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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 - 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.
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?
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Zap2it Twitter Talk 
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.
His bad acting skills and over-tanning have turned you to the darkside!
I also went for Sam and Nicole. He was a complete *** 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.
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.
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.
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.
I voted for Jasmine and Dave because if you do a little research, you will find that Sam and Nicole are both actors!
If I could vote (being in Canada I can't) it would be for Dave and Jasmine.
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.
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.