As confusing at that title might sound, the whole trust/fear mishmash on last night’s episode of Make It or Break It wasn’t all that much clearer. Each time another trust/fear moment occurred, my wife called out the appropriate catch-word, and we enjoyed another laugh. Because by the end it was getting a bit silly no?
Nevertheless, I actually enjoyed much of the non-competitive drama that engulfed us during the episode. Although it was cliche for every imaginable obstacle to next week’s China meet/season finale to be thrown in the girls’ path, the balance this show needs to maintain between gymnastics and “other” means that everything relevant this season needs to be out of the way in time for the competition to take us into the hiatus. From that perspective, Make It or Break It did a great job.
I loved the fact that Lauren got frozen out — as she put it — during the China meet. My guess is she had a misconception about why though, since I’d say it would have had less to do with The Rock and more to do with how disgusting of a person she is. And I’ve been trying to keep in mind a lot of what you’ve all been saying about her while I watch what she does, but I just don’t see the positive, or the attempts at improving herself. I simply see her being really horrible to everyone around her. And I feel no sympathy for her lot in life.
Anyway, I wonder how accurate her perception was about the trip. It’s like the famous 1985 NBA All Star Game, when Michael Jordan, fresh off of unprecedented fame and popularity, claimed to have been frozen out by more established players like Isiah Thomas and Magic Johnson. Was he really, or did he just think that he deserved more passes and respect than he got because of an inflated ego? Sure he ended his career as the greatest to ever play the game, but in 1985, mid-way through his rookie season, was he quite the player he saw in his own head?
Either way, I am disappointed that the situation in China, including her last place finish, lines Lauren up to compete in The Rock’s meet. Not just because I dislike her, and it would have been great to be rid of her for a little while longer, but also because, as I said last week, if Sasha really wants to prove his girls are better than the six USA National gymnasts that went to China, he needs to use all fresh faces. No matter how much she sucked in China, the National Committee can point to Lauren as the reason for The Rock’s success against China if the club does succeed. It kind of undermines Sasha’s entire point.
I was never that impressed with her leadership qualities before, but did it occur to you that last night Kaylie was prepared to abandon her team for her championship title, while Emily was ready to forego her scholarship money to be there with them? The team is in desperate need of Payson, and I hope that the indication we got that she’s overcoming her fears is not going to be reversed anytime soon.
I’m not sure what Kaylie and her mom expected from Alex … Ronnie cheated on him with their daughter’s coach, and now he wants a divorce. Can you blame him? I would expect him to have a bit more patience for Kaylie, even if she did keep this all a secret from him, and I definitely was surprised that he didn’t so much as hug her when she knocked on his door. But letting what Ronnie did go? Why should he?
Not-Razor continued to be annoying last night, but we did get a peak at the meth-head boss that we were all wondering about the last week or two. I liked seeing Sasha finally learn about Emily’s double life, and him confronting her at The Pizza Shack. It will be interesting to see how he keeps her at The Rock once she loses her scholarship money. Does that mean Chloe will have to prostitute herself to Steve?
This being TV, Kaylie of course had to walk in on Lauren and Carter at the worst possible moment, but there’s nothing about the situation that she should accept as being okay. As soon as Lauren didn’t tell her about it, or even as soon as Carter accepted the place to live while continuing to pursue Kaylie, both he and Lauren should have effectively shot their chances at Kaylie ever speaking to either one of them again.
None of these kids are going to be in the right mindset to pull out next week’s meet. Not unless Peeson (love it!) Keeler steps up her coaching. Rock on!
Clacked by Aryeh S.
on Mar 02, 2010 @ 10:05 EST5EDT
It’s all well and good to despise Lauren, but you do realize your perception of the events in Beijing as being opposite to what she described is baseless fantasy formed from your own prejudices, don’t you? We have been told absolutely nothing else about the meet. This show is anything but subtle, and if the truth were anywhere close to what you suppose, the writers would have bashed our heads in with it, as always.
Sasha’s point has always been the Kaylie and Emily rightfully belonged in the top six, not that all six of his girls were superior to the ones the National Committee picked. The point of his campaigning has been to place those two on the team as well, not a total swap-out, although the other three Rock girls will doubtlessly benefit from the increased exposure.
Poor earnest, credulous, dumb Sasha. He looked like a kicked puppy when he discovered Emily’s betrayal of his trust.
I didn’t realize the China showdown was the season finale. No wonder the last few episodes have seemed to drag on endlessly.
*POST AUTHOR*
I’m not sure what conclusions I’m drawing about the China meet other than what we were told. I’m just using Lauren’s “frozen out” description and trying to apply a reason for it beyond … nothing. We weren’t given any reason why the other five girls would have frozen her out, so it’s really speculation on her part and on mine. Her limited speculation, at least as implied, was that it was a Rock thing. I think it’s a Lauren thing. You can’t ignore the fact that Kelly Parker hates Lauren, and has a leader personality, which means if she hates Lauren the rest of the team likely does too. That’s all I’m saying.
I’m not arguing that Sasha thinks he has six girls that are better than the six that went to China, but in order to compete in a meet he needs to put six girls up there. If Lauren has already earned a place in the National team six, he is left with Kaylie and Emily, as you say. But Sasha is not the National team coach, meaning he can’t say what two people Kaylie and Emily deserve to replace. Instead, he needs to just prove they belong by putting on this meet. This is a showcase for them, but he’d also like to field a team that could beat China, unlike the team that just lost to China. So wouldn’t you imagine that he’d pick six girls from his gym, including Kaylie and Emily, and put them up against China, in a “this six can do what that six that the National team chose can’t” sort of way? So how could he do that if “this” six and “that” six both include Lauren?
I’m not sure if I’m explaining myself well, but I guess that’s because it just makes no sense to me intuitively that Lauren would be able to be on both teams of six that both faced China. Not that Sasha’s six should replace the National team six, but that his six, led by Emily and Kaylie, can do what the National team’s six, led by Kelly Parker and including Lauren, couldn’t. How could Lauren compete on both of those teams? No? Doesn’t that not make sense?
The problem is that you’re the only one putting forward the “this six can do what that six that the National team chose can’t” question. No one on the show is framing the comparison on all six members, just The Rock loadout versus the National one. The USA had chosen six from the National team, while Sasha put forward the three he had, plus three lesser ranked gymnasts. The idea that the ragtag rogue crew could equal or exceed the performance of the elite selection calls the National Committee’s judgment into question to give Kaylie and Emily a fighting chance, especially if they do well individually. Lauren’s presence doesn’t automatically invalidate the comparison. Finally, Sasha’s not choosing the two to replace, just making sure his girls’ abilities are being fairly considered.
*POST AUTHOR*
Didn’t the finale solidify that Sasha saw it as his squad against the National Team’s, not just a showcase for his girls?
Yes, it’s all for Kaylie and Emily and them being snubbed, but Sasha had to field a group of six. I’m not sure how you can interpret this as anything other than one squad competing against the record of the other, even if just by default. It has to be, no?
I didn’t see it that way, but I already deleted the episode off the DVR, so I can’t specifically check your point; you could always be right. I do remember clearly the commentators saying that the National Committee had a lot of explaining to do, so Sasha did end up making his point.
Of course, when motivating his team, Sasha has to speak in us versus them terms. The specificities of the organizational politics and maneuvering and how Lauren exactly fits into the mix don’t exactly lend themselves to easy cheers and catchphrases. ;) The media were basically authorial mouthpieces there, stating exactly what the audience was supposed to take away from the loss/win. And three American national gymnasts still beat out six, even if one of them (the weakest performer) was the same.
I just realized that the new article format makes it much harder to keep up a conversation in the comments. Before the change, when I submitted a comment, I would often see replies to earlier comments in other articles when the page refreshed. Now I don’t see anything until I return to the home page, so I almost missed your response here when it scrolled off the top five. Plus I only seem to be getting about one in four reply notification emails.
*POST AUTHOR*
I passed on your format comment. I hadn’t realized that that was the case. You could just always assume I’ll be disagreeing with you, which would save you from being unsure whether you should check….
I will surprise you here, however, by conceding this point. I think we’re arguing opposite halves of the same side of the coin. I hear what you’re saying.
Consider me duly surprised. ;)