‘The Real World Seattle: Bad Blood’ episode 5 review: Now we’re getting somewhere
In many ways, Wednesday night’s new episode of “The Real World Seattle: Bad Blood” was the show we felt like we were going to have back when MTV first decided to give the concept a green light. The entire cast of fourteen — which is a really big number for this show — were all finally living under the same roof, and what came out of that primarily was an opportunity for some people to do some healing, and for other people to fight and argue.
From a social standpoint, the most fascinating part of this was seeing how almost every relationship was different almost immediately. Anna and Katrina, as sisters, have one of the most interesting dynamics. Even though they may dislike each other, there’s this weird sort of protective energy there that comes with their blood tie. Katrina is already suspicious of the bond between Anna and Peter, and took it upon herself to get involved. Maybe you can argue that it is sabotage, but on the flip side, she’s probably just wary of some reality-show hookup threatening to get in between why she was put on the show in the first place. Having some guy in the middle of their relationship tips the scales.
On the flip side, there were some relationships that felt resolved in about five minutes. Peter was technically there because of his connection with Mike, and within about one conversation they were able to resolve most of their issues over some money Mike owed him. It felt almost like producers just wanted to get Mike on the show because they liked what they got the first time around, and this was it. There’s some potential with Anika and Will, mostly because it feels feels like the source of their conflict is still simmering underneath the surface.
Let’s stop beating around the bush here, though: This show is really all about Theo and Kassius, and we don’t mind it. These two easily have the harshest reason for discord and the longest road to fix it. There’s a difference between fighting with your family member you don’t have much in common with and feeling like someone is responsible for ruining your life. That’s what Theo feels towards his cousin in a battle of conflicting stories over what happened with pot in college. Every time we hear the story it feels almost like Theo’s what-if scenario gets more and more severe; next week, we almost expect him to say he would’ve been Tom Brady if the Kassius incident hadn’t caused him to lose his scholarship. We kid somewhat, but we understand where Theo’s coming from. We don’t know who’s being truthful, but if he does feel like his entire life is worse because of this incident, he’d obviously hold onto animosity, and it’d be a tough road to come back from. Seeing these two continue to be at odds in between their attempts to heal things should be compelling, largely because under no circumstance do we think that this is a conflict that will be patched up with duct tape and hold firm for an entire season. Theo realizes that he has to try to move forward, and for now that may be the most important thing.
When “The Real World” focuses on meaty conflicts like this and, you know, the word “Real” in the title, we love it. We don’t quite care so much watching people visiting the nearest club every episode and party. That feels like the same thing we’ve watched on MTV for the better part of 15 years. This is a show almost 95% about casting; while not every personality is compelling as of yet, we’re getting there. Grade: B+
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