Even though I still have six Scaling
The Hills profiles to write (Lo is next), I couldn't help but slap together some quick thoughts on last night's series finale and live reunion special.
I loved the ending. As soon as the camera pulled back to reveal the crew, staging, and Kristin and Brody's obviously non-romantic relationship, I immediately turned to my roommate and said "That's so fucking cool." Fans and critics have always questioned the "reality" of the series. For years, we've wondered what's true (if anything) about these people's on-screen lives. At last, we got an answer (some things are true, some things are staged), but does it matter? If you enjoy the show, does it make a difference that Kristin and Brody never actually hooked up? MTV's pop culture blog tracks the lives of the cast; anyone with Internet access could have learned (on the network's own website) that Brody was dating Avril Lavigne months before the Nylon party when he and Kristin supposedly went home together (her inability to keep a straight face also gave them away). The plots of the show may have been the result of the occasional smoke and mirror, but if they taught us something about ourselves, or showed us people to which we could relate, I don't see why we have to bemoan the series' loose idea of "reality" as a cheat.
Other facts v fictions: Stephanie really is dating that motor cross guy, Josh. My guess is that they met off camera, and when the relationship became serious, the producers asked him to come on the show. Lo did not move in with her boyfriend, Scott, given that she referred to Lauren as her "roomie" multiple times last night.
It was cruel of the producers to make Holly watch a montage of pre-surgery Heidi. I was surprised the Aftershow acknowledged Heidi and Spencer as often as it did given the context of their dismissal from the series (Spencer threatened to kill a female producer, Heidi alleged that Executive Producer Adam DiVello sexually assaulted her). You could tell the cast and crew wanted to end the series on a high note; inviting Heidi and Spencer would have been too bald an admission that starring on the show didn't lead to good things for everyone.
You have to wonder how the current cast feels about Lauren receiving by far the most enthusiastic response from the fans. I'm glad she agreed to appear, but you could tell she didn't understand why, over a year after leaving the show, she still got so much of the attention. In pettier notes: I loved her hair, but not her dress.
I really wish the Aftershow had featured the entire cast on-stage together, instead of Dan and Jessi interviewing people either solo or in pairs. The format lead to too long introduction sequences, and vastly cut down the time spent on each star's interview (Lo got asked only one question). I also hated Jessi's ugly, tacky, little-girl-as-The-Little-Mermaid-on-Halloween dress.
I stayed up past midnight, but I finally got
a shot of Lauren and Kristin standing next to each other!
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