Episode Report Card Miss Alli: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT The no-sell motel
By Miss Alli | Season 3 | Episode 2 | Aired on 01.26.2005
At Magna, Danny and Erin are chatting with Carolyn, and Danny is explaining what happened with Verna's sudden exit. Erin, looking especially scary with her curtains of dark hair, says in an interview that Verna never gave anyone any warning of her impending departure. As we watch, Carolyn goes driving, looking for Verna, and eventually finds her. She's the weird one wandering around with her rolly-case, so she is a little conspicuous. Carolyn says that she followed Verna around for a bit, and then we see that Carolyn walks up to Verna. "Verna," she says gently. "What are you doing? Besides walking and walking." There is no answer. "You just want to relax for a little while?" Carolyn asks. They walk. "Just find out what's going on, are you okay?" No answer. "Listen," Carolyn says, adopting a submissive, friendly, non-boss position by putting her hands in her pockets, "I know it's tough, I know it's stressful, if you want to talk to me, tell me what's going on, I'll listen. Okay?"
Back at Magna, Erin is complaining about how much Verna sucks. Bren is just kind of confused by the cracking under pressure. Alex insists that nothing that went on gave her any "excuse" to quit and leave. He complains in an interview that she just didn't think about anybody but herself. "She screwed the team, she screwed herself, it was terrible," he says with as much force as his rather girly personality can muster. They talk a little more about Verna seeming a little paranoid.
And here comes Carolyn, returning Verna to the motel. "I'm going to get you something to drink, okay?" Carolyn asks in the car. "Thank you; this was a lesson I needed to learn," Verna says. Carolyn is like, "Um," and says, "Well, I don't know exactly what lesson you learned." "Well, I did," Verna says, trying to sound meaningful. "I needed to learn this lesson, and I thank you for that." Carolyn is, you can tell, tempted to leave before Verna can start singing about how you'll never walk alone or you have to climb every mountain or one of those other weird inspirational Rodgers and Hammerstein numbers. Verna says that she was really down, and she didn't have control, and so she realized she needed to stop trying to be the center of the team or something. And she needs to listen more. And sleep more, maybe.
Next thing you know, Verna is talking to Michael -- who may or may not have ever known she was gone -- about how she needed a "complete attitude and behavioral adjustment," and she's so sorry. She waves what I'm pretty sure is a bottle of Trump Ice as she tells Michael that if the team loses, she'll volunteer to go. It's a nice offer, but I...I really don't think she'll need to. Michael tells her not to worry; they'll win. Michael then goes for something inspirational: "Martin Luther King said the true sign of a man is when he's down." So apparently, the fact that she fled when things got difficult is a good thing. Or something. Or she's not "down" yet. Or...or something. And now Verna, only now seeming like she might be genuinely nutty, announces that her team is made up of "wonderful people." "I'm glad that I have so much to learn from them," she says. Yeesh. Trying to learn from other reality show contestants is a good way to wind up as a bartender with implants.