The Complex: Malibu, Episode 4: A Hard Day’s Night

After the eviction ceremony, Sam and Scotty, and Steve and Nicole return to Upper Complex to lick their wounds. Steve and Nicole are feeling particularly defeated, as well they should. Sam thinks they need to start thinking “out of the box,” and Scotty agrees, commenting that the only option they have is to “go for broke.” Meanwhile, Lower Complex pops a bottle of champagne and is celebrating once again. Or, at least some of them are celebrating. As Brad and Lew revel in the fact that their unit came in first, again, Rose thinks this is “no big deal.” Lew knows that the gruesome twosome are not really their team members and are really their enemies. Rose tells us that, when she first got there, she wanted to win for her children and grandchildren. Now, however, she wants to win "just to stuff it in their (Brad and Lew’s) faces.” Nice. My fondest wish is to see these two evicted in humiliating fashion.

Anyway, we begin anew. This week, the couples will tackle the living rooms. The budget is $14,000, plus any rollover, and they have five days to complete the task at hand. Actually, the living room is probably the easiest room to do, since there are no appliances or fixtures to consider. They select their property managers - Lower complex nominates Ana again, and Steve will take the job for Upper. “Let’s start rockin’ and rolling.” Brad and Lew are going to keep it simple this week, but Scotty is freaking out, thinking that they are going to do something elaborate. His vision is to “bring in a little taste of Georgia” by building pillars! Oh no. Ana wants to keep the ocean as the centerpiece. Good idea. Barney wants to put in some kind of “ripply thing like a waterfall” on the wall. “They’ve got some bee-you-tee-full ones out there,” he declares. Dave recognizes that there’s a whole, big ocean out there, and doesn’t think that they need a waterfall. Why not bring in some plastic pink flamingos while you’re at it? Rose gets mad and goes out to the deck, and Barney tells her that if she walks out on him, he isn’t going to do a thing. This actually could be a good thing. She tells us that when they were first married, she used to listen to him but, now, she doesn’t want to be told what to do. They start arguing, and I just want to tell her to put a sock in it!

While the battle of the bulge continues downstairs, the couples in the Upper Complex are actually planning out what they are going to do. Steve and Nicole realize that it is now or never for them, and Nicole wants to make sure her room is perfect. Steve doesn’t want to get overly complex, though, so they focus on buying a TV. I guess we all have our priorities. Finally, they all get to work, ripping and tearing, and getting their frustrations out. Steve thinks this is “almost better than sex.” Nicole takes offense to this statement!

Dave and Barney are going shopping for furniture and flooring. This is most definitely not a good thing. I cringe to think of what they will come home with. Of course, they get lost. Meanwhile, Rose and Ana are butting heads. Rose isn’t contributing physically or coming up with ideas. Barney is all excited about the couch, and Ana, having hideous visions of Barney’s selection, gets the hiccups. She tells us that she always gets hiccups when she sees furniture that she hates!

Scotty and Sam are now calling Steve and Nicole their “Seabiscuit!” Neigh! Steve tells us that they have a motto that they are going to win, and are going to “bust tail” to do so. But there’s trouble brewing. Steve tells us that he doesn’t get to see much of “nice Nicole” anymore, and ensures further angst by putting up some weird frame on the wall. Meanwhile, stupid (his words, not mine) Barney breaks the last board on the floor. Brad and Lew go off to buy their own flooring, and Barney asks them to pick up a piece for him. But the guys get distracted by a box of sleeping kittens and forget Barney’s wood. Barney thinks this is suspicious. Brad and Lew don’t think this is such a big deal, but Barney is calling this a conspiracy. Whatever.

Nerves are wearing thin. Sam thinks the trim is off, and insists that Scotty redo it. Ana brings back some oriental items, and Rose accuses her of “pulling a Lew and Brad.” “You’re not doing oriental in here,” she tells Ana while tossing one of the items back into the bag. Ana tells us that Rose and Barney seem to have a phobia about Brad and Lew.

Meanwhile, upstairs, Steve is doing all the work while Nicole is out shopping. Sam seems to be getting more shopping done than Nicole, and Steve hopes that Nicole will start to get it together and buy some stuff for their place. Nicole seems to have lost it, actually. She isn’t at all focused, and is so paranoid about losing again that she is frozen in inaction. This is a bad spot to be in, and I can’t say that I blame her, but Steve is not happy having to do all the work plus keeping an eye on what she is doing.

In Lower complex, Barney opens the door and, voila, it’s the furniture! Hooray! It’s all glass and curves and bizarreness. Ana says Dave has such bad taste, and doesn’t even bother to comment on Barney’s predisposition to tackiness. This is the kind of junk that people with no class think is high class! “Designer pieces,” Barney calls them. Ana had the vision for this place – white, blue and simple. This room is going to be the joke of all time!