Amish in the City, Episode 6: I’ve Never Written a Recap Before in my Entire Life!

Hello again everyone, and welcome to the latest episode of the show where accusation has replaced Revelation, and the phrase “I’ve never seen that before in my whole life” is said more often than The Donald says, “You’re fired!” Our episode opens with Meagan and Mose chatting by the pool. Mose tells her that he will always wonder if there was something that could have been done that would have helped everyone get along better. He says the gap between the Amish kids and the city counterparts is so wide that it will be almost impossible to close. As he is speaking with Meagan, he is whittling away and he tells us in interview that he’s making handmade toys as gifts for the city kids in the hope that this will help them all part as friends. Meagan suggests that the problem may be all the idle time they spend just sitting around.

She may be on to something. The city kids (minus Kevan) gather together to loaf about and partake in their favorite pastime, calling Kevan a loser when they think he isn’t around. A frustrated Nick gets up and leaves the room, heading over to where the Amish kids are gathered together and partaking in their favorite time-killer – sharing farming anecdotes. Nick explains to us that living with the same people day in and day out has started to really get on his nerves. He is hungry for something - anything to do to get away from the same old voices. Miriam also voices the need to get out of the house and tells us that they all decided to go rock climbing at a gym. Last week it was Nick who decided to duck out of a group activity, but this week Ariel decides she needs some time to clear her mind and passes on the climbing expedition. As the group drives away and wonders what Ariel will do with her time, we see a short montage of her performing some yoga exercises in which she twists herself into positions that would leave a person my age in a body cast for months.

The group arrives at the gym and receives some rudimentary instructions in safety harnesses and equipment. Then they are paired off in the buddy system to begin their climbs. Ruth tells us she’s never done this before, but after some good-natured teasing from Whitney (“Do it for your boyfriend Marvin!), she makes a game effort. Miriam goes next, and fear begins to get the better of her. Despite Nick’s assistance from below and the support of the other houseguests, Miriam discovers at the halfway mark that she is afraid of heights and begins to freak out. “It was weird to trust somebody totally with the rope,” she tells us, “and know that even if I fall I’m not really gonna fall.” After she manages to get down safely, Nick makes short work of the course. The first one to understand the message behind the climbing is Mose who says, “I can see that you have to have a lot of faith to pair up with another to climb walls.” Ahh young grasshopper, the development of trust is indeed the lesson to be learned. Enter the odd couple. Kevan, through the luck of the draw, has been paired up with his chief nemesis and naysayer, Reese. Kevan, only half-jokingly, turns to Jonas and asks him to watch carefully because he doesn’t trust Reese to hold the ropes safely. “I asked Jonas to watch my back,” he says in interview, “because I didn’t want to get dropped on my neck from 25 feet up.” Despite his concerns, Kevan makes the climb and the even more important descent safely. “The more things we do like this,” he tells us, “eventually it will break down the barriers that have been set up (with Reese) at this point.”

That night at the house, Nick approaches Kevan and asks if he has spoken to Reese to try and iron out their differences. Nick doesn’t want things to become a huge feud and is trying to get the two men to resolve their differences in a friendly manner. Nick asks Kevan if the silent treatment Reese has been giving him is warranted and Kevan admits that he did say things to make Reese uncomfortable. We are shown a brief “reminder” clip from last week in which Kevan accused Reese of desiring him and projecting homosexuality onto Kevan to fuel that fantasy. Kevan then makes his case to Nick. “I’m accepting of any beliefs or religion… anything that doesn’t stand in my way or get pushed on me. It was starting to get pushed on me a little too much.” Nick acknowledges that it isn’t as simple as merely shaking hands and making up, although he wishes it could be.

The next morning, tube mail arrives that tells the guests to say goodbye to their luxurious lifestyles for a few days. They are headed for an unknown destination and the news sends everyone into screams of excitement and anticipation. Kevan hopes that the change of scenery will give everyone a chance to mend fences and Reese, quoting the “goodbye to the luxurious lifestyle” part of the T-mail wonders if it means he’ll have to live in a dumpster. Soon hiking backpacks arrive and the Amish kids relax, having spent a good deal of time camping and hiking. Nick is beginning to worry that they will be too far removed from civilization. “I hope it isn’t a cabin or something with no bathrooms,” he tells us, “’cause I’d hate to see what Mose smells like in the morning.”