Episode Report Card Miss Alli: A | 417 USERS: C+ YOU GRADE IT Again with the racing
By Miss Alli | Season 4 | Episode 1 | Aired on 2003.05.29
When they're gone, a bunch of other teams storm the hotel.
IndianaSteve tells the camera, sometime later, that he and Debra have decided to go back to the hotel after all, and just hope that they won't have to spend much money between this point and the end of the leg. When they get back, though, all the other teams are in the process of booking every room, and they can't get one. Incidentally, as everyone is standing around at the counter, Debra looks at David and sadly says, "I tried to get us in two hours ago," hinting not-so-subtly that her husband screwed up. It's very unfair, because back when Steve said he thought they should wait, she said that was fine, and even seemed to agree, and didn't even protest a little, so it's not as if he steamrolled her. It is at this point that IndianaSteve whaps the counter with his palm and starts feeling really crappy. "Oh, I just blew it," he self-flagellates. "I just didn't think." Of course you did! You'd think he bought plane tickets to the wrong country or something. Not paying for a room is a perfectly valid option. To the rescue, though, come Chip and Reichen, who agree to let Debra and IndianaSteve share their room for the night. The boys go out for a walk, and Debra chats with Steve in the shared room. "We have a feeling the boys want to sleep together," she says sweetly. Hee. Outside, they continue their walk, while Reichen voices over that they haven't decided whether to tell anyone they're a couple. HELLO? Debra and IndianaSteve, incidentally, said in a post-show interview that they were tipped off to the fact that the boys were married by the fact that they had matching wedding bands. Just a little hint: next time you boys want to leave your relationship ambiguous? Leave the rings at home. Just saying. Once again, it strikes me that they are way, way too worried about this.
Up in the room, IndianaSteve is...crying? Huh? "This is not exactly the way I intended it, but...I get to sleep with three guys," Debra says, trying to act cheerful. She explains in a voice-over that Steve was mad at himself, because he knew that Debra was unhappy about not having their own room, or about him blowing it, or something. In the end, of course, they got a room and saved half the price, so he basically did a good thing for them, as it turned out, and nothing bad happened, which is why this meltdown from him strikes me as sort of strange. "You're so cute," she says gently, reaching over and brushing what there is of his hair out of his eyes. "She's my main focus," Steve says, trying to explain in a voice-over why this made him so upset. She eventually kisses him on the head, and she tells him she loves him, and it's all very nice, but...I'm having a problem with that bit back in the lobby where she had to announce to the entire group that he was the one who didn't get them the room earlier. If she knows he reacts with this much pain when he knows she's unhappy, why would she do that? It didn't strike me till the second time I saw it, but that's why their vibe is weird to me. She's sweet to him, but she also sort of set him up for this situation, even if not consciously, you know?