08/26 Show Discussion **Spoilers**

[Halloween_Jack]

a couple of things:

2)am i the only one who was really annoyed with andra for making the big twist all about her? what was with that?! "i'm the one who is being made a fool of on tv! not you!" um, he's dating a straight guy, andra, i think his problem is slightly bigger than yours.

It seems that Andra was the one who pushed James to do the show in the first place and through it, really canvassed for these three finalists. She feels very responsible for what happened, and she's worried that she'll appear a failure as a best friend. That is, people may say, "What kind of a best friend are you?"

James' mission in last night's episode changed. It was a very tough day for him, and the "mates" felt it from the types of questions he asked. I actually like Brian the most. It seems to me he's the most balanced even though he works in a nightclub in Los Angeles, a city whose major industry is fantasy (movies).

I would like to propose that some people who work in an environment full of pretension and image, actually look for the opposite in their personal life.

[ant]

brian was very sincere in this episode. not that he hasn't been. but at this poignant moment with james finding out the lies. he asked james so innocently about his choices as a leading man being a hardship. unbeknownst to poor brian related to james' reply. i could just see from brian's face like what is wrong with this mother - lol? you can tell that brian is a very good natured person. it was beautiful. i mean i'm not attracted to him physically, but wow he's got such inner beauty. until now i'm thinking about it. i guess i'm just a romantic.

wes of course the doll that he is. this boy can do no wrong. the brilliance of editing. the segment was choppy so you could tell that bravo's trying to suggest something to me, anyways. but i could see through it - lol. wes is my leading man for james. he's got such an infectious laugh.

the poor datees - wow bravo is really good with stirring drama. they scheduled the dates right after (just moments after) james knew about the twist. while it's still fresh in james' mind. he was good to have managed how he did. he's got that hr exec down to a tee.

and franklin he seems genuine with his efforts; although my vote is that he's the straight link, he seems educated and cultured with his motivations. have you noticed franklin's comments about his date were very vague. they weren't specific. and only a str8 boy would compare his date to a tennis match. i have to see what this boy's agenda is and bravo's right it's not about guarding the gay segment. if you think about it, it's boiled down to a bet. how disgusting is that? you can't justify that. you've seen all those cliches in the movies (with mostly about the ugly duckling), but in the cinema it ends happily ever after; however this is the gay twist. you can't end this at a gay note (pun intended).

[foody]

I have a feeling that whoever the straight guy is, his interaction with James will get the most camera time because that seems to be the purpose of the show...

Although I can see what you are saying about manipulating the edit time to the straight-guy, I'm not so sure that would be the wisest thing for this show. Mostly because it would be painful for us to watch lots of footage between two people who don't seem to have as much spark together. Whether Wes is straight or gay, he had the most 'exciting' scenes with James.... The footage they showed of Brian's date and Franklin's date was rather boring in content....no fires, no 'you thought I was gay, why?' moments, no talk of getting hurt/fears, no teasing remarks about the 'adventurous scale', etc. The most exciting moments for Franklin were the 'talk of how coped in high school' and the 'touching the wrist' moments. Brian's were the moments when he asked James about how he was feeling about his impending decision-making...

If Brian is the straight one, and they showed more footage of their sweet but ultimately noneventful date (conversation-wise), it just wouldn't work to the show's advantage, would it?

But you're right -- what makes the whole thing so intriguing is that WES is the super charming "on" guy that he is. If he's straight, it would be interesting. If he's the one James picks, it would be interesting. If he's the one James DOESN'T pick, it would still be interesting. I think they just spent more time with him b/c he gave the cameras the best footage.

[Rio Pacheco]

Although I can see what you are saying about manipulating the edit time to the straight-guy, I'm not so sure that would be the wisest thing for this show. Mostly because it would be painful for us to watch lots of footage between two people who don't seem to have as much spark together. Whether Wes is straight or gay, he had the most 'exciting' scenes with James.... The footage they showed of Brian's date and Franklin's date was rather boring in content....no fires, no 'you thought I was gay, why?' moments, no talk of getting hurt/fears, no teasing remarks about the 'adventurous scale', etc. The most exciting moments for Franklin were the 'talk of how coped in high school' and the 'touching the wrist' moments. Brian's were the moments when he asked James about how he was feeling about his impending decision-making...

If Brian is the straight one, and they showed more footage of their sweet but ultimately noneventful date (conversation-wise), it just wouldn't work to the show's advantage, would it?

But you're right -- what makes the whole thing so intriguing is that WES is the super charming "on" guy that he is. If he's straight, it would be interesting. If he's the one James picks, it would be interesting. If he's the one James DOESN'T pick, it would still be interesting. I think they just spent more time with him b/c he gave the cameras the best footage.

If Wes is in fact the straight guy...he has the most to gain from being "on", demonstratively affectionate, and emotionally expressive, because as we all the know, the straight guy has been aware of the "twist" from the very beginning...Wes is the only one of the remaining three that seems to genuinely play it up for the camera (and subsequently James)...which leads me to believe that his motivations aren't solely to connect with the "leading man", but rather to "perform" as much as possible with film crew in tow...perhaps that's just his personality...Wes adores the lens, Franklin seems indifferent to it (perhaps that's because he's got his eyes solely on the prize?), and Brian seems genuinely inhibited by the presence of a camera (as if it's a minor road block preventing him from establishing a deeper rapport with James)...so of course the straight guy is going to be the most telegenic and endearing, which, in turn, makes the show all the more riveting...

As far as the selection process for the final three goes...I originally assumed that Franklin was the straight guy by default because he was paired with Sean...but keep in mind...the producers do consult with James before he makes his selection (or at least have some kind of input)...Wes was paired with Robb...now Robb also has a big personality and James could have very well picked him...but as Andra mentioned, Robb seemed to be the least compatible with James and she's been a very influential element in James' decision making process...not to mention the fact that he never got to spend any real uninterrupted time alone with Robb as opposed to Wes, who got way more one-on-one time in very romantic situations (hello?...breakfast in bed anyone!)...it was obvious that James would choose Franklin over Sean seeing as how James was the most physically attracted to him from the get-go (James is no saint, he's shallow like the rest of us!!)...a classic no brainer!!!... if I'm not mistaken, Brian was paired with Darren...now this was the most surprising choice because it appeared that James and Darren had some raw chemistry...but he slipped by quite a few gaydars on this board (mine included) and it would make the final set-up that much more confusing...it's a lot easier for James and the audience to have two of the remaining guys seem like the more stereotypically obvious gay men so that they can establish Franklin as "the straight guy"...so I get the impression that the final three were chosen beforehand and grouped accordingly so that they would be chosen...in short, they could have paired Franklin and Wes with anybody but each other and they would have made it to the final round...

How's that for a conspiracy theory?!

(keep in mind...I'm probably all wrong...but that's my overwhelming assumption thus far!)

[smatt1973]

If Wes is in fact the straight guy...he has the most to gain from being "on", demonstratively affectionate, and emotionally expressive, because as we all the know, the straight guy has been aware of the "twist" from the very beginning...Wes is the only one of the remaining three that seems to genuinely play it up for the camera (and subsequently James)...which leads me to believe that his motivations aren't solely to connect with the "leading man", but rather to "perform" as much as possible with film crew in tow...perhaps that's just his personality...Wes adores the lens, Franklin seems indifferent to it (perhaps that's because he's got his eyes solely on the prize?), and Brian seems genuinely inhibited by the presence of a camera (as if it's a minor road block preventing him from establishing a deeper rapport with James)...so of course the straight guy is going to be the most telegenic and endearing, which, in turn, makes the show all the more riveting...

As far as the selection process for the final three goes...I originally assumed that Franklin was the straight guy by default because he was paired with Sean...but keep in mind...the producers do consult with James before he makes his selection (or at least have some kind of input)...Wes was paired with Robb...now Robb also has a big personality and James could have very well picked him...but as Andra mentioned, Robb seemed to be the least compatible with James and she's been a very influential element in James' decision making process...not to mention the fact that he never got to spend any real uninterrupted time alone with Robb as opposed to Wes, who got way more one-on-one time in very romantic situations (hello?...breakfast in bed anyone!)...it was obvious that James would choose Franklin over Sean seeing as how James was the most physically attracted to him from the get-go (James is no saint, he's shallow like the rest of us!!)...a classic no brainer!!!... if I'm not mistaken, Brian was paired with Darren...now this was the most surprising choice because it appeared that James and Darren had some raw chemistry...but he slipped by quite a few gaydars on this board (mine included) and it would make the final set-up that much more confusing...it's a lot easier for James and the audience to have two of the remaining guys seem like the more stereotypically obvious gay men so that they can establish Franklin as "the straight guy"...so I get the impression that the final three were chosen beforehand and grouped accordingly so that they would be chosen...

How's that for a conspiracy theory?!

(keep in mind...I'm probably all wrong...but that's my overwhelming assumption thus far!)

An assumption that I think is right on the mark. Well put.

[Rio Pacheco]

An assumption that I think is right on the mark. Well put.

Thank you!

[godot10012]

It's got to be Franklin. As someone else mentioned in another thread, the only way the producers could ensure that they got one straight guy into the final round was if they rigged the whole selection process to put the straight guys together and then have James advance 1 or 2 of them.

It's clear, by the end, that Sean and Franklin were paired up in a selection group so that at least one of them would be chosen. I don't think the producers are heartless -- they made sure that 2 out of the 3 finalists were potential matches for James.

I'm still amazed that Brian made it as far as he did. The editing of the shows just doesn't show *any* sort of chemistry between them. Add to it the fact that Brian was hitting *heavily* on Dan and it only makes sense that James will choose Wes.

Besides, they were the only two guys to have a decent kiss in the series. At the same time, James dumped Darren after Darren kissed him.



-v

[foody]

Wow, Rio, you must be fantastic with the LSATs! Your logic is amazing.

I agree with you that if the producers have an idea beforehand who james is particular to, this may be the perfect set up. Even as we see it, it's such a perfect range -- Wes, who off-hand seems like the 'gay' guy; Franklin, who seems to be the most 'masculine' (for lack of a better word); and then Brian, who is so underrepresented in the footage that it's hard to tell from ep to ep... (though his sincerity seems to be genuine, but his lack of action tends to make him seem ambivalent)

Will James pick the guy he truly wants, regardless of what he believes to be his sexual orientation? In a way, he should, right? Because if the guy he likes the most is the guy he suspects of being straight, you might as well go for the all-or-nothing door. He never wanted the 25000 to begin with, OR perhaps now it's beginning to make more sense to take the money and vaction and just go with who he thinks is the 'safe' guy? I guess if he liked them equally, and he didn't get any more or less sparks from his last three dates, he should take the 'safe' guy. However, if one towers over the others in his heart, it would be sad to see James sell-out just b/c he suspects the guy to be straight... That would be the most depressing ending!

[chase]

Just an observation. I wonder if James' priority has changed from finding someone he is compatible with to not selecting the straight date.

I agree. It appeared to me, although I know it was edited, that his big three dates turned into interrogations of Brian, Wes, and Franklin. Did any of you think Franklin's answers seemed a bit, well contrived. For example, when Franklin talked of "made up girfriends and coming out of the closet" it just did not seem like natural. It sort of reminded me of Sean's "Gay Revolution" comment. Any one else notice this?

[foody]

I agree. It appeared to me, although I know it was edited, that his big three dates turned into interrogations of Brian, Wes, and Franklin. Did any of you think Franklin's answers seemed a bit, well contrived. For example, when Franklin talked of "made up girfriends and coming out of the closet" it just did not seem like natural. It sort of reminded me of Sean's "Gay Revolution" comment. Any one else notice this?

James was cautious in his relationships to begin with; the show allowed him to feel safe, being spoon-fed great guys, great dates, all with his best friend to confide in daily. He may have relaxed that part of him. But NOW, with the knowledge of a deception, I think it's triggered his suspicious, cautious side again.