Jersey Shore Review: Breaking Up is Hard to Do

Last week’s episode of MTV’s Jersey Shore was another entertaining one.  Still feeling warm and fuzzy inside after Sam’s truce with Jenni, the girls continue to get closer as Sam and Ronnie’s relationship hits another halt.

In a spirit of unity, the girls go to an adult entertainment store for some female bonding.  After all, what better way to forge the bonds of sisterhood than by dressing up like sluts together?  Meanwhile, while they ‘re out exploring their kinky side, the fellas are back at the house preparing Sunday dinner.  Earlier that day, Ronnie had asked Sam to clean up before she left and apparently it was not done to his satisfaction.  Now, both he and Sam are in pissy moods when she returns from her outing.  Instead of completely enjoying the meal, an awkward silence hangs over the room.  The girls compliment Ronnie on his culinary skills, including Sam.  For some reason her compliment seems insincere, maybe because she just finished criticizing the meal before everyone else said how good it was.

Sam is a real buzkill in the house, but Ronnie cheers up when his buddies from back home come for a visit.  Deena takes a liking to one in particular, a cutie named Dario.  While they get to know each other at Karma, Snooki meets a guy named Jeff.  Love, or fear, is in the air for Pauly D. as his stalker, Danielle, resurfaces.  Remember the last time she saw him she threw a drink in his face.  I don’t know what’s wrong with this girl. She seems nice enough, and I gather that she simply lacks the appropriate social skills to communicate with a guy she thinks is cute – but have some pride.  She accepts an invitation to come back to the house.  Pauly is truly the nicest guy in the house, because if someone threw a drink in my face, the last thing I’d want them to know is my home address.  The housemates are just as surprised to see that Pauly invited her over.  He even wears the t-shirt she gave him when she came over before, the one emblazoned with a Star of David and the words: I (heart) Jewish Girls.  Vinny and the rest of the roomies tease Danielle for being a stalker, and she sits there and takes it while Pauly laughs uncomfortably.  Poor thing.  Eventually she leaves, and I don’t think we’ll see her again this season.

At first Snooki is sufficiently smitten with Jeff, the guy she met at Karma. From Jersey? Check. Guido? Check. Cute? Check.  But when their hook-up is derailed by Mother Nature (use your imagination), Snooki is forced to actually get to know him a little better, and she doesn’t like what she hears.  He mentions the word “engaged,” and that’s all she wrote.  I still don’t know if he was actually engaged or not, because he later started referring to the engagement ring as a “promise” ring.  Sounds fishy to me, and Snooki gives him the boot.  She loses interest pretty quickly, but I can’t blame her for not wanting to date a guy with a fiancé.

Back to the rollercoaster of love with Sam and Ron.  After trying unsuccessfully to get Ron’s attention and have a discussion, Sam prods him to be a man and break up with her to her face, since he doesn’t want to talk.  Ron had been doing his best to avoid the whole situation, but finally he looks at Sam and says: ok, we’re broken up – it’s over.  Would you believe that she actually had the nerve to look surprised and hurt by this announcement?  After needling and prodding him incessantly for at least 15 minutes, she’s surprised that he finally snapped and gave her what she’d been asking for.  It will be a wonderful day when Sam and Ron finally do break up (I hope this was it), because as Vinny astutely pointed out: hell must be just like this.

Overall,

Best of the episode:  Pauly being his cute sweet self and making peace with The Stalker.

Worst of the episode: Sam and Ron. This back and forth is getting old.

What to watch out for:  The fallout from Sam and Ron, if they did indeed break up.

Season 2, Episode 19: Should We Just Break Up? (originally aired February 3, 2011.)

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Jersey Shore airs Thursdays at 10pm on MTV.

Images courtesy of MTV.