Wickedly Perfect, Episode 8: Thumbs Up

Previously on Wickedly Perfect: Mitch (AKA Agent Pope) joined Team Artisan, but promised the Crafty Beavers that he was going over as a spy. The teams competed in an estate sale challenge. Kimberly and Mitch butted heads. Artisan “violated the rules” of the challenge, though it didn’t seem to be intentional, as the previews and Joan Lunden’s voiceover led us to believe. The Beavers proved to be strong without Mitch and won the estate sale challenge. Kimberly and Dawn faced the chopping block and Kimberly went to the Designer Dungeon.

Mitch and Dawn are having a midnight snack in the kitchen just after last week’s Garden Guillotine. Mitch can’t believe we’re already to the final five. Dawn doesn’t like to think about it since it makes her nervous. Dawn knows that they’re at the point in the game where people she likes and respects are going home.

Day 21 at the Domestic Domicile. The final five perfectionists gather and Joan joins them. She tells them that they’ve found a vacant lot and divided it in half for the teams to landscape and turn into community parks. Here to help are… the eliminated perfectionists. Bless you, producers. Welcome back, Tom, Michelle, Mychael, Tim, Margo, Denise, and Kimberly! Each team gets to choose who they want on their team. Artisan chooses first, since there are only two of them – they choose Tim first. Mitch says that they wanted Tim for his carpentry skills and because they needed another guy.

As the Beavers contemplate their choices, we flash back to Darlene and Tom butting heads in the first episode. They whisper about who to take and Darlene says that she just can’t work with Tom. Heather says they need a man, and though Darlene continues to object, Heather announces that they’ll take Tom. He good-naturedly gives Darlene a hug.

Artisan picks Kimberly. Mitch says he let Dawn make the decision because it didn’t matter to him. The Beavers take Denise. Good choice. Artisan takes Michelle. The Beavers take Mychael, which leaves Artisan with Margo. So, to sum up, Team Artisan consists of Michelle, Kimberly, Dawn, Margo, Mitch, and Tim. The Crafty Beavers consist of Darlene, Mychael, Tom, Heather, Denise, and Amy.

The teams must put a meditation area and a picnic spot in their portions of the lot. Individual projects will be a topiary. They have 24 hours to do everything and they all get to shop online at Sears.com. Their budgets are $5,000 each. But wait – there’s more! If a returning contestant on the winning team has the best individual project, that person gets to stay. If not, he or she is out for good.

Sidebar: I’m not that familiar with the Survivor Outcasts twist, and I know that some people – including Jeff Probst – hated that twist. I personally love it here. Some of these people were eliminated based on personal reasons rather than skill, and they deserve a second chance to prove themselves. Also – and I’ll admit it – I totally want to see Denise win. Having her back is awesome. Having Tom back is awesome, because he’ll make things fun. Having Tim back is awesome because, well, he’s awesome. Having Margo, Mychael, Michelle, and Kimberly back is awesome because they’ll either help their teams or cause problems, and either one can make for good TV. So I’m thrilled with this twist.

Okay, back to the show. Mychael is happy to be back and have a chance to prove herself again. The Beavers shop for tools online. At 1 p.m., everyone loads up to go see the lot. Joan tells us that the lots are identical, and neither team can see the other’s. Both teams receive lumber, a bulldozer, and “assorted vegetation.” The teams seem optimistic about what they can do with their space.

Dawn has experience with this sort of thing, so she’s not worried. Mitch says that if he or Dawn loses, they’re both automatically up for elimination and the other four Artisan members get to vote them off. That’s also awesome. Over on the Beavers’ side, Amy says that she thinks she can win everything. Heather suggests a theme of a “tranquil escape.” Dawn says that they’re creating a pond. She talks to the bulldozer driver about digging 18 inches to two feet in two hours, but he doesn’t think he’ll be able to do it.

Tim gets to work on being a carpenter. Tom suggests a pagoda, which the other Beavers like. Heather doesn’t think it’ll be too hard. Amy says that it’s taking a long time to get started, since everyone has so many ideas. She says that she’s turning into a leader, but she doesn’t want that role in this game. Now people are asking her opinion, and she says she can handle it, but she’s not sure she wants that.

At 5 p.m., with 19 hours left, Mitch says that 24 hours is pushing it. Michelle reminds us that to stay, she has to have the best topiary. Kimberly says that she’s had some license to do what she wants with the carpentry stuff. Mitch thinks that she’s transformed herself because she realizes that only has one more chance. Tim builds something (I think he calls it a pergola, but maybe he was saying “padoga”) to go over the meditation area, but he mentions feng shui and I tune out.

Darlene is building a picnic table, though she’s never done one before. She at least thinks she can do it. Heather tells Darlene that she’s going to work on the pagoda and if she doesn’t feel comfortable with the table, she should wait. Darlene seems to be figuring it out. She says that power tools are like a bigger version of a sewing machine and the wood is like fabric, so she thinks she can do it. I love that Darlene is so positive. I would cry if she were always saying, “I can’t do this! Someone else do it for me!”