Fiesta Time: Beauty and the Geek Goes to Mexico!
¡Olé! The remaining five teams headed to Mexico for a packed itinerary of margaritas, Mayan ruins, salsa lessons, and tequila-shot fueled gymnastics on the beach (yeah, Dave, we're talking to you!).
The beauties' challenge (playing a complicated version of Memory among the ruins) wasn't exactly entertaining to watch, but the geeks' salsa challenge more than made up for it. We loved watching Shay and Joshua practice together. Her good-natured, almost maternal manner with Joshua helps him step out his shell -- and step up the confidence. And Jasmine and Dave win for Most Improved; they're a far cry from the pair that barely listened to each other a few weeks ago. Now, Dave actually takes Jasmine's advice into account -- and it worked! He actually glowed when he won the salsa challenge.
The new scenery really did seem to liven up some of the teams. Everyone bonded at the tequila/quesadilla party... and Dave showed off some moves we didn't even see on the salsa floor. Plus, Jasmine spontaneously smooched him! How cute was that? She was right -- these guys don't usually get to interact with girls in a normal, flirty way, so that probably made his whole evening. Well, that and the surprise roundoff/handspring that he busted out. For once, Dave got to be the life of the party!
All the fun kind of soured, though, when we were reminded that William and Jen, the most toxic pair, was STILL AROUND. We're so tired of their bickering! Jen actually tried to make an effort, but William would have none of it. For someone that considers himself to be super-intelligent, he seriously lacks social smarts. We can't blame Jen for being frustrated.
That's why we found the final elimination so hard to take. Host Mike presented a surprise twist: the challenge-winning teams (Dave/Jasmine and Sam/Nicole) would be the ones to decide who went home. No quiz, no competition, nothing. Their decision to send John and Natalie, a close team that enjoys working together and has learned a lot, home over William and Jen, who have learned nothing and can't stand the sight of other, was a strategic move, pure and simple. But it had nothing to do with the spirit of Beauty and the Geek -- it's about learning from each other, gaining new sets of skills, and bonding. If the challenge winners had actually judged on that criteria like Nicole wanted them to, William and Jen would've been packing their bags. But Sam, focused solely on strategy and self-preservation, wouldn't listen to her, and ultimately he must've talked Dave and Jasmine into it, too. Wrong decision, if you ask us!
What did you think? Did you love watching the geeks bust a move on the dance floor? Do you think Natalie and John deserved another chance? And what about the unstoppable Sam and Nicole -- will they ever NOT win a challenge? Vote in the polls, and tell us all in the comments!
Comments
@Alex: I totally agree. This is B&TG, not Survivor. Christ.
Posted by: Zahara | November 7, 2007 10:47 PM
last nights elimination was crap. the whole point of the show is for teams to learn and grow, and eliminations should be based on that, not on other teams voting you out because you are a threat. if they were that big of a threat, doesnt that mean they were the best and had grown the most thus deserved to win or at least keep themselves on the game?
Posted by: alex | November 7, 2007 2:10 PM