Flaming Bros San Fernando - Season 2 (2016)

 

Season 2 (2016)

 

Sigh... let me tell you: I haven't watched this season since it first aired in 2016. It was absolutely exhausting and depressing to get through, and marks a significant tonal shift from Season 1, diving into a much darker and more unforgivable territory. But for you all, I was determined to rewatch it. So, you’re welcome. The events of Season 2 are exactly why Rafa never talks about the season. He never promoted it, he didn't do a lot of confessionals for it, and he refused to do interviews on it, implying that he was slowly but surely drifting away from the show. And what transpires after the airing of the reunion is even worse. But until then, let’s just get through Season 2, shall we?

 

 

 

This season was filmed between October 2015 and January 2016, and aired from April to July 2016, consisting of 20 episodes, which isn't good for this particular season. You'll be asking yourself, "When is this season gonna be over?" Not because it's bad, but because it's fucking HEAVY, as if the main mission was to make Rafa’s life a living Hell.

 

 

 

Returning this season are main cast members Enrique Sapene, Jason Caceres-Lopez, Alex Paredes, David Ty Reza, and Rafa Silva. Joining the main cast are Alastair Patton (who graduated from his friend role; well-deserved) and Aiden Lee-Halley (the ghost of sizzle’s past).

 

 

 

Cory Zwierzynski joins the show as well. He is credited as the new friend-of this season, but… he wasn’t supposed to be a friend of. He was edited into one. More on that when we talk about Cory.

 

 

 

───

 

 

 

What many don't realize is that any storm - big or small - can make a huge difference in a survivor's mental state. And nobody knows that better than our dear Rafael Luis Silva, the soul of the show who gets pushed to his limit this season.

 

 

 

Rafa’s influence - especially outside the group - symbolizes what FBSF⛈️ COULD be if the B&S brats didn't exist. What’s very underrated about Rafa is that because of his life as an immigrant in the City of San Fernando, and overall presence, he brings in an audience who wouldn’t have given FBSF⛈️ the time of day, given the horrible reputation of gay reality television. And even though he lives in the City of San Fernando, he tries to do what many of the Bullies & Snobs hardly do: get out of the bustling neighborhoods and enjoy what Mother Nature has to offer.

 

 

 

Maybe it’s his spirituality, or his farming and equestrian experiences that makes him feel this way. When we last saw Rafa (disregarding the reunion), he had applied to work in the Sylmar-based Monteverde Ranch Equestrian Center as a stable hand and exercise rider, after Alastair’s fiancé Zachary recommended it to him personally. Since then, he has gotten hired, and his job has successfully kept him occupied and distracted from any stress or claustrophobia that comes from living in the more industrial small town of San Fernando. But because he has yet to go to therapy, using Monteverde Ranch as a spiritual and emotional refuge can only work for so long.

 

 

 

In the Season 2 Premiere (Episode 1), Rafa’s role as an exercise rider and stable hand is documented in the opening scene: he’s setting up tack rooms, getting horses in and out of their stables safely (it helps that Rafa has always naturally been a quiet and gentle person), and helping younger horses learn when/how to switch leads. He can also read a horse’s demeanor, and figure out whether a horse he’s assigned to is okay, hungry, spooked, cranky, etc. He emphasizes in his confessional that it’s important to communicate with and get along with the horses verbally, emotionally, and physically, and avoid being forceful or aggressive.

 

 

 

After that opening scene, we cut into Rafa talking to Alastair's fiancé Zachary Garcia who is hanging out with Rafa (during Rafa’s break) in a safe area away from the horses for Zach’s sake and safety. The two first met back in 2013 after Alastair and Zachary became an official couple. And via confessional, Rafa says, “Zach may have always wanted to go to Los Angeles to work, but as soon as he and Alastair started DM'ing each other and video chatting, Alastair became THE number one reason to go to San Fernando proper. I teased Alastair about that and he HATED me for that 🙈😹."

 

While hanging out with Rafa during Rafa’s break, Zach asks if anyone else is coming back to the show: "I know you, David, and Alastair are back; I mean, people loved y'all. But is anyone else from last season coming back, too?" And Rafa says, "Yeah, everyone else whose name isn't Estuardo is coming back. So that's Jason, Enrique, and David. Not sure about Jason’s brother Alex, though." Zachary fights back a laughter, and just nods saying, "Got it. The gang's all here! And Alex Paredes, too, right?" Rafa immediately realizes that he left out Alex Paredes AGAIN, and says, "Oh no. Not again 🤦🏾." Zach laughs out loud and says, "Oh Rafa... Rafa... buddy... we really need to work on your APML - Alex Paredes Memory Loss" Rafa covers his face trying not laugh, but says, "Shut up, Zach," while giggling. If you remember from last season, Rafa’s father Ricky said to him, “Filho, tem muita gente. Como você vai lembrar o nome de todo mundo?”. Since then, not only did Rafa always struggle to remember Alex Paredes’ name, but he would also completely forget about Alex P’s entire existence. And because Rafa comes from a “psychically gifted” family (the fandom’s words, not mine), it’s often believed that Ricky cursed Rafa to forget about Alex P. Do I personally believe that Rafa is cursed? No. And neither does Rafa himself. But it is hilarious either way. And to be fair, Alex P is forgettable, even when Alastair gets dragged into Alex P’s bullshit this season. Anyway, enjoy this lighthearted moment between Rafa and Zach while it lasts, because unfortunately, there aren’t many moments that allow our dear Rafa to relax. I really hate to say that.

 

 

 

What Rafa may lack in Alex-P-based memory, he makes up for in remembering how everyone else made him feel last season. Especially Jason. After the Season 1 reunion, Rafa stops interacting with Jason, and does not say a single word to him the entire Season 2. More on Jason later, but the lack of Rafa greatly affects Jason's relevance. 

 

 

 

In retrospect, Rafa's equestrian life and tumultuous adolescence (the latter of which he opened up about last season) start to feel like foreshadowing for Season 2's major events. As established last season, Rafa was never truly accepted in San Fernando for who he is. And while horses have easily taken Rafa for who he is, horses and people are two totally different mammals.

 

 

 

In addition to being a workaholic, Rafa is a giver by nature. So, he tends to put everyone first before himself (from protecting Jason’s sizzle reel secret, to being a damn good friend to Alastair and David), which – as we see this season – can sometimes be a bad thing. It’s not like he forces his way into other people’s lives. Of course not. But since outing B&S’s dynamic as fake in the Season 1 finale, even when something has NOTHING to do with Rafa, the rest of the cast can't seem to function without him; they NEED him to stay relevant. That, of course, is with the exception of Alastair Patton, spoiler alert. Remember this, because it will be important in Season 3.

 

 

 

And if we learned anything about Rafa last season, it’s that no matter how nice and reserved he can be, he can still end you; “Nice guys don’t finish last. We haunt you forever.” A newbie learns this the hard way while in Santa Clarita, but ONLY because Rafa loses control in the most devastating way. It ends up working against Rafa, socially, emotionally, and mentally.

 

 

 

But it’s one fellow OG in particular who takes Rafa’s kindness for weakness and places blame on him for what happens when Rafa is not in the Las Vegas trip.

 

 

And in Season 2 Episode 1, because he is a Silva by blood, he ends up jinxing later major events when – after he recovers from forgetting about Alex P again – he says to Zach at the ranch, “Well, whatever happens, I just hope that there’s never a ‘gloves off’ situation,” which already feels like foreshadowing.

 

 

Also, one important thing to note is that last season, Rafa was able to have different types of friends and friend groups: (1) Rafa + Alastair (2) Rafa +David (3) Rafa + Alastair + David (4) Rafa + Alastair + Zachary (5) Rafa + Zachary (6) Rafa + Calvin Seabrooks (7) Rafa + Christian Caceres-Lopez. If there's one thing that Rafa knows better than anyone else in the cast, it's that every friend of his serves a specific purpose in his life, and they don't all have to be one big friend group. Hence why Rafa is still the only Amigo that Christian interacts with as of this season. And this time, we don't see his lovely friend and classmate Calvin Seabrooks (the one who accurately labeled Rafa as the Brazilian bridge in the cast last season) at all this season which devastates fans because they loved his insightful, funny, and carefree energy and personality, and his scenes with Rafa in and out of the CSUN campus. But the reason I point out Rafa’s different friend dynamics is because two of them turn out to be built on condition, dishonesty, and manipulation. And he doesn't realize this until it's too late

 

 

In addition to Calvin's absence, we also do not see Rafa's parents or brother Dominic (the latter of whom moved to another house while still remaining in the City of San Fernando) at all throughout this whole season. And this disappoints fans greatly. But their omnipresence lives on throughout the season, and last season is not the last we've seen of them, I promise. The bad thing about them not appearing on this season is that we don't see Rafa confide in them when this season's darkest moments affect him deeply.

 

 

This becomes a very claustrophobic season for Rafa, as if the group's dynamic and environment starts caving in, slowly but surely.

 

 

 

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Last season was pretty rough for David. He had love and support from Alastair and Rafa and still does. But he was also treated like a powerless piece of meat by the privileged Enrique (like he normally has been since they met in 2001 as classmates) and went on to become Jason’s main target because Rafa wasn't entertaining Jason's bs.

 

 

David is trying his damn hardest to transition from the B&S humiliation in the previous season to a man focused on his creative aspirations in the Indie, short film and stage play circuit. And we see him making progress with the Indie film “El Camino” (2015), where he plays the leading role of a meth addict named Miguel. For once, when it came to his acting, he didn’t need Enrique’s help, so that’s progress, if you ask me. That being said, while he is able to avoid Jason at all costs, much of his arc centers on newcomers Aiden and Cory.

 

 

This season, our Dronfield resident is somewhat calmer. He is still very close with Rafa and Alastair, and they stick together a lot throughout this season. 

 

 

In Episode 1, David - who now has a bald/skin low fade with long curly hair - catches up with Rafa in Sylmar after Rafa's shift at Monteverde has ended. "Hey, how ya doin' Rafa?" David asks, and Rafa says, "I'm doing a lot better today, thank you. I love your haircut!" And David says, "Thanks man, I got tired of my long-ass wavy hair," which they both laugh about. David says to Rafa, "How's everything at Monteverde so far? Everything good over there?" And Rafa answers, "Yeah, I-- I'm starting to feel like me again. And really, I'm just glad to be working again, and just being out in the fresh air. It just feels like a whole new world honestly." And David jokingly, "Ooh, okay, Aladdin," which makes Rafa laugh. "And how's your job going?" David says, "To be honest, I never thought I'd still be an electrician, but strangely, it calms me down!" Rafa tells David, "I'm really glad to hear that, David." David says to Rafa, "Now I know I see you and Alastair a lot, but I haven't heard from anyone else, have you?" Rafa says no, and David says, "Not even Alex?" Rafa asks, "Who, Jason's brother?" David chuckles at that and says, "No, not him. Alex Paredes." And Rafa says, "Oh, him. No, I never hear from him. I never even see him on his own." David says in his confessionals, "I guess Alex Paredes was just not memorable to Rafa at all. Poor Alex." "Actually, I have a question for you," says Rafa, "and this might be kinda weird, but how do you think you're gonna feel when you see Jason and Enrique again after everything that happened last season?" David sighs when he says, "Oh man, that's gonna be awkward as Hell. As you know, they hate our guts. And for a long time, I always ran back to Enrique and he would always be chewin' me up and spittin' me out. And I'm just tired of Jason at this point. Girl bye." And Rafa says, "I have no idea how we're gonna get through this new season. But as long as you and I still got each other, and we still got Alastair, and Jason stops acting a fool, hopefully this ends up being a less stressful season." David says in his confessional, "Knowing Enrique and Jason, this might be another shit show." Rafa asks, "By the way, how's El Camino coming along?" And David lights up and says, "It's comin' along great, dude. I can't wait for everyone to see it when it comes out. And the best part about doing that movie is that I didn't need Enrique's help," to which Rafa says, "Hallelujah to that, David."

 

 

───

 

“Life is a warzone, and I will die a survivor,” says Alastair via confessional Episode 13.

 

Movie theater usher Alastair Patton is a newly promoted main cast member this season and is focusing on his personal and mental well-being, and his relationship with his fiancé Zachary. Their relationship is best described as “dorks in love.” And they love horror movies and pop/R&B divas. Their everyday dynamic (while definitely not perfect) serves as a grounded anchor for our quotable king Alastair, providing him with a sense of security as he navigates the often-volatile drama of the City of San Fernando – which seems to be caving in every single day – and face the trauma he suffered during his short time in the army.

 

He is also trying to regain his confidence as a writer. His passion and creativity never left him, but it had been years since he gave up writing before joining the army because “it doesn’t pay the bills,” according to his father, with whom he is still not very close with.

 

As implied last season, Alastair went through a lot while in the army. And he still hasn’t told Zachary about it despite saying last season that they got to know each other while they were dating. So, Alastair hasn’t been completely honest with Zach about why he left the army, other than, “I missed home. I didn’t want to move around a lot.” The only people who have known since 2012 about what he went through are Alastair’s immediate family, and Rafa. And David also knew about it the very next year.

 

At one point in Episode 2, after Alastair and Rafa have a disastrous first meeting with Cory and Enrique, Rafa visits Alastair a day later, and Alastair looks like he has multiple weights on his shoulders. After Alastair serves Rafa a glass of water, Rafa breaks the ice, no pun intended. He says very carefully, “I know that Cory took you to a place that you didn’t wanna be, and, um... I- I just wanted to check on you. How are you doing, for real?” Alastair takes a moment to answer, clears his throat, and softly says to Rafa, “Well, um… I was very annoyed and offended by what he was saying to us. Definitely. He’s accusing me and Zach of cheating on each other, and I never even met Zach until I left the army. And Cory never thought to just ask why I traded the army career for regular 8-hour job. Hell… I almost wanted to do something to him when he talked about you ‘smelling bad’ because of your job. You know, it’s not the first time I’ve been shitted on for leaving the army, and I’m just like… [inhales] I’m just like, ‘Wow, y’all don’t even care enough to ask why I left the army in the first place. You just call me ungrateful, cowardly, and less of a man.’” Alastair takes shaky deep breaths and whispers, “I’m sorry. It still triggers me when people bash me for leaving the army so soon. I still think about the day I told you about what I was going through during that time in my life. It was too painful to tell anyone about it. And I wonder…” tears rolls down his eyes, “I wonder if I’ll ever have the strength to finally tell Zach. You know? He and I are looking forward to getting married when we’re both ready, and I couldn’t be happier and more excited, but… I can’t even be honest with him about what happened to me…” Rafa gives Alastair a hug, rubbing his back up and down, and assuring him in a soft whispery tone, “You will one day, Al… when you’re ready,” as Alastair’s face is buried into Rafa’s shoulder. Alastair and Rafa were very careful about their choice of words when filming this heartbreaking conversation because at first, Alastair was not ready to explicitly say on-camera what he was talking about. But he assured via confessional, “You’ll find out later this season. I promise.” He felt like he had waited long enough and was tired of hiding, and knew that Zach needed to know the truth.

 

As a quasi-newbie to the main cast, Alastair can easily handle conflict with almost no effort. And as we have seen in Season 1, he does NOT shy away from outsmarting people, including his least favorite people: all of B&S, including one person in particular who Alastair gives a nickname during the reunion (a nickname that lives on forever, and I can hardly wait to talk about that).

 

 

 

Unintentionally, Alastair has carved out a niche for himself: the one who can turn a takedown towards him into a showdown towards the opponent. 

 

 

And of course, he's still wearing his signature dog tags everywhere he goes. Including the major events that goes on this season. Those dog tags were seriously looking out for him.

 

 

Unfortunately, his biggest conflict this season comes from Alex Paredes (of all people) via Jason, because again, Jason can't go up against Rafa.

 

 

 

Shortly after filming of the season began, Jason – always causing confusion, even amongst his own clique – said in an off-screen interview with Queerty that Alastair was trying to make a move on Alex Paredes's husband Peter Monn who, up until the season 2 Episode 6, we have NEVER seen in the show, showing how LITTLE we currently know of Alex Paredes. But we don't know about the interview until Episode 6.

 

 

 

When Alastair hears about Jason’s interview with Queerty at Episode 6, he is absolutely disgusted and vehemently denies the allegations. And it's true that he never tried to make a move on Peter. Hell, he has never once approached Peter. He never even MEETS Peter until the Season 2 reunion! Alastair was not even thinking about anyone else's partner but his own. That's how faithful Alastair is to Zachary, and how faithful Jason is NOT to Christian, allegedly. 

 

 

 

Speaking of Jason...

 

 

 

 

───

 

 

Oy vey. Same chaos, different packaging.

 

 

 

Considering his big presence last season, basically being the lead of the show, being the HBIC of the Bullies & Snobs, ditching his shy good guy image in the 9th grade to be hot and dangerous, and ushering in the "Jason & Friends" era, Jason’s role as an individual is greatly diminished this season. And you can just feel it.

 

 

His behavior throughout Season 1 made him a fan favorite amongst trash TV fanatics, but it also garnered so much backlash. From his shameless appropriation of Mexican culture (despite being Cuban), to using racial and homophobic slurs towards David, from constantly attacking David and Rafa, to shit-talking Estuardo, from mocking Rafa’s depression, to demanding Rafa shut up about being Brazilian, from gifting Alastair a ventriloquist dummy dressed like an army vet, to doubling down on his behavior towards his own husband Christian, and on and on… Clearly, he was a problem - and perhaps he HAS a problem - and it could no longer be ignored.

 

 

Some things have changed while others remain the same. Four examples of things being the same are that (1) he is still the primary troublemaker, (2) he is still the glue that holds his (now-exposed) fractured alliance together – sometimes (though not the glue that holds the entire cast together) – (3) he still thinks that his husband Christian is a pushover, and (4) he still hates the 3 Amigos (especially Rafa) with a burning passion. 

 

 

A positive change is that after Season 1, doors were opening for Jason to take on... the occasional odd one-episode roles on primetime TV shows. Hey, you gotta start somewhere; you can't expect huge endorsement deals. Plus, he should be grateful that he’s getting offers, given that he’s another infamous reality TV villain. Either way, he’s actually trying to build something outside the group, which is growth… sort of.

 

 

But one noticeable change (which is good for us, and bad for him) is the absence of his parents Alejandro Sr and Aymee. That’s right, we do NOT see his parents at all this whole season. As a matter of fact, Season 1 is the ONLY season that his parents ever appear on the show. They were largely disliked by the viewers, especially because of their meddling, their attitude and distrust towards Jason's husband Christian, and their enabling of Jason's distrust towards Rafa. Not to mention, their, uh… offensive and problematic sense of humor. So, they were no longer on-screen. Jason and Alex C sure learned from the best, didn’t they? Bye Mom and Dad, you will not be missed!

 

 

Speaking of Alex C, he is no longer a friend-of, let alone a cast member. He only appears sporadically in cameos, and eventually disappears before the cast goes on their disastrous midseason trip to Santa Clarita. And as a result, he no longer has a reason to attend the Season 2 reunion, making this his second and final season in a row where he does not attend a reunion. Needless to say, he wasn’t needed on this show, but barely managed to outlast his least favorite person and former cast member, Estuardo Alvizures. Bye Alejandro Jr, you will not be missed!

 

 

The only member of his family who remains throughout the whole season is his husband Christian, but even his appearances are sporadic as well. In fact, Christian's only appearances with Rafa are in the Season Finale (Episode 19) and the reunion (Episode 20).

 

 

And Rafa and David do NOT interact with Jason the whole season.

 

 

 

Because Jason is not always present ON HIS OWN due to the backlash he received last season, he mostly hangs on to his allies. He plants the seed and they foolishly run with it and take the fall. Seriously, nobody in the B&S cult thinks for themselves…

 

 

As mentioned earlier, this season marks the exit of the worthless spineless moron of a parrot formerly known as Estuardo, so Jason starts off this season without a bestie, to which viewers say, "Wait a minute, I thought Enrique was your bestie too?" Yeah, B&S’s dynamic makes no fucking sense whatsoever. King of Confusion strikes again. Whatever.

 

 

But the loneliness doesn’t last long, as in the middle of Episode 1, we are introduced to the “sizzle reel urban legend” himself. That’s right ladies and gentlemen, Jason's old (and real) bestie and eye-fuck-buddy Aiden Tyler Lee (born December 6, 1989) has officially entered the B&S cult. This time, he is now known as Aiden Tyler Lee-Halley, as he is now married to his husband Zachary Lee-Halley (married April 28, 2015). So y’all better hide your boyfriends, husbands, fathers, sons, and brothers!

 

 

Aiden keeps his husband, better known by fans as Z Halley, private for a little while, until introducing him with one of the worst reality TV tropes of all time, the sexy (aka cringey) bathtub scene. We could’ve done without this nonsense, but it’s a gay reality show, so what was I expecting? His home life is mostly in-check, so there’s really not much for Aiden to pry into. But don’t worry, because Aiden will always have his real partner in crime: Jason.

 

 

 

Aiden (or as Jason likes to call him, Aidencito) is a member of the film production department, and fits Jason's vibe so much that they are often accused by viewers of single-white-female-ing each other. They deny this, obviously, but it becomes clear that they are massively obsessed with each other. Um... Christian???

 

 

 

And unlike Estuardo, Aiden is already well-liked by Alex Paredes and Enrique due to already knowing them (and Jason) for a few years. And the chemistry is still there because he technically never left their sight. So, he never has to prove that he belongs. What he does prove, however, is that he is just as strategic as (or perhaps, MORE strategic than) Enrique and Jason. Enrique may bring method acting, and Jason may bring heat and spice (and the occasional drinks), but Aiden... oh boy... Aiden. Brings. KNIVES!

 

The exit of Estuardo, the limiting of Jason’s role, the fading of Alex C, and the official entrance of Aiden (Hell, even the rejection of Carlos Sapene after the sizzle era) is where we start to see the B&S rotating from here on out, while the Amigos remain consistently untouched... for now. 

 

 

 

Aiden had wanted to join the show as early as Season 1, and Jason (also known by Aiden as "Jay") was on board, obviously. But as Rafa mentioned in the Season 1 reunion, Aiden was “left on the cutting room floor” at first because of Jason. But Jason was allegedly upset that Aiden was rejected, and he was certainly not taking that lying down. Any execs who (along with Rafa a year later) watched the 2013 sizzle reel will instantly remember Jay and Aidencito's dynamic all too well, hence why Aiden was rejected to protect Jason's relationship (and engagement at the time) with Christian. But I think most importantly, it was about protecting Jason's status, image and ego. 

 

 

And keep in mind: as we will see for the rest of Aiden's time on the show, he is the gatekeeper of B&S, building a reputation of being the new guy who's mean to other new guys (largely for no reason), basically having the mindset of, "There's only one successful rookie in this bitch, and it will always be me, never you." Remember this, as it becomes important very quickly.

 

 

 

And because of Jason and Aiden's, uh... chemistry... David notices something oddly familiar about Aiden. He doesn’t know Aiden, but still… if you recall, midway through Season 1, David claimed that he saw Jason making out with a White man who sounded and acted just like him ("I mean, seriously, bro, single white female much?" said David via Season 1 confessional), and accused Jason ON CAMERA of cheating on Christian... multiple times, leading to the now infamous Tidal Wave Trilogy. Given what we know from Season 1 and the 2013 sizzle, it should be obvious at this point who Jason was allegedly cheating on Christian WITH. But again, he and his mini-me deny this, the sizzle reel was never released to the public, and there’s no other proof to back up David’s accusation. Still, Aiden and Jason’s behavior are enough to make us think that David is telling the truth.

 

And speaking of Christian, even though he has never seen the sizzle reel to this day (and it's probably for the best that he doesn't), Christian has known Aiden since meeting Jason. And he knows that Aiden doesn't like him; the feeling is mutual. Aiden – who is VERY in-your-face – has a tendency to playfully flirt with Jason in a way that he and Jason claim to be platonic. And Jason plays along because - not that he'll ever say it to Christian or the cameras - Aiden makes him feel special. But Christian never forgot about the rumors David spread last season about Jason cheating on him with a White guy who sounds, dresses, and acts like Jason. Aiden is a White guy who sounds, dresses, and acts like Jason. They even attended each other's weddings... or at least some of them did. I'll let Jason explain it:

 

"Aiden and Z even attended my wedding with Christian last year, which was so sweet of them," Jason softly says via confessional in Season 2 Episode 1 with a glow on his face, and continues "I also attended Aiden and Z's wedding early this year; Chris... wasn't… there," with a shrug. 

 

Huh... interesting. Jason's wording makes it sound like Christian was supposed to be the problem, but most viewers know better, hopefully.

 

Jason and Aiden know A LOT about each other from head to toe, if you know what I mean. Not that they ever confirm or deny anything. But again... CHRISTIAN?! Z also has a similar issue, but with Jason. But we rarely see Z so he’s almost non-existent.

 

As for Aiden’s conflict with David, all of Aiden's jabs at David are quite nasty. One particular moment between them happens on Episode 3 after Aiden says to him, "Let me be clear with you David. I'm not a fake bitch like you. And I don't like bitches who lie on me, and you're one of them." David says, "Are you serious right now?" Aiden: "Yeah, and I'm not an attention whore unlike you. That's why you're always running to Enrique or Rafa or Alastair." David struggles to defend himself, but says, "First of all, Aiden, you don't know me, okay? So, I suggest you shut your mouth." Aiden argues back, "You don't know me either, bitch! So we're even." David says, "On my mama's life, I ain’t the one, okay? Watch it. Stop making shit up." Aiden says, "I'm not making anything up, old man; you are! Lying about me and Jason; like, who does that? My friendship with Jason is none of your goddamn business, honey!" David says, "Well if you’re offended by that, it's 'cuz you wanna get offended!" Aiden simply says, "Yeah, okay. Next time, say to my face what's on your mind, bitch, instead of hiding behind everybody else. No wonder Jason calls you Compton Crackhead. Jealous insecure granny who can't keep a man." OOOOOOOOOHHHHH!!!!!! David shouts, "BITCH, I AIN’T GOT NO REASON TO BE JEALOUS OR INSECURE! Man, you want me to beat your ass in this motherfucker." Aiden, "Bitch bye, we all know you can't fight. Either way, I win."

 

Aiden meets Rafa (who instantly recognizes Aiden from the sizzle reel) later in Episode 1 and doesn't come to play; trust and believe, bitch. He literally tells Rafa that he’s basing his unfavorable opinion of Rafa on what Jason has said about Rafa (going beyond what Jason said about the “sad-looking country kid” sitting in a bus stop reading a therapy pamphlet in 2013), and not letting Rafa speak. Yes, Aiden is literally the White version of Estuardo in this sense, parroting Jason’s scripture like it’s gospel. He finds Rafa boring and dull and uninteresting, and Blah-di-blah-di-blah, and most importantly a threat to Jason, only because Jason already feels that way about Rafa. He even reminds Rafa that he knows about the “cutting room floor” revelation from the Season 1 reunion, and that he is close friends with Jason's husband Christian, which causes Rafa’s cheeks to get a little red from embarrassment. Rafa ends up saying the following in his Episode 1 confessional: "When Aiden told me that he was judging me based on what Jason already said about me, I was over him already. I don't even remember half the things he said to me because he’s just talking and talking and talking...” Rafa sighs and continues with, “I don't know what it is about Jason that makes people lose themselves. But it seems to me that when you're Jason's friend, or ally, or brother, or parent, you're allergic to independence. And then he turns on you." Side note: the fact that Rafa said, "when you're Jason's friend, or ally, or brother, or parent," but never said, "or partner," kind of implies that he views Jason’s husband Christian as independent, which he is. And that independence could also explain why the Caceres family doesn't like Christian, and why Jason throws shade at him, but it doesn't excuse them; absolutely not. Still, Rafa brought up a great point: NOBODY WHO'S DEPENDENT ON JASON EVER WANTS TO THINK FOR THEMSELVES OR HAVE THEIR OWN OPINION (something that Alastair echoes in the reunion about Alex Paredes)! And then Jason drops them like a hot potato. "Look at what happened to Estuardo for further proof," Rafa exclaims in his confessional, leading to Season 1 flashbacks of Jason and Estuardo’s fake friendship and Estuardo's meltdowns during the Season 1 finale and reunion, respectively.

 

 

 

Therefore, SPOILER ALERT, we don't really get to know Aiden as an individual beyond the fact that he’s married. Oh, and that he says the word 'bitch' a lot, probably more than any other cast member.

 

Jason and Aiden (aka J&A, Jayden, and Jay & Aidencito) go full-force. Not only do they hate the 3 Amigos, but they are not shy to show how weird and annoying they think a newbie friend-of is; especially Aiden, who has made it his mission to hate on every newbie (directly or indirectly) who joins this show.

 

 

 

Speaking of which…

 

 

 

───

 

 

 

“Who is he? Why is he sitting at our table? He’s so fucking annoying, Jay.” – Aiden, Season 2 Episode 4

 

 

 

The other newbie who also appears in the Season 2 premiere as a straight-up hater towards our 3 Amigos is friend-of Cory Zwierzynski, a recently hired bartender for Truman House Tavern with a horrible mouth, and a mean streak, something that David in particular learns very quickly during the premiere. YIKES! And everybody else doesn't know what to make of Cory. Even the viewers are just like, "Yeah... I'm not gonna like him, am I?" He's really THAT horrible. And allegedly, customers of the Truman House Tavern say that he has awful customer service skills. Me thinks that he was desperate to get the bartending job, and was hired out of pity.

 

About the whole charity thing... so during the last 20 minutes of Episode 1, the cast (minus Rafa and Alastair, because Alastair had to work, and Rafa had to take his midterm exams in CSUN) are attending a charity event for the homeless at the San Fernando Swap Meet, and it's the first time David meets Cory and Aiden (the latter of whom sparks David's "oddly familiar" comment via confessional). Cory gives off a very weird vibe for David, so David spends most of his time at the swap meet giving Cory the cold shoulder. Cory notices this and eventually approaches David and says, "Hey man, I wanna talk to you; this can't wait." Well, damn, Cory. And David reluctantly says, "Um, alright I guess." In his confessional, David says, "I don't know what this fool gotta say to me, but it better be good." Cory starts talking and says, "Look, I don't know what your problem is with me, but your attitude is really getting on my nerves. For real." David says, "Well I feel offended by your presence Cory. You come at me in this swap meet with this crazy-ass vibe, thinking that you know everything about me, bragging to Enrique about me needing his help with things. How am I supposed to react, dawg?" Cory claps back with, "Well you certainly needed his help for over a decade, apparently." David simply says, "That ain't none of your damn business, new guy. You don't know shit about me to say things like that." Cory says, "Okay, alright. Clearly you take yourself way too fucking seriously. You can't take a joke. I'm surprised you even got friends." David gives a look that screams, "Excuse me?" And he says, "Of course I got friends--" and Cory cuts him off by saying, "So where are they? Hmm? Cuz they sure as Hell ain't here." David shuts down the conversation by saying, "Okay, you know what? We're done here. Go back to sucking Enrique's dick, will ya?" which causes people (even kids) in the charity event to stare at them. David says in his confessional, "This guy wants me to apologize for ignoring him? snickering That fool is crazy, yo. But I guess I met my match. When two ticking time bombs collide. I mean, who does this guy think he is? Really." And as David is muttering to himself, "I'm outta here," Enrique is approaching Cory, asking, "What just happened?" and Cory tells him exactly what went down, to which Enrique says in his confessional "Hmm, I'm kinda surprised that David didn't fly off the handle like he normally does, with his ghetto ass. I should be grateful that he's not really acting a fool, but to see him be so quiet like that...? Yeah, that ain't the David that I know and love to pick on. Maybe he should just go home. And by 'home,' I mean Compton, not Sylmar." David passes by Jason and Aiden who (in addition to clearly being each other's dates for the day) are laughing about God knows what, and they notice that David appears to be storming off the swap meet, to which Aiden jokingly asks Jason, "Jay, what did you do this time?" and Jason quickly says, "Nothing! I swear!" In his confessional Jason says, "So David can actually walk away from a fight? I didn't know the hood rat had it in him. Me thinks that Rafa is a bad influence on him.” Then they see Enrique and Cory following David to the parking lot, which leads to Aiden saying via confessional, "Oh... Okay, I'm just gonna take a wild guess and say that Cory did something to David. I mean, I don't like either of those bitches, so I'm on nobody's side, but this I gotta see." He takes Jason's hand and they walk towards David, Enrique and Cory. Jason laughs in his confessional while saying, "Oh, Aiden, why? You don't like them, and neither do I, so who cares? But yeah, we may as well just watch because this Charity event is so fuckin' boring. Whatever." Once Enrique gets David to stop, instead of asking if David is okay (because why would he ask that anyway?), Enrique asks, "Hey, David, what is wrong with you? Why did you have to make a scene at the swap meet?" And Cory asks David, "Does it bother you that I spoke to you? You feel threatened? Because if so, then I'm clearly doing something right." The Bullies & Snobs (including Alex Paredes, who came out of nowhere) are shocked by Cory's words. David looks away in disgust, which causes Cory to say, "Hey, no, my face is right here. Look me in the eye when I'm talking to you." David says, "Cory, do you know how to take a hint? I'm just leaving so you ain't gotta worry about following me." Cory says, "Really? Really, David? You're such a scaredy ass," and as David walks away to his car, Cory is yelling out from a distance, "WHY YOU WALKIN' AWAY BITCH?! THIS IS A CHARITY EVENT, FOR CHARITY CASES LIKE YOU! YOU SHOULD STAY!" oh snap... Yeah, the Bullies & Snobs don't realize what they've gotten themselves into or who they've invited into their circle. They’re already a fractured group of assholes, so why not add a loose cannon into their clique? Yeah, that makes perfect sense.

 

 

 

Is this enough to make the entire cast come together as a unit, FINALLY? Nope. And you know what? I don't think any of us expected more or less.

 

 

 

Yeah, Cory is a bully, for sure... but he's also desperate to be accepted into the mean girls clique, of which he is a superfan, and it painfully shows. According to Cory, they're the ones with the most iconic drama and he IS the drama. He’s also a trash TV purist. And most importantly, he is a PROBLEMATIC liability who brings out the WORST in our Amigos. Keep that in mind, because it will be important later, especially when we talk about his thirsty (and HATEFUL) conflicts with each of the 3 Amigos.

 

 

 

And while he is reluctantly invited into the Bullies & Snobs alliance (still overpowering the 3 Amigos), he's never truly accepted by the clique, and they eventually regret letting him in. For once, I understand B&S’s annoyance with Cory, but I don’t feel bad for them at all. They were dumb enough to welcome him with open arms. And for the rest of their time on the show, they never recover from that.

 

 

But to be fair, of all the Bullies & Snobs this season, Cory’s harshest critic is Aiden (remember that gatekeeper role?), who has no problem returning Cory’s energy as evidenced in Episode 13 (Cory: “Is Jason paying you to say these things about me?”/Aiden: “Nope.”/Cory: “Yeah, I don’t believe that; you’re being paid.”/Aiden: “Well you’re on this show because you need to get paid. Your bartending job ain’t even giving you a penny, honey.” OOF, don't mess with Aiden, or you'll live to regret it for the rest of your life).

 

 

And Cory’s vicious beef with David is even more lethal, with Episode 8 being a good example. As David, Rafa, and Alastair are playing basketball at the City of San Fernando Recreation Park, Enrique, Jason, Aiden, and Cory show up to interrupt the Amigos' time together. Oh yeah, and Alex Paredes is there, too, not that Rafa would've noticed. 

 

Cory: So, David, you been drinking today?

 

David looks at him confused

 

Cory: You don't have no beer?

 

David: No, dumbass, I'm in a park. What, are you my father now?

 

Cory: Yeah, I am. Because I keep it all the way real with everybody, something that you don't do. Like, apparently, you like drama.

 

David: I do not like drama.

 

Cory: Oh wait, time out. That wasn't it.

 

David: Okay, so get it right, 'cuz that's your problem. You get confused by your own words. 

 

Cory: I have no fucking problem over here, Danny Trejo!

 

Rafa and Alastair are shocked by the Danny Trejo insult. And David just side-eyes Cory.

 

Rafa: "Danny Trejo?" Why did you just call him that?!

 

Cory: 'Cuz that's what he fucking looks like, you dumb bitch!

 

Rafa is taken aback by Cory's answer

 

Alastair via confessional: Red flag. 

 

David via confessional: He wants a reaction from me, and I'm thinking at this point... "Don't come any closer, or you will get a reaction."

 

Cory: WHY YOU SO QUIET, BITCH?! YOU SCARED OF ME? 'CUZ I GOT MORE FRIENDS THAN YOU?!

 

David: Man, none of these motherfuckers like you! They talk about you like a fuckin' dog. I don't care what they told you, they don't like your stupid ass. Get with that.

 

Cory: Yeah, okay, ugly face. Meanwhile you ain't even relevant.

 

David: Cory, stop, okay? You begged to be in that circle. But you will never be a part of it; you ain't got what it takes. I'll still be here when you're LONG fired. I'll be hustling and you'll be out of a job real soon. Boy bye.

 

David, Rafa, and Alastair walk away

 

 

 

 

───

 

 

 

 

Here's a little behind-the-scenes fact about Mr. Zwierzynski: he was never supposed to be a friend-of.

 

 

 

He was cast alongside Aiden as a full-time cast member. But as you'll see throughout his rather SHORT time in the show, Cory was a living nightmare to be around. And apparently, the producers, security, and camera crew agree. In fact, he was allegedly so bad that a security guard actually said, "Whoever cast this piece of shit needs to get fired, along with HIM. I'm not even joking." So… after filming had wrapped, Cory was mostly edited around (as much as possible) before completely disappearing after the group’s trip to Las Vegas. In fact, the only time we see him is when he's interacting with B&S (which isn't very often, to their delight), and when he's out attacking the 3 Amigos. THAT'S IT. Any scenes that he had after Las Vegas never airs. And if he had any solo scenes, they were completely scrapped and destroyed.

 

He never does any confessionals. He never takes a cast photo. He’s not in the opening credits. And he is not invited to the reunion. He is completely BANNED from the show for life.

 

 

 

 

 

 

───

 

 

 

 

The additions of Aiden and Cory makes them the first non-Latinx cast members and first White cast members to join the series (unless you’re ignorant and consider Alastair), with Aiden being Norwegian and English - as well as fluent in Spanish, conveniently - and Cory being Polish, but "Latino-passing." So, the diversity here is... clunky and performative. Aiden and Cory check the “non-Latinx” box, but Aiden comes in speaking fluent Spanish and immediately plugs into the Jason echo chamber. Meanwhile Cory – who has fair light-toned skin that tans to a light-medium shade – is “Latino-passing,” which feels like they’re still trying to keep the visual aesthetic while adding someone who’s clearly coded as an outsider.

 

 

It's as if the show wants to move further away from the Mexican roots of the City, begging the question of why you would even allow David or Alastair in this show, or even Rafa, who always acknowledged that San Fernando is a predominantly Mexican/Chicano city. 

 

 

 

------‐--------------

 

 

 

Following the swap meet confrontation, Episode 2 opens with David giving Rafa and Alastair a heads up about Cory before Rafa and Alastair have to meet Cory and Enrique at a Starbucks. Lol, not Starbucks! And at a Starbucks on a beautiful sunny day, Cory (accompanied by Enrique) makes a BAD impression on Rafa and Alastair, from questioning Rafa’s farm life and decision to work in a stable ("Really? So, you be smelling like shit, right?"), to “joking” that Alastair and Zach were probably cheating on each other when Alastair would be deployed ("Hey there's nothing wrong with that! You gotta keep yourselves busy, you know?") only for Alastair to quickly let Cory know, “Zach and I never met until after I was discharged. Get it right, Cory. Okay?” Rafa and Alastair let Cory know that they don't appreciate his "jokes," with Rafa asking him, "Is this how you talk to people that you JUST met? Because if so, I feel sorry for you, dude." Lord, why did Rafa say that? This is where Rafa and Alastair realize that Cory does NOT respond well to negative feedback... like, at all. He's arguing with both of them about his delivery, saying that they shouldn't be "so damn sensitive," which in retrospect is a RED FLAG for what comes later in Santa Clarita. Eventually he says to Alastair, "Well let me tell you something, army BRAT: I'm a hot guy and YOU are still working a 9 to 5!" This - if nothing else - confuses Rafa, who sacrastically says in his confessional, "Oh yes, Cory, because it's the worst thing in the world to work a 9 to 5 🙄." Alastair’s response: "So what? And you're a part-time bartender." Rafa starts looking very uncomfortable when Cory and Alastair (who are now screaming at each other) start standing up, and sees that Alastair carried Rafa’s cup of coffee, immediately leading Rafa to desperately yell, "NO, NO, NO, NO, NO! Alastair, give me my coffee!" Alastair quickly apologizes to Rafa, "Sorry, sorry. I'm good." And Rafa is overwhelmed by what just occurred and decides that he needs to get Alastair out of the situation. He says to Enrique and Cory, "Alright, you know what? I think we're done here.🖕🏿Come on, Alastair." Rafa and Alastair walk away from Cory and Enrique who are just "offended" by their reactions and abrupt exit, boohoo. Enrique's confessional: "You know, I'm really pissed that those bitches just reacted that way. And that Rafa kid just flipped the bird at us? Who knew that the boring kid and his soldier bodyguard were really about that gangsta life? I guess they been spending a little too much time with Señor Reza." The fact that Enrique even asked that "gangsta" question is just so on-brand of Enrique at this point. It reminds me of when he talked about David’s "ghetto" personality last season when scolding David and reminding him, “You need me.” It's pretty much established that Enrique doesn't like the "ghetto"/"gangsta" personalities. When is he gonna stop doing that?! Why is he able to get away with even subtle insensitive remarks? Sigh, it was the 2010s, what can I say?

 

 

 

 

───

 

 

 

 

As mentioned earlier, Jason said in an interview with Queerty that Alastair was trying to make a move on Alex Paredes's husband Peter Monn.

 

 

 

And on Episode 6, the way Alex P interprets this, Alastair wanted to have sex with Peter. Jason never said that, though; he said, “tried to make a move,” which is admittedly a very broad phrase that can mean almost anything. But does Jason ever correct Alex P? Nope. Is Alex P quick to believe everything that Jason says to him, considering that JASON is the source? Yes. Why, you may ask? Because Alex P doesn't like Alastair for literally no reason. JUST STUPID, ALEX!

 

 

 

Later during episode 6, we finally meet Peter who, in addition to allegedly not being faithful to Alex, is unashamed to play along with the rumor. Peter jokingly implies his falsely alleged affair with Alastair saying to Alex, "Well we did talk and stuff, but it wasn't like it meant anything. He's sexy as Hell, but he ain't you.” Oh my God... 🙈 Why, Peter? WHY?!

 

 

 

Of course, in the very next episode (Episode 7), Alex P, being stupid as hell, sets up a meeting at a restaurant where he tries and fails to set things straight with Alastair. It was supposed to be a one-on-one meeting between Alex P and Alastair, but of course it’s an ambush, with the meeting also having both Aiden ("Of course Jason chickened out and recruited you instead," Alastair points out to Aiden), and (of ALL idiots) Cory on Alex Paredes’ side. So one side is Cory and Alex P, and the other side is Aiden and Alastair.

 

 

Alex P says in a sarcastic tone, “Hi, Alastair,” and Alastair doesn’t say hi back instead says, “Let’s not do that. You’re not happy to see me.” Alex says, “Your right,” and Alastair continues, “Even though you set up this meeting, promising that it was just gonna be you and me. Remember that?” Alex P shrugs when Alastair points that out. And Alastair says “So, why’s Cory here? And why’s Aiden here? You can’t fend for yourself?” Alex P doesn’t answer that question, and says, “Well let me put it to you like this: I don’t like you.” Alastair bluntly goes, “Obviously,” and Alex continues by saying, “I don’t like how you think you’re so much better than the rest of us just because your friends with David and boring-ass Rafa.” Alastair quickly goes, “Well that’s a stupid reason to not like me. ANYWAY, the real reason we’re here.” And Alex loses it, by going, “You were the one getting with my husband and talking to him!” Alastair cuts him off by saying, “I did not talk to your husband. I didn’t get with him. I don’t know him. I’ve never met him. I DIDN’T EVEN KNOW HE EXSISTED! The fact that you believe any and everything that Jason tells you just shows how gullible you really are.” “JASON’S MY FRIEND!” exclaims Alex P, “Of course I’m gonna believe him?”

 

 

Cory chimes in and says to Alastair, “You really need to stop frontin’ and just admit that you did try to have sex with Peter—” and Alastair cuts him off by saying, “Cory, did you not just hear what I said? I DID NOT KNOW THAT HIS HUSBAND EXSISTED! And why are you even speaking? This has nothing to do with you or Aiden.”

 

 

Aiden says, “So, I guess we’re not getting anywhere with this then?” And in his confessional, Aiden says, "I’m not gonna defend Alastair because of his association with Rafa and David. Anyone who’s friends with those two are no friends of mine, period. BUT at the same time, Alex P and Cory are very delusional. They are gonna say until they’re blue in the face that Alastair’s the liar. This means that Jason is fantastic at his job: saying whatever he needs to say to the dumbest ones who will believe that babies came from storks.” Oof, so Aiden doesn’t like Alex P either.

 

 

Cory says to Alastair, “You’re a bum.” Alastair goes, “Oh, I’m a bum?” Cory keeps going, “Bum. You’re a bum.” And Alastair says, “Okay, and you’re a ho, sweetheart.”

 

Oh right, this is supposed to be about Alex P, right? But Alex P can’t bring the meeting back to being about him. He tries, but fails. Case in point, he goes blah blah blah, “you did this you did that, you talked to Peter behind my back." A very heated Alastair (who has his dog tags with him, JUST IN CASE) asks him, "Well since you're so quick to believe that the sky is falling, what did I say to Peter?" Cory – who needed a moment – butts in to say, "That you want his dick!" Alastair says to Cory, "Bitch, shut up! I'm not talking to you."

 

 

 

Cory says, "No, YOU shut the fuck up, you homewrecker!" (which is so ironic given that Aiden is sitting right there, mums the word) and tries to throw a glass at Alastair, only to thankfully miss (them dog tags said, not today, Cory). Alastair returns the same energy, except HIS glass hits Cory DEAD IN THE FACE! OH. MY. GOD. And if the security didn't show up any sooner, it would've been over for Cory. But either way, Alastair won THAT fight, and viewers actually rejoiced Alastair for what he did.

 

 

 

Was it right? No. Did Alastair care? Fuck no. Did the viewers care? ABSOLUTELY NOT! And neither did I.

 

 

“Well, that certainly didn’t turn out the way Alex and Cory hoped. Oh well! I think Cory would’ve lost that fight. Definitely,” Aiden via confessional Season 2 Episode 7.

 

 

It will be a common trend for Cory to always lose a physical fight between him and an Amigo, because he cannot fight.

 

 

 

While Aiden is just quiet yet silently amused, Alex and Cory are left looking dumb as fuck. And Alex P, for the rest of his time on the show, is never able to move on from his stupidity. Interestingly, even though this was technically a conflict between Alex and Alastair, the interference of Cory, the quiet observation of Aiden, and Alastair’s reaction quickly overshadowed Alex P and made him even less relevant. So, he’s hardly even a “satellite character” and is mostly “put on a bus” (shoutout to TV Tropes) until the reunion.

 

 

 

Anyway, that ambush was an epic fail, but Aidencito could not wait to tell Jay all about it the very next day in Episode 8 when he goes to Jason and Christian’s house (much to Christian’s internal annoyance) and sits rather close to Jason on Jason’s couch and says in a flirty, soft-spoken tone, “Jay... you missed a great glass-throwing match last night.” And Jason casually says, “Did I? Do tell.”

 

 

 

Mind you, Christian is right next door in the kitchen behind them and can see them, with a concerned look on his face. It should be noted that Christian does not like Aiden. He always had a legitimate feeling that Aiden was jealous of him, and is just flirting with Jason to annoy Christian. And the fact that Jason isn't bothered by Aiden's delivery is just baffling for our dear Christian.

 

 

 

Meanwhile, also in Episode 8, Rafa and David hear from Alastair about the ambush from Alex, to which David reminds Rafa, “That’s Alex Paredes,” and Rafa says, “Noted.” And while Rafa vocally shows concern wishing that he was there to back Alastair up ("We should've been there in case something like that were to happen."), David doesn’t say too much. He appeared to be shocked. So, maybe he’s just trying to take in the information, considering that Aiden and Cory were somehow involved and causing trouble.

 

 

 

 

───

 

 

 

 

Okay, so… Santa Clarita…you better get ready, because this is where the season has officially gained its reputation of being dark as FUCK.

 

 

Remember that Starbucks incident with Cory accusing Alastair and Rafa being "so damn sensitive"?

 

 

 

Well, during a mid-season trip to Santa Clarita in Episode 12 (hosted by Enrique), all 8 cast members stayed in a beautiful house, but the tension was so THICK!

 

 

 

As a casual reality show fan, I have to ask: Why are people forced to go on cast trips with people they don't get along with? Call me boring, but that is a stupid idea, and what happens to our dear Rafa during this trip is a good reminder of why.

 

 

 

Needless to say, the trip only lasts 2 episodes (3 days) onscreen, and Enrique proves to be a terrible host (big surprise) because he hates the amigos THAT MUCH for 'ruining his show'; especially Rafa, who immediately becomes a target for potential punishment.

 

 

 

On the first day (Episode 12) - beautiful breezy afternoon - when Enrique notices how quiet and timid Rafa looks, he sarcastically shouts, “HI, RAFA! I’m surprised you’re here.” Rafa says nothing, and Enrique says, “You alright, bitch? What’s wrong?” Rafa softly says, “Nothing.” Enrique says with a fake concerned look on his face, "Oh really? Because you haven’t acknowledged me the whole time that we’ve been here. We’re on vacation! Do you not wanna be here?” Without giving Enrique eye contact, Rafa says, “I really don’t.” Enrique says, “Yeah, we can all see that.” Alastair interjects and says aloud, “Alright, that’s enough. What we’re not gonna do is put anybody in the hot seat, okay?” In his confessional, Alastair says, “I am so tired of everyone coming after Rafa. You don’t like him? Fine. Ignore him. Stop talking to him. Just shut up.” Alastair says to the B&S crew, “Just make yourselves useful, and unpack,” to which Enrique says, “Well excuse me, Army Brat.”

 

As the B&S brats are in their rooms unpacking their stuff, the 3 Amigos DON'T unpack at all. Instead, they have a private conversation in the living room about the tension within the cast, with Rafa in particular softly saying to David and Alastair, "Guys, I don't get it. Why are we even here? It makes no sense for us to be here with 5 people that we don't get along with." Alastair vocally agrees, while David stays awfully quiet (again) and sort of checked-out (only nodding in agreement), which viewers notice right away. How Rafa and Alastair didn't notice is pretty interesting. Unless I’m missing something…

 

 

 

Still not over Rafa invalidating Enrique's EP role via a check during the Season 1 reunion or standing up for himself during the Season 1 table-bang finale at James’ Restaurant, Enrique eavesdrops on the Amigos' conversation, and when the subject shifts specifically to Cory's problematic behavior, Enrique proudly AND LOUDLY tells Cory on Rafa, which catches Rafa completely off-guard. And it's off to the races. Cory comes back to the living room and rips Rafa a new one, calling him a scared little pansy for not saying anything to his face, and talking trash about his “creepy-ass family of witches” (these were no yo-mama jokes), and going the racist route again by calling him a "Mexican country-hick," to which an in-shock and triggered Rafa shakingly says, "I'm not Mexican; I'm Brazilian." Cory Z's response? "Same shit! You're still a retarded beaner!" David and Alastair (the ACTUAL Mexicans) are in shock by what they're hearing, and Cory and Rafa start yelling and screaming at each other while getting closer, even though Alastair (who can faintly be heard yelling at Cory, “HEY, YOU WATCH YOUR FUCKING MOUTH!”) is trying his best to pull Rafa back and calm him down while saying, “Rafa, come on. Rafa, please!” Um, where the fudge is David? Physically he's there and visibly shocked, buuuuuuut...

 

 

"And then it happens..." says Alastair via confessional with a slightly shaky voice.

 

 

Before Cory could verbally attack Rafa any further, Rafa does the unthinkable. He punches Cory dead in the face and gives him a black eye, and a broken bloodied nose, and proceeds to BEAT THE LIVING SHIT out of Cory, while crying. "This is literally me at my breaking point," Rafa softly says via confessional. The group and security try to break it up, but Rafa (with his martial arts skills and undeniable strength) will not stop beating the shit out of Cory, and even shoves Enrique off of him, so hard that Enrique falls to the floor. Alastair, who’s trying to pull Rafa away, manages to avoid getting pushed or hit by Rafa, because he was wearing his dog tags the whole time! Yes, the dog tags literally work like a charm, protecting him from any physical harm, even from his best friend. It takes about five minutes for Rafa to stop fighting Cory and let him go. And when he does finally let Cory go, he does so by aggressively pushing him to the floor, causing Cory to accidentally knock over a fragile vase. All viewers can say to Rafa is, DAMN! This is the angriest and most vicious that viewers have seen Rafa (his table bang in the Season 1 finale does not compare), and it was fucking scary to watch. Many viewers agree that former cast member Estuardo was lucky to not have pushed Rafa's buttons any further than the worthless comment, or he would've probably suffered the same consequences.

 

 

 

Alastair is devastated and goes, "Oh my God..." and David is clearly just as stunned and speechless, not that he really said much anyway. They're trying to calm Rafael down as he is crying, visibly shaken and angry. And Enrique - still reeling from being shoved by Rafa - yells at him for "doing such an awful thing! What the fuck is wrong with you?!" But Rafa ignores Enrique's gaslighting, and never apologizes to him or Cory, who throws water at Rafa's face because that's all he can do, as well as say to Rafa, "Get fired, you fuckin’ freak!" David finally talks and says to Alastair, "We gotta take Rafa outside and give him some fresh air." And as they do so, Enrique follows them because apparently, he wasn’t done talking to Rafa, saying, "HEY! Don't walk away from me, Rafa. We are not--" But Alastair has had it and stops Enrique mid-sentence and points his finger at Enrique's face while saying, “Alright, you know what? You better fucking stop right there, I swear to God.” You know it’s bad (yet satisfying) when Alastair is threatening the so-called EP, and says, "You are a fucking instigator, and you know what you did. Your ass should be fired at this point. This isn’t a vacation; it’s a setup." Alastair goes further saying to the B&S out loud, "What Cory just called Rafa - a Mexican country hick and a retarded beaner - should be enough for y'all to wake the fuck up. If you choose to be on the side of someone who's clearly racist and ableist, you deserve whatever comes to you. Period.”  And with that, Alastair walks out to catch up with David and Rafa outside.

 

 

 

But the fact that the rest of the cast does nothing about Cory being racist or ableist to Rafa (and the Latin community, and POCs in general) is a big slap in the face, though not surprising at all.

 

 

 

Nonetheless, this is the last time Alastair and Rafa film with Cory. EVER.

 

 

Rafa is not saying anything while he, David, and Alastair are outside with the security and first aid to check Rafa's right hand that he used to punch Cory. "In the short time that I been knowing Rafa, I ain't never seen him act like that. I just... Oh, God I don't-- I don't know what to say. I was just in shock by his reaction. Normally he'd walk away from a fight. Now, all of a sudden he does that?" Hmm... pretty interesting that he said that. He doesn't even acknowledge in his confessional WHY Rafa reacted the way he did. Given that these confessionals are done AFTER filming for the season wraps, you can't help but wonder if something happened between David and Rafa for David to describe Rafa's behavior in such a... disapproving way. 

 

 

Anyway, while the 3 Amigos are outside the house, David whispers to Alastair, "Dude this is really bad; I don't know what to do." "Me either," says Alastair, who's trying to keep it together. They check on Rafa, and finally Rafa says with voice breaking, "I wanna go home. I'm sorry, but I can't stay here. I don't feel safe. I just wanna get my stuff, and..." Alastair calms him down and says, "Okay, alright, we'll get your stuff. You just get back in the van." And Rafa does exactly that. On their way back to the house, David says to Alastair, "I think we should leave, too." And a worn-out Alastair says, "Yeah, I think you're right." So they get their things, too, along with Rafa's stuff and return to the van. It's a good thing that the 3 Amigos never unpacked. "Enrique probably would've kicked me out of the house anyway. So I thought, 'Why not just beat him to the punch?' No pun intended," says Rafa very softly with guilt in his tone in his confessional. He goes on to say in his confessional, "This group is way too toxic for me. They don't care who they hurt as long as it's not themselves. And I just wanted to go home and just... stay away from those people. Having to deal with them everyday all the time… I just can't do that anymore."

 

 

The rest of the group tries to enjoy the rest of this uninteresting trip, but it's clear that they are just as triggered by Rafa's violent reaction to Cory. Truth-be-told, without our amigos, the trip is BORING to watch.

 

 

 

Omg, I just realized: Rafa was the first to OFFICIALLY throw hands! From punching Cory to shoving Enrique, ALL AT THE SAME TIME! Alastair would've been the first had the security not shown up after he threw a glass at Cory's face. Rafa’s punching and shoving will always take the "holy shit" crown. Even fans of Rafa admitted that they were crying when they watched it, and even crying when Rafa was crying after finally pushing Cory to the floor and being pulled from security.

 

 

 

At that point, the non-Rafa fans were gonna say whatever they wanted about Rafa. One minute, Rafa is boring because he doesn't fight. Next minute, he should be fired for fighting Cory and shoving Enrique. When it comes down to it, they just don't like Rafa because he refused to play the trash TV game.

 

 

 

As for the Rafa fans, because of his response to Cory's racism and ableism, many were worried that he could get fired or demoted. Not just from the show, but especially from his job at Monteverde Ranch, effective immediately, especially after (as documented in Episode 13) word got out about the fight, while the season was still filming in real time.

 

 

 

───

 

 

 

Episode 13 starts off pretty heavy in Santa Clarita. It's a beautiful morning, but the big elephant in the room is Rafa, because of course it is. Aiden, Jason, and Alex P are in the kitchen making breakfast (pancakes, eggs, bacon, hashbrowns, and sausages), and they're just talking trying to make sense of the whole thing. 

 

 

"Did you guys sleep okay?" Aiden asks Alex P and Jason. Jason says, "Yeah, I slept like a baby." And Alex P said, "I slept real good myself. What about you Aiden?" Aiden says, "I tried, but I couldn't stop thinking about what happened yesterday. Maybe that's why I woke up a little early this morning" In his confessional, Aiden says, "I could not sleep at all. Don't get me wrong, Cory was acting a damn fool, for sure. But witnessing Rafa take the argument so far that he wouldn't stop until he was tired of fighting... I had such a headache from that day. Like, what the Hell has gotten into goodie two-shoes Rafa?"

 

 

After the three B&S brats are done making breakfast, they start eating while Enrique and Cory are on their way to the kitchen. "You know, I just don't understand why Rafa... just... had to go there with Cory. Like, I know Rafa does karate or whatever the fuck it is that he does; they're all the same. But Mr. Miyagi is now rolling in his grave," Jason says with a soft laugh. That fucking Jason is so ignorant. Brazilian Jiu Jitsu and Karate are not the same thing. And of course, everybody is blaming the altercation on Rafa. "Right? 'Cuz when you think about it, Rafa was apparently gossiping in the living about Cory, so it's his fault at the end of the day," says the largely invisible Alex P. 

 

 

Cory and Enrique finally make it to the kitchen. "Good morning gentlemen," says an exhausted Enrique. Aiden cannot stop looking at Cory's face post-fight. In his confessional, Aiden says, "Aiden's nose and left eye were FUCKED UP! Woo... I'll give Rafa some credit; he got Cory real good. God...DAMN!” Aiden inhales slowly before continuing in his confessional, “I guess that'll teach me to talk shit about little boy Rafa, huh?" Jason asks Cory, "How's the nose?" And Cory says, "It hurts like a motherfucker, dude. I cannot believe that bitch did this to me."

 

 

Aiden giggles at Cory wining about Rafa beating him up, which catches Cory's attention. And Cory goes, "What's so funny Aiden?" Aiden goes, "Huh?" and Cory mimics him with a squeaky voice, "Huh? Huh? Huh?" And with his normal voice he says, "You think everything about me is funny?" And Aiden says, "Actually, yes I do. I mean, I know Rafa's a little bitch, but so are you, babe." The rest of B&S are shocked and feel awkward by the exchange between Cory and Aiden. "But hey, I'll give you this, Cory: Rafa showed who he really is underneath that fake nice guy persona, and now I got my eye on him. And got both of my eyes working. You only have one good one so..." Lord, when Aiden said that, Jason dies laughing while saying, "Oh shit!" while Enrique and Alex P are mouth agape, and Cory says, "Are you kidding me? Is Jason paying you to say these things about me?” Aiden says, “Nope.” And Cory goes, “Yeah, I don’t believe that; you’re being paid.” And Aiden says, “Well you’re on this show because you need to get paid. Your bartending job ain’t even giving you a penny, honey. How 'bout that?” 

 

 

Enrique breaks it up by calmly saying, "Okay, alright, you too. That's enough. It's not that serious," Aiden just shrugs and says, "Okey dokey." Enrique is just as pissed about the physical altercation. "I'm not enjoying Santa Clarita so far. Rafa really killed the vibe. But I'm glad that he left immediately, because if he didn't, I would've thrown his sensitive ass out. I'm not even joking," says Enrique via confessional. Damn, Enrique...

 

 

 

───

 

Later in Episode 13, after Alastair, Rafa, and David have returned to town from the disastrous Santa Clarita trip early, we catch up with Alastair who is talking to Zachary in Episode 13, in which Alastair admits to Zach that he was internally triggered by what had went down at Santa Clarita between Rafa and Cory. "Rafa did NOT have to be Mexican to know that what Cory said to him was racist. Cory doesn't deserve to be on this show, and I refuse to be in the same environment as him. It’s a wrap," Alastair says via confessional in Episode 13. This is when he finally opens up to Zach about the homophobia, racism (being labeled a "Mexican with White skin"), and (at age 19) the sexual harassment he faced for being gay, including being constantly groped down his crotch by an older male soldier in his 30s in early 2012, and at one point jumped and almost raped by the same person had Alastair not fought him off. This led to his early stages of shame, denial, anger, violence, reckless behavior, irritability, nightmares, panic attacks, and suicidal thoughts which he eventually received treatment for after being diagnosed with PTSD, depression, and anxiety in 2012. Ultimately, he knew that he couldn't stay in the army anymore and was discharged in 2012. Tearfully, he says to Zach, "I still struggle to talk about this with anyone; even my closest friends and family. I've actually seen and heard about plenty of discharged army vets who go YEARS without treatment for their mental health. And... a lot of them... don't live long enough to get the help that they need. And I was questioning a lot of things. I blamed myself, I blamed God, and I… I blamed the system for choosing to not do anything about what I was going through. I was so scared for my own mental well-being, that prayer was no longer enough for me. I had to get help, immediately... or die. I just couldn't deal with the possibility of hurting someone that I loved or a stranger across the street." Zach, who is now crying, softly asks Alastair, "Baby, how come you never told me any of this before?" Alastair tearfully says, "I'm sorry... I was embarrassed. And yet I knew that I was taking a big risk keeping this a secret from you - the love of my life... I just... I never thought that anything like that would ever happen to me. And I don’t know if I’ll ever truly get over it. I told my parents, my sisters, and Rafa immediately about what had happened. But it’s something that I never like talking about, so they never dare bring it up to this day. Even my dad thinks that all of this could’ve been avoided if…” Zach calmly says, “If what?” Alastair slowly and calmly, “If I didn’t choose to be gay," which takes Zachary by surprise. Hearing this explains why Alastair was triggered by the way Rafa was always bullied since he was a teenager, and why Alastair is a very protective person when it comes to people that he loves, sometimes to a fault.

 

 

 

───

 

 

 

Also in Episode 13, we catch up with David who is in his Dronfield apartment with his friend and fellow stage play actor, 27-year-old Rufino Romero. David and Alastair were giving Rafa space. Rufino tells David, "So David... you're back in town early. Santa Clarita sucked that much?" David chuckles and says, "I didn't even stick around for more than an hour to have much of an opinion, bro. But there was a fight between Rafa and a new cast member that I told you about named Cory." "Oh yeah, I remember," Rufino says. In David's confessional, he says, "For Rafa's part in that whole fight, I don't think Rafa is mentally strong enough to handle someone like Cory, or even people like Enrique and his crew. And if we're gonna be fair here, Rafa didn't have to speak on Cory's behavior."

 

 

David says to Rufino, "Everything was happening so fast, and I don't even think Rafa realizes what he's done, especially to himself. And before that, I was mostly quiet that whole trip." Rufino is confused by this and asks, "Why?" And... David says something that caused me to permanently look at his dynamic with Rafa completely different: "He doesn't really put me first like he used to. Like, ever since he started working at Monteverde Ranch, it was obvious to me that I was no longer gonna be his top priority. And spiritually, I don't know what to make of him anymore." 

 

 

Thankfully, Rufino challenges David's rather shocking viewpoint about Rafa when he says, "Well, David... can you respect the fact that Rafa is trying to take care of himself and look out for himself? I mean, he's much younger than you and he has his whole life ahead of him. And I just feel like you're being too dependent on Rafa instead of setting a good example for him. Does this have anything to do with Enrique?" Kudos to Rufino for saying all of that because David is not making a lot of sense. Something's been off with David this whole season.

 

 

David answers Rufino's question and says, "No. This isn't about Enrique. I just wish Rafa would just be there for me a little bit more. But after seeing that damn fight with Cory, I now know that Rafa could pop off at any moment. I never thought that he would be so unpredictable, otherwise his fight with Cory made no sense."

 

 

 

───

 

 

 

Meanwhile, during that same episode (Episode 13), Rafa is stressed out. He’s kept to himself since that awful day in Santa Clarita, and Alastair and David gave him his space. He's trying not to think about what had just occurred in Santa Clarita between him and Cory, and just wants to focus on his job and his Theatre Major in CSUN (Fall 2015 semester). But unfortunately, by the time he’s left the now-empty campus library for the evening, he finds out on social media that articles about an "alleged" physical altercation between him and Cory have now leaked online, and it's ALL the queer fandom talks about. And therefore, it's all he's worrying about.

 

 

"I'm starting to question a lot of things right now. If this gets out to Monteverde, I'm worried that my boss is not going to care about why I reacted the way I did. Typically, bully victims get into the most trouble for physically responding. As for CSUN, it's not like everyone knows who I am, but… a handful of them do. So, I don't know if I'll be able to deal with that. I should have realized that Enrique would pull that stunt on me at Santa Clarita from the moment he started interrogating me. He knew that Cory hated me, David, and Alastair, and that he had a sharp tongue. And I'll bet you anything that he always knew that Cory was a racist given the many times he’s disparaged Alastair and David for being Mexican. What Cory said to me... [takes a sharp shaky breath and fights back tears]... was just... hateful. [whispers while crying] I'm sorry. [wipes a tear and tries to regain his composure, shaky voice and all] I don't even wanna repeat… exactly what he said to me because I'm not Mexican. Just like how I won't ever say the N-word because I'm not Black, even though I was called that when I was a kid in middle school. But here's what I can say: Cory is dead to me, and I never ever wanna see him again. I don't even wanna see him at the reunion. But best believe I will always hate Enrique for what he did to me. He started that, and now he has to live with that for the rest of his life, even if he himself doesn't like Cory either." - Rafa via confessional, Season 2 Episode 13

 

───

 

It is worth noting that during one particular scene in Episode 13, as the B&S crew are spending their final day in Santa Clarita Trip, they are somewhere away from Cory (who's doing God knows what), and agree that they are still shaken by Rafa’s behavior, and are torn on where they stand with Cory after the physical altercation between the two.

 

When Enrique (after taking a big hit of his hookah) asks the question, "Do y'all think that Cory is racist?" Nobody has a clear yes or no answer, which is very typical. Aiden's statement to the gang is actually quite interesting to me: "Cory annoys the fucking shit out of me. But he's clearly not afraid of anyone. Rafa on the other hand... he needs to stop running away from his problems and just own what he did to Cory." Basically, Rafa was wrong for what he did to Cory, and therefore should take accountability for something that CORY did, and more importantly what ENRIQUE STARTED. Yeah, that makes perfect sense.

 

Also, given their own history with being racists, classists, and racially insensitive towards Mexicans and Brazilians, Enrique and Jason are the last people to be having this debate. But of course, Jason says to the other B&S guys, “Rafa doesn’t know what he wants to be. One minute, he’s talking all this bullshit about haunting people. Next minute he’s crying like a little bitch because somebody was mean to him. He’s always keeping the drama going, and then he plays the victim and makes everything about race. I’m honestly getting tired of that. Rafa sure is an actor.” Uh, Jason, you’re an actor, too, and so is Enrique. Fuck, so is your husband! What does that have to do with anything?

 

As far as the Bullies & Snobs are concerned, they are Latinx themselves, so therefore, it doesn't matter, which is a weird thing to say because neither Aiden nor Cory are Latinx. Aiden just happens to also speak Spanish and Cory is “Latinx-passing;” neither is the same thing as actually being Latinx. As a non-Latinx myself, I have to say: the Bullies & Snobs have VERY dangerous mindsets, and I don't know how they live with themselves, thinking the way they do.

 

As you could probably tell by this point, this scene infuriated a lot of viewers. The B&S crew were literally at their absolute worst, and it was not fun to watch. And sadly, the season gets no better.

 

───

 

 

 

 

So… you might have noticed all season so far that David went from being calm, to being awfully quiet and checked-out. It got to a point where I wanted to snap my fingers at the guy's face, and be like, "Hello? Anybody home?"

 

 

 

Anyway, in Episode 14, a few days after that disastrous Santa Clarita trip, everyone is gearing up to go on the cast trip to Las Vegas, also hosted by Enrique. Ugh... Well, everyone except for Rafa and Alastair who both refuse to go and rightfully so, with Rafa saying to David, "I am not going. I can't. I don't associate with racist people, period." With or without the racism, Rafa and Alastair choosing to skip the trip because of Cory's volatile behavior is more than fair.

 

 

 

Silently, David is disappointed by this but says that he understands. Hmm, I'm sure he does... But Rafa and Alastair were right to skip the trip, and here's why:

 

 

 

During that trip, it's just constant Cory vs David, Cory vs David, Cory vs David, over and over again.

 

At one point in Episode 14, while at the ARIA Resort & Casino, Enrique, Jason, Alex P, Aiden, David and Cory – the latter who has to resort to wearing sunglasses while out in public to cover the healing bruise around his eye – go to a beautiful Italian restaurant called Carbone. Enrique says in his confessional that he hopes and prays "that we can get through this dinner with a happy tone." Shut up, Enrique.

 

When everyone is sitting down around a rectangular table, Cory immediately says, "This ain't gonna work," when he realizes that he's almost sitting next to David. Had he sat next to David, the arrangement would've been Cory/David/Alex P on one side, and Aiden/Enrique/Jason on the other side. Not wanting to hear Cory's mouth Aiden immediately says, "Alright fine, you wanna switch? You and I can switch. Damn. Happy?" which catches Cory by surprise. At this point, I don't see why Cory is still surprised by Aiden's attitude towards him. Aiden doesn't like you, Cory! GET THAT THROUGH YOUR FUCKING HEAD, YOU IDIOT! 

 

Anyway, the arrangement is now Aiden/David/Alex P on one side, and Cory/Enrique/Jason on the other side. Fine. Whatever. Cory had to sit somewhere, I guess. And it's quiet around table. TOO. QUIET. Aiden breaks the ice by asking out loud, "So, is anybody gonna talk, or what?" Since when did Aiden have THIS much to say without Jason's approval? Clearly Aiden has more independent thoughts than Alex P or even Estuardo. It kinda makes him have another thing in common with Jason (and even David): he contradicts himself a lot. In this case, however, one minute, he's thinking like Jason; the next minute, he thinks for himself. Either way, Jason loves it when Aiden is being assertive. It arouses him, not that he’ll ever say that on-camera (though I’m pretty sure that his Aidencito knows and notices).

 

But anyway... Cory vs David.

 

Immediately, Cory starts talking like David when reading the menu. It begins when Alex P asks Cory, "Are you gonna try the baked clams?" And Cory says in his David voice, "Nah, that shit is whack Alex," which causes Enrique, Alex P, and Jason to laugh out loud while Aiden is indifferent, shaking his head, not really trying to hear Cory's annoying voice. David gives Cory the scariest death glare I have ever seen. Cory - a White Polish person - continues the charade when he says, "That’s some white people shit, homes." Mind you, David is the only Mexican at the table, and Cory is saying "homes," which is a slang term for a close friend or "homeboy," originating primarily within Mexican-American/Chicano and urban slang in the United States. 

 

David has had enough and challenges Cory by asking, "You think that's funny, bitch?" Cory answers with, "I don't know, whatchu talkin' 'bout, man. I'm just ordering my pasta." 

 

In David's confessional, he says, "This fool better hope that he still got a voice 'cuz sooner or later, I'm about to pop that ass."

 

David says to Cory, "Grow up, you stupid cunt." And of course, that sets Cory off, "Really, David? It was a joke. A JOKE! Do you know what that means?" David: "Your mama is a fuckin' joke."

 

David, in his confessional, says, "Outside of that beaner thing, which I don't really care about, Cory has talked a lot of shit about me, and I've had it." When he said that he didn’t care about the ‘beaner’ comment, I was like, “Woah, wait a minute. What is that supposed to mean, exactly? Because Cory called Rafa a beaner, not you… so…” By that logic, he must not care about the ‘Mexican country hick’ or ‘Danny Trejo’ insults either. Something has been very off about David.

 

Anyway, Cory says to David, "You know what, David? You talked so much shit about me to Rafa and Alastair." David immediately says, "Well, ain't nothing good about you. You try to bring shit up about my so-called dependence on Enrique," which Enrique interjects and says, "You do depend on me! You do." Cory fires back at David, "Well apparently you said I can’t fight, but you never said that shit to me." David simply says, "So what, man? You *CANNOT* fight, and I'm standing by that."

 

Cory: "Well at least I fight like man and I don't look like a woman. Because you are the ugliest woman I've ever met in my life!" Great... so now Cory is racist, ableist, and transphobic (not that David himself is transgender, but still). Anything else? This insult shocks every B&S member at the table, even Aiden who tried his hardest to block out Cory’s loud voice. But again, do they do anything about it? Nope! The best they’re able to do is gasp, which they do.

 

David rolls his eyes and says, "Oh Cory, just be quiet." Cory says, "Nah, you be quiet! And stop talking about me. When I asked your stupid ass what you said about me, you should've just said what you said, and own it! But you ain't no real bitch!" David asks, "What's your point?" Cory's response? "My point, BITCH, is that you shoulda told me to my motherfuckin' face! Period!"

 

If David's looks could kill... he is taking a sip of his wine while everyone is uneasy and staring at him and Enrique asks him, "No comment?"

 

David says, "I heard him." He looks at Cory and says in the most manipulative way possible, "Cory... I’m sorry. I never meant to hurt you behind your back." Cory, in a bitter tone, says, "Thank you." Oh, but David wasn't finished! He continues, "What I really wanted to do was hurt you in front of your face. But if you don't want that to happen... then I suggest you shut the fuck up right now, and starve yourself to death, like you normally do." WOW… did David just out Cory as anorexic? Or did he just say that for a reaction? And with that, David leaves the restaurant, and mutters, "Trifling-ass ho." Cory looks in shock, and the B&S gang looks so uncomfortable and pitiful by David’s chilling delivery.

 

Cory does not confirm or deny having an eating disorder, but is absolutely disgusted and says to the group, "This isn't over, I promise you guys," to which Aiden just sighs, facepalms, and shakes his head while saying, "Whatever, Cory." 

 

───

 

And in Episode 15, the beef ends (kind of) in the Vegas-based Piranha Nightclub where Cory TRIES to hit David in the face, only to miss and get PUNCHED by David.

 

WOW!

 

“Oh, I guess David can fight. My bad,” says Aiden in his confessional.

 

“What the fuck is wrong with David? Like, this can’t be happening!” exclaims Enrique in his confessional.

 

“Oh, my God. It was a fucking mess. Two ghetto-ass bitches having it out. I’m just like, ‘Why don’t y’all just fuck and get it over with?’ Shit,” Jason exaggerates while laughing via confessional.

 

David (accompanied by security) leaves the night club first, while Cory is (once again) bleeding and bruised and needs medical attention, and complaining about David “comin’ at me for no fuckin’ reason!”

 

The rest of the cast was kicked out of the nightclub, with Aiden saying in his confessional, “Well, I may have been wrong about David, I guess.  Whatever. But one thing has remained consistent: that fuckin’ Cory cannot fight. And he has proven that three times. THREE TIMES, you guys. I would be shocked if he became a freakin’ bullfighter.”

 

Aiden, Enrique, Jason, Alex P, and Cory go back into their bus and we can hear Cory say, “It’s not over. I don’t give a fuck. If that bitch get in this car tomorrow, I’ma bust him in the motherfuckin’ face every time I see him.” And Aiden – the most vocal assassin towards Cory says, “Shut up, Cory.”

 

This is the last time we ever see or hear from Cory on the show. HALLELUJAH! And he and David never see each other again after that fight.

 

───

 

In Episode 16, it’s a beautiful morning. The sun is rising, but you just get this gloomy sense that everything is not okay. David is packing his stuff, which is easy because he didn’t really unpack much at all.

 

“I just decided to leave Las Vegas. If I stay, it’s not gonna be a good situation. We would just fight again and nothing would be resolved. And I ain’t got time for that. I decided that I was gon’ send Enrique an email, and just let him know how I feel. I didn’t wanna be around that fuckin’ Cory for the rest of the trip, so I cut my trip short. Do I think this beef between me and Cory is over? No. I feel like he’s a bum who only craves bullshit, and he can drop dead. Now I gotta explain Alastair and Rafa what had went down and… it’s time they knew the truth,” David says via confessional.

 

Little did any of us realize… that… David’s truth was not what we expected. More on that later.

 

And because he left Vegas early, what David (and the viewers) didn't get to see was the B&S slowly starting to distance themselves from Cory for the rest of the trip, and the rest of the season. All of that was revealed by Enrique during the reunion.

 

───

 

 

 

 

Still in Episode 16, while David is on his way back to Sylmar, Rafa is taking his break outside the stables at Monteverde Ranch. Rafa has mostly kept to himself after Santa Clarita and needed a distraction. Luckily, Rafa’s boss Thomas Hobson, who did learn about the fight (Rafa did eventually have to explain to Thomas, during Episode 14 why he was back in town so soon, and he was not going to lie about it), was immediately on Rafa’s side and agreed that Rafa needs to stay away from Cory and anyone else who makes him feel unsafe. But during his lunch break, where he’s just taking in the quiet and occasional horses whinnies and nickers from a distance, he learns online about the Las Vegas fight from attendees of the nightclub via Instagram, and he is just… flabbergasted. Rafa immediately reaches out to David via text, who tells him that after he’s settled down, he’ll meet up with Rafa and Alastair to explain everything.

 

 

 

The next day, in the baseball field of Las Palmas Park, David tells Rafa and Alastair (both visibly worried) about what had happened. And Rafa and Alastair can tell that David is pissed. Eventually, they also notice that the whole time David is talking, he's looking directly at Rafa, as if Rafa did something wrong.

 

 

 

Rafa, bless his good heart, raises his hand and calmly asks David, “Um… why are you looking at me like that? Did I do something?” Basically, David felt abandoned, but – as viewers pointed out, he never seemed to care to come to Rafa's defense at Santa Clarita, and seemed zoned out while Alastair was talking about his restaurant ambush.

 

 

 

Regardless of the hypocrisy, David makes it very harshly clear that Rafael was being a bad friend, and shouldn't have left him hanging, and... you know, “I would never do that shit to you, and I expected better from you. But you're just like the rest of the group. I had your back a thousand times, and you ain't never had mine. So fuck you. 🖕🏿” And he walks away ignoring Alastair who immediately asks out loud, “WHAT DO YOU MEAN HE NEVER HAD YOUR BACK?!”

 

 

 

And with that, a new thunderstorm has officially begun.

 

I need to take a deep breath, give me a minute… Okay. We’re almost done with this season, I promise.

 

 

 

You guys, that exchange was very weird, shocking, and alarming. And Alastair thought so, too. But Rafa must've believed David because as David walked away, Rafa was trying very hard to not cry.

 

 

 

But Alastair's confessional said it all: "Rafa never had your back? So, we're just going to ignore the many times he has defended you, cared about you, checked up on you, asked about you, welcomed you with open arms, and let you into his world? Apparently, that stuff doesn't count. Who knew?"

 

 

 

Looking back on last season, Rafa’s older brother Dominic was right to tell Rafa to be careful with David. Not just when it came to Jason, but in general!

 

 

 

The Silvas clearly have a gift and a curse of foreshadowing.

 

 

 

At the end of Episode 16, Alastair and Rafa are still at the empty Las Palmas Park, and have a bit of a falling out themselves, and it’s so heartbreaking because Alastair knows Rafa’s heart. Alastair says in his confessional, “Rafa is already facing public backlash because the queer community is gossiping about the fight that he and Cory had at Santa Clarita. Enrique set that whole thing up to break Rafa. Jason doesn’t trust him around Christian. And now David is falsely accusing him of not being there for him. Everyone is literally pointing their fingers at Rafa instead of taking responsibility for their own actions.”

 

Rafa is quiet, and Alastair says to him, “Um… that was just… random. I don’t know where that came from. Like, why would he say that or—or think that, at all? I don’t even think he was just saying that to vent; I think he meant it.”

 

“Rafa’s still not saying anything. I don’t think he knows what to say right now; he’s in a state of shock,” says Alastair via confessional.

 

Finally, Rafa does speak, softly with his voice cracking, “I know he meant it. I can tell.” Alastair – worried for his best friend and putting a hand on his holder – slowly says, “Rafa?”

 

And Rafa (with a lone tear falling) tells him, “Maybe he’s right.” Alastair is confused and says, “Right about what?” leading Rafa to shockingly say, “About me not being there for him.”Alastair is surprised by this and says, “What?” And Rafa says, “I haven’t made a lot of things about David lately, and that’s why he’s been so quiet. I was leaving him out without realizing it.” This detail alone reveals that Rafa has indeed noticed the times when David would be quiet whenever something wasn’t about him. But that’s not Rafa’s fault. Yet Rafa – the giver, the people pleaser, the one who puts others first before himself – is at a point where he thinks everything that went down this season is his fault.

 

Alastair cannot believe what he is hearing right now, and asks, “You don’t seriously believe that you’re the problem, do you? If anything, he hasn’t been there for you.” And Rafa loudly argues, “ALASTAIR, WE HAD A CHANCE TO NOT LEAVE HIM HANGING AND WE BLEW IT!” Alastair is in shock by this and yells, “WHAT ARE YOU TALK--?!” before immediately stopping himself, taking a deep breath, and regaining his composure. Via confessional, Alastair says, "This is what I was afraid of. Rafa is literally blaming himself for something that isn’t even true. And that is exactly what Enrique wanted. David is guilt-tripping Rafa for not 'protecting' him in Las Vegas. And everyone else is saying that he never should've responded to Cory's bullying, racism, or ableism. And when you have that many people blaming you for everything, you start to think that you are the problem."

 

Rafa looks away from Alastair who carefully approaches Rafa to calmly say, “I’m sorry. Rafael… please listen to me. What happened to David is not your fault. You didn’t wanna go to Las Vegas because you had enough of everybody. And you had to protect yourself.” Rafa says nothing for a couple of more minutes and just breaks down, tearfully and aggressively asking Alastair, "So how am I supposed to face David next time? How?" Alastair didn't have an answer but said, "I don't know, Raf. I think... what we really should know... is the real reason why David is behaving this way. Something's not right, and we need clarity. And if he can’t accept that you need to take care of yourself… then fuck him.”

 

Viewers agree that this is the only argument between cast members that... came out of love. Still, it was not fun to watch Rafa blame himself for someone else’s stupid mistake.  

 

───

 

 

 

 

In Episode 18, Rafa and Alastair visit David in his Dronfield apartment. And we can see that Rafa looks so depressed and exhausted, and mostly silent. "Rafa has not said a word to me the whole time we were heading to David's home," says Alastair via confessional.

 

 

 

When they finally enter David's apartment, Rafa finally speaks and asks David very carefully, “David, what is going on? What was all that about at the park? Are you really that upset with me?” And David says, “I’m not upset, I’m pissed. I just feel like you’re not being supportive at all--” Rafa is trying to understand David’s perspective, and cuts him off, demands to know, “When was I never supportive? I would’ve never done anything to intentionally hurt anyone that I care about.”  David doesn’t have a clear answer to Rafa’s question, “Well I’m sorry for cussin’ at you. But you gotta understand where I’m coming from. I need you to be there for me as a friend, because you’re lucky to have someone like me as your friend, and no one else’s friend."

 

When David said, “no one else’ friend,” fans clocked immediately that David always saw Alastair as a threat and a competition, and not as a friend. David saying, “no one else” takes Rafa by surprise, and Rafa looks at Alastair who’s in shock, and looks back to David saying, "What do you mean, ‘no one else’?" Alastair was certainly in shock, but snaps out of it and asks David, “So, you and I were never friends at all, and you wasted my time?” David is literally digging a hole for himself.

 

 

 

And because Rafael is overwhelmed by this revelation, he starts saying to himself, "This was a mistake; I shouldn't be here," and leaves the apartment. Alastair follows him outside, and Rafa is crying and apologizing to Alastair. Rafa feels guilty that he brought David into their lives, but Alastair assures him, "It's not your fault, Rafa. It’s going to be okay," and gives him a hug.

 

I (and many other viewers) lost all respect for David by the end of this season, and I KNOW Alastair (who ended up crying as he was holding on tightly to Rafa during their hug) and Rafa did too, with Alastair saying in his confessional, "I don't know how or when, but if Rafa knows what's good for him, he needs to stay away from David. Forever. God knows I will.”  

 

 

 

Rafa’s confessional is seriously heartbreaking: “Right now, I am just… overwhelmed… and disappointed in David. Alastair and I have been through so many ups and downs with people who would take advantage of us in so many different ways. And I swore to myself that I would never let that happen again, and instead I did the exact opposite. David knew what I went through growing up, and he knows what the rest of the cast thinks of me. Alastair knows my heart. But as for everyone else... I cannot trust them. And as of now… that includes David. I just want this to be over. All of this.”

 

 

 

 

───

 

 

 

 

The season finale (Episode 19) is mostly uneventful because we don't see Alastair or David the whole episode. And Rafa doesn't appear until much later. The episode mainly focuses on the B&S gang which, at this point, now only consists of Jason, Alex P, Enrique, and Aiden. To be fair, they’re a part of the main cast, too. But... it's not very memorable or worth discussing because that alliance is just... BORING. Even Jason, which is a huge shock. Because he was largely reduced this season, you could skip through his scenes (the ones without Christian) and nothing changes for the most part. He was so incidental this season!

 

 

 

Somehow Aiden hears from the grapevine that there seems to be trouble in paradise for the Alastair-Rafa-David triangle, and of course he tells Jason when visiting Jason. Jason says to Aiden, "Hmm, I guess David and Rafa are not buddies after all. Sucks to be Rafa, but he did this to himself." Blaming the victim again, you guys.

 

 

 

Even from a distance, Jason knew that the friendship between David and Rafa would fail. And Christian, while in his and Jason’s bedroom, overhears Jason saying to Aiden, “I don’t want to be the one to say to Rafa, ‘I told you so.’ Oh wait, it’s on camera now. Never mind!” which Jason and Aiden both laugh about and Christian walks in on them in the guest room and says to them, “You know, you guys should be giving Rafa credit for being a great person and a great friend. He doesn’t deserve what’s been happening to him. He doesn’t even deserve any of us, if I’m being honest.” Jason and Aiden roll their eyes and Jason says, “Chris, would you relax? I was just kidding. But you gotta admit, Rafa was pretty dumb for befriending and trusting someone like David in the first place. He's such a stupid little kid.”

 

Christian says, “Well Jason, I could say the same thing about a lot of people who are supposedly your friends. Including you, Aiden.” And Aiden goes, “Excuse me?” And before exiting the house, Christian says, “At least Rafa knows how to think for himself, no matter who hates that about him.” As Christian is leaving, Jason asks, “Where are you going?” Christian coldly says, “Out. To do what you don’t want me to do: see Rafa because he’s my friend.” Aiden, the selfish one that he is, says via confessional, “So let me get this straight, Christian. You don’t want me to be around your husband, but you can still talk to Rafa knowing damn well that Jason understandably hates Rafa? You don’t make any sense, dude.” No, Aiden, YOU don’t make any sense.

 

Later that episode, Rafa (who finally appears during the last 15 minutes) gets an unexpected visit from Christian who checks up on him and asks him how he’s holding up, which means a lot to Rafa. They don’t see each other as much as they would like to (you can thank Jason for that), but when they do, it’s a breath of fresh air. But in this case, it’s also bittersweet because this time, Rafa (despite genuine love and support from Alastair, Christian, Zachary, and an off-screen Calvin Seabrooks, respectively) feels alone, more than ever.

 

 

 

 

───

 

 

 

 

Season 2 Reunion Seating Arrangement  

 

 

 

At the reunion, the cast is seated from left to right as follows: Aiden Lee-Halley in the fourth chair, David Ty Reza in the third, Enrique Sapene in the second, Alastair Patton in the first, host Ross Matthews in the center, then Rafa Silva in the first chair on the opposite side, followed by Alex Paredes in the second and Jason Caceres-Lopez in the third. Cory does NOT attend, and thank you Jesus for that!

 

 

 

Jason had a blue and black short-sleeve flannel shirt and khaki pants. Aiden was wearing a black and grey short-sleeve flannel shirt and grey jeans. They don't facially look alike (I must stress that), but it's almost like they were the Bobbsey Twins. It was starting to feel like "Single White Female" all over again. Like, did they seriously have to wear the EXACT same type of clothes? And the fact that what they had on made them look like Cholos, I think that it was a racially insensitive dig at the very gayngsta David, who btw was wearing an oversized Lakers jersey and black jeans and black running shoes. Rafa had on a black casual loose no-tuck linen shirt with navy blue sweatpants, and he looked absolutely adorable and cozy, yet tired and depressed. Alastair wore a pink camouflage shirt and pink camouflage pants, with his signature dog tags around his neck. GOTTA REPRESENT! Alex P looked better than last year's reunion, wearing a light green polo shirt with black jeans. And Enrique wore a tie-dye t-shirt and polka dot sweat pants, like he just slept in them 😆.

 

───

 

One moment in the reunion highlights Rafa and Alastair's separation from the rest of the group.

 

On stage - after introducing every cast member - one of the first things Ross points out is how Rafa and Alastair stopped interacting with most of the cast. Ross says, "I figured that since this was a VERY heavy season, we could get to the hardest conversations first. Rafa," who says, "Yes." And then Ross says, "Alastair," who responds, "Yeah." And Ross says to both, "Obviously, we know that you two haven't seen or spoken to Cory since Santa Clarita; rightfully so. But when rewatching this season in preparation for the reunion, I also noticed that you guys also stopped filming with Enrique, Jason, and Aiden after Santa Clarita. Oh, and Alex Paredes, too." When Ross says, "Oh, and Alex Paredes, too," it gets a laugh out of the audience, wide-eyes from Enrique/Jason/Aiden/David, and eye rolls from Alex P. Alastair and Rafa manage to crack a smile. Ross asks Alastair, "Alastair, did you have any reservations about coming to the reunion?" And Alastair says, "No. I'm not gonna lie - I really didn’t wanna see any of these people ever again and I know Rafa feels that way, too. But I owed it to Rafa, myself, and our fans to speak for myself." The audience applauds Alastair's statement, though some were kinda rolling their eyes, implying that they're not fans of Alastair or even Rafa. And speaking of Rafa, Ross says to him, "And Rafa, I know that for you, this was an extremely challenging season for you. How are you holding up?" Rafa answers honestly, "I've just been keeping a mostly low profile. It's actually been that way since we wrapped up filming. As many people noticed, I rarely did any confessionals, I didn't promote this season, and I didn’t do any interviews. I didn't even watch the show in time for this reunion." While Alastair is not suprisedby the latter revelation, the rest of the cast is, for some reason, and even a good portion of the audience is shocked, which makes no sense to me, but whatever. "Really?" asks Ross. And Rafa nods. Enrique unnecessarily chimes in by saying, "Hello? You were supposed to watch the show to refresh your memory--" and Rafa cuts him off by saying, "I'll deal with you later. Now zip it," which leaves Enrique in shock and disgust, and even the audience (who goes ooh) looks nervous. The tension is really thick. You could just see in Rafa's eyes that he was angry, he was tired, he was depressed, and he was keeping it together.

 

Even though Rafa never explicitly says it, it's obvious that he did NOT wanna go to the reunion. And anyone with common sense would've said, "I don't blame him." Don't get me wrong - I'm glad that he attended so he could speak for himself and not allow anyone to change the narrative. But I wouldn't have been upset with him for not showing up. Either way, neither decision would've been easy to make.

 

‐------------

 

Later in that reunion, David claims that he has forgiven Rafa for not being there for him for what he claims was most of the season, and that he's over that. WHAT?! Meanwhile, Alastair has decided that he's done with David, no buts about it.

 

 

 

But most importantly, triggered by David's "forgiveness" for supposedlynot being there for David for most of the season, Rafa (who's had a lot of time - between the finale and the reunion - to think about what the Hell just happened between him and David) admits that he has not spoken to David since his and Alastair’s visit to David's apartment (in Episode 18). He says to Ross, "After we finished filming that day, I just needed to get away from everyone and everything. The season was so draining for me, I was dealing with public backlash, and I just don't understand what went wrong with me and David." And honestly after what David put Rafa through during the final days of filming, I would've slowly drifted away from David, too. David is just not an easily approachable or trustworthy person, and I think Rafa is starting to see that. David has shown himself - time and time again - to be a hypocrite since labeling himself a "walking contradiction" in Season 1 Episode 1. And this season, Alastair basically lets David know that nobody should have to walk on eggshells every time they approach David, "and I'm certainly never gonna do that again with you because I'm done with you." And even Rafa builds up the courage to say something that absolutely STINGS David: "David… I shouldn't have to babysit you. You are fucking 12 years my senior, and more than capable of taking care of yourself." Ouch. You just know the audience were caught off-guard by that. "I didn't go to Las Vegas because I was not going to be around anyone of these horrible people, especially Cory who outed himself as a racist and an ableist. He… I’m sorry. I know I shouldn’t say this, and I really didn’t want to, but it needs to be said. Cory mislabeled me, and called me a Mexican country-hick and a retarded beaner. I thought that you - an actual Mexican unlike me - would've understood my refusal to go to Vegas, David. Alastair understood, and he's Mexican, too! And apparently, Cory was being transphobic to you. He called you an ugly woman, for God’s sake! Hell, he compared you to Danny Trejo! Doesn't that bother you at all?! And let’s not forget – last season, Jason called you a puto, a slur towards Mexicans that means faggot! And Jason is Cuban! And he and Alex – a white guy – show up in this reunion, looking like Cholos! Like, where is your head at, man?!" This entire recap earned Rafa and applause from the audience. While Jason asks Aiden, "Why are we in this?", David doesn't say much after hearing Rafa’s “long-winded” speech. In fact, the whole reunion, he was so quiet and sour. And he feels attacked by Rafa scolding him like that (which ends up becoming Rafa’s secret power against David going forward). Well, David, you brought this on to yourself. It sucks that Rafa went there, but whatever. The only thing David says in response is, "Well Rafa, I'm not trans, I'm an actual guy. And everyone in the Latin community says ‘puto’, so who cares? And anyways, ain’t you Brazilian? I thought you said that you’d never repeat anti-Meixcan slurs because you ain’t Mexican your damn self. And Alastair, you’re Mexican, right? How does it feel to hear your best friend go against his own so-called morals, and be racist towards me?" Alastair quickly answers, “I spoke to Rafa about it because we knew that he was gonna have to talk about it. He’s not trying to be malicious or racist, for your information. He was only repeating those words once because he cares.” “And out of respect, that’s the only time I will say those words,” says Rafa to David. The fact that he went against his own morals (not repeating racial slurs against Mexicans because he’s not Mexican himself), to make a point about David’s dismissive behavior and the group's fucked up antics, was both brave and risky. And it’s a reminder that Rafa is very careful, cautious and self-aware. Still, his decision to actually repeat those words (regardless of context, which surely should matter) garnered a mixed feedback from viewers, obviously. He can’t win. Also, I don't believe that David doesn't understand or is missing the point. I just don't think he cares. And that really annoys me.

 

And it really pisses me off that for an entire season, viewers were constantly nitpicking every little thing that Rafa said or did, to prove that he’s the real villain in every scenario, even when something had absolutely nothing to do with him.

 

Case in point: Enrique was not gonna be given a pass for his antics either, and Rafa made damn sure of that. When Enrique tried to paint Rafa as the bad guy for pushing him and fighting Cory, Rafa says, “Well, what do you want me to say, Enrique?” Enrique, clearly not acting like a professional boss says, “Oh, I don't know. Maybe that your stupid ass is sorry for hitting me and Cory?” The fact that Enrique will not take responsibility for what he caused just angers Rafa even more, who says, “Well that's never gonna happen, because I don't feel sorry. YOU, on the other hand, should be.” Enrique refuses to own it and says, “Okay, Rafa. I’m sorry that you don’t have the balls to say anything to Cory’s face or to accept that you were being very immature that day.” Lord, it took a lot for the audience (who were in shock) to not heckle at Enrique. But Alastair had enough and shouted, “IMMATURE?!”

 

 

 

And Rafa – angry and fighting back tears - lets Enrique know once and for all how he really feels. "Okay, you know what, Enrique? What you did to me in Santa Clarita was so disgraceful. You took me to a place where I really could've decked you instead of Cory, so you better be glad that all I did was push you to the floor, which I will NOT apologize for, okay? I don't care if you were ever an actual executive producer; it does not change the fact that you are fucking garbage, and you always will be. You really shouldn't be a leader of anything! You’re a fucking embarrassment and everyone in the San Fernando Valley knows it!" 

 

That speech alone gave haters another reason to say that Rafa is a horrible addition to the show, “because he disrespected his boss for a second season in a row.” Either these haters have never been in a horrible situation themselves, or they’re just being hypocritical. Moving on…

 

 

───

 

Also, later during that reunion, Alastair verbally goes after Jason and Alex P for the stunt they pulled on him, alleging that he wanted to get with Alex's husband Peter. Oh my God, as a viewer, I totally forgot about that stupid storyline lol

 

Peter bravely shows up to the reunion to defend Alex, but it flops, especially when you also have Zachary Garcia on the stage with Alastair and Christian on the stage with Jason. Zachary looks like he's ready to lunge at Peter, Alex P, and Jason. And Christian looks visibly upset with Jason, scolding Jason for what he did. I FEEL SO BAD FOR CHRISTIAN! Normally, as a spouse in these reality shows, you’re supposed to defend your partner. But Christian basically humiliated Jason by holding his hand up and saying, “No. Jason, there is nothing to defend here. You made up a stupid lie about Alastair and Peter. And you told Rafa last year to shut up about being Brazilian. You’re on your own.” I think we all know that Jason was livid about that, but he had it coming.

 

 

 

Alex P argues that Alastair broke a code about flirting with a friend's partner, which is BULLSHIT because Alex P and Alastair were NEVER friends and Alastair had never even MET Peter. Alex P is literally talking out of his ass, making no sense, and sounds incredibly stupider the more he speaks.

 

 

 

Alastair puts his foot down, saying to Alex P for the final time, "Alex Paredes, you better tell me RIGHT NOW… what did I say to Peter that counted as me wanting to get with him? Since you choose to believe Jason." Alex P pauses, which makes Alastair say. "Until you start talking, we're gonna be here ALL DAY. And I know you don't want that--" Alex P cuts him off, exploding out of frustration screaming, "I DON'T KNOW WHAT YOU SAID, ALRIGHT?!" which startles Jason and Rafa as they are sitting in the same row. Alex P continues, "I was just told by Jason that you wanted to sleep with Peter!" Jason is not triggered by this because he knew that Alex P would eventually give up. The audience in the reunion were super annoyed with Alex P, and even the host Ross Matthews was annoyed and asked, "Alex, why were you so quick to believe Jason, knowing his history with lying to people and even twisting his own words?" Alex P quickly responds, "I don't think Jason's lying," which makes the audience groan and angers Zachary even more, who mutters, "You motherfucker." Alex goes on to say, "I just don't like Alastair and neither does Jason. Why would Jason lie to me?" "BECAUSE HE KNOWS YOU’RE AN IDIOT! THAT'S WHY!" shouts Zachary, which makes Rafa cover his mouth to hide his chuckle. Alastair’s shakes his head in amusement and says the one thing about Alex P that goes down in history: "So here it is, ladies and gentlemen: a dumb pussy who refuses to think for himself," a label that people refer to Alex P as, to this very day. Child, the audience went crazy when Alastair said that! Maybe this label will help Rafa remember Alex P going forward.

 

Oof, Alex P was... PISSED, you guys.  So much so that immediately after Alastair called him a dumb pussy, Alex P said, "Alright, that's it. I'm done," and walked off the stage. And Alastair responds by saying, "Yeah, okay, walk away, you clown." While walking further, Alex P goes, "Shut the fuck up, you asshole! You and your retarded-ass fiancé deserve each other! No wonder Rafa's your only friend!" Yes... he said "retarded." But unlike Rafa, who was basically forced to say it when discussing Cory’s racism and ableism, Alex P says the word with venom and absolutely no remorse, and it warranted a lot of boos from the audience.

 

Later on, backstage, Alex P tells a producer, "I'm not gonna sit there and listen to Alastair lie to me and humiliate me again; I'm NOT going to allow that! He had every chance to serve our country like a real American, and he failed!" DANG, Alex, how much more insensitivity does this season need?! ENOUGH! 

 

Alex P never comes back to the stage, and he's with Peter crying about how Alastair is a terrible person, and a jealous person, and... blah blah blah blah BLAAAAAHHH... I gotta hand it to Alex P, though. This reunion is the most relevant he has ever been, and it doesn't last after this, surprise, surprise. Anyway, he and Peter end up leaving the studio and never come back, which is clearly a relief for Rafa, Alastair, Zachary, and Christian.

 

 

 

Of course, with Alex P officially gone, Alastair focuses strictly on Jason.

 

Alastair: What did I even do to you last season to deserve this scandal, huh?

 

Jason: Nothing.

 

audience expresses confusion

 

Alastair: What the-- THEN WHY DID YOU DO IT?!

 

Jason: Because just like your softy of a friend pointing to Rafa, you were boring and I needed to spice you up; make you more interesting. Nobody cares about your sob story of the army. 

 

Alastair: Oh, you know what, Jason? I have had it up to here with you! You knew that you couldn’t intimidate Rafa, so you took it out on me instead of leaving the show gracefully. I don't care if you or anyone thinks that Rafa and I are boring because we don't cause drama or because we shut down drama. At least we allow people to get to know us outside this dysfunctional-ass group! You and your so-called friends have been here since 2013, and I still don't know a DAMN thing about who any of you guys are outside your alliance and your shitty-ass attitudes! That's why your parents were BANNED from this show, your own brother was never needed in *any capacity, and Rafa doesn't remember Alex Paredes. And if you're not careful, best believe you will be next.

 

And the audience’s response? A lot of oohs, standing ovation, and a few boos at Alastair for coming after Jason, the undeniable “star” of the show as one Jason stan put it online. No, baby, Jason was a star last season, but not anymore.

 

Geez, Alastair and Rafa have more catchphrases and quotable moments than any other cast member on this show!

 

And kudos to Rafa for bravely expressing his disappointment in David earlier in the reunion, because I know that wasn't easy to do, knowing David. 

 

 

 

 

───

 

 

 

 

Season 2 was definitely not fun to watch. It was so dark and sad, and I know Rafa did not sign up for a “Rafa Takedown Season,” as fans referred to the season. But if Enrique wanted a telenovela, he finally got it because Season 2's biggest plot twist was David Ty Reza, someone who will always need Enrique’s help no matter how much the two can’t stand each other, or how much Enrique will always verbally abuse him for his own enjoyment. And it was disappointing the way David used Rafa as a yes-man for two seasons in a row (because Rafa is, by default, a people pleaser) and treated Alastair like he was nothing; very similar to how Enrique always treated David. By the end of the season, the Bullies & Snobs had become less important, even Jason and sometimes David. It really was Rafa and Alastair against the world, riding out a massive storm in real time.

 

 

 

Yes, not only was Alex P forgotten by Rafa (2 seasons in a row), but eventually the rest of the B&S crew was mostly forgotten about before the reunion, showing us that they were not as important as Enrique thought they would be. Not even Enrique himself!

 

 

 

David's detachment whenever something wasn't about him should've given away his ulterior motives. Even Jason's sarcastic Season 1 hope that David and Alastair treat Rafa right and Dominic's Season 1 concern about David were straight-up foreshadowing in retrospect. 

 

 

 

Fans called it: David never liked Rafa or Alastair, and actually wanted to be part of the B&S table and never could, despite being much closer in age with a great portion of B&S. It definitely changes how people initially viewed his moments of “care” and “loyalty” during Season 1.

 

 

Enrique and David may hate each other for life, but David clearly wants to be like Enrique without having what Enrique will always have when all of this is said and done: longevity, connections, and wealth.

 

 

David's motives for befriending Rafa will never truly make sense from an outsider's perspective. But perhaps a look back into his backstory helps a little. As he mentioned  last season, he grew up in a big family in Compton. He's not close with any of his siblings or parents because they were homophobic - and therefore, verbally abusive - to him and he was forced to live his teenage years in the closet and on the DL. Fast forward to his toxic dynamic with Enrique, which began in 2001 when they were classmates in Lee Strasberg Theatre and Film Institute. They never got along because Enrique saw David as beneath him. But David had no one else to help him find work basically, and saw Enrique as the only one who could possibly help him. And of course Enrique agreed but made it very clear that he and David would never be friends. Since then, David took a lot of abuse, racism, colorism, and classism from Enrique until he couldn't take it anymore, and tried to distance himself from Enrique - only to eventually come back to him when it was convenient for him (expect to see that in Season 3). So, it's very likely that David saw taking abuse and manipulation as a way to stay wanted and prioritized. Meanwhile, he meets Rafa in Season 1 Episode 2 who is very different from what David is used to, and they both hit it off. Rafa never disliked or disrespected David. He actually liked David (and so did Alastair). It's as if David didn't trust Rafa but (based on Rafa's shy and reserved personality) saw him as an easy person to emotionally use and manipulate, and it briefly worked (when Rafa blamed himself for not being there for David) until Alastair had to snap him out of it. Enrique - on the other hand - is not someone that ANYONE could manipulate, and David knew this and allowed Enrique to verbally abuse him and treat him like shit while Enrique allowed David to use him for work because no one else would care enough to help David. Still, remember when David seem freaked out by Rafa's reaction in Santa Clarita? Well it made no sense to still take advantage of Rafa if Rafa scared David that much. I guess if David's toxic dynamic with Enrique gave away anything, it's that David is willing to use someone no matter how much they may scare him (unintentionally in Rafa's case).

 

 

 

Viewers did not care for Cory, and they don't think he was a good fit for the show. VALID!

 

 

 

And Aiden’s role was just so... typical. ALSO VALID!

 

Also, you'd think that because of the backlash Jason received last season that he would at least be demoted if not fired. But Jason became such a major staple of the B&S side of the cast, that production must've found it difficult to imagine the show without him because he brings the spice, the heat, blah blah blah blah blah. But with his role reduced in terms of starting shit, it forced two things: (1) Alex Paredes to act a damn fool to Alastair while still being completely irrelevant and upstaged by Cory's failed glass throwing at Alastair, and (2) Enrique getting back at Rafa for outing the group’s fake dynamic, and outing him as a non-EP, by setting up the Santa Clarita trip and bringing Cory into the cast knowing that Cory is racist. Needless to say, this only made Jason (who still managed to have a storyline somehow) look much tamer and calmer in comparison. Sometimes. Even Aiden’s treatment of the Amigos was a result of Jason now being limited on what he could do in Season 2. 

 

 

If there was a Silva Lining to Jason's reduced role this season (that's right SILVA lining, not SILVER lining), it's this: a lot of viewers were exhausted by Jason’s Season 1 dominance and the way he was protected and enabled. His reduced relevance in Season 2 — partly because Rafa refused to play along anymore — made him feel less overwhelming and more like just another messy cast member. It also highlighted how much Jason relied on provoking others to stay interesting. Without that fuel, his chaos felt less impactful.

 

 

Now we know why Rafa hardly did confessionals, or promoted/talked about Season 2: he did not want to relive it. It was bad enough that he had to do the reunion because he was the most important element of the show.

 

 

But one thing (among many) that remains consistent about Rafa is that if you disrespect him, he will stop wasting his time and energy on you and kindly move on (whether or not he actually reacts to you first), while you're constantly talking about him and leaving us no room to know (or care to know) who you are. That's not an ideal way to handle conflict on reality TV, which makes Rafa a refreshingly atypical reality cast member. Rafa is not going to spend EVERY SINGLE EPISODE talking about someone that he doesn't like.

 

 

 

And in 2016, fans were now left wondering what happens to Rafa if he stays, and what happens if he leaves. What the haters didn't realize were the consequences of running Rafa off the show. Even his omnipresence is sure to haunt his enemies and haters forever.

 

Rafa makes mistakes just like everyone else. But I will never hold that against him, nor will I slander him. Anyone who does can rot in Hell.

 

 

 

That damn Season 2...

 

#JusticeforRafa