Originally aired on Tuesday, August 8, 2006
Episode Rating: *** (3 stars out of 5)
Episode Overview: As this season of THE REAL WORLD winds down, milestones are reached and bridges are built for the return to the actual real world.
Episode Highlights:
- Svetlana is no longer a teenager; she has her twentieth birthday and a visit from her boyfriend, Martin.
- Paula has to make a confession to her mother.
- Paula also has her final visit to her Key West therapist, and they're both happy to see all her progress.
Recap:
The baby of the house is growing up. Svetlana Shusterman is having her twentieth birthday. Her boyfriend, Martin, is heading down to the Key to visit her and THE REAL WORLD house. She is nervous; Martin is a quiet, reserved guy, and she's afraid her outgoing roommates, with their outsized and occasionally confrontational personalities, will overwhelm him.
But it's not all anxiety; Janelle Casanave and she sit down to also happily plan some birthday festivities. Janelle and Svetlana have grown closer since they had a sit-down to air out their differences, and Janelle wants to be sure she makes Svetlana's birthday special. Svetlana spells out some very specific requests for her birthday cake.
Meanwhile, Paula Meronek has a difficult task ahead of her. She had kept her continued relationship with her ex-boyfriend Keith a secret from her family, because of the abusive episode when he put her in the hospital. She knows, though, that her time on MTV's THE REAL WORLD is about to come to an end, and she'll have to go back to the ACTUAL real world shortly. She can't continue to keep these two parts of her life separate, so she writes a long e-mail to her mother to explain the situation, and sends if off with nervous anticipation of her mother's reaction.
The other castmates are anticipating the arrival of Martin. When Janelle tells Tyler Duckworth that Svetlana is worried about Martin's reaction to THE REAL WORLD roommates, Tyler wonders aloud if he should "gay it up" for Martin. (This involves, apparently, shimmying and jazz hands.) Svetlana walks by in the midst of their scheming and gets a sense that they are planning something.
The next day, Paula gets a response from her mother. Her mother's response shows she is understanding and has the utmost faith in Paula to make the right decision. Paula is so relieved; she was not anticipating such a positive response, and she forwards it to Keith so that he can share her happiness.
Happiness is in store for Svetlana as well. Martin arrives and she's thrilled to see him. Svetlana has been the most put-upon in the house by the other roommates, and you can sense that in addition to her feelings for Martin, she's also probably just relieved to have someone there who loves her and is on her side.
Svetlana warns him that the roommates might be plotting something, but it all turns out to be rather anti-climatic. When introduced, Tyler shakes Martin's hand with a limp wrist and that's about it. Ultimately - although he's pudgier and younger than they anticipated - the roommates think that Martin is a pretty cool person, low-key and laidback. They realize that is exactly why he and Svetlana are together: Martin is able to mellow out her occasionally high-strung nature.
Paula takes her last trip to therapy, where she and her therapist recount the numerous ways she improved since she first came to see him. She's stopped nervously picking at the scabs on her arms, because, she says, she's no longer picking on herself emotionally either. She doesn't miss her excessive drinking, and she says she's finding a healthier relationship with food. (She must be a naturally very skinny person because she's still very very thin.) She gives her therapist a shot glass inscribed "Paula's Bar" as a remembrance, since was his exhortation "No shots!" that started her on the path she is on now.
Later she recounts the visit to John Devenanzio and Tyler, and John - who's had the bear some of the worst "Paulie Walnuts" outbursts - is genuinely happy to see her progress through the time in Key West.
That night, the roommates all get together to celebrate Svetlana's birthday. Not content to let her off easy, they play a little joke on her by first presenting her with a sloppy-looking cake that is nowhere near her specifications. She's a good sport about it, but obviously happy to see the better one a little later.
As their time on THE REAL WORLD winds down, this set of roommates seems to be coming together, and putting conflicts aside to focus on the positives. We'll have to tune in next week to see if they are able to dredge up any drama for the final episode or if this increasingly tight-knit bunch will make it off the Key as good friends.
-BuddyTV Staff Columnist