Throwing Down the Gauntlet: Week 3

Quick thoughts on last night’s episode that once again gave us an hour’s worth of drama. Of course the big headline in the first half hour was the departure of dear, dear, Brooke (RW: Denver). Her crazy was on full display last night and it made her departure all the more tragic. From her meltdown on Johanna (RW: Austin) to her confusing, mixed messages she gave EV (Challenge: Fresh Meat), Brooke gave us a sample of what we’ll be missing over the next few weeks. Her statement to EV that she’d be perfect if she had a penis was down right mean and poor EV was so into Brooke that it flew right over her head. I mean seriously at the end EV is talking about how much she loves Brooke and looks forward to continuing their relationship off air but Brooke’s goodbye interview pretty much thanked EV for showing her what qualities she needs to find in a man. To paraphrase Coral’s (RW: New York) line of the night; “I’m not even sure if Brooke’s a real lesbian, or even really bisexual.” Lost in her departure was the fact that the Rookies lost another challenge to go 0-4 but truth is they don’t seem to mind as they’re trimming the fat, both literally and figuratively off their team.

If the first half hour belonged to Brooke, the second belonged to the men. First up the inevitable happened as the Vets finally lost a challenge. The Rookies quickly lost their momentum by arguing over who to send in. Evan (Challenge: Fresh Meat) was the eventual choice and poor poor Johnny (RW: Key West) was chosen to face him thanks to some stellar politicking by Brad (RW: San Diego) and the ever present CT (RW: Paris). Johnny was sent packing and he and booty call Casey (Challenge: Fresh Meat) had an appropriately shallow goodbye (EV could learn from them). The bigger drama though was the second male departure of the ep, as Tyrie (RW: Denver) chose to leave for a family emergency. Again this was probably a good loss for the Rookies who now are down to their best male competitors. Something tells me the tide is turning in favor of the young kids. Still waiting for the ticking time bomb that will be the Veteran women’s gauntlet….tick tick tick.