Fight the Bull!

The kids get thrown in the ring to test their survival skills, and that's no "Bull"!

Analysis

Before I begin my analysis, I want to mention something that's sort of off the topic. As it turns out, I've been getting some crap lately from a member of the Latin American cast who claims that I'm making all kinds of false accusations about them in my reviews.

First of all, I would partition my accuser to check out my Disclaimer. Second, I want to make in clear that I'm not out to slander, or demoralize anyone! And believe it or not, but I actually "like" Road Rules! I like it enough that I postpone my homework for a half hour every Monday Night to remain loyal to the show I've watched since season one. And as to the false accusations I'm accused of deliberately spreading? Before I make any blind accusation about someone, I make it clear that I'm speculating on the issue until it is proven true. But I am not going to get up here and lie to the public and say that the show and its characters are perfect. And if I have a opinion regarding a certain character.....well it's my personal opinion. Not to mention my first amendment right! Now on with the show.

Finally! After weeks of enduring shows with lackluster missions and standard character growth (Mainly between Abe & Gladys), we actually strike a gem! Generally (In my book) what determines whether a episode either falls under the "Excellent" category, or the dreaded "I'd rather watch Infomercials" is 1. A thrilling mission, and 2. Strong character growth. "Fight the Bull! has both. And character growth has been the only thing caring the season up until this point (And it barely carried it!) because the missions sure haven't!

Abe and Gladys, Gladys and Abe continue to be the core of this season. Here Gladys calls her ex-boyfriend's (Jean) new girlfriend (Reda) to warn her that Jean hasn't been 100% faithful. And in fact, has been keeping in contact with his ex-girlfriend. Then Jean calls Gladys back to tell her to back off because he doesn't want this thing to blow out of proportion, and end up hurting Reda's feelings.

Hello! What about Gladys's own feeling in this ex-lover triangle? Eventually, Jean's mind games were too much for Gladys who intern brokedown under the stress. First off, why is Gladys still keeping in contact with this guy if she knows how he is? And especially since he has a new girlfriend? I for one am in favor of keeping up to date with exs unless they have a new significant other where as things can get too complex, escalate, and usually end with someone getting hurt emotionally, or physically. The ideal thing Gladys should do is give Reda the warning advice, say a final good-bye to Jean, and let it end there, and move on.

It was nice that Holly and Sarah came and offered Gladys some comfort, and support. If anything these three have in common it's a bad history with ex-boyfriends. However, it would've been nice if we could've also seen Holly and Sarah's ex horror stories. But I was satisfied with the character insight we got from Gladys. And considering next week is the "Big Fight", we may not get many more Gladys character shows.

And finally Menudo got some much deserved camera time. For those new to the season, Menudo is Road Rules mascot introduced to the cast back in "Ai Chihuahua!". So the episode's C plot involved Menudo doing several nature calls in the Woodie. And the cast (Beside Abe) didn't take too kindly to Menudo turning their domain into a manure pit. Especially Gladys who went as far as to ask the local dog lady if she has another vacancy.

Now before you jump on Gladys's case, I want to point out that Sarah had also jumped on the "Give Menudo the boot" bandwagon. Telling Gladys to run and get the dog lady, then two seconds later, she's in effect calling it animal abuse! Fortunately, Abe's pleas were enough to persuade everyone to reconsider handing Menudo over to the dog lady, and her Willie Nelson wannabee boyfriend. And I think Menudo was all too happy to be staying with the group.

But the main headline in this episode is the "title" which by the way may be an indication of the producers lack of creativity. But that's another rant! Back in "Ai Chihuahua" the gang were blown a bunch of smoke. Here it's the real deal! No little rat chihuahuas running around snipping at your fingers, although I imagine the cast may have been praying for them when it was showtime! Everyone's performance in the ring was pretty good. And you got to hand it to them. These kids have guts to jump into the ring with a pissed off steak! And even though I believe Josh put more style and effort into it, and took a few blows, Holly did a bang-up job too! And as such she won the event.

I have been hearing for months now that one of the girls was rumored to get date raped by the guy who does the bullfighting mission. And as I expected, it turned out to be another smoke screen.....or was it? I recall Brian making a comment that the guy who trained the cast (I'm not even going to attempt to spell his name) had a thing going for Holly. And perhaps that's as far as it went.

Hearsay can be a dangerous thing if aloud to run out of control! As it passes through the grapevine, it can get twisted and pull around so much that it come out almost a totally different story. Besides, rape would be an awfully big and controversial issue for the producers to just shove under the carpet. And knowing BMP, they wouldn't cover up a potential ratings boost like that!

This brings up another potential smoke screen rumor. I've heard others comment and say that this whole Gladys getting booted from the show thing is another false rumor. And plus the fact that a article featuring a interview with Gladys where she states that she took part in a mission searching for spiders (Which hasn't aired yet) proves this.

I am not sure which rumor will come out on top, but I can make a prediction on how this whole situation will pan out. And Mark My Words! The whole "Big Fight" between Abe and Gladys will not come till the last few minutes of the show. Then the whole episode after that will revolve around whether Gladys should be aloud to stay, or leave. Hey! The producers may even allow the cast to take a vote like they did in RW Seattle. One thing is for certain: Abe better have a black eye and missing teeth in order to give them a good enough reason to kick Gladys off after they allowed Stephen to stay after smacking Irene!

Another plot hole I want to point out is Abe's earlier comment about how he's become the "Whipping Boy" of the group every since he taped Brian's conversation last week. Which in its self seem like a botched cut and paste maneuver done in the BMP editing booth! Why? Because there was no indication in this episode that his fellow travelmates gave him the cold shoulder treatment.

So overall a great episode! I'm usually not too fond of multiple plot shows, but here everything worked out nice. So call is a 5.


NEXT WEEK: It's the event you all have been waiting for!

Jump straight to "Tigers and Sharks". Or go back to "Trust".

I believe Billy and Tracy's, and Kelley's reviews are out.

Road Rules Reviews Copyright © 1999