Week 4 begins with Brad celebrating his elimination match victory. Coach Rich Franklin shares in the jubilation, pointing out that the victories that matter are the ones that take place in the ring. Brad's win eases the realization that Team Franklin still has no challenge wins.
Cut to the house, where we are shown shots of a typical 20-ish single healthy male drinking large amounts of alcohol. His housemates express concern about Joe's drinking: they find it annoying and immature, and wonder if Joe has a problem. While I, too, feel that an athlete in training should curtail, if not eliminate, alcohol from his regimen, I wonder if those guys remember what they were like in their late teens and early 20s. I certainly abused my liver like it had assaulted my mother when I was Joe's age. What's more, back then, I could bounce back the morning after and still squeeze in two workouts and a full day of work.
Joe responds to questions about his drinking by pointing out that they're incredibly bored. The contenders are sequestered like a jury - no TV, no newspapers or magazines, no Internet, no nothing. So after daily training, all they have are whatever books they brought - and let's face it, I doubt most of these guys are big into reading, or board games. I can't blame Joe for being bored, and I bet the show's producers hoped to produce some alcohol-fueled excitement/conflict/violence. Besides, Joe says, I relax a little more so that I won't burn myself out. This does make sense.
At this point, our focus is drawn toward Jorge. I'm betting that Jorge will be in the final match - which is why his role in things is starting to be featured so heavily. We see Jorge as he tries to conspire with various teammates to strategically eliminate people in competition. Jorge encourages green team to work as team until there are only two fighters left in each weight class. He sounds sneaky, manipulative, and Machiavellian. I like it!
But we are also shown Jorge's mental Achilles heel. To wit: Jorge simply cannot stand to have his manhood questioned, and he can never back down from a challenge. This is shown when Joe dares him to snort a noodle up one nostril, thread it through his sinus cavity, and yank it out the other nostril. Jorge tries to refuse, but breaks down right away once Joe calls him "chicken." After he performs the pretty disgusting and uncomfortable feat, Jorge screams, "Who's chicken now, bitch?" Seems like studying the martial arts should have cured him of the need to prove his manhood every time someone says, "I double-dog dare you ..." But oh well.
