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"Who Gets the
Good Life?" - August 9
It started with 14, and over the course of 7 weeks, 11
people have been sent home. Last week, the teams threw
a party at a nightclub, and J.W.'s attitude proved to
be his undoing, as he was left off the list. That
leaves just 3 left, and in this finale, Kathy Hilton
will determine who will get the $200,000 trust fund,
as well as a new apartment and other spoils...
Interview time
The next morning, Jackaay, Jaret, and Vanessa are on
the balcony at their suite in the Melrose hotel,
having breakfast. And immediately, Jackaay reads the
letter that was sent with the food, as usual. It
instructs them to each pick a location that best suits
them, as at those locations, each of them will get a
one-on-one chat with Kathy. Looks like we have the ol'
"plead your case" challenge here.
Jaret chooses a sports complex, since he grew up
running. And we get right to his meeting with Kathy,
where he explains to her that he lived in a trailer
park, and how track & field helped him to get away
from it. Jaret also mentions that he writes poems, and
he recites one to Kathy. After receiving a compliment
for it, he says it was inspired by his grandfather,
who raised him when he was a kid.
Jackaay goes second, and for her location, she goes
with an art gallery. When asked about her childhood,
Jackaay says that she had a good childhood, and tries
to go into what her neighbourhood was like, but she
stalls. She then mentions that her parents "decided to
go their separate ways," and that she understood what
was happening, since she heard the fighting. And
Jackaay also says that she had to keep her younger
sister from this, to protect her. She showed plenty of
emotion through this, and for a good reason.
Finally, Vanessa picks a restaurant for her one-on-one
time. When asked about what a day in the life would be
like for her, Vanessa mentions that when she drives,
she sees people jogging, and figures that she wouldn't
mind doing that herself. Then, when asked what
motivated her to come to New York and compete on this
show, Vanessa said she wanted to do something with her
life that she'd enjoy, and through the course of the
competition, she discovered that she wants to be a
fashion designer. And when she gets to her bossiness,
Vanessa explains that she is just more driven when she
has a goal.
After the meetings, the final 3 are sent back to the
Sports Club L.A. (from episode 5) for a training
session. Jackaay is running on a treadmill, Vanessa is
on a rock-climbing wall, and Jaret is punching away at
a punching bag. All 3 are reflecting on the impact
that winning this competition would have on their
lives.
Dinner and a surprise
Later that night, they meet Kathy for a dinner at what
appears to be a fancy restaurant outside of the city.
For a good portion of the dinner, everyone was silent,
as Jaret explained in an aside about the tension in
the room, and how everyone was trying to make sure
they ate the proper way. Kathy then speaks up, saying
that they've been through a lot so far, and Jaret
mentions how it was good for them to let her know a
little bit about themselves. Kathy then asks Jaret and
Jackaay to let her and Vanessa have some more
one-on-one time. As they do so, one has to wonder,
"Why?"
Once they're outside, Kathy tells Vanessa that she was
glad they had their time together, and that she'll be
successful regardless of what path she takes. You can
probably tell by now where this is leading... Kathy
then explains that the lack of a formal challenge this
time was because she wanted to see who came the
furthest throughout the past weeks. And after
mentioning that the other 2 came so far, Kathy informs
Vanessa that she'll have to say good-bye. Yep, Vanessa
is out of the competition. After a hug, she makes her
way out of the restaurant.
Afterwards, Kathy heads outside and informs Jackaay
and Jaret that they're the final 2. Jackaay seems
shocked. Kathy then explains that their final task
will be to write a speech, and deliver it to an
audience, and this will determine the winner. The
speech is meant to reflect on their experience during
the competition, and convince Kathy that they deserve
to live the good life. But for now, they get a boat
ride back to New York City. In an aside, Jackaay noted
that it is now down to one from Park and one from
Madison. (Considering her claims of Madison being
cursed, it would seem like a miracle that someone from
that team is still in it at this stage.)
Back at the hotel, Jackaay finds it weird that it's
just her and Jaret in a big suite. She remembers
everything that had happened before, when there was so
many people there, and we get a flashback from episode
1 of... someone on team Madison mooning team Park
through a window. Yeah, it certainly shows how little
class contestants had back then. Jaret is just happy
to be one of the final 2, and he's still trying to
figure out what Kathy is seeing in him to get him this
far.
Dealing with writers' block
The next day, Jaret and Jackaay are busy writing their
speeches. And both seem to have made some progress,
but they may be struggling. So, it looks like they're
going to get some help. In comes Stewart Gottlieb, a
speech writer, to meet with Jaret. He explains his
credentials as a professional speech writer, then says
he's there to help. Jaret explains that he doesn't
want a sad story as his speech, and Stewart explains
that the audience will remember how they feel about
the person, and not what they say. He says to start
with something about himself, then develop a theme.
Stewart then meets with Jackaay, where he explains
about how public speaking is the #1 fear and death is
#2, then tells her to make sure the audience feels
comfortable with her, to help her relax while
speaking.
Then, they each get a meeting with Jacqueline
Farrington, a speech therapist, to work on the actual
delivery. She asks Jaret to say "I like to bake my bad
bike" while looking in a mirror, and he does so. She
then points out a thing or two about how he delivered
that sentence. In an aside, Jaret notes his Texas
accent, and says he'll try not to make himself seem
like a redneck. We then see Jacqueline working with
Jackaay on pronouncing "Chicago", and dealing with her
own accent. Next, Kathy sends in a couple of her
personal stylists for a spa session to make sure the
finalists look good.
After that, in comes the ol' "appearance by
friends/relatives" bit. Jaret gets a surprise visit
from his mother, Wanda. They hug, and chat about what
Jaret had been through so far, including the rewards
that he got (naturally, since he was from team Park).
Then, Jackaay gets a visit from her best friend,
Danielle. They also hug, and Jackaay explains to
Danielle what still lies ahead of her that night.
The speech of their lives
For one last time, the contestants arrive at the
residence, where most of the 12 before them had
fallen. And this time, they're there to each deliver a
speech, following which one of them will be declared
the winner. And the room in which past deliberations
have occurred has been transformed, with dinner tables
all over. Many people are there, including some of New
York's elite, friends and family of the final 2, and
the 12 eliminated contestants. We get predictions from
a few of those; Yvette thinks that Jaret will win,
Vanessa thinks that Jackaay will win, and Rashad would
rather flip a coin to decide, since he sees it as a
close call.
As everyone chats in the room, in walks Jackaay, and
as they applaud, she sits down next to her friend. And
then, Jaret walks in, and through another applause, he
sits next to his mother. And finally, the last to
arrive is Kathy. Another applause later, and she walks
over to the podium, which happens to be right near the
table where Jaret and Jackaay are sitting. She thanks
everyone for being there, then gets right into it by
introducing Jackaay, whom she decides to call
"Jacqueline".
Jackaay starts with a comparison of quotes from her
mother and Kathy about leaving food on the plate; both
involving mice. She then explains what her life had
been like before the competition, and mentions how she
felt like "one of the guys" then. Jackaay says that
she wanted to show that she could be a woman of New
York, and mentions the opportunity that Kathy gave
her, and how grateful she is of it. She also
compliments the other 13 contestants, especially Jaret,
and that she has stayed positive throughout. At the
end, Jackaay gets a good applause, then Kathy thanks
her, and introduces Jaret.
Jaret begins by saying that he didn't imagine someone
like him living the good life, and that he dreams big,
but those dreams couldn't prepare him for what Kathy
had prepared for the players. He mentions what he had
been taught throughout the competition, and says that
he'll use what he learned. Jaret explains the rewards
that he had received, then compliments Jackaay. He
then thanks Kathy for everything that she had done,
and he won't forget those that he met, or the
experience that he had. Jaret receives a good
applause, and Kathy returns to the podium.
Kathy says how proud she is of all the contestants,
then mentions how hard of a decision this will be for
her. She then says that she'll need some time to
herself to think about her decision. And with that,
Kathy walks out of the room, leaving the room to
continue the dinner. The finalists are obviously
tense.
The final decision
Soon after another flashy graphic showing off the
residence, Kathy returns, apparently having decided on
a winner. She reiterates the difficulty of making that
decision, and mentions that she has evaluated not just
the speeches, but everything that they had been
through since their arrival at Grand Central Terminal.
Kathy then goes into what awaits for the winner:
-A 1-year membership to the Metropolitan Museum of Art
-A subscription to a season of New York City opera at
Lincoln Center
-Their face on the cover of "Avenue", a New York
society magazine
-A wardrobe from designer Alvin Valley
-A pair of diamond earrings/cuff links in a platinum
setting
-A wardrobe from Banana Republic
-A year of skin-care products
-A trip for the family to Europe by private jet
-A fabulous apartment
-A trust fund worth $200,000
Talk about spoiling the winner, eh? Anyway, Kathy
mentions that although both have done very well, one
truly shined from start to finish, and is
well-respected by everyone. She then calls for a toast
to the winner, the first on Kathy's list...
-Jaret
With that, the room applauds, and Jaret hugs some of
the former contestants, as well as runner-up Jackaay,
who is a good sport about this. And then, the episode
ends on one final toast to the good life, this time
led by the winner, Jaret.
That does it for I Want To Be A Hilton. And no, I
don't expect another season of this show. But if one
happens, I'll yell random obscenities for a few
minutes. Seriously. See ya.
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