The Real World: Key West, Episode 3: The Girl with Issues

Last week: Janelle, John, Jose, Paula, Svetlana, Tyler, and Zach moved into a brand spankin’ new house in the Katrina style newly-formed city of Key West. Paula, who has admitted as being “a little” bulimic, went a little crazy after John said some not-nice comments about her weight.

We start out with me complaining. Don’t you hate how The Real World starts earlier than the times that they say they do? I set my recorder four minutes ahead and I still don’t get most of the beginning. Ugh…

Anyway, Tyler apparently said something mean to Svetlana (my guess is about her boobs, or her being Russian because he’s obsessed with those two traits) and she gets upset at him about it. She doesn’t understand why he chooses to talk down to her. Through the next part of the conversation it seems as if Svetlana was feeling bad for Paula because she felt Paula’s problem was deeper than she originally thought. She says it hurts even more because Svetlana knows she’s not going to tell her.

So I guess it’s not about Svetlana’s boobs.

Janelle says they can’t turn a blind eye to her issues. Janelle wonders if it’s drugs (?!) or family issues. Svetlana thinks it could be issues with her dad. Tyler thinks she just got drunk which they say didn’t happen because she only had two beers.

Janelle says that all of this scares her which Svetlana says is what she’s been saying the whole time. John says everyone sitting around will not solve anything. He interviews that Paula’s problems go deeper than anyone is able to help with.

Paula interviews that when she drinks too much she cries and her insecurities come out. The worst part is that she felt out of control. She hates that because she is the oldest person in the house and she was the only one who couldn’t keep it together. She feels like she needs to apologize to everyone. There are shots of her kayaking and she looks extremely thin.

Jose comes out and talks to Paula. He tries to reassure her about last night. Paula feels doomed because she thinks everyone has judged her as “Girl with issues.” She tells him that when she’s sad she’s really sad and when she’s happy she’s really happy but there are no in betweens. That’s manic-depression, and that is probably a big cause for Paula’s weight issues. If she doesn’t feel good about herself on the inside she won’t feel good about herself on the outside.

Paula now talks with John about the night before. Paula says that it could have been repressed anger; it could have been being with people she didn’t know and that she’s supposed to hang around with them. She says in a confessional that the wrath of her fury fell on John and she doesn’t know why but she sees potential there. Whatever.

Tyler gets a warped pizza out of the oven. These people don’t know how to use dishwashers or ovens apparently. Next week the microwave will be the challenge for them. Zach tells Tyler that he’s lost three pounds since he’s been at the house, and Tyler doesn’t like the way people are eating around the house. Well, maybe if you could figure out how to make a frozen pizza, The Real World wouldn’t turn into Survivor in a big house. Tyler says that the gay community is so judgmental about each others’ bodies and Tyler does not want to be around that. It bothers him to be around people with that problem.

Tyler and Zach say that they are leaving at ten tonight for a party. Zach says that he has never been to a gay club before. They are in Key West and it’s Studio 54 night so he thinks it’s going to be awesome.

Paula tells Svetlana that she doesn’t want to go to the gay club. John walks in and says he’s going, and when she says she isn’t he wants to know why not. Paula thought that he wasn’t, and originally that was true but now he wants to go out. Svetlana interviews that she doesn’t want to go to the gay bar because she pictures really young boys hooking up with really older men. I really have no comment for that. It stands alone.

Paula then turns it on Svetlana saying that she’s disappointed in her. She asks Svetlana, what if they’re older, and she says that’s fine. Tyler comes in and John wants him to put Svetlana’s fears to rest. Before she says it, she wants Tyler not be mean to her, and then she voices her strange concern. She says something about she doesn’t like when they’re really young and they haven’t been exposed too much and she wants to shelter them. He says that that is really caring of her. I guess, in a twisted sort of way. He thinks that’s a problem in bigger metropolitan areas. John interviews that it’s a gay bar, but what comes around gay guys it hot women.

They go to the bar, Aqua. There is a drag show going on and nobody expected that. John actually gets up and dances with them. He says he made a huge ass of himself, but he’ll try anything once.