The City-- "Mingling with the Commoners" Episode 8

If you are looking for the episode online, I believe MTV posts it on their site the day following the original broadcast. Try here: http://www.mtv.com/ontv/dyn/the-city/videos-full-episodes.jhtml

Before this episode even started, I knew I wouldn't be thrilled. I am, admittedly, not Jay's biggest fan and this week, the emphasis is on Jay and his band. They have a show coming up and Whit pre-warns us that "Jay's world and Olivia's world just don't mix. "

A very staged conversation opens this episode. Whit and Jay are sitting in a restaurant, with a scripted back and forth about Jay's upcoming gig at The Cutting Room. Jay is nervous because everyone will be coming to see them and Whitney says she's excited. On Whitney's guest list is Erin and her ex boyfriend, JR. She adds that she's mentioned the show to Olivia and when Jay seems reluctant, she explains that she's talked about Jay so much that it will give her a chance to "show him off." Jay offers to cordone off a little area for Olivia so she doesn't have to mingle with the commoners. Good suggestion. You know how Olivia feels about those "downtown" types.

Flash to a stick-thin Olivia navigating her way to "La Goulue" on the Upper East Side, where we'd expect an Uptown Social like Olivia to actually live. Nevan, decked out in a tee shirt, is at a table to meet Olivia, so she can rib him for his fashion choices. Nevan greets Olivia with a flirty, "Hey, babe," but she puts him in check and reminds him that as his COUSIN, he probably shouldn't refer to her as babe. I guess Olivia is against "kissing cousins." Good to know.

Olivia tells Nevan that Whitney has invited her to hear Jay's band play and she wonders what she's gotten herself into. Nevan gives Olivia some advice about hearing the band--smile and clap--and Olivia rolls her eyes at the thought of beoming the band's new groupie. They envision Olivia in some "sweaty hipster" hangout and laugh. Olivia tells Nevan that the girls will be coming over the apartment so she needs him to not be there. Nevan praises Olivia for doing her good deed of the day.

Whit and Erin hail a cab to Olivia's and Erin tells her that JR will be meeting up with them. She also mentions that she told JR about Duncan (the visiting boyfriend from a few weeks ago) and she says JR's face just dropped. JR is, apparently, Erin's benchmark boyfriend, the one against all future boyfriends will be measured. Erin says she hopes she and JR never have the "I miss you and want you back" conversation, although she clearly feels that way because it's shitty timing.

Olivia is fluffing pillows when the girls arrive and she and her dog, Mr Butler, let the girls in so they can get a gander of her HUGE walk in closet. Perfect hostess, Olivia, offers the girls some champagne, but Whitney declines because they are in a hurry (which makes me wonder why they stopped at Olivia's at all). Olivia makes a snide remark that Jay's band won't start until they arrive and Whitney looks stressed.

As Jay is shown at The Cutting Room telling friends that he's sure Whitney is on her way, we see the girls back at Olivia's, champagne in hand, as Olivia debates what she is going to wear for the evening. Ha ha ha. Erin and Whit note how late it's gotten and back at The Cutting Room, Jay tells his bandmate (Pottsy....I am *not kidding*) that Whit is still not there and they agree that they can't keep everyone waiting and begin playing.

Finally, after Olivia changes her blazer and Erin and Whit put the rush on...the girls leave for the concert. Jay and his band, Tamarama, are in full swing. An awkward Olivia sways to the music and keeps bumping into the girl next to her. JR catches up with Erin. Olivia thanks the girls for coming to her apartment, but is met with awkward silence in return.

The set ends and Jay leaves the stage to greet Whitney. Olivia says good night and when Jay thanks her for coming, she says, "I tried." Erin tells Samantha that "on a scale of one to ten, this is a 9.5 awkward," about hanging out with JR because he told a mutual friend that he still has feelings for her. When we last saw him, he was fleeing her apartment after spending the night and giving a very non-comittal, "I'll text you," but whatever. Whitney grabs Erin so they can go to the ladies room and Whitney shares that Jay and his bandmates weren't pleased that she showed up so late. (That's the problem with being passive aggressive--she should have said something to Olivia IMMEDIATELY when they got to her apartment).

Jay joins the conversation outside the ladies room and Erin apologizes for their late arrival and Jay replies, "What do you expect when you hang out with people like that?? Why don't we just forget about it? Let's go and hang out..." Erin diffuses the tension by suggesting they make it up with a round of tequila shots and Jay says, "Done." The tension seems to disappear. I have no idea why their tardiness is being pinned on Olivia, but I guess it's okay since she's already gone and not there to point out that no one verbalized they were in much of a rush...


At work the next morning at DVF, Whitney asks Olivia if she had a good time at the concert and although Olivia says, "Oh, totally," her facial expression is completely blank. Whitney reiterates that she felt bad because they were totally late (how this matters AFTER the fact is beyond me). Olivia tells Whitney that her girlfriend, Theresa, is doing a charity for "New York Cares" where each person invited brings a coat and all the coats are donated to the homeless. She namedrops that Brooke Shields will be there...and then informs Whit that Theresa's intended band fell through so she suggested Jay and hooked him and his band up with a gig!! Whitney looks like a deer caught in the headlights and she says, "I'm sure that will mean a lot to him."

Back at home, Whit delivers the good news to Jay. The charity event is going to be at the Gansevoort Hotel, which is way cool, but Jay seems a bit apprehensive since this is all coming from Olivia. Whitney tries to portray it as Olivia's way of making up for their being late to his concert. When Jay asks if Olivia even knows how to book a band, Whitney confesses that she doesn't know any of the details. She imagines it will be an intimate gathering and that it's just Olivia's way of helping. Jay mocks Olivia's crowd by wondering if it will be a "Neil Diamond/ Sweet Carloine" type of crowd and he suggests that they bring Nevan up on stage as he obseves that Nevan never stops talking...they have a few laughs at Olivia's expense and Jay reluctantly agrees to give it a shot.

Erin and JR meet up for dinner at the Antique Garage in SoHo and JR points out that although they have been apart for quite a while, things seem to be picking up right where they left off. Although they are both smiling and happy, Erin tells JR that his timing is shitty and he suggests they play it by ear. (By all accounts, though, when last we saw Duncan, Erin was ushering him into a taxi and telling him not to move to NYC from Canada just to be with her. It was more than awkward and I'd be surprised if they were still together after that little bon voyage).

JR says their relationship is still where his heart is, to which Erin replies, "I don't know." This catches JR off guard. He asks if Duncan knows they are having dinner together..with candles...? I guess Erin's juggling act is a new storyline.

Later, at Erin's apartment, Whitney and Samantha are visiting and catching up on Erin's "complicated" lovelife. On one hand, she is off to see JR where he is bartending at Brother Jimmy's and yet, when she talks to Duncan, it just makes her really upset. She says Duncan has been so perfect and so supportive, but of course, he's far away. On the other hand, she's seeing a lot of JR (ahem) and she notes that they did always talk about getting back together. Whitney counsels Erin to just go and see JR and get some free drinks out of it. She's sold on the idea of free drinks and admits that she would "totally suck JR's face tonight" because she's "feeling saucy." She must have been a lot more than saucy when she allowed JR to spend the night last week....

Suddenly, we're at Hotel Gansevoort. I don't know why there was no further mention about the charity event, but apparently, the big night is here. The room is packed with people and Olivia is going around introducing herself to everyone. Nevan appears and asks if they should sit to watch the band. Whitney thinks they wouldn't have a good vantage point from the seating so Olivia and Nevan wander off to a table without her.

Over at Brother Jimmy's, Samantha and Erin are having a drink and Erin is wishing she didn't have a boyfriend. She claims to be "officially and royally confused." Sounds like manufactured drama to me since it's apparent that she wants to get back together with JR.

Back at the Hotel Gansevoort, Olivia and Nevan are critiquing Jay's band. Nevan astutely points out that Hotel Gansevoort is a glossy high end place and Jay is wearing a plaid flannel shirt onstage. He mocks that maybe after the performance, the band should be clearing the forest in the Yukon, based on their apparel. Olivia says she told them "cocktail attire," so clearly they aren't dressed appropriately. Nevan continues his bashing.

The set ends and Jay jumps off the stage and towards Whitney. Somehow, Nevan is directly behind Whitney when Jay says, "Get me out of this fucking place." Nevan is shocked. As they walk away, he adds, "And keep fucking Bevan away from me." Maybe it was Nevan's remark, "GO COMMODORES," when the music stopped?

Olivia tells one of her friends that she thinks she saw Jay just leave, without saying good bye and she thinks it's disrespectful. Nevan counters with, "Well what do you expect from the plaid mafia? You're going to get what you're going to get." For all his flaws (and legal woes), Nevan also points out that he would never roll out without saying good bye. He is clearly a prince among men.

Over at Brother Jimmy's, JR is on a break so he goes to the other side of the bar to ask Erin what's bothering her. She takes JR outside and she bursts into tears trying to explain that being with JR is what she thought she wanted, but Duncan is the first guy she has dated, since JR, that she likes. JR tries to get clarification, but the only thing Erin knows is that she just doesn't know...

The next morning at work, Olivia asks Whitney what she thought about the charity event and Whitney gets uppity and tells Olivia that it was rude to sit in the back and for Nevan to be making fun of the band. Olivia takes no responsibility for Nevan's actions and explains that it was an upscale event and the band should have been wearing suits. Whitney tries to plea that Jay doesn't go to these types of events and didn't know better. Olivia tensely asks why Jay left without a single thank you and Whitney says he didn't feel he owed anything to anyone since no one was paying attention anyway. LAME!! Olivia goes for the jugular by replying that it was just insecurity on Jay's part and shuts down the conversation by saying it's not the time nor place for this type of discussion and in the future, she plans to keep their work environment and their friendship totally separate.

**I truly cannot believe that I read this show is being picked up for a second season! Tonight's episode is a prime example of why this show does not work. Erin's storyline is a snooze-fest. Angst over losing a boyfriend she told to, basically, get lost and reuniting with an ex she has already slept with in last week's episode? "Laguna Beach" had more compelling drama and that was about high school juniors and seniors.

The rift between "socialite" Olivia and Jay? Puh-lease!! Olivia got a bum rap for Whitney's own inability to get to Jay's concert on time. NO ONE should be wearing a plaid flannel shirt to Gansevoort Hotel and even though Nevan was immature, Jay owed Olivia a big thank you for trying to help him and his band to gain recognition. Instead of storming out of the charity event, Jay should have just asked Nevan about his run in with the prostitute he tried to hire in Palm Beach, Florida last year and how was his experience with being locked up and why hasn't he completed his community service? THAT would have shut him up...but really, Nevan is just comical and I don't know why Jay chose to be insulted by his silly comments.

I know these MTV "reality shows" are totally fake, but since that's true, why not write these storylines better? The shots of NYC are gorgeous, but the characters just put me to sleep. With Manhattan as a backdrop, is this the best the writers can do?

The upside of this episode was: NO ALLIE, one brief sighting of Adam, at Jay's first concert, and I am always happy for some Nevan snark.

Downside: No Kelly Cutrone....Erin's indecisiveness is annoying, Jay's band sucks, and Whitney needs a backbone.

Next week on "The City," Olivia is cracking the whip on Nevan about getting a job, Duncan (and his grizzly beard) return to NYC and Erin is still confused, Duncan and JR come face to-face and Duncan lays down the law with Erin that he wants no part in a love triangle. Jay advises Adam that he doesn't think Adam and Allie should be living together so Adam gives him the boot from the apartment. With a New Year's Eve backdrop, Jay tells Whitney that he'd be most comfortable staying with her. We also see Erin, in tears, saying, "I miss him," but naturally, we have no idea which guy she is referring to.....