IMHO: "Real World: Brooklyn" (Ep. 8) "Cleaning the House"

The battle of the sexes comes to a head in the latest episode of The Real World: Brooklyn. Pushing the tensions to the surface are the cleaning preferences of the housemates, or the lack thereof.  With the boys on the unexpected side of cleanliness, and the girls playing for team lazy, the drama that unfolds in this episode helps to make it my favorite so far. 

But the real reason number eight is great is the fact that a certain houseguest I’ve been critical of begins to show some appeal.

Who am I talking about?

It’s JD who decides to take control (I like the sound of that) by making a chore list for the household. As expected, nobody takes his efforts seriously.

Makin' a list...

“Even as a child I never had a chore list. It’s … demeaning,” moans Katelynn.

On top of his attempt to corral the houseguests, JD takes initiative and tries to repair his faltering relationship with Sarah.

“We need to talk sometimes about the small things that push our buttons,” he says, calmly.

Sarah doesn’t share his approach.

“But I don’t care enough to talk about them … I don’t care enough to come to you,” she yells.

"I don't care enough to come to you"

Though they were one of the first pairs of roommates to meet, even appearing to have formed an instant connection, Sarah lays out the stark contrast in their current relationship flatly. “I don’t care. You’re not that important to me,” she admits.

And with this simple discussion, my hopes for JD have been reborn. He sits Sarah down with the desire of calmly reconciling their relationship, and is met by dramatic resistance. Perhaps he’s earned her disregard through previous actions (I don’t know; I sadly wasn’t invited to be a roommate), but as an adult coming to her with hopes of resolution, I give him major kudos.

Also, considering JD’s confession last week that he felt closer to the rat than the humans in the house, I’m starting to feel for him. Gay boys are too often left alienated.

“I did this experience to hopefully gain a family that I’ve never had before, and I feel that I set my expectations way too high,” he confesses.

While Sarah’s earlier disconnect with JD proved disheartening, she gains heaps of respect later in the episode while she’s teaching art therapy at the local Gay and Lesbian Center.

But still unsatisfied with Sarah, JD brings forth the idea of a group meeting. Sarah, left alone with the other girls to discuss his plan, verges on the edge of hypocrisy. “If you have a problem with someone, talk to the person, work it out like adults. C’mon now,” Sarah says, despite having told JD earlier that she didn’t care enough to do just that.

Act of frustration #1

But the group discussion happens anyways. During it, JD has the chance to call Sarah out on her contradictions, and exhibits a display of frustration that shatters a glass coffee table. (My skin tingled in its newfound appreciation for JD and his decision to make this season really interesting.) Furthering the spirit of theater, JD rips the phone out of Devyn’s hand and the wall, encouraging her to participate in the meeting.

Act of frustration #2

His exaggerated acts seem to inspire a calm discussion, however. The girls agree to put forth effort into cleaning the house, while JD agrees to clean up the shattered glass. The tension from the past two episodes appears to evaporate as the show closes with shots of communal – albeit silent and unfriendly – cleaning.

Defeat.

Episode eight is awarded an up arrow from me for redeeming JD, our only gay boy representation in the house. Despite his aggressive demonstrations during the group discussion, he was the catalyst that succeeded in calming the three-episode-arc battle of the sexes.

What is your assessment of JD now? Do you feel his group discussion antics further tarnish his character? Have your opinions of any of the other housemates changed after watching this episode?