Real World Portland: The A-Nia-Lation Proclomation

Am I the only one getting a little sick of Nia? Sheesh. I know reality TV is all about ratings, but seasons in the past have had their fair share of drama while also having real, relatable cast members. Nia is just…too much for me. I think she was brought on 100 percent for ratings simply for viewers to hate her. Well, MTV, it’s working. Enough of that rant…

A lot of this episode revolves around the aftermath of the huge Nia/Jordan blowout last episode. I think both Jordan and Nia are in the wrong on this one, but Jordan was the only one to own up to his mistakes. He was 100 percent in the wrong making the monkey noises, regardless of if it was “to make a point.” I completely agree with him that it’s totally backwards for African-Americans to use the N-word so freely, but that’s a whooole other discussion. I also HATE Jessica talking about how Jordan “put his hands” on Nia, and Nia claiming she felt threatened when Jordan came in to her dark room while she was half naked. The incident where he “put his hands” on her was seen to me as something flirty and playful, NOT violent in any way. Both of them were laughing and I was in no way frightened by either of their behavior at that time. Nia also is in underwear more often than she’s clothed, so with the defense that she was half naked when Jordan barged into her room, my question is, when is she not? In no way am I condoning any violent behavior because she chooses to walk around in her underwear (more power to you!), but again, I didn’t see Jordan as threatening or violent at these points. Point blank, they were both in the wrong, but Nia chose to blame it all on Jordan when she started the fight. I also found it interesting Anastasia was the only one to stand up for Jordan through all this when they clashed so harshly in the first episode. She was definitely the voice of reason this episode and the only roommate who chose to look at both sides of the story.

Jordan’s friends from home came to visit this week, and his best friend Taylor is obviously in love with him. She got drunk and lovey-dovey and jealous and annoying quickly.

Johnny’s heavy drinking started bothering Avery this week when instead of going to Scmizza and getting the girls pizza like they asked, they hung out for a few hours and got wasted. She seems to get over things quickly, which is good as far as being laid back, but I think not so good when it comes to having a relationship with someone. If something is really bothering her, she needs to stick to her guns and not forgive Johnny so quickly. I like Avery a lot, but I’m starting to get tired of her saying she’s “not a typical girl.” Saying that makes you a “typical girl”…

What did you think this week? What do you think about the aftermath of Jordan and Nia’s blowout? Does Avery need to make a bigger point about Johnny’s drinking or was it right to forgive him right away?

Real World Portland: How to Play the Game

This picture is very representative of how last week’s episode of Real World Portland went, or at least the second half. I kept wondering when the big fight was going to happen; I should have known right at the end.

This episode starts out with Nia talking about the book she’s writing, a how-to guide for women on dating and keeping professional athletes called “How to Play the Game.” Marlon seems to think this book idea is gold, but I find it kind of stupid. I guess that doesn’t mean people won’t buy it because people buy plenty of stupid products, but I just…I don’t get it. And although she claims to have dated professional athletes, I don’t see where her experience in “keeping” these athletes comes from. I wouldn’t think there’s a huge demographic of women trying to marry professional athletes, but maybe I’m wrong and naive!

Jordan meets a girl at a bar (Molli?) and they plan to go to dinner. Sadly, he gets stood up. Molli calls back later and claims her phone died and she couldn’t get a hold of him, but by then he’d already joined the roommates at the pizza restaurant. While it is funny/ironic that this happened to by far the cockiest one in the house, I thought Nia was a big bitch about it and when she told Molli on the phone that Jordan was so sad and depressed and went drinking alone, I just thought, why? What’s the point? She wants to mess with his head, I get it, but I think she takes it too far to a very immature level.

Nia’s immaturity continues when she starts working at the pizza place with Jordan, Marlon and Avery. And I use “working” loosely here. The first day, she stands around and ends up going home because doesn’t feel well but then asks if there’s a liquor store nearby? The next day, she calls in sick, and the next day, she stands around and does nothing and takes smoke breaks and talks on the phone. I understand this isn’t the most glamorous job, but really? Nia obviously has a huge ego (duh) and obviously thinks she’s way too good for this job. I know roommates have gotten fired from jobs in past seasons, so we’ll see how this continues… I also think the story about her sister’s birthday was a 100 percent LIE.

And of course, what we all were waiting for. The big fight between Jordan and Nia. Jordan comes home from the bar hammered so Nia finds this to be the perfect opportunity to eff with him. Again, I don’t understand. SOMEONE EXPLAIN HER INTENTIONS TO ME. I agree with Marlon; I think she likes Jordan, likes to flirt with him and just wants to sound like a bad bitch and say she’s messing with him. Another question I have is, do you think he really has a small you-know-what or is Nia just saying that? I have to wonder!

Anyway, Nia is all over Jordan when he gets home and keeps coming in and out of his room while he’s laying down, more flirting and egging him on. At one point, she tells him to just “keep his hand in his pocket” when he’s out and he’ll be fine picking up girls. Annnd that’s where she hits the nerve. The roommates (and I agreed) previously thought that Jordan’s insecurities weren’t about his hand. But when Nia made that comment, he looked shocked and hurt and there really was no Jordan-esque comeback like there has been to most of her shenanigans. I was very surprised by his reaction and thought her comment was out of line. But plenty got out of line…

Jordan spits popcorn in Nia’s face and apparently that just sets her off. She storms out and back to her room and what do you know, he follows her. The fight blows up with Nia threatening to hit Jordan with a lamp (?)…her crazy starts to come out. She starts freaking out about him coming in her room when she’s trying to sleep when…wait, didn’t she just do that to him? Yep. While Marlon is trying to break up the fight, Jordan starts to make monkey noises at Nia, and it just blows up even more from there. In my opinion, neither is more at fault than the other. They both crossed the line (with the hand comment and the monkey noises) and they both just took it too far. It looks like next week Marlon is yelling at Jordan for the racist actions, but in my opinion, the hand comment was just as bad! Why can she say cruel, hurtful things to him about the way he was born but he can’t?

Surprisngly (and randomly), I’m starting to like Anastasia. She still wears too much horrendous makeup for my taste, but she seems to be the voice of reason lately. There’s my random tidbit on her.

What did you think of last week’s episode (once again, I’m late…my bad)? Do you think Nia’s book idea is a good one? Do you think she’s a golddigger? Who did you think was to blame for the blowout between Nia and Jordan? Let me know your thoughts!

Real World Portland: Hot Air Jordan

Based on the title of this week’s episode of The Real World, I could guess there was going to be some drama with Jordan. The major points of this episode was the Jordan drama and Marlon’s big secret (which was the most obvious secret we could have guessed for reality TV…no offense to Marlon or anything).

Jordan’s big fight was with Jessica regarding how much is enough to raise a family on. Jessica claimed her mom didn’t work and her dad made $50,000 per year, which bought their family a nice, two-story house and put her and her brothers and sisters through college. Although Jordan was very aggressive and could have come off pretty rude to some, I’m on his side with this point for the most part. I wouldn’t consider $50K low-class, but I do think he’s absolutely right when he says she didn’t really know how much her dad made. Either that, or the family was getting money other ways, whether it be from government assistance or whatever else. These two also had a stupid argument over whether hookah or cigarettes are worse for you, which in my opinion went on way too long. haha They are both obviously stubborn (especially Jordan), and that fight was a ridiculous one.

I’m curious to know others’ opinions on Jordan, because he’s obviously the big instigator in the house. I feel like I’m a bit biased because I want to like the cast member from my own state (haha), but what do you guys think? Has he crossed the line? In my opinion, he’s very opinionated and blunt and that can come off very douchey at times. He seems like someone who can get annoying quick, but at the same time, I think he seems like a smart guy and the points he’s arguing aren’t stupid or wrong.

Next up, Marlon’s big secret. I’d heard Marlon had a big secret, and when there were no gay roommates right away, I figured his secret had something to do with him being gay or bisexual. Ding ding ding! I was right. It wasn’t exactly what I thought; Marlon revealed that after college, he had sex with a guy, but he insists he’s not gay. It’s definitely a double standard, but guys experimenting with guys are viewed as much more likely to be homosexual than girls experimenting with girls. Like the girls in the house, I do find it strange that Marlon has never been in a serious relationship with a woman. I assume he’s slept with women because of how the girls say he’s acted out in the bars, but I guess we don’t really know yet. When the girls were in the confessional rattling off questions (Was he black or white? How old was he? How did they meet? Were they dating? How’d it happen?), I was dying! So much curiosity and questions that they felt couldn’t be asked outright. Hilarious.

On another note, Johnny and Avery finally/already had sex, depending how you look at it. haha I love how she was telling her grandma she wasn’t going to sleep with him right away, then managed to sleep with him what I assume was within the next few nights (who knows with editing though?). Avery seems pretty worried that Johnny is going to “hit it and quit it,” but he seems very genuine to me and seems to like her. And he’s doing it right, getting in good with Daisy! haha The fact that Avery said “I’m not going to fall in love in three months” on the first episode makes me think these two get more serious than they (and we) think they might.

What did everyone think of this week’s episode? Do you think Jordan is too harsh or just honest? Were you shocked by Marlon’s secret? Do you think Johnny is genuinely interested in Avery?

Stop being polite…

I’ve gotten better about my trashy reality TV over the years (I no longer watch Jersey Shore and/or Snooki and JWOWW…it’s an improvement!), but I am a big Real World fan, as well as The Challenge, and I watch every season. I thought I’d incorporate that into my blog and post weekly reviews. Because last night was the season premiere, I’ll just get into the cast members and what I think of all of them. It’s only the first week so it’s hard to tell much, but these are just my first impressions!

Anastasia

My first thought on this girl was, “Way too much makeup.” WAY. TOO MUCH. She seems very fake and dramatic to me, but I might just be judging a book by its cover. Maybe she’ll surprise me though. I thought she was very overdramatic about the boys ranking the girls. Honestly, was she surprised? They’re boys! Also, it’s not like she’s an unattractive girl. Most of the guys seemed to find her attractive and she seems confident enough in herself so I don’t know what her problem is. I also found it awkward when the girls got involved in the boys kicking the girls out, but that was an asshole move on their part.

 

Avery

Avery is probably my favorite cast member thus far. Of course, it’s only the first episode, but I really like her a lot. She seems smart, independent and real, and I like that. It surprised me that I liked the Hooters girl the best! haha My only problem with her was at the club, she wore a halter dress with a regular bra. I’m a total girl when it comes to that and it bugs the crap out of me when girls’ bra straps show. They make strapless bras for a reason, girl! Overall though, I really, really like Avery. She seems like a really sweet girl with a good head on her shoulders! Those types rarely make it on reality TV. haha

 

Jessica

I feel like we didn’t see a lot of Jessica this episode (personality-wise…we saw plenty of her backside in that thong bikini haha), but she seems fine to me so far. She’s absolutely gorgeous and her southern accent makes her even cuter. Again, didn’t see much of her so I don’t have a lot to say, but she seems nice enough. I will say it was interesting how conservative/shocked she seemed by the burlesque dancers but had no problem showing off her bare butt in a thong bikini to six people she’d just met. Maybe she’s not as sweet and innocent as she seems!

 

Johnny

I also didn’t get much of a vibe from Johnny. It didn’t take long for him and Avery to start making out at the club (haha), but he seems like a nice guy. I feel like that northeastern accent has a bad connotation and makes me immediately think “douche bag,” but I definitely don’t want to judge him just by that! He seems like a nice enough guy.

 

 

Joi

My first impression of Joi was that she was insanely tall and beautiful. And I still feel that way. She seems like she has a strong personality and I like that so far. She was much less dramatic than Anastasia about the whole bringing-girls-home situation, while at the same time standing up for the girls. I liked her approach much better. haha I think I’ll like her this season.

 

 

Jordan

Now for the beginning of the season, I hate to admit I’ll probably be a bit biased. Jordan is from my home state of Oklahoma so I’m pumped he’s on the show! He’s from Mustang, which is about 20 minutes away from where I am in Oklahoma City. I’ve heard him do a couple radio interviews with the local pop station here, and he seems like a cool enough guy. Unfortunately, based on this first episode and the trailers of what’s to come, I can see him getting on my nerves. He seems too aggressive at times and even though I don’t like Anastasia at all, the way he reacted to her having a boyfriend when he obviously had a crush on her was immature and childish in my opinion. In his radio interviews, he said he often has conflicts with Anastasia and Joi if I’m remembering correctly, and I have a feeling the conflicts with Anastasia have some bitterness behind them. I really want to like him and I really want him to represent Oklahoma well, but I think he’s going to come off like an asshole a lot of the time, unfortunately. At this point, I’m just glad he’s doesn’t live in a teepee, ride a horse to school or have an extremely closed mind like a lot of people think Oklahomans do. I can confidently tell you I’ve never seen a teepee, I’ve only ridden a horse in Colorado (ironically) and we’re not all 100 percent conservative and close-minded. haha I’ll step off my soapbox for the sane Oklahomans now. Moving on…

Marlon

Last but not least is Marlon. He also seems a like a cool guy for the moment, but as we know, that all can change. haha I find him running around the house showing girls his penis a bit weird, but maybe that’s just not something I’m used to. haha I read in some comments on MTV.com that he apparently has some huge secret that’s going to come out this season so that should be interesting. I don’t have much to say about him so far. I don’t love him or hate him. He seems fine. That’s all.

 

 

 

I do still have some lingering questions though:

1. Where’s Nia and when/why does she come in? Usually, when a roommate is sent home and replaced, they don’t ruin it in trailers, but as we’ve seen, Nia is too crazy to hide. haha Like I mentioned, I assume someone gets sent home or chooses to leave. My boyfriend and my first guess was Anastasia. She seems to hate Jordan and Marlon so far (mostly Jordan) and I could see her getting fed up/overdramatic and deciding to leave Angelina-style. However, I’d read some stuff (also on MTV.com) that Joi is the one to leave, which I find interesting. I wonder if it’s her choice or what happens. Hmmm. Guess we’ll find out.

2. I’m wondering if anyone has bisexual tendencies that we don’t know about yet. It seems like every season, there’s a gay roommate and if there’s not, one comes out as bisexual or with an interesting past. We’ll see if any of these roommates have interesting situations like we’ve seen in the past.

Overall, I’m excited for the season! What are everyone’s thoughts on the roommates so far?