The promised twist occurred last night on the 'Next Joe Millionaire'. As you no doubt know, many reality shows now have a 'twist', something unexpected that happens during the course of a show which peaks audience interest and sometimes brings in new viewers. This was made popular by the ever changing 'Paradise Hotel' and most recently experienced on 'Survivor'. Now, I’m all for twists. I think a twist can make an otherwise boring show more watchable. It can inject new life into a show, making you see it with fresh eyes.
In Joe Millionaire 2’s case, however; I think it’s too little, too late. I have never been invested in any of these girls, nor David. I don’t really care who he selects; in fact, I really wish the show would be put to death, quickly and painlessly. Instead, we get not one, but two episodes a week of catty, materialistic European women fighting over country bumpkin David. Introducing a twist did nothing to make me like this show any better.
The fact that Olinda, the only halfway interesting person there (for the 99% of you who don’t watch this show, Olinda is a Blondie (as in Debra Harry, not the comic strip girl) clone with a personality to match – she was great!) was sent packing last week was the last nail in the coffin, at least for me. I quickly tired of David accidentally exposing his modest background and all the women put together, with the exception of Alessia and Olinda, had less personality than a rock. I kept expecting fireworks when someone was sent packing, but there were rarely even sparks. Most of the women were merely polite.
I was really hoping the twist involved Olinda, or to a lesser extent, Alessia, who was at least funny. But no, the twist occurred when shy, easily intimidated Linda, who actually requested to leave, decided she wanted to return. *yawn*. Again, for those of you who don’t watch the show, David was smitten by Linda, a Czech Republic beauty, the first time he clapped eyes on her. The other girls picked up on his interest and, being the catty women they are, made her life a tad miserable. Instead of flaunting her obvious appeal to David, she buckled under the pressure and scurried back to the Czech Republic. Or so we thought. She tells us that she got to the airport and realized that she really liked David and felt bad that she hadn’t told him why she was leaving and asked to return so she could explain. Call me cynical, but I’m guessing the possibility of eighty million dollars slipping through her fingers caused her attack of conscience.
So, David goes on dates with the three remaining women, Cat, Petra and Anique, then heads off to a ranch to recuperate. Enter Linda, who manages without too much trouble to win David around. Next, in Survivor-like fashion, he quickly bids Anique adieu and welcomes Linda back. Cat, who’s been in the catbird seat (sorry, couldn’t resist) is less than thrilled, while Petra seems genuinely happy to see Linda.
David’s date with Linda seemed forced and awkward, at least to me. She also pulled away when he tried to kiss her, even though Petra and Cat have been more than willing to get affectionate. I wonder if David will see this as a rejection or if he will want to get to know her better.
David seems to be cracking under the pressure of the farce, to the point that he broke down and cried at the thought of duping these women. Perhaps he will select someone who he sees as not being that invested in him and would perhaps take the knowledge that he's not a millionaire easier. Maybe he will select someone who he feels truly likes him for him, to the point that they won’t mind that he lied to them. Repeatedly.
We will have to wait until next week to find out. Until then, the return of Linda, while not a bombshell, has certainly been interesting. At least the inevitable ending of Cat winning and Petra losing is no longer as certain as I once thought. And, if last night's preview of next week really happens and isn't just editing, I'll at least have a little something to look forward to other than the show ending.
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