TV Review: Average Joe - Page 2

She has also developed a crush on the Joe everyone assumed would probably end up with her, Zach - because he's the "good looking" Average Joe who unfortunately manages to hide his true callous nature to win points with the wide-eyed Melana, even after having been informed of it specifically by other Joes. You know he's been hand-picked for exactly this role - his "averageness" is less his looks and more because of his grating, two-faced personality. The kind of guy who got a lot of girls because he was decent looking and could render cheesy lines with a sincere face, Zach probably lost just as many because, basically, he's an ass.

What's most disheartening is that the truly average Joes really opened themselves up to Melana, serenading her with heartfelt, if badly sung, ballads, revealing embarrassing truths about themselves, awkwardly fawning over her and in general showing why they truly are geeks. And then they were eliminated. If anything, this shows how impossible it is for these two "types" of people to come together. The Joes know no better than to be honest and open, but the less-average ones know that you'll get farther by being, if not outright dishonest, at least more evasive.

In another twist, in last night's episode, Melana dresses up in a very effective fat-suit and makeup to question the four remaining contestants who thought she was Melana's cousin. The questions mattered little, it was the reaction to "fat Melana," unknowingly caught on hidden cameras, that would be the deciding factor. As the four remaining men gathered after their individual interviews, Zach, who she revealed she'd been falling for, made some particularly rude remarks about the fat cousin. This is, remember, the first time Melana has seen him outside of her own encounters with him and she is shocked at his comments.

The Joes are confronted with the fat cousin one more time, where she reveals that she has heard all they said, to which Zach cowers, hiding his face in his hands as she peels off the prosthetics to reveal the real Melana underneath. While we're all supposed to be shocked at all this, I couldn't help think about the irony - here she is judging these guys on their reactions to her fat "cousin", yet she herself barely even gave the "fat Joes" a chance.

More can be made, perhaps, of the differences between classes of people than anything else in the show. Many of the Joes complimented each other on their successes and consoled each other on their failures in an odd show of solidarity and, more surprisingly, they often would compliment their competitors right to Melana, as if to say that by helping one of their number, you help all. There was a sort of charm in seeing elegant Melana accompanying awkward geeks and giving them an opportunity to show her that not all in love is based on looks.

Article Author: Tom Johnson

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