'Beauty and the Geek' goes home

By Hanh Nguyen

   |  

November 27, 2007 7:20 PM

Mikerichards_beautyandthegeek_240 Now, was anyone really surprised at how the winning team would be chosen on this season of Beauty and the Geek? After teasing the hell out of the new "twist," this was really the only way to go.

Spoilers in this penultimate episode. Ask a geek if you don't know what "penultimate" means.

The ever disarmingly deadpan host Mike gathered the final teams in the elimination room and announced that the show about transformation would transform yet again. At this point, I really wanted Optimus Prime to show up. That would have been an unforeseen twist. Oh wait, I just revealed my inner geek. But nope, after that tease, the show -- yes, this cheesy reality show -- had the temerity to flashback to "Three Days Earlier."

Really? Did we need that extra bit of suspense?

So back we go, and the pairs are psyched to find out that they'll be visiting their partner's home towns. Let's see how they fared:

Dave - Just outside of Boston, he introduced Jasmine to his friends, but more importantly, to larping. If there were ever a person made for embracing childlike fantasy role-playing, it's Jasmine. As the elf Evergreen, she vanquished many foes, revived Dave the noble with her portion and then dispatched an ally who had been holding out on them.

Sam_nicole_beautyandthegeek Sam - A much less fun time in my opinion. He brought Nicole to the gym -- yup, you read right. That's just sad. No wonder he hangs out at the bar all the time. The bar, The Graduate, is where his parents met and fell in love. While there, Nicole drank a teensy bit of tequila and then watched Sam do "The Matrix," which was pretty darn impressive.

Nicole - Back to Boston. With the caveat that she's just a music theorist, Nicole sings "Nuit d'etoiles" by Claude Debussy. It's a little awkward because she's alone on stage with only Sam as her audience, but at least it's brief. I miss Nate and his "Stormtrooper" song from last season. Later, Nicole introduced Sam to her best friend and roommates, whom Sam correctly observed were as geeky as she was and could easily have been his partner.

Jasmine - A quick jaunt to Columbus, Ohio to meet her sister Janel and mom Sue, who was gracious enough to create a photo montage of our girl growing up. One picture in particular, she was embarrassed to explain. To me, it looked like she was doing the crane kick from Karate Kid. Any takers? Later, Dave embarrassed himself trying to do a standing back handspring on a trampoline in order to show off in front of Jasmine's babysitting charges.

Some time filler in the form of retrospectives and a last supper. Dave was sweet enough to give Jasmine a Chinese happiness bracelet that his mom got from her latest trip. Awww. Those two really make me happy.

So blah, blah, blah. Mike finally revealed that America will decide their fates. No duh. This is how the teams' final pleas went down:

Sam and Nicole - Nicole wanted to have key points, whereas Sam wanted to wing it and have fun. They both spoke fairly eloquently but briefly. Nicole pointed out how she can now related to people and take life more lightly. Sam observed that he can now study. Strong cases, but a bit unmoving.

Jasmine_dave_beautyandthege Dave and Jasmine - After trying to overprepare, Dave listens to Jasmine's wisdom to speak from the heart and be himself. Dave started out admitting that he began the experiment, "thoughtless, tactless and careless." Jasmine made some observations about not judging a book by its cover and how they bring each other's strong points. Dave finished it by pointing out that it was all about "the distance that has been traveled." Even without already being biased towards this team, I'd vote for them because there was a lot more back and forth to this speech. Once again, they worked together, complementing each other.

A Few Highlights:

- Nicole: "I even packed less than Dave."
- Dave, like I, trying to use the transitive property when it comes to friendship.
- Jasmine during larping, "Everyone's just dying around here."
- Dave prepping to do a back handspring: "Hands on the table, sit in the chair, bridge in the air."

Who deserves it? Will America get it right? Any thoughts about the hometown visits?


Comments

I voted for Sam and Nicole. It was tough, but Sam was so annoying earlier in the show and he really changed. So did Nicole. Both teams deserve it, but at the last second I leaned toward S&N.

Alex G. | Nov 27, 2007 8:28:32 PM | #

His bad acting skills and over-tanning have turned you to the darkside!

gus | Nov 27, 2007 9:27:34 PM | #

I also went for Sam and Nicole. He was a complete ass when it first started. She didn't talk to anyone and contributed very little to the show. At the end he was friends with all of them including Nicole. She is so much more out going. She has done well keeping her physical transformation too.

Dave didn't change that much. I am not sure how he has changed. Jasmine hasn't changed much either. She perhaps is more accepting of geeks and willing to play his games. They went a long way in their friendship but Sam and Nicole were the team still sleeping in the same bed at the end. J&D were in separate beds. Of course given the choice, I would sleep in the same bed with Sam over Dave anyday.

Bo | Nov 28, 2007 6:30:37 AM | #

Sam is as annoying as he was from the first time he appeared on the show. My vote goes to Dave and Jasmine. They have travelled from not understanding each other to finishing each other words. That to me deserves the money.

Nasir | Nov 28, 2007 8:41:40 AM | #

I didn't vote because I refuse to pay $1.00 to do it and apparently, they ask for everything but a DNA sample to vote online, but if I did, I'd vote for Dave and Jasmine. Dave has changed dramatically, especially in his feelings toward Jasmine. And I just can't help but love Jasmine.

The whole LARPing thing just looked to me like kids playing make-believe. (Not that there's anything wrong with that.) Jasmine played along like a champ.

ER | Nov 28, 2007 8:58:14 AM | #

Dave and Jasmine went from not liking each other to accepting each other to liking each other to doing nice things for each other and being friends. I don't see any of that between Sam and Nicole. Nicole has come out of her shell a lot, but Dave and Jasmine grew and became better people because of their relationship with each other.

Mori | Nov 28, 2007 9:04:22 AM | #

I voted for Jasmine and Dave because if you do a little research, you will find that Sam and Nicole are both actors!

msham | Nov 28, 2007 11:08:56 AM | #

If I could vote (being in Canada I can't) it would be for Dave and Jasmine.

Deej | Nov 28, 2007 11:15:20 AM | #

msham --

It's been established that Sam Horrigan is an actor. It's debatable whether or not he was actually acting on the show or not.

What "research" is there to prove that Nicole is an actress? Everything has shown that she's just a Tufts University student. I know there were doubts because her partner is Sam, but I didn't think anything came of that.

Hanh | Nov 28, 2007 12:32:08 PM | #

My vote is for Dave and Jasmine. One, they are just more likable to me as a team than Sam and Nicole. Two, they came closer together as a team rather than S&N who seemed to get along well. Third, Dave in particular advanced further than Nicole, who, in my opinion, wasn't that geeky at the start. And speaking of their partners, Jasmine seemed to grow more than Sam, wanting to learn and overcoming her fears of insects.

Best line of the night for me was when Jasmine was larping. "You mean you had the potion all along while we were looking for it? I say we chop off her head!" Coming from someone as sweet as Jasmine, it was such a juxtaposition.

edonline | Nov 28, 2007 3:50:27 PM | #

I agree Sam and Nicole should win at the last supper together Nicole looked so amazing and not so geeky.Sam went from being a complete jerk to being somewhat a genuine good guy.I'm not so impressed about J&D where is the transformation?

sasha danielle in ala | Nov 28, 2007 5:08:56 PM | #

I am voting for sam and Nicole because they are both smart and very talent.I dont think that Dave and jasmine have talent or anything. I realy think that Sam and Nicole should win and I also think that they are cool. So vote for sam and nicole.Not Jasmine and Dave.PLEASE

Ronnie and leann minni | Nov 28, 2007 6:07:33 PM | #

Jasmine has a puppy dog cuteness about her that gains my vote. Maybe not the most valid reason to vote for J&D but it works for me.

Rob | Nov 28, 2007 7:14:30 PM | #

"I am voting for sam and Nicole because they are both smart and very talent.I dont think that Dave and jasmine have talent or anything."

Since when does talent have anything to do with winning "Beauty and the Geek". If it did, the contestants could go one "America's Got Talent", "American Idol" or any of the other performance shows.

edonline | Nov 29, 2007 5:35:03 AM | #

I voted for sam and nicole they have really work things out and sam got his act together also they have won alot of competitions.

Ivette | Dec 1, 2007 9:27:54 PM | #
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