IMHO: "Real World: Brooklyn" (Ep. 13) "A Final Toast"

The uniqueness that has set The Real World: Brooklyn apart isn’t apparent in its season finale. Yes, most of the recurring themes from the season surface to bid farewell (gender divide, pranks, JD’s short temper), but the LGBT issues and undertones that have made the Brooklyn installment an arguable breakthrough for television aren’t showcased.

Still, the drama entices.

At a bar for a last supper of sorts, Ryan lands punches on the drunken, slurring faces of a few strangers. The breeder boys consider the altercation a bonding moment.

Vendetta

Meanwhile, the girls prepare payback for four month’s worth of practical jokes by mixing dish soap and dog treats in with the boys’ food. The boys prove better at dishing the pranks than taking them, as illustrated when they fly off the handle, first blaming our boy JD. The girls, including Katelynn, fail to stick up for JD, but the truth is soon revealed.

By morning the hatchet is buried, and the group gets gussied up to cry and say goodbye. Heart-wrenching farewells occur between Devyn and Katelynn, and Ryan and Chet, but the most profound goodbye is shared between Katelynn – the last left in the home – and the Real World: Brooklyn house.

Final farewell...

It’s both poignant and symbolic that Katelynn is the final houseguest in the home; after all, I believe it’s her story alone that has made Brooklyn the most significant Real World for the LGBT since Pedro graced the set in San Francisco.

So, IMHO, the season as a whole should go down in our great, gay history – unfortunately not so much for the G of our crowded acronym, but resoundingly for the T. Brooklyn has put an outspoken transgender woman into the homes of viewers across the country on a weekly basis, without any sidestepping around issues that might be difficult for Heartland-type viewers to stomach.

TransAmerican star?

Nearly as important, this season introduced us to Scott, a gift for those of us who had only dreamt that chivalry and selflessness still existed within the huge pecs heart of gorgeous men. (Not that my standards were unrealistically high enough already…)

While the finale itself was a bore, I can’t bring myself to give such a pivotal season of the Real World anything less than an up-arrow.

What are your final thoughts on Real World: Brooklyn? Do you agree that this season will be looked back on as groundbreaking for the LGBT community? Who was your favorite roommate?