from is jealousy, somehow she found that she can attract a crowd by acting weird and blaming it on a very popular disease the other girls will figure this out real quick. we get to watch the FAKE MELTDOWN!

  26. 26
    Lisa
    Posted March 13, 2006 at 9:25 pm

    Just wanted to clarify that in my earlier comment (#5), I didn’t mean that John was purposely trying to make Paula feel bad about herself. I just think that he should take a step back and realize that what he’s doing isn’t really helping her situation.

  27. 27
    shank
    Posted March 13, 2006 at 10:49 pm

    Hmm, my previous (and utterly random) theory that Jose is secretly gay got even more questionable with the escapade at the gay bar…would he really go with John to the pub if he could be clubbing w/ Tyler? I’m still thinking that it could be possible though…

  28. 28
    plexitoes
    Posted March 14, 2006 at 5:42 am

    Great recap as always B-side.

    I actually like this season. I wanted to hate John, and kinda did in the first episode. But he’s starting to grow on me. The opposite goes for Svetty. Liked her before, now she’s getting old. For me, there is something endearing about Paula. I hope she gets the help she needs.

  29. 29
    k37744
    Posted March 14, 2006 at 6:36 am

    ok, remember back when i commented that this season made me actually miss Austin and its shortbrimmed retahdedness?

    one look at Wes in his FREAKIN SHINY WHITE SHORTS in the ‘Wes & Jo sell tshirts’ pic is SO damn disturbing that I’ll watch Paula throwing fits over and over just to try and erase that image.

    jumpin jehosephat, please don’t let it rain.

  30. 30
    Courtney Jones
    Posted March 14, 2006 at 9:57 am

    I think this is interesting to watch. Paula has a self-loathing/people pleasing thing that’s actually kind of genuine. It’s hard to be her, I guess. I question the producers for putting her in, but I question more even the roommates for taking concern to the next level. Give me a break! I LOVED it when Tyler said, “Is this really hurting you?” to Svetlana b/c you know it’s not! People love to act so personally scarred by another person’s tragedy. It’s totally sad and I hope she gets what she needs, but John and Svtl need to get over themselves. They looooove the camera on their puppydog eyes just a little too much.

  31. 31
    bexwrex
    Posted March 14, 2006 at 12:50 pm

    Do we love how they have a detailed calendar of “the best parties to go to every night of the week” posted in their kitchen? Who wants to bet that MTV had a crew of interns or something down there researching for months to ensure we didn’t have a Dizzy-Rooster-style season?

  32. 32
    heehaw
    Posted March 14, 2006 at 7:24 pm

    i am bored with paula already. svetlana is hot! more pics.

  33. 33
    southernbelle
    Posted March 14, 2006 at 10:33 pm

    There are a couple of things about Paula. Yes, I feel horribly for her. HOWEVER…she is always strutting around in bikinis. I may be completely off base, but as far as I know, most people suffering from eating disorders prefer to do so under a great cloak of oversized clothing. Also, she announced that she had become “kinda bulimic.” Once again, people with EDs usually don’t prefer to boast that they’re suffering a great deal. Starving for attention, anyone? I do think that it is incredibly exploitive for the production to think that having her in this type of situation would be a good idea.

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