ShoeGate

The best part about catching a reality show in its first season is that the participants haven't quite figured out how to present themselves, resulting in drama that's more raw with less producer manipulation. And honeys, the drama this week was definitely raw. It was actually a little uncomfortable to watch because no one was coming out of this looking particularly good. We can talk about the big blowup in the hotel room between Kara Saun and Dirty Girl later. For now, let's talk about what Project Runway fans have termed ShoeGate.

Kara Saun had to have known she was in the wrong here. And if she didn't know, then she was so caught up in her own supremacy that she couldn't even imagine she'd be questioned about it in any way. Neither prospect speaks particularly well of her.

As for Jay, we realize that he was there to compete and not get caught up in any drama and we have to say that might have been a wise decision, but like it or not, he found himself caught up in something that affected all three of them and adopted possibly the most passive-aggressive stance we've ever seen anyone take on a reality show. Bitching to the cameras and rolling his eyes behind Kara Saun's back but offering only half-assed objections to her face.

Strangely enough, it was Wendy's response that proved the most compelling. We're going to indulge in a little armchair psychology here so you might want to fix yourself a cup of coffee before we get started.

We think it's fairly clear that we are pretty much the last people to defend Wendy. And if we haven't made it clear, let us just state that we have always felt that Kara Saun had good reason to be hurt by Wendy's manipulations and had somewhat good reason to be angry that she wound up in the final three.

But.

There comes a point where, if you really consider yourself a professional (and we think it's more than clear that KS not only considers herself one, but considers herself the only one out of the 3 of them) then you need to bloody well act like one.

Kara Saun's Junior High "I'm done with you" responses to Wendy's quite reasonable objections were a little painful to watch. When you watch two people fight, one of whom you think is a crazy bitch and the other of whom you think is talented and deserving, it's a little tough to watch the talented, deserving one come off as an asshole and the crazy one come off as correct.

She was flatout wrong. She'd been caught giving herself a clear advantage over her competitors in violation of the rules and when she was called on it, she got snotty and dismissive of the whole thing. We really like Kara Saun, but it was her entitlement that really turned us off here. This notion she had that because she was good and because she's a professional, the rules didn't have to apply quite so much to her.

As for Wendy, well...we felt a little sorry for her. We think she went around with a fairly good game face on most of the time (when she wasn't crying, that is) but reading between the lines we see a women who was not only in over her head; who not only knew she was in over her head, but somehow, inexplicably, desired some form of seal of approval from her competitors, whom she clearly considered her betters.

Her tearful accusations of Kara Saun were absolutely correct but what was so striking was her blatant need to have Kara Saun agree with her. If she had just agreed with Wendy's contention that she was "strategizing," Wendy would have felt completely vindicated in her prior behavior. It was really quite an intense little exchange. From Wendy's point of view, more was riding on this little dispute than anything else, including Bryant Park.

In the long run, we don't think Wendy really cared about the shoes. She just desperately needed Kara Saun to admit that she wasn't perfect and that she was, in fact, guilty of the very things of which she accused Wendy. For a brief moment there, we think that's all Wendy wanted. "Take the Grand Prize, just admit to my face that you do it too."

As for the "solution" dreamed up by the producers, the less said about that, the better. It was no solution at all. They didn't really care about solving the issue so much as maximizing its drama.


[Screencaps: projectrungay.blogspot.com]


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