Cable for One – Age of Love – Episode 6

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It would seem that combining alcohol, the great outdoors and Mark with the women of Age of Love is a recipe for much volatility. That also lead to the first appearance of open hostilities within an age group (as up to this point pretty much all the fighting was twenty-somethings vs. forty-somethings). All the camping shenanigans culminated in one of the early favorites for Mark’s attention being sent packing.

It was interesting to see the effect of alcohol and prolonged interaction with Mark and each other had on everyone. Most notable, of course, was the fight between Maria and Jen. I don’t think what Maria did with Mark was all that funny, it was probably just awkward for the other women to watch her doing that with a guy they themselves were interested in; the laughter was just their way of coping with that awkwardness. Maria obviously didn’t see it that way though and seemed genuinely offended and upset about everyone laughing. It was kind of silly for Jen and Maria to get in a big fight over the matter, but I’m guessing that booze and the extended period of stress that is Age of Love played a big part in that.

We also learned that, when it comes to drinking, Megan is probably either a lightweight or just not very good at managing her intake. Of course it’s also possible that drinking a lot was her way of dealing with the stress of the situation, but in any case being so drunk that you’re barely able to walk isn’t the best way to impress someone. I was thinking Megan might be the one going home this week right up until Mark joked about her clumsy drunkenness as she made her way up to Mark; that’s not the kind of joke you make when you’re about to give someone bad news.

I think Jayanna did “seal her own fate” as the voiceover guy said, but not in the way Mark said she did. Obviously Amanda telling Mark what Jayanna had been saying to the other women was a factor in her being sent home this week, but Mark may not have believed Amanda if Jayanna hadn’t become more concerned about beating the other women than having a relationship with Mark. Over the last few episodes, Jayanna seemed to become more and more competitive. It seemed like Jayanna was drawn into the competitive nature of the show and began viewing it as a game; she was doing everything she could to win that game. Surely Mark picked up on some of that, so when Amanda accused Jayanna of trying to manipulate everyone, it was easy for Mark to believe her.

Even though viewing everything as a game was the reason Jayanna ended up going home, it’s hard to fault her for doing so. To Jayanna she wasn’t trying to sabotage the other women’s chances of finding love, she was just trying to win a game. Of course, from her reaction it was obvious that Jayanna, despite her game mindset, did feel something for Mark and she was hurt by his rejection (though she handled it much better than some of the women before her). Mark is obviously not viewing the show as a game, and I don’t think he got that about Jayanna either. Hence he was rather displeased with her actions; to him, Jayanna was trying to sabotage the other women’s chances (and his own) at finding a happy relationship.

Oddly enough, despite the amount of stuff that happened, not to mention all the fighting, the only real (obvious) changes to the status quo this week were Jayanna’s departure and Maria getting a bit closer to Mark (this was the first time in a while when there was no doubt she was going to stay if asked). I think everyone else is pretty much where they were with Mark going into this week’s episode. Still all the drama made for an entertaining hour of television.

Sir Linksalot: Age of Love