“The Real World” Catch-Up Part 9: Joey Doesn’t Live Here Anymore

Here we go, I’ve been slacking once again on not only writing posts, but watching shows to post on…namely “The Real World.” If I actually had readers, I’d probably be far more motivated to keep on top of it, but anyway, I’ll try and get up to date.

So as we all know, Greg is gone and Joey has returned from rehab. Greg being gone is awesome because the general mood of the house seems better and my general mood while watching the show is better. All is not well for Joey though, as the threat of a relapse looms overhead for him. More threatening is the fact that Joey’s pal from home, Mike, is coming to visit, and it just so happens Mike introduced Joey to a lot of drugs back in the day, so that can’t be good. Fortunately for Joey, he grew a pair and told Mike that he shouldn’t come to visit and instead spent time with his two non-drug using friends from home. Unfortunately for us, this meant we didn’t get to see any serious drama unwind in the humble Hollywood house. This is a common theme I find in “The Real World” and many other shows. Good for them often means bad and less interesting for us.

The focus of this episode was on Joey’s difficult fight to maintain sobriety as well as his pending and eventual decision to leave, but Bri gets the sidebar/subplot as she finally begins to take advantage of her opportunities while in Hollywood. Will introduces her to a producer who checks out her “pipes” (mind you, this is episode 9 and this is the first time we finally get to check out her pipes, I’m not ridiculously impressed after so much build-up), she randomly begins singing on a street corner in hopes of getting recognized by important people (yeah, I thought this was a weird thing to do), and lastly, Bri gets the chance to sing at a gig with the lead singer of the not really popular band The Calling. Hey, things are happening for this girl!

Back to Joey, he finally, after many threats, announces that he will be leaving “The Real World” on an epic quest to maintain his sobriety. No one can convince him to stay, but Dave and Will give him a hell of a last night when they hit up a strip club for a booze free evening with the guys…you know, the boys.

And so, we reach Joey’s last day, where he shares his goodbye letter to alcohol with the house, and they finally recognize everything he’s been through in his life, and just how rough he’s had it. I think he hopes that they feel a little guilty for being insensitive to his need to avoid alcohol and partying, but honestly, I think he was being insensitive to the viewers’ need to watch the cast partake in drinking and partying and making terrible decisions. “The Real World” house was no place for Joey, and it is certainly no place for sensitive, understanding, and a booze free lifestyle.

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