Sticks and Stones

The fight is over, or is it? But the fallout has just begun!

Analysis

Normally I like to stray from using four-letter words in a analysis. And now you'll excuse me if I feel the need to vent! But just looking at the teaser from last week, I was assuming we'd have an episode where the producers would allow the cast to weight the facts, then make a decision on whether Gladys should stay, or leave. Then depending on the outcome, we'd either be going through a healing period, or bidding our final good-bye's to Gladys.

But Noooooooo! They f%@# it up! Not only did the producers thumb their noses at the cast.....telling them in essence their opinion on the matter meant squat! But by taking the matter in their own hands, and kicking Gladys off the trip, they sent a clear message, "We at BMP do not condone any acts of violence, unless perpetrated by a man!"

So BMP took it upon themselves to do the dirty work. Ok, that's fine and dandy, but here's the complication. I recall a certain slap incident which alerted Bunim-Murray to send out their troops to apprehend Stephen, and storm Pier 70 to preach their non-violence policy. And what do we get? A slap on the wrist (Translation=Angermanagement) and some tough talk by "Good fighter" A.K.A David.

If you look at the facts from RW Seattle and contrast them here, you'll see that "Sticks and Stones" should be a metaphor for every law school professor teaching a course on how not to resolve a domestic violence dispute.

Here they hijack the situation by sending Clay Newbill in to inform the cast that Gladys is history, end of story! Ugh no, that's not justice, that's absurd. C'mon! The folks at BMP must've needed a shovel to pry their foot out of their mouths this time if they now have a "NO violence" policy after just giving Stephen a light scolding for smacking Irene. This just further illustrates their growing incompetents. And what was up with not letting the cast vote on the issue? The producers obviously think the cast has the collective competence of a two year old if they're not even allowed to decide Gladys's fate!

All I could think of while watching Clay pass judgment was "What the hell are they doing?". And since the producers have already set a precedence, don't they think the most practical decision would be to allow the cast to make the call since they are the ones who'll have to live with the decision? Here BMP's proving just how much they really flip-flop on certain issues.

Abe's actions didn't help things either, except to further plummet the final score of this episode. And for the record, if you needed further evidence to prove that Abe is an attention-hungery-immature-patronizing-prick, then look no further! There's NO doubt Gladys crossed the line when she attacked Abe. But even after the fight Abe continued to patronize her while repeatedly calling her a "bitch". So she delivered a few more blows, what did Abe actually expect! That accompanied with the third grade level taunting outside the hotel, and it brings up the conclusion that if BMP had the right to kick Gladys off for causing physical pain, then they should've kicked weenie boy off for causing emotional pain!

Not only to Gladys, but for everyone else he has exchanged insults with on the trip. Oh, and speaking of which. Was I the only one who found themselves rolling on the floor after hearing Abe accuse Gladys of emotionally scaring him for life, and that he was going to sue her for every cent she has? A statement that is sufficed in one word, arbitrary! It's appalling how some people abuse the legal system in this country. Abe has shown a habit for picking on females and soft men (a la, Brian), but when one bites back he cries "Lawsuit!". I think one person said it best on a message board, If a traumatic event like getting beat by a girl can emotionally scar him for "life", then he must've spent his whole life prior to this trip in a plastic bubble! Abe grow yourself a spine!

And there's no doubt Abe's gonna receive a lot of crap from the rest of the group, particularly Holly and Sarah who both seemed out of character this week. Now granted Sarah has been the closest person to Gladys on the whole trip. And I know that's going to leave a huge void in her life now that Gladys's gone. But Sarah seemed to over play it at times like when she made the statement, "I don't know what I'm going to do without you!" Like they've known each other their whole lives.

And am I the only one who thinks Holly cries WAY too much? Her character here followed a path similar to the jealous streak which came out of left field last week! If Sarah's despair over Gladys is equivalent to them being close friends, then Holly's chest heaving sobs categorized her, and Gladys as twins!

Personally I'm sad to see Gladys go. She brought a certain spark to the show (No pun intended) that'll be sorely missed. And mainly not because of the fight (Although in the future that'll come to mind when someone mentions her name), but because of her determination to stress her opinion no matter what anyone thought about it. No matter if you like Gladys or not, she did have a right to voice her opinion regarding certain issues, including the Abe/Susie fling. And it wasn't until Gladys's objections because personal, that things began to go down hill. In the end, letting Abe get the best of Gladys was what ultimately caused her to be sent home. I feel if there's anything Gladys should learn from this experience is to hold her peace at times, and not allow others to manipulate her emotions.

So to sum it up. Alas Gladys, we hard........well we knew ya. It's just we wish we could've known you under better circumstances: Let's say if Abe hadn't been on the trip! But the only people I really feel sad for are the future Real World and Road Rules cast, particularly women. What BMP did here, or more importantly what they didn't do in the past translates a clear message to future female cast members, "If you so much as touch your castmate, you're outta here!". But in the end BMP did manage to send a message. The $64,000 question is what kind?

So in a nutshell, Gladys got a emotional farewell from her fellow castmates. But these strong character interactions hardly justifies the other 70% of pure crap in this episode that didn't deserve anything more than to be hauled off to the nearest landfill! So call it a 1. The only saving grace keeping this puppy from a goose egg was the nicely done, if not a bit overreacted farewell to Gladys at the end.


NEXT WEEK: Hmmm, Tom Arnold as morale officer? Very clever BMP.

Jump straight to "Deep Sea Therapy". Or go back to "Tigers and Sharks".

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