This was the episode where Ryan called the cops on his roommate, Preston, because Preston peed on Ryan's toothbrush. Preston was nearly hauled down to the station over this (which, as Knight explained, he might not have minded going to prison) and Ryan got his final revenge. Except he didn't. More on that in a bit.
What goes on inside a person's head where they resort to doing something so ridiculous and reactionary as calling the police because someone played a prank on you? Well, after a handful of episodes, it is clear no one knows what is going on inside Ryan's brain, and maybe that's a good thing. I don't think we've ever come this close to a cast member murdering his roommates. And would anyone truly be surprised if he did?
A lot of people hate Ryan, with good reason. He is the ultimate bad guy. The things he does fly in the face of social norms and conduct. But it's for that exact reason why he is such a compelling character and why we are so lucky for him to have come into our lives. If Ryan wasn't so insane, then we don't have him beefing with Preston, and we don't have cops coming to the Real World house. This is win-win for us as the viewer. The only people negatively affected by Ryan's behavior are his roommates and "Suze" (when she sees this show, how is she going to explain to her friends and family how she could hook up with "Sweeney Todd" lite?).
The funny thing is I can kind of talk myself into justifying what Ryan did as much as I can explain why it made no sense. First off, Ryan isn't a fighter. He clearly has never been in a fight and is afraid to get punched. Second, he knows that if he fights, he leaves. And then Preston wins. Now, Ryan has only two options. Retaliate against Preston by destroying something he owns or peeing on Preston's toothbrush or figure out a way to get Preston to apologize and rectify the situation. He decides to do both, which is important to note. I'll explain why in a bit. After ruining Preston's beanie, he calls the cops. This is certainly an insane thing to do to someone you live with, but he legitimately could have thought he had no other option. After all, peeing on someone else's toothbrush is seriously fucked up.
Here's the amazing part of Ryan's plan: It actually completely worked. The cops came and put the fear into Preston. Preston eventually apologized to Ryan, which is what he ultimately wanted. Additionally, it was never found out that Ryan wiped his ass with Preston's cigarettes (arguably as bad as peeing on a toothbrush) destroyed his hat, or through out his debit card (that actually could have lead to far worse legal problems for Ryan). So win-win for Ryan.
The main negative to calling the cops is it makes you look like a huge douchebag to the other roommates. But honestly, I don't think Ryan cares. He firmly believes he was completely right. This is where the sociopath thing comes into play. Only a sociopath would not understand that wiping your ass with someone else's cigarettes is about as bad as them peeing on your toothbrush. Sahar saw this and tried calling him out on it. But Ryan just didn't get it. It didn't even enter his mind that the cops could be called on him if it ever got relayed to Preston what he did. In Ryan's world, his actions have no consequences and are completely justified, but others actions are incomprehensibly bad.
One last point to make. The following day after the cops came, Ryan hugs Preston and they eventually squash their beef. Later on, Preston can't find his debit card. Ryan admits to Knight that he threw it away, and was proud to do it. This was after Preston apologized. Ryan is seriously fucked up in the head. I think MTV needs to do this more. Every season, try to find one potential cast member who has a couple of screws loose. Make sure he won't actually kill anybody, but aside from that, it's ok. He/she will undoubtedly make the season more interesting.
So now that the "Epic" episode has come and gone, how does it compare to other big episodes in the history of the show. Well, I don't think any other season had as much build up to a confrontation as this season. From episode 1, it was clear this was a long time coming. Other seasons the big confrontation was kind of impulsive. For example, remember Real World Denver when Davis shouted the n-word towards Tyree. Right now I think that's the best comparison. The only problem was the Denver episode only had about 2 scenes devoted to the big blowup. This blowup was a good 3/4 of the episode. Also, you could make the case that the episode a few weeks back where Ryan called Preston a f@$$tt was almost as bad as the Denver episode. I know there are other good examples, so if anyone wants, please comment with the season you think had a better "epic" episode.
Perhaps the best part of the episode was the preview for the rest of the season. We find out that:
1. Knight and McKenzie may hook up, and Jemmye will definitely hit Knight multiple times. Man, if McKenzie does that, she has to go down as one of the most hated female cast members ever, right? I also predict Knight manages to get a pass on this somehow while Jemmye and MTV viewers direct all their anger at McKenzie.
2. Sahar and Ryan may hook up, which may be the reason Eric tried to kill Ryan. I don't understand how this can happen. I mean, Sahar lives with Ryan, right? She knows how creepy and weird he is. He also may be gay. If she hooks up with him, this will make every normal guy who is into a hot girl that is dating a complete douchebag (whether it be the goth douche, the lead singer douche, the motorcycle douche, the emo douche, or the uber-alpha male frat douce) just go "ugh."
If they hook up, it also represents the breaking of the guy code. The guy code states that if your friend/roommate likes a girl and it is known to you, she becomes off-limits. The only exceptions are if you talk to the guy first and he gives the ok or the guy starts getting with someone else. It also would be odd if Sahar was telling Eric no because of the boyfriend but then said yes to Ryan. After all, she has explicitly said she was attracted to Eric.
I apologize for the scattering of thoughts in this post, but that's just what happens when so much goes on in what is most certainly an "Epic" episode.
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