Episode Report Card Jeff Long: B | Grade It Now! YOU GRADE IT The Menstrual Show
By Jeff Long | Season 10 | Episode 9 | Aired on 09.13.2012
Ven is visited by his sister and legit has to TELL me that he's crying before I know that he's crying. He's less expressive than January Jones. He tells his sister that this process has been a roller coaster. She says that everyone is very proud of him and excited. She is adorable.
Gunnar's mom tells him that he looks really good and he looks down and remarks that she put on a dress for the occasion, which makes her laugh. She seems really girlish and sweet. Gunnar interviews that his mother has recently moved to Florida (sorry about that) and he had resigned himself to not seeing her for a while. She looks all tanned and healthy and he's glad that she's there. I just have to say that I think my own mother and I would just giggle at each other if we were in this circumstance. I have a family that would never EVER work for reality television. We get so far from real when a camera is on. We would just try to quietly embarrass each other on film. I mean, don't get me wrong, it would be riveting but in the wrong way.
The guests bring with them another HP Touch thing? Or just a file? I don't know, but they look at pictures on a computer screen. The first pic we see of Dmitry, he is wearing some sort of elaborate military jacket. Let's just call it Czarwear. He is there with Irina, his oldest and dearest friend and (hopefully) former dance partner. She's so sweet. There's a video from Dmitry's father in Belarus and she immediately gets emotional when he sees it. I just find that so incredibly endearing. Godammit, I do this EVERY season. These people see their families and get emotional and I cry right alongside them. I don't know why! I shit you not that my mom and I would laugh at each other in this situation, so it's weird to me that I get so touched watching this. Every. Season. Dmitry's father is an artist and his grandfather was apparently a very important artist, so he feels them in everything that he does.
We see a pic of Fabio and his boyfriend that it looks like one of them took as they were lying down. Then, there is a pic from the way back with a smooth face. Then, there's a video of a whole bunch of family members saying hello to him. When he sees this he covers his mouth.
Gunnar's mom is showing him a picture of him teaching his little sister (apparently named Kenley!) how to sew on a little sewing machine. It's the cutest thing. His mom tells him that it's one of her favorite photos of him. Gunnar tells us that he was really happy when he was a kid...when he was with his family. They were really important to him because he experienced a lot of bullying at school and they were the only people who wouldn't judge him for being different. Wow, that makes me sad. The thing that is saddest to me is you see a guy like Gunnar, he's a natural born leader. But, because of the fact that he was a little bit (or a lot, really, it doesn't matter) different, he wasn't even allowed to be a follower. He just had to be an other. So, this part of his life, when I'm sure he's wishing that he could just hit the ground running and do his thing, a lot of this part is spent negotiating his place in the world and seeing where he fits in and where he's safe. That's frustrating and you can sense that he's constantly trying to manage some anger. I wonder if this situation is what that's about. As he's looking at the pictures, he gets a little emotional and works hard to keep himself under control. He says that this has been a hard month. She replies that she didn't mean to make him cry and he says that it's just because he's happy.