Season 3 (2017)

 

Season 3 of Flaming Bros San Fernando was filmed from December 2016 to March 2017, aired from June to August 2017. It is known for being a much shorter season than the last two, due to only having 14 episodes, which was probably for the best, if you ask me.

 

Returning to the main cast this season are Enrique Sapene, Jason Caceres-Lopez, David Ty Reza, Rafa Silva, Alastair Patton, and Aiden Lee-Halley.

 

Two newbies who join the main cast this season are CJ Niner and Matthew Frias. These two end up becoming just as essential to the show as Alastair and Rafa, going forward.

 

Joining the show as friend-ofs are fellow newbies Karlo Shigeo Ishibashi and Valentino “Tino” Padilla.

 

NO MORE CORY!

BYE BITCH!

 

Filming would've occurred earlier, if not for David's aforementioned comments about Rafa at the LATV interview with Humberto Guida. And as a result of David’s actions, as well as Enrique, Jason, and Aiden’s roles in last season being so toxic and ridiculous for Alastair and Rafa, Season 3 is best remembered as the most segregated season to date.

 

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Season 3 Episode 1 opens with Alastair and Zachary in their final months as fiancés. It’s a quiet Saturday morning in early December and Zach asks a worn-out Alastair (who is making coffee for both of them) about Rafa’s current whereabouts, and Alastair says to him, "Right now, he's still keeping a low profile focusing on his job and finals, and heading straight home." And Zach says, "Okay. I just hope nobody's bothering him about you-know-who." Alastair doesn’t say too much, except, “Me too. That’s the last thing he needs right now.”.

 

Alastair's Confessional

Alastair: Rafa hadn’t seen or spoken to David since we filmed the reunion. He needed his space. He was really burnt out and needed to put himself first. But shortly after the reunion had aired in the summer, David was on LATV talking to Humberto Guida. When Humberto asked David about Rafa... you know, "Where do you guys stand? Is everything okay?" and all that... David basically let the world know that he never liked Rafa, called him bitch, said that he and his family are witches, and all he does is cry like a baby and is not a man... and said that Rafa is a shitty friend who… *voice breaking* who shouldn’t be trusted. When I saw the interview myself, I just said... "It's over." David was never Rafa's friend. He used him.

*Flashbacks to David and Rafa's first interaction in Season 1 Episode 2*

Alastair: A lot of us had things to say to David about what he did and we did not hold back.

*collage of social media posts from Alastair, Zachary, Christian, future cast member Calvin Seabrooks, and reunion host Ross Matthews, respectively, all expressing their support towards Rafa and disgust with David*

Producer: Before filming began, when was the last time you spoke to Rafa?

Alastair: Um, about 2 days prior to filming. We didn't talk about what happened, or David, or anything like that. And I didnt wanna pry. *deep breaths* But I know that he was, um..., he wasn’t just hurt. He was embarrassed. He was angry. And he was done... with everybody. Especially David.

*Flashback to the Season 2 reunion; Rafa saying that he shouldn't have to babysit David, who is 12 years Rafa’s senior.*

Alastair: *inhales, cries* I'm not trying to treat Rafa like glass or anything. You know, this is someone that I met when I was in grade 12 and he was in grade 10, and I've seen him go through Hell and back as a Brazilian in a predominantly Mexican town that he always respected... even when its people were so horrible to him. *takes another deep breath.* I just want him to be okay. Because... *voice breaks* he's... my best friend. He's a brother that I was blessed to have. And I never want that to change.

 

Back in their kitchen, Alastair says to Zach, “I really wish things were different, you know?” Zachary says, “I understand, babe,” and hugs Alastair.

 

Alastair’s Confessional

Alastair: All I know is, this show - as it currently stands - cannot go on like this. Not anymore. Something's gotta give.

 

After the two dorks in love break their hug, Alastair eventually changes the subject when he says, “Well at least Rafa’s trying to get on with his life. Because in the meantime, Jason and Aiden are being harassed with questions about their obsessive friendship.” Zachary looks surprised when he says, “What? Really?”

 

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Aiden and Jason are as ruthless (and dangerous) as ever. They also love coming off sus to the viewers.

 

As a result, in Season 3 Episode 1, we see trouble in paradise really start to begin between Jason and Christian, after gossip blogs, reports, and chatrooms allege that either Jason is having an affair with Aiden, or Christian and Jason have an open relationship with Aiden and Aiden's husband Z Halley (the latter of whom we don't see this whole season), depending on the source. In the words of RHOC's Brooks Ayers, consider your source.

 

Either way, viewers are not shocked to hear about these rumors because Jason and Aiden always seemed to have a friendship that always felt more FWB-ish than platonic. Plus, as hinted by this point, Jason has a reputation of allegedly getting around in San Fernando (which at this point, he doesn’t seem to fight against). And Aiden never seemed to care that he was flirting with someone else’s man. Neither did Jason, who hypocritically dislikes Christian's friendship with Rafa, who never appears in a single scene with Jason or Aiden this season until the reunion.

 

And now, the gossip duo that is Jayden/J&A/Jay&Aidencito is being bombarded by these rumors. KARMA.

 

Remember when David said in Season 2 that there was something oddly familiar about Aiden? And remember when back in Season 1, he accused Jason of cheating on Christian with someone who sounded and acted like Jason (“single white female much”)? Well, as soon as David heard about this tea, he felt vindicated. Of course he did. This is probably the only time any logical viewer was on David’s side, not because they like David (I mean, he literally fucked up when it came to Alastair and especially Rafa), but because a lot of viewers have suspected this. Even execs who watched the 2013 sizzle remember Jason and Aiden’s friendship being rather… well… too playful. Not that Christian ever saw the sizzle himself.

 

Christian, who we now know is not above speaking out against Jason or Aiden when need be, is now at the center of Flaming Bros drama, something that he never asked for. I gotta be honest: I feel bad for Christian having to deal with the backlash. He married Jason because he was in love with him and wanted to spend the rest of his life with him. And now there are plenty of people who clown him for marrying someone as controlling, vicious and manipulative as Jason!

 

 

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As mentioned earlier, Rafa is not in Season 3 Episode 1. After David publicly humiliated him on national television, Rafa completely disappeared. Or so we thought, as he was never spotted filming for a large portion of the season. But what if we were wrong? Let’s put a pin on that, because it will come up later. In the meantime, here’s what we did know about Rafa’s disappearance from the public eye. He deleted all of his social media accounts. His Instagram page? GONE. His Facebook page? GONE. His Tumblr page? GONE. His YouTube channel? GONE. His Twitter account? GONE. His Google Plus account? GONE. 

 

And according to David via confessional, Rafa blocked his phone number. Here’s David’s non-apology rant via confessional in Episode 1: “I was drunk when I did that interview. My bad. I tried calling Rafa after news broke about what I said, only to see that the fool blocked me. I mean, what kinda man does that? He really thinks that life is all horses, and pretty little farm animals, and rainbows. Like, seriously, the bitch needs to wake up and stop being a coward.” Wow…

 

 

David: Hey man, how ya doin’?

Alastair: Well, I’ll be better once I never have to see you again.

 

That little exchange between David and Alastair during the Season 3 premiere get-together held at the San Fernando Mall (also attended by fellow cast members Enrique, Jason, and Aiden) tells you exactly what you need to know about David’s relevance in Season 3: without Alastair and especially Rafa, and as long as the B&S gang don’t rock with him, David has no place in the show; he can’t even buy a damn storyline. Not that he really had one outside the group, looking back.

 

And during their conversation, Alastair makes it very clear to David that the interview between David and Humberto Guida confirmed one thing: "You never wanted Rafa as a friend; you wanted him to be a yes-man. And that’s not who he is." David asks, “So why does he always agree with everything *you* say?” And Alastair says, “He doesn’t. And I don’t make him do anything. That’s what you did, and you know it.” David says nothing against that accusation, but silence does NOT equal denial.

 

In his confessional, David tells us, “Rafa has taken this pathetic-ass stance, as if *I* have been the one that started all this shit around here. Let’s not forget, Rafa: you were the one who accused me of needing a babysitter. You left me hanging in Las Vegas. And you stopped talking to me before and after the reunion. What the fuck have I done to you, other than say that you basically need to grow the fuck up? We’ll wait.”

 

Alastair takes his scathing conversation with David further by saying, “The fact that you used both of us makes you the real shitty person who shouldn’t be trusted. For someone who claims to keep it real *because you’re from Compton*, you are the fakest piece of shit I have ever met in my life. And you’re the one who needs to grow up.”

 

It doesn’t take a genius to notice that Alastair hit a nerve, because David looked absolutely pissed. David seemed quiet, as per usual, when confronted by Alastair, and seemingly looking down to his left and right. When that happens, that means the person being confronted is defeated or at least embarrassed. The last thing that David says to Alastair, very softly, is, “Alright,” before saying in his normal voice, “Well, next time you see Rafa, tell him I wanna talk to him alone.” Alastair’s response, “I’ll tell him that he can talk to you *if he wants to*.”

 

What else goes on during the premiere party at the San Fernando Mall is... NOT IMPORTANT. But Enrique has this lovely thing to say about Rafa via confessional: "You know, it's really typical of Rafa to not show up to this event because he knew that I would be hosting. Like, seriously, I invited you and you don't show up? You can’t hide from us forever. Either suck it up or get out of my show." Enrique, button your mouth and get over yourself. And yes, Rafa absolutely CAN hide from you forever if he wants to, so I wouldn’t jinx it. Actually, Jason, and Aiden do not share a single scene with Rafa this *WHOLE* season.

 

Also, isn’t it ironic that the event is taking place at the San Fernando Mall – the VERY place where a then-unemployed 19-year-old (going on 20) Rafa was scouted for Season 1 back in 2014? It would’ve felt completely tone-deaf without Alastair confronting David. Meanwhile, the last remaining trio of B&S (Aiden, Jason, and Enrique), as well as David, respectively, are spending that entire event complaining about Rafa.

 

Time for some behind-the-scenes facts! Following the public trauma of David’s controversial interview, Rafa was nowhere to be found in the City of San Fernando. He’s still an employee at Monteverde Ranch and is still a CSUN student, so surely that meant that he was still living *somewhere* in the valley, right? But even strangers in the greater SFV hadn’t seen him anywhere. And no one (except his family and closest friends) had seen him in person for months prior to Season 3 starting production, leading many to believe that he might have also left the valley (or perhaps even California) indefinitely, with no plans to return yet, if at all. And with absolutely no social media anymore, Rafa might as well have turned into a ghost. And if he never left the valley, then he at least wore a good enough disguise to help him go from one location to another on a daily basis.

 

During the filming of Season 3 Episode 1, Alastair (along with Alastair’s fiancé Zachary, Rafa’s acquaintance-turned-close-friend Christian, Rafa’s close CSUN friend Calvin Seabrooks, reunion host Ross Matthews, and Rafa’s so-called "family of witches") kept Rafa’s whereabouts private from the public and production. So as long as Rafa was most likely done with the show, David, Jason, Enrique, and Aiden were going to have to get us to care about their existence. Alastair didn't need to worry about doing that since he's always been an open book. But the aforementioned four guys? Yeah, no.

 

Still, it was going to be rough without our Brazilian bridge guiding us through the misadventures of the Bullies & Snobs and the City of San Fernando. Not that he should, because he had been burned long enough.

 

 

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But back to Season 3 Episode 1.

 

After that stupid-ass get-together at the San Fernando Mall, we see Alastair talk to a therapist the next day (like he promised Zachary that he would) for the first time since returning home from the army. “As much as I try to be as transparent as I can with certain things on my mind, I still have a habit of stopping myself from truly being open when I need to be,” Alastair says via confessional.

 

He tells his male therapist, “In one way or another, I had always been a fighter since I was 20. And I don’t wanna be mad, or scared, or depressed all the time.” Therapist says, “Is that how you feel?” Alastair: “Yeah. All the time. I can wake up and be mad over the most trivial things known to God, and I know that’s not healthy at all. I still… harbor a lot of anger and fear, and… I just end up keeping my emotions to myself because I don’t wanna take it out on anyone.”

 

The therapist asks Alastair a very important question: “Do you know or remember why you started having these thoughts?” Alastair answers, “Yeah, I- I do. Growing up in a conservative Christian family, I didn’t always have a great support system, and was always taught to believe that being gay was immoral. Even when I came out to my family at 16, their reactions were very mixed. My mom and my sisters were okay with it, surprisingly, but when my dad said that he would accept me for what I was ‘becoming’ as long as he didn’t know about my… my ‘lifestyle,’ um… I- *exhales* I, I just didn’t know what to make of that. *tear falls* So, um… I never really told my parents or my sisters about anything important because I didn’t think I could trust them. Um… but fast forward to my short time in the Army. I’m 19 years old, constantly being sexually harassed and groped by an older male soldier in his 30s. And the last time he did anything to me, he jumped me, and almost raped me, but I kept fighting him off until I knocked him out. I knew that I had to report it, and they decided that their hands were tied, whatever that means. And I decided that my family had to know, and when I told them, my mom said that I needed to come back home, and my dad basically said that it was my fault for what happened to me, you know? Because I chose to be gay. The only other person who knew what happened to me was my best friend since high school, Rafa Silva. But no matter who asks me about it, I always keep it to a minimum because… I hate talking about it. *cries* I had never felt so angry and depressed and ashamed until my time in the army. It took me until last year to finally tell my fiancé about my traumatic experiences, and I still struggle to communicate with him about it. Up until that point, I was always trying to be strong and tough, and protect the people that I love from the world, as if I were untouchable. But even my fiancé and my best friend could see right through me. I think it’s starting to wear on them a little bit.”

 

His therapist tells him, “I can tell that you see yourself as a role model, and you’ll do everything you can to take care of everyone. Do you feel like you’ve been taking care of yourself recently?” Alastair thinks about the question, and then answers, “Well, besides taking my medication for my anxiety, PTSD, and depression… no, not really.”

 

In his closing confessional, Alastair tearfully says, “It was nerve-wracking talking to him, but it was really helping me. I do know that it’s going to be a work in progress, because… it’s still very painful and I really don’t like talking about it. But I have to. So… *voice breaking* one day at a time.”

 

This is sure to be a stressful season for Alastair: trauma, prenups, Rafa's initial isolation... no wonder David and the B&S crew no longer fit in his world.

 

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Speaking of B&S, the alliance has gotten incredibly smaller by now. With Carlos rejected after the sizzle reel, Estuardo given the boot after Season 1, Alex Caceres disappearing before the midpoint of Season 2, Cory being iced out and edited out by the end of Season 2, and Alex Paredes storming out of the Season 2 reunion after being outed as a “dumb pussy” by Alastair, the alliance that we have come to know as the Bullies & Snobs is down to three: Enrique, Jason, and Aiden. And it stays that way for the whole season. Viewers can’t help but just be like… wow. Even fans of B&S can’t believe how much the clique drastically changed by Season 3.

 

But it seems to be okay with the trio. They are now the tightest that they’ve ever been, meaning Rafa’s observation of them was correct. In Season 1, Rafa said to David, “Jason and Enrique, they love each other. They look out for each other.” And of course, Aiden got along with both Jason and Enrique. So, you could say that this is *THE* B&S Trio, although they would prefer to be called “The OG 3” because they were there from the very beginning (the sizzle days of 2013). Girl bye, they may have been there before Rafa and Alastair, but they will never be respected as the OGs. Plus, Estuardo, Carlos, and Alex Caceres were there from the beginning too, so… Yeah, we’re sticking to their most accurate name Bullies & Snobs aka B&S.

 

But either way, they are not without their issues, and they are as messy and unlikable as they have ever been. They are also the most watchable they’ve ever been because this is the season where they completely collapse without Rafa or Alastair.

 

 

 

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Season 3 Episode 2 starts a little differently. We’re taken to the San Fernando Fitness gym, where we meet one of our two new main cast members.

 

“Hey what’s up, everyone? My name is CJ Niner. I’m 21 years old. My family and I have been living in Foothill, Sylmar since 2013, but we’re originally from Auckland, New Zealand. I’m a pretty quirky, silly, bouncy and just plain weird dirtbag because I love being in the great outdoors, but I can also be a little rude and crude. And I’m bisexual.”

 

CJ is a refrigeration engineer, born on March 14, 1995, and is mixed-race; being Indian, Italian, Irish, and English, “But I only know the English language.” This makes him the first Asian cast member, the first South Asian cast member, the first Kiwi cast member, and the third White/European cast member. In addition, he is also now the second youngest cast member this season, only a few months older than fellow newbie Matthew Frias who was also born in 1995. And he is the first bisexual cast member.

 

He is the son of actor, producer, and singer-songwriter Antonio Niner, who is also of Indian descent and from Auckland. CJ is a comic book nerd and gaymer, which would NOT be a good fit for a typical reality series once built on nasty drama but is actually a welcomed addition to a show that desperately needed a transition from its horrible reputation as a show that broke Rafa.

 

But besides his race and background, what makes CJ stand out from the rest of the group is that he is openly bisexual and has a lovely and supportive girlfriend named April Burrows. And because this show was filmed from December 2016 to February 2017, his bisexual identity and heterosexual relationship make CJ a target for backlash among the gay viewers. And even David and B&S, respectively, question his identity time and time again.

 

CJ is often looked at as a semi-replacement of David, as both are complex personalities. But CJ greatly dislikes this comparison, and dislikes David even more.

 

He also has a self-deprecating sense of humor which is very relatable, but (in retrospect) could be read as his way of coping with deeper issues.

 

What I really like about CJ is how natural it feels that despite being an outsider, it feels like he’s always been on the show from the beginning. CJ Niner may be new to us and to the cast, but the returning cast is certainly not new to him. Even if he didn’t know any of them personally, he knew of them from observations or word of mouth. As he and David are both Sylmarites, CJ has crossed paths with David a few times, after David moved to Dronfield in 2014 following being cast on FBSF⛈️. But even from a distance, David never came off as someone that CJ would care to talk to, as David always seemed a bit... rude, standoffish, and seemingly against the world. He wasn't sure if Rafa or Alastair would be interested in getting to know him following what they each went through the last two seasons. He had seen Jason and his husband Christian quite a few times, with and without Aiden. And whenever Aiden was around them, or (even worse) whenever it was just Jason and Aiden, it was "pretty weird," as he says via confessional in Episode 2. Every time he saw Enrique, it was comical; as he says in his confessional in Episode 2, "If Enrique thinks he’s living like the Kardashians, honey, then he’s got another thing coming." And both CJ and Matthew attend San Fernando Fitness, where prior to the show, they were mainly acquaintances. So, they don’t really know each other like that, but this show allows them to truly get to know each other outside of San Fernando Fitness.

 

A little behind the scenes fact about CJ: one interesting move - LONG before the Flaming Bros franchise ever launched - has a lot to do with CJ’s name. Up until 2009, while still living in New Zealand, the then-14-year-old CJ had went by his first name Courtney-Jai since he was born. Meanwhile in Australia, there was an up-and-coming actor named Jai Courtney. When word started spreading about the actor, CJ was sure that the actor would become big-time famous one day, so Courtney-Jai eventually decided to go by his initials CJ to avoid confusion. So obviously, it was a personal choice to stand out, and boy does he ever, especially in this toxic-ass cast! Anyone who knows him personally is welcome to call him CJ, Courtney-Jai, or Courtney.

 

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Also introduced in Season 3 Episode 2 is our quieter new addition, Tejano actor Matthew Frias.

 

“Hi, I’m Matthew Frias. And I’ve been living in the city of San Fernando since 2013 after living in Dallas, Texas my whole life. I’m an actor, and I’ve mainly done Indie films. I’m perhaps best remembered for starring in the film Akron. But outside of acting, I’m also a waiter for La Bella Pizza Trattoria Italiana, and I try to maintain a healthy lifestyle. And if things were different, I would be a mama’s boy *chuckles*.”

 

21 years old at the time of casting, Matthew is the youngest one in the cast, being born on August 18, 1995 and only being a few months younger than CJ. And he has a bit of an "adorably awkward" vibe, and light Texan accent, which contrasts with the thicker Texan accent of Alastair’s fiancé Zachary.

 

Prior to being cast on this show, he had just wrapped up production for a movie he starred in called Bad Kids of Crestview Academy. But he is probably best known for starring in the LGBTQ indie film Akron.

 

Matthew is very sweet, warm, expressive, and eager to connect. And it becomes clear (even to CJ) that Matthew is carrying a lot of unresolved baggage.

 

In San Fernando, he lives in a shared apartment with three other people, and so far, it’s not a fun experience.

 

As a waiter, he eventually has the unfortunate luck of serving Enrique, who is such a horrible customer. More on that later.

 

Matthew has a complicated family history with his mother, hence why in his Episode 2 confessional, he said that interesting statement, “if things were different, I would be a mama’s boy.”

 

Matthew was already acquaintances with CJ as they both attend the San Fernando Fitness gym. They were never friends at the time, and they don’t start off as buddies when we meet them in Episode 2. But as we see throughout this season, they always manage to find their way back to each other, and by joining the show together, they eventually start getting to know each other, especially as the Bullies & Snobs is down to three, and Matthew doesn’t know if Alastair and Rafa would be interested in getting to know him and CJ following Rafa and Alastair's previous negative experiences with the rest of the returning cast.

 

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After CJ and Matthew have been introduced, their first scene together in Season 3 Episode 2 is outside San Fernando Fitness where they have a first real conversation after finishing a fitness session. It’s a little awkward at first because before they were cast on this show, they were just acquaintances and didn’t really know each other that well, but always got along with each other. Now that they’re both on a show together where the cast dynamic is basically shit, it remains to be seen if the two new guys will be against each other by the end of the season. Neither knows what to make of this journey yet, but they were both aware of the show (San Fernando and Sylmar are small towns, after all) – each having watched it in real time – and are WAY more than aware of what had transpired within the now broken trio of David, Alastair and Rafa, leading to and following David’s drunken stunt of an interview on LATV.

 

“I don’t know what’s gonna happen between me and CJ, or how we’re gonna fit in this, uh… group? *nervous chuckles* But CJ and I go to the same gym, we’re both new to this show, and hopefully things turn out well between the both of us,” says Matthew via confessional, Season 3 Episode 2.

 

“At this point, nobody likes each other. I don’t know if that’s gonna happen to you and me as well because… we’re both… literally stepping into a hostile situation,” CJ says to Matthew who says, “Yeah, like… I can’t promise that between you and me, it won’t be a ‘battle of the newbies’ kinda thing. But if your early impressions of David back in Sylmar are any indication, something tells me that neither of us are gonna leave this show liking him.” CJ, eyes open wide while side-eyeing on the floor inhales and says, “I think you’re right, dude.”

 

 

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Also in Season 3 Episode 2, the latest shift in Jason and Christian’s already rocky marriage is both revealing and painful to watch. Jason still hasn’t gotten over Christian refusing to defend him during last season’s reunion, which he sees as betrayal. Meanwhile Christian - traditionally the quiet, loyal, and steady partner who has supported Jason through endless chaos - is finally demanding direct answers about the rumors surrounding Aiden. Jason’s reaction, however, is a masterclass in deflection. Instead of offering reassurance or a clear denial, he evades the topic, shifts focus, and desperately asks Christian to “just leave it alone.” This frantic plea for peace over clarity strongly suggests that Jason has something to hide. Perhaps this has everything to do with what we already know so far: (1) Aiden – someone who dresses, sounds, and acts like Jason – was initially rejected from the show prior to Season 1 before finally joining for Season 2, and only execs who watched the sizzle reel knew why. (2) In Season 1, David accused Jason of cheating on Christian with someone who dressed and sounded like Jason. (3) During the Season 1 reunion, Rafa admitted to Jason that when watching the sizzle reel shortly after being scouted for the show, he realized that a certain cast member was left on the cutting room floor because of Jason. Rafa promised not to say anything beyond that (and Christian had never seen the sizzle reel himself) but he told Jason that he needed to start being honest for once. (4) In Season 2, Aiden got so brutally defensive towards Rafa and David, respectively in response to what he claims to be untrue rumors. (5) We find out in Season 2 that Aiden never liked Christian and would openly flirt with Jason in a way that both Aiden and Jason claim to be harmless and platonic.

 

Jason's avoidant behavior highlights deep-seated insecurity and emotional immaturity. He has long tried to distance himself from his former soft, shy persona—traits that are ironically similar to those of Christian and Rafa. Aiden embodies the bold, provocative, and confident identity Jason built for himself. Because the current rumors threaten to shatter this facade and destabilize his marriage, Jason treats his husband's valid concerns as an annoyance. By begging Christian to let it go, Jason is attempting to enjoy the security of his marriage while completely dodging accountability. Furthermore, his inability to cleanly deny the situation implies that his connection with Aiden is substantial enough that he either fears lying outright, or worries Christian already possesses proof.

 

On the other side of the dynamic, Christian's long-standing patience appears to have finally run out. Rather than creating a massive scene, he is simply asking for clarity and confirmation (“Just tell me what’s true and what’s false”), making Jason’s stonewalling cut even deeper than the rumors themselves. Christian has always served as the anchor of their relationship; if he decides to enforce strict boundaries or emotionally withdraw, Jason’s entire world is at risk of collapsing.

 

Jason remains trapped in the same loop of self-doubt, defensiveness, and emotional distance that has plagued him since the show's premiere. The overarching theme of dealing with past ghosts is playing out vividly here; while Rafa’s departure and return forced others to self-reflect, Jason is facing a mirror that shows his marriage failing due to his refusal to own up to his alleged mistakes. Ultimately, this quiet, intimate friction between Jason and Christian is shaping up to be one of Flaming Bros San Fernando's most compelling and heartbreaking storylines.

 

Little does Jason know that while he never shares a scene with his sworn enemy Rafa until the reunion, an old friend returns for the upcoming cast trip to Bakersfield. And it’s absolutely dreadful for Jason.

 

But hey, at least Jason is slightly becoming more relevant this season after taking a noticeable backseat in Season 2. I still don’t like this racist piece of shit. But even when he’s not as important as he was in Season 1, Jason still ranks as the most important villain of the original cast. He would have to, especially now that the B&S side of the cast is now down to three: himself, Enrique, and Aiden.

 

 

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Then, still in Season 3 Episode 2, we see Matthew’s hectic life as one of four roommates and quickly see the complexities of his relationships with his roommates, who are very… obnoxious. And Matthew doesn’t have much of a healthy relationship with any of them. Matthew is not exactly happy about his living situation and has desires to move out one day and downsize, but can’t afford to do so at the moment. The last thing he wants to do, however, is move back to Texas with his mom. One roommate of his in particular, named Joren Michael Francisco (Filipino-American) comes off very thirsty for a medical student, and seems to enjoy putting Matthew down because Matthew has no direction in his life outside of his “lame acting gigs, and should go back to living with your mommy.” Ouch. We also notice that Matthew is the quietest person in his shared apartment, and doesn’t really have the same social battery as his roommates, which probably annoys them. Luckily, we don’t see Joren or any other roommate of Matthew’s much during this season, and Joren, who was clearly thirsty for camera time, never actually becomes a cast member in any capacity. But that harsh comment from Joren foreshadows a future conversation between Matthew and CJ during the cast trip to Bakersfield.

 

Later on, all four roommates are having dinner at home, and of course Matthew was the only one who cooked. One important thing to note is that when Matthew is offered champagne, he turns it down, saying, “Y’all know I don’t drink alcoholic beverages.” Remember this, as it will be important later. And of course, it gives his roommates another reason to be annoyed with him.

 

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And then suddenly… we’re in for a surprise:

 

Rafa finally appears in the closing scene of Episode 2 (talk about a full circle, as his first appearance was on Episode 2 of Season 1), and naturally, he appears very grim when he visits Alastair who gives him a long overdue tight hug.

 

 

When Rafa asks Alastair, “Have you seen David recently?” Alastair says, “Unfortunately, I did last night during some… cast get-together thing; it was all bullshit, you didn’t miss anything. Anyway *clears throat* David wanted me to tell you that he wants to talk to you.” Rafa sighs and rolls his eyes, saying, “Great…”

 

 

Understandably, Rafa is annoyed. He does NOT want to speak to David ever again after that stunt, but he already knows that he can't keep avoiding other cast members, or so he believed at first.  Rafa says in his confessional, “I honestly had no intention of ever talking to David again because… I do not like him anymore.” OOOOH, DAMN! Alastair says to Rafa, “But I told him that it’s *your* choice to talk to him or not. He’s not your master, Rafa.” Rafa hesitantly asks, “What’s the catch?” Alastair mutters, “I don’t know, man,” and speaks up when he says, “He claims that he only wants to talk to you alone. But given that I was told the same thing last year, only to be ambushed, and David has lied to you and me multiple times, I wouldn’t be so quick to believe David, if I were you.”

 

In the end, Rafa reluctantly decides to accept David’s invitation, "but just in case it *is* an ambush, I think you should come with me." Alastair puts his left hand on Rafa’s left shoulder, looks him in the eye, and softly says, "You got it, buddy."

 

 

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Back to David, who was absent on Season 3 Episode 2.

 

If you remember in Season 1 Episode 1, David was the first “amigo” that we met. But he never had a solo scene on his own; he always needed to share a scene with someone for some reason. And the first person was his sworn enemy Enrique, who brought David on the show, only to spit David out on Season 1 Episode 4 (yeah, remember that?). And then after Rafa showed up in Season 1 Episode 2, David stuck with Rafa and then Alastair. And since then, that’s just how David was defined: his dependence on somebody (and private mission to *use* that person). This gave us no room to truly know who David is without someone else. We just knew that he was from Compton, had a homophobic family, had to stay in the DL while in Compton, and moved to Dronfield, Sylmar instead of San Fernando proper because it felt like home. He had every potential to be the neutral presence that the show seriously lacks (Hell, so did Estuardo), and he blew it.

 

I guess the producers had decided that David just wasn’t interesting enough (or at least worth exploring) on his own, because fast forward Season 3 Episode 3.

 

As Rafa and Alastair would find out, David’s request to talk to Rafa alone in David’s home was indeed a big fat lie. Because when Rafa shows up to David’s Dronfield apartment alone first, there's David alongside Enrique, which Rafa says, "I knew it.” “Knew what?” asks David. And Rafa immediately says, “If Enrique's gonna be here, so is Alastair," to which David says, "What? Why?" And Rafa says, "This is an ambush. And I'm not allowing that." So, Alastair, who was waiting for Rafa in the car, shows up and says to David and Enrique, "I'm not gonna say anything to either of you snakes. I'm just here to support Rafa and that's that." And with that, he lets Rafa speak to David.

 

The conversation doesn't go well for David, miraculously. But for Rafa, it needed to happen, now, not later, not never. David asks why Rafa blocked his number. Rafa doesn’t answer his question, and instead says, “You know why; I don't have to answer that question.” David is taken aback by what he thinks is Rafa’s standoffish attitude; “Well if you’re gonna be a smart-ass, go right ahead. I’m just trying to be nice—” Rafa cuts him off, "Why did you put me on blast as a bitch, a crybaby, and a shitty person who shouldn’t be trusted, and call my family ‘witches’? Do you have any idea what I went through after that? Of course not, you were drunk conveniently, and you were never my friend. So, why would you care at all?" And David, in a déjà vu moment, tells Rafa that he should have always been there for him, chastises Rafa about making everything about himself (which isn’t true, and implies that everything has to be about David and how wonderful David is), and accuses Rafa of always leaning on Alastair instead (confirming David's once-implied jealousy towards Alastair), and brings up the Vegas trip, AGAIN!

 

Eventually, Rafa just explodes, "WHAT THE HELL DO YOU WANT FROM ME, DAVID?! DO YOU WANT ME TO DRAW BLOOD? SUCK YOUR DICK? READ YOU A BEDTIME STORY? FUCK, MAN! YOU ARE TOO GODDAMN OLD TO BE THIS STUPID AND IMMATURE! IT IS NOT MY FAULT THAT NOBODY LIKES YOU!" Oof, that was cold, and I don’t care.

 

David was not ready for Rafa to explode at him like at and it made him jump. He attempts to argue, but couldn’t make it past, “Alright, you know wh—” because Rafa cut him off by yelling, “NO, *YOU* BE QUIET, RIGHT NOW! I let you talk; it’s my turn.” David scoffs and says under his breath, “And in my house,” while Rafa says, “I am so fucking tired, David. I’m tired of Las Vegas, I’m tired of fighting, I’m tired of crying, I’m tired of watching what I say, and I am *SICK* and tired of *you*! You are pathetic, manipulative, self-righteous, hypocritical, and annoying as fuck! And I'm not going to apologize for the damage you have caused. You don’t know what it actually means to be there for someone because you’ve never had any real friends growing up and you never will. Time and time again, you’ve disregarded the feelings of people who actually cared about you, because Enrique and your own family did the exact same thing to you, and you let them, because you secretly love to be punished that way. So, if you wanna dwell on the fact that you’ve lost me as a personal slave for the rest of your life, that's up to you. But you’re not dragging me into your bullshit anymore; I’m not having that. You don’t get to abuse me or take your trauma out on me anymore." As Rafa is saying all of this, Alastair is taking all of this in while wiping a tear from his eye knowing how much David put Rafa through, and David looks down to his living room floor, clearly hurt and offended by Rafa’s words. Now heated and defeated, all David says to Rafa (without looking him in the eye) is, "Well then you can take your crocodile tears and witchcraft back to the farm," which is a very lame and insensitive thing to say to a Brazilian who has grown up being anything but a truly welcomed addition to the very Mexican City of San Fernando.

 

Rafa calmly says, “Hmph. And you can go crawling back to Enrique like you always do,” while taking off his mic and throwing the mic box on the floor so hard that it breaks, with pieces hitting David and Enrique, who flinch instantly at Rafa throwing the mic box, like he was Hercules. And Rafa storms out of David's home and Alastair follows him, neither hearing Enrique's compliment to David who is still in shock: "Wow… you are one mean bitch, D. I like that." David and Enrique have the weirdest dynamic that we will never understand, and I’m just so fucking over it. But Enrique’s right. David will always need him, no matter how much the two hate each other. David says to Enrique, “Damn, bro, you see that? He came into my house and acted like that. I let him talk, I stayed calm, and he still threw something at me. That ain’t right. He ain’t never been the victim, period.”

 

 

After Alastair takes Rafa back home and softly asks him, “Hey… are you okay?” Rafa tells him honestly, “I will be. But I know one thing: I’m done with him.” Alastair nods, understanding what Rafa is saying, and Rafa makes the most meaningful decision that any reality show cast member can make: "And I'm done caring about people who don't care about me." Rafa is literally the Boundary King.

 

For the rest of the season, Rafa and Alastair do NOT interact with David at all until the reunion, and that was their choice. And they do NOT participate in any group activities as long as they know that David will be present, which is pretty much every group activity and the Bakersfield cast trip. Basically, the two best friends are mostly isolated from the majority of the cast.

 

Fans wonder if David is secretly intimidated by Rafa in particular. We may never know, but it’s not far-fetched at all, if you already understand David’s sloppily discussed past, how his brain works, and what Rafa is capable of. After all, when Rafa threw that mic box with so much force, David flinched and was in shock, so there’s that.

 

And was it a low blow for Rafa to say that David will never have any real friends? Yes. But… it’s no worse than what David put him through. And in true fashion, Rafa saying that David will never have any real friends is… foreshadowing.

 

David is lucky that Rafa didn't put his hands on him and instead threw his mic box at him. Either way, Rafa is not just deeply hurt, he was angry. It’s clear that Rafa hit a nerve when he dragged David for the filth. David's decision to publicly humiliate Rafa in that interview leaves David’s fate on the show being a big question mark.

 

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It seems like David was never destined to fit into either orbit. And that would’ve been fine if David was a neutral figure who could somehow manage both sides while having his own views. But he was hated by B&S (and vice versa) and was a fake friend to Rafa and Alastair.

 

So, on Season 3 Episode 3 after his mic drop meeting with Rafa, we see David a couple of days later with one of his so-called “real” best friends from Dronfield – Karlo Shigeo Ishibashi. Born on December 19, 1992, Karlo is another cast member of Asian descent, being half-Japanese and half-Mexican. He’s an actor, stripper, and go-go dancer. Do we see any of that onscreen? No. Does he have a Rafa-less storyline. Also no. Sigh… Karlo shouldn’t even be wanting to have a beef with someone, but evidently, he does and has decided that Rafa will be one of his main targets, even though we never see him actually interact with Rafa in person.  And he also tries and fails to have this stupid beef with fellow mixed Asian cast member CJ over the fact that CJ said that he didn’t know Karlo. Every time this go-go ho (lol, go-go ho) opens his mouth, I just wanna smack him upside the head. And then there’s Karlo and David’s fellow Dronfield bestie Valentino Padilla, aka Tino (born on January 3, 1987), who we also meet, later during Season 3 Episode 3. Y’all, Tino. Lord, that Tino. Hmm… This guy is a true definition of a desperate pick-me. And as you’ll find out very quickly, Tino has a bad case of malapropism. While Karlo and Tino may have apparently crossed paths with Rafa before, they never appear in a single episode with Rafa or Alastair. And when you put Karlo and Tino together with David, they form a trio that is clearly an inferior version of the 3 Amigos, dubbed by fans as… the Sylmar Sinners. Luckily, CJ is not a part of this embarrassing trio despite being a Sylmarite himself.

 

Anyway, as the Sylmar Sinners are hanging out in Caruso's Italian Kitchen in Sylmar, David is telling Karlo and Tino about his meeting with Rafa, and of course his side of the story is meant to paint Rafa as the bad guy. “I invited him over to talk like adults. One-on-one. I was trying to clear the air after the interview thing. And what he do? He shows up with his imaginary boyfriend Alastair in tow like I’m some kind of threat, then disrespects me in my own damn apartment. He yells at me, calls me pathetic, manipulative, all this wild shit… and then throws his mic box so hard it breaks and hits me. That ain’t right, man. That ain’t how you treat a host. Maybe they do that shit in Brazil, but in America, he’s an immigrant; shit like that can get you deported. I don’t give a damn how mad you are — you don’t do that. He crossed a line.”

 

Well, if that wasn’t xenophobic, then I don’t know what is. And David, sweetie… Rafa and his family have been American citizens for years since moving to California, so they can never and will never be deported, even in what is soon to be Trump-era USA.

 

Karlo and Tino are stunned by this news, Karlo says to David, “Goddamn… I thought Rafa was a weak-ass little kid, not fuckin’ Hercules.” And Tino says, “Clearly, ain’t nobody nice all the time, and Rafa’s living poof.” Um… I think he meant to say, “living PROOF,” but whatever.

 

And David says, “Yeah, I mean, I apologized to his bitch-ass,” which is a lie; he *never* apologized to Rafa. “But instead of forgiving me, he turns it into this whole attack on me. Like I’m the bad guy for having feelings. I swear he was acting like Angela Bassett with all this bullshit about, ‘I’m tired of this, I’m tired of that.’ Meanwhile, he disrespected me in my own space. I ain’t did nothin’ to deserve that.”

 

So, as you can see, David is stretching the truth as much as he can, to make himself the real victim and make Rafa the real villain, especially because he is fixated on Rafa taking control of the narrative in David’s own home and assaulting David in his own home. He is trying to rewrite history to feel big again, and while it may be working for the stans of trash TV, it’s not working for viewers who are clearly ready to see something different and less toxic.

 

Karlo asks, “So whatchu gon’ do the next time you see him?” David says, “Damned if I knew. I wish he *would* see me again, because this shit ain’t over.”

 

“Rafa really thought he could attack me the way he did? Nah. Nah man, I was trying to fix things and he just exploded like a woman scorned. I ain’t chasing after nobody who’s gonna treat me like that in my own crib.” – David via confessional, Season 3 Episode 3

 

And yet, this whole season, all he talks about is Rafa; prepare to be annoyed by that. One thing worth noting as that he’s already implied in that LATV interview that Rafa scares him because he supposedly comes from a family of witches. But I also think that David is scared of Rafa because he knows that Rafa is actually capable of kicking anyone’s ass if provoked. The mic drop (as well as the Season 1 table bang) was a scare tactic that clearly worked on both David (in secret) and Enrique. But not only is David scared of Rafa, he and his minions are obsessed with Rafa. And they will do whatever it takes to get us to hate Rafa, which is weird because Rafa won’t be in town for large portion of the season, spoiler alert.

 

This whole scene proves my original thesis: the villains are replaceable. However, David refuses to be replaced. He needs the conflict with Rafa to stay relevant. He also needs Enrique, of course. The fandom is now fully convinced that David’s entire Season 3 arc is just him failing to accept the fact that Rafa outgrew him and wants nothing to do with him; absolutely nothing. And they’re right. But it’s not just David, Karlo, or Tino who are obsessed with Rafa. Even the Bullies & Snobs can’t stop talking about Rafa, and it gets annoying real fast.

 

David says to Karlo and Tino, “Anyway, I’m supposed to see these two new guys later today, and uh… y’all, I’m so fucking over meeting new people, okay? Rafa and Alastair were new, Aiden and Cory were new, and now these guys CJ and Matthew…? Whoever they are, I’m… I’m over it.” Um, David, you were new, too when you joined the show on the very first episode via Enrique, and met his so-called friends, the Bullies & Snobs. And your friends Karlo and Tino are new, too! So, what is the difference?! I don’t know if David is delusional or has fake amnesia. Whatever.

 

And Tino says to David, “Well, you better show those two new guys who the fuck David Ty Reza is, ‘cuz apparently they’re as young as Rafa.” And David says, “Shit. I’ll remember that, bro. Thanks.”

 

 

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Still on Season 3 Episode 3, on the same day of David ranting to Karlo and Tino about Rafa, we catch up with Rafa after that much-needed dragging of David. Rafa is hanging out with his CSUN classmate, close friend and future cast member Calvin Seabrooks at an empty Pioneer Park in a cool cloudy early morning, sitting in a shaded picnic table adjacent to a playground. Still quietly spiraling from his public humiliation, no thanks to David, Rafa tells Calvin that he has decided that he will be taking the Spring 2017 semester off from CSUN. Calvin asks, “Oh really?” Rafa softly says, “Yeah… after everything I’ve been through, especially this year with the cast, and other students and staff staring at me… it was just time to take a step back for now.” Calvin gets up from his seat in front of Rafa and sits next to him, putting his hand around his shoulder, while Rafa looks down at the table, and softly whispers, “Yeah...” In his confessional, Rafa tells us, “I never thought that I would make that decision. Ever. But, um… since the Fall 2015 semester of my sophomore year, after that fight in Santa Clarita… I was no longer able to fully concentrate on my studies. And it just continued to get worse for Fall 2016 after that… that interview that David just *had * to do. A lot of people on campus kept giving me these ‘that’s him’ looks, like, ‘Hey, that’s the guy from that Flaming Bros show.’ They were either gossiping about me or concerned about me, but I couldn’t tell you who was truly worried about me. Either way, they knew about the LATV interview. And it got to a point where sometimes, I would just skip class or skip school entirely, which almost had a negative effect on my grades and GPA,” and he says with a quiet but sad chuckle “But, hey, thank God for all-nighters, right?” Rafa says to Calvin, as a tear rolls down his eyes and his voice breaks, “Is it bad that I feel like a failure?” Calvin softly says to Rafa, “You’re not a failure, Rafa. Look, school will always be there, but life happens, and you had to make a decision.”

 

“So, yeah, I’m not on social media anymore, I’m not going to school, I refuse to film with David, Enrique, Jason, and Aiden ever again. What’s next, I hear you ask? Who knows?” Rafa via confessional.

 

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The very next scene in Season 3 Episode 3 shows CJ and Matthew in a car ride on their way to CJ’s favorite place to play – the El Cariso Community Regional Park. What happens on their way to the park is pretty hilarious. In the car, while CJ is driving, he accidentally lets out a loud burp from drinking two Coca-Cola bottles earlier, which causes Matthew to laugh out loud. An embarrassed CJ says, “Excuse me,” while giggling. Matthew jokingly says, “Well that’s attractive. It’s a good thing this ain’t a date.” CJ laughs out loud and says, “Oh shut up *laughs* April would kill me if I did that on a date,” and they both laugh together. Matthew asks, “Anyway, are you ready to see David?” CJ says with honesty, “No. You?” Matthew simply says, “Mm-mm, nope. He’s probably gon’ be rude as Hell.” And CJ says, “I just hope he realizes who he’s dealing with.”

 

And of course, David, who shows up to the park late, does NOT realize who he was dealing with.

 

“Hey guys! Thanks for waiting for me,” says David. And CJ says, “Sure, dude. If only we didn’t have to wait over an hour,” which takes David by surprise, and he says, “Um, okay,” in a tone that makes you think, “Oh! He sounds uncomfortable.” But in his confessional, David is all big and bad when he says, “Well that ain’t a good first impression, CJ. And nice to meet you.”

 

“So what do y’all do? Matthew?” David asks. And Matthew says, “Oh, um, I’m a waiter for La Bella Pizza Trattoria Italiana; 2 years and counting. And um, I’m also an actor.” David goes the snobby route and says, “An actor?” to which Matthew nods, and David continues by saying, "Huh, well that’s… interesting; I’ve never heard of you.” Matthews gives a calm yet unimpressed side-eye, and David asks, “Any major films or TV shows?” Matthew answers, “No. I’m more of an indie actor like you. Which is probably why I never heard of you either, until you got on this show… as a new guy.” CJ’s eyes open wide and fights back a laugh when Matthew says that last part. In his confessional, he says, “Ooooh… *chuckles*.” And Matthew says in his confessional, “Dude every actor isn’t trying to be an academy award winner or only known for a sitcom that they did 20 years ago. You do indie movies too, and local stage plays, last time I checked.”

 

David has no idea what to say except, “Well damn… when I heard that you’re from Texas, I expected you to be a little nicer than that, but whatever. Sorry I asked.” Matthew calmly says, “That’s fine. Anything else?”

 

And David goes for the jugular, when he says, “Well yeah. Why you so damn skinny, bro? Do ya eat?” Matthew is taken aback by this insulting question, while CJ says to David, “Hey, uh, mate? I’m skinny too, and so are you. So what?” Matthew calmly says, “And yes, I do eat, if you must know.”

 

But David shakes off Matthew’s presence and says, “So, CJ.” CJ goes, “Mhm.” And David asks, “Don’t I know you?” CJ answers, "Not really. But we’ve crossed paths many times.” David says in a suspicious tone, “Mm, yeah, I thought so. Anyway, what’s special about you?” CJ says with a poker face, “Well… I’m bisexual, and I’ve been with my girlfriend for two years. And I’ve been working as a refrigeration engineer for about a year. So, there’s a good chance I may have to fix your refrigerator, if you can afford one.” David looks confused when CJ gave him that shady offer.

 

David says to CJ, “Okay… thanks, I think. Um, So, you’re Indian, right?” CJ says, “Yes, I am.” “But if you’re Indian, why do you look White?” Matthew gives a disgusted look to David and says, “Are you for real?” And CJ bluntly says, “Because my Mom is Italian, Irish, and English, while my Dad is Indian. What’s next on your interview list of questions? Why I don’t sound Indian?” David gets flustered when asked this question and says, “Well… yeah,” which leads CJ to scoff and say under his breath, “Of course.” David: “I mean… shit, you sound Australian.” CJ corrects him, “New Zealand.” David immediately shuts down the race and nationality talk by saying, “Oh, my bad, man. Never mind,” nervously chuckling. CJ and Matthew look at each other like they're over David already. Matthew says in his confessional, “Ooh, sweet Mother Mary. Please help us right now. This bitch clearly wants a reaction from CJ.” But then comes the kicker: David starts questioning CJ’s bisexuality, “I don’t get it man, like, why be with a woman if you like guys? Like, if you gay, just say that.” This shocks Matthew who says, “David!” CJ looks at Matthew and says, “It’s okay, Matt. He obviously wants an answer, so he’s gonna get one.” He looks back at David and says, “I’m not gay, David. Like I said earlier, in case you weren’t listening, I’m bisexual. Always have been.” David then sighs and says, “Okay, fine. But how do you know that you’re bi?” CJ hits him back with, “How do you know that you’re *really* gay?” Poor Matthew is drinking his water bottle like it is tea. Matthew says in his confessional, “Woah… the new guy firing back at a has-been. Get him. Get him, CJ. Get. Him.” Back in-scene, David tries to defend himself with the oldest and most inaccurate excuse in the book, “I’m sorry, man! I ain’t know nobody who’s bi or whatever.” CJ monotonally says, “Yeah, I don’t believe that. That’s like saying you don’t know anyone who’s gay, even if they’re not out. Because newsflash, David: queer people who are not gay are *everywhere.* Just like pathological liars, like you.” That was a dig at David's fake friendship with Alastair and Rafa. David opens his eyes wide at the dig, and Matthew calmly says between David and CJ, “Boom.” CJ takes it a step further when he asks David, “So, tell me, David: what was it like fuckin’ around on the DL in Compton? Even without Grindr, it still must’ve been some hot and heavy teenage years, huh?” This triggers David who says to CJ, “Excuse me?” and CJ says while staring at David, “You’re excused. Bye,” while waving at David. Matthew holds in a laughter at CJ’s response. David is not impressed and says, “You know what, fuck this I’m-I’m done. I gotta go.” CJ shrugs and says, “Cool.” CJ says in his confessional, “Normally in interviews, we stretch the truth because we need a job. In this case, however, you ask, I answer. And I will *not* tell you what you wanna hear. From one Sylmarite to another, don't come for me, David, because I *can* show you *ACTUAL* realness."

 

After David leaves, Matthew says to CJ, “Well then… that went well. You really went there.” CJ, still on his clapback high, says, “Yeah, I… I did. I’m just as surprised as you are, man. By the way, are you okay?” Matthew softly says, “I am. You?” CJ says, “Yeah. Look, um, what he asked you, I’m not gonna repeat it, and I know that you and I still don’t know each other like that. So, I just… wanna say that… you don’t ever have to talk about anything in particular if you don’t want to or if you’re not ready. Sorry, I’m rambling, I know.” Matthew’s voice breaks as he says, “Thank you. I… I—I appreciate that.” And CJ says to him softly, “You’re welcome, Matt.” That’s the first time CJ referred to Matthew as Matt, and apparently CJ’s also the only person who’s called him Matt. Normally strangers don’t refer to each other by nicknames, but because it came from CJ, who he’s seen almost everyday at San Fernando Fitness, it doesn’t bother Matthew at all.

 

CJ and Matthew both understand that it’s gonna take some time to trust each other, but it really doesn’t take long at all, as they always find themselves coming back to each other because they have that mutual understanding.

 

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Season 3 Episode 3 also shows us what Rafa has been up to since telling Calvin that he was taking a semester off from CSUN. While school is the last thing on Rafa’s mind, he still has his job as an exercise rider and stable hand at Monteverde Ranch. And luckily people in the ranch don’t ask him about David or the show. But lately Rafa has been feeling antisocial following the public humiliation from David’s LATV interview and the backlash he received for fighting Cory last season. So, he doesn’t really interact with people until he has to.

 

After his boss Thomas Hobson basically orders the intense workaholic Rafa to take his lunch break after being 15 minute late to do so, Rafa reluctantly does so in the lounge, but it’s spent on his laptop doing wedding/bachelor party duties, working out a plan for a short film that he agreed to be a part of, and reading an email from one of the producers reminding him that he has to meet with Alastair, Matthew, and CJ at the El Cariso Community Regional Park (which is only about a 10-minute drive from the ranch) after David is no longer there, of course. Not to mention, the table he’s using is nearly filled with printed copies of other things he has to do, and his notebook.

 

So… yeah… Rafa is not taking a real break from his job or anything else occupying his time. He’s only distracting himself by still putting others first before himself. You would think that his exit from social media, his decision to cut David out of his life, and his indefinite leave of absence from CSUN would be the first steps in the right direction, but it feels like he’s either going backwards or sticking to old habits. As the old saying goes, old habits die hard. And he really doesn’t want to meet new people after two seasons of being burned by cast members. He still hasn’t even made time to go to therapy!

 

Fellow stable hand 16-year-old Abraham Rodriguez (an openly gay kid from Sylmar Charter High School) walks in on Rafa glued to his laptop, and asks him, “Are you still working?” And Rafa says while still focusing on his laptop, “Sort of. I’m a very busy man.” Abraham carefully says to Rafa, “ Well, um, you seemed kind of tired and out of it this morning. Is something wrong?” Rafa doesn’t really wanna talk about what he’s been going through up to this point (he doesn’t wanna talk to anyone, period) and just says, “No, I’m… I’m fine.” When Abraham sees the workload Rafa is doing, he says, “Golly… I don’t wanna grow up anymore. Do you also have to go to Phenom Academy today?” And Rafa says to him, “Oh, um… no. Not today, thank God.” “Oh, good,” says Abraham leaves, he says, “Well I hope you get some rest when you get home,” and put his hand on Rafa’s shoulder as he exits the lounge. After Abraham leaves, Rafa whispers under his breath, “Thanks, Abe.” Then he snaps out of it and gets back to what he was doing on his laptop.

 

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Still on Season 3 Episode 3, Alastair picks up Rafa from work and they go to the El Cariso Community Regional Park to meet CJ and Matthew for the first time. David has already stormed off around the time Rafa kinda sorta not really took his delayed lunch break. So, Rafa didn’t have to worry about seeing David in the park.  It doesn’t take them long at all to get to the park, as it’s a roughly 10-minute drive from Monteverde Ranch.

 

CJ and Matthew are already waiting, still reeling from the hot-ass mess that was David, and looking a little hopeful but cautious.

 

When Rafa and Alastair show up, Matthew stands up first with a small, warm smile, and says, “Hey guys, thanks for coming. How was your day?”

 

Alastair says, “It was pretty good, thanks. I hope y’all weren’t waiting for too long.” And Matthew says, “Not at all, but a certain you-know-who kept us waiting for over an hour.” Alastair, “Oh yeah, he would,” and chuckles alongside Matthew and CJ. Rafa offers a small, polite smile, but doesn’t laugh. He keeps his arms loosely crossed, gaze drifting toward the grass or the trees more than the people in front of him.

 

CJ says to Alastair and Rafa, “Well, on that note, good afternoon, Rafa and Alastair. I’m Courtney-Jai, but you can call me CJ, and this Matthew.” Everyone shakes each other’s hands, telling each other that it’s nice to meet each other.

 

Alastair asks, “So, you guys live in Sylmar?” CJ says, “I do; in the Foothill area.” And Matthew says, “And I live in San Fernando Mission Blvd.” Alastair says, “Alright, nice. Well, I hope the San Fernando Valley’s been treating you guys right so far.” Matthew says with a chuckle, “Oh man, don’t jinx it.” Alastair goes, “Oops, hehe.”

 

Rafa nods, but he’s barely participating. His answers are short, distant. He keeps fidgeting with the sleeve of his hoodie, eyes flicking away. The others are trying to include him. Rafa gives a small smile, but it’s clear that he was not ready to meet anyone new. He’s polite, but checked out. The conversation continues for a few more minutes — light questions about each other’s jobs and families — but Rafa’s responses grow shorter and quieter.

 

Finally, after a long pause, Rafa stands up slowly. Rafa says softly, almost apologetically, “I… I think I need to go. Sorry. I’m not… I’m not really here right now.” He doesn’t storm off. He doesn’t make a scene. He just gives a small nod to everyone and walks away toward the parking lot, shoulders slightly hunched. And he is taking deep breaths while saying to a producer who’s checking up on him, “I’m sorry. I just… I just don’t think I should be here right now.”

 

Alastair watches him go, clearly torn but respecting the boundary. He turns back to CJ and Matthew with a quiet (almost frustrated) sigh. “Um… he’s been through a lot. More than most people know. He’s trying… but it’s probably just not a good time for him right now.

 

CJ says, “It’s okay, Alastair. We get it.”

 

Alastair looks up and asks, “You do?”

 

Matthew says, “Yeah. We all know about what David did in the LATV interview. And… you’ll never guess how much of a bitch David was to me, and to CJ.”

 

Alastair braces himself as CJ and Matthew tell him about the insensitive things that David said to them.

 

“Wow, David is really showing his true colors this season. It’s almost like he’s asking to get fired, and doesn’t have the guts to just quit,” Alastair via confessional.

 

This meeting wasn’t a disaster; quite the contrary, actually. But it was honest. Rafa wasn’t rude; he was exhausted, busy, and protecting himself. CJ and Matthew showed maturity by not taking it personally. And Alastair was being the steady bridge, but knew that he would have to talk to Rafa about what he’s going through.

 

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Still in Episode 3, Alastair and Rafa go to Alastair’s house after their first meeting with CJ and Matthew, and Rafa jumps straight into best man duties, which throws off Alastair a bit. Zachary is still at work, so it’s just Alastair and Rafa. Alastair plays along, but he knows that he and Rafa need to talk about what just happened with CJ and Matthew.

 

After about an hour of wedding this, bachelor party that, Alastair is ready to have serious talk with Rafa, and… it doesn’t go well. Alastair pulls a confused Rafa away from best man duties to talk to him in Alastair and Zach’s guest room, and they sit on the bed.

 

“I kind of have an idea of what Alastair wants to talk to me about, and I’m just… I don’t know what to say,” Rafa via confessional

 

Rafa: *softly* Um… so uh… how was the rest of the meeting with CJ and Matthew?

 

Alastair: It was good. They seem like really cool people. CJ’s hilarious and Matthew’s a sweetheart. I know a Southern gentleman when I see one, of course. But even they would’ve preferred that you stayed.

 

Rafa: They asked about me?

 

Alastair: Yeah. I didn’t say too much about you; just that you were going through a lot, and you’re a busy man.

 

Rafa: Oh… okay.

 

Alastair: Matthew did tell me that he and CJ were aware of David did to you over the summer. And they said if you need space, they’ll respect that.

 

Rafa: Oh, no-no-no. I’m… I’m fine. I just… I was just distracted. I had a busy morning at work.

 

Alastair: Is that why you were crying on our way to my house?

 

Rafa doesn’t say anything, but looks tense and shocked.

 

Alastair: Do you think that Matthew and CJ have ulterior motives?

 

Rafa: *hesitates to answer and thinks about it before softly saying* I don’t know what to think.

 

Rafa proceeds to leave the room (and perhaps the house) but stops when Alastair speaks.

 

Alastair: They told me that before you and I got to the park, David was being very rude to them. Questioned CJ’s identity and mixed race, invalidated Matthew’s career as an actor, and commented on Matthew’s weight.

 

Rafa turns around to look at Alastair.

 

Rafa: He did that to them?

 

Alastair: Yes. And it’s on camera; I saw for myself when our meeting was done. They handled him as best as they could, but… they’re literally stepping into the lion’s den where nobody likes each other, Rafa. Nobody. Don’t you remember how that felt?

 

*flashbacks to the life coach worthless scene, James’ Restaurant finale, and Rafa telling David that he is very unpredictable*

 

Rafa: *voice breaking* Yeah. *a tear falls down his right eye as he looks down at the bedroom floor* Yeah, I remember.

 

Alastair: They’re not asking you to be their best friend, Rafa. And I’m sure the same applies to me. They don’t know each other that well either. But I really don’t think they have any agenda.

 

Rafa: *wipes a tear from his eye and says defensively* Maybe not. But I don’t know that, okay? I’m just not ready to let anyone in. I can’t make that mistake again, Alastair. I barely even interact with my coworkers anymore. I’m not even going back to school next semester because I can’t face anyone!

 

The latter revelation shocks Alastair.

 

Alastair: You’re not going back to CSUN next semester?

 

Rafa realizes that he just let that information slip

 

Rafa: *exhales* I decided to take a semester off. With people on campus talking about me and asking me about the show and what happened to me in the summer… I couldn’t concentrate anymore. *voice breaking and tearful* So I’m not going back next semester. *voice breaking and crying* And that was a hard decision to make because I love theatre. I love to act. It gave me a reason to get out of San Fernando for a few hours and just… breathe. And be myself without having to explain myself to anyone.

 

Alastair: *speaks softly* Rafael…

 

Rafa leaves the house in tears, and a tearful Alastair lets him and sits on the guest room bed.

 

In his confessional, Alastair says perhaps the riskiest thing you could say on reality TV: “This was a bad idea. Rafa’s not ready to come back to this show; he was literally FORCED to come back by production. I get that Rafa saved the show from cancellation, TWICE. But this is ‘Flaming Bros,’ not ‘The Rafa Show.’ He didn’t even wanna come back. And… production should’ve respected that. I think Rafa needs a break from all of this. Better yet, he needs a break from the entire San Fernando Valley. He deserves it.” 

 

 

 

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The final scene in Season 3 Episode 3 sees Rafa back in his house after walking a good 25 minutes from Alastair’s house following his tearful argument with Alastair about Rafa’s uncertainty about CJ and Matthew and accidental revelation about not going back to CSUN for the Spring. He hasn’t been communicating with his family either, so things have been pretty tense in the house.

 

When Rafa enters the house, he ignores his mother Lorena who says, “Oi, querido.” (“Hi, honey.”) His father Ricky notices that Rafa is once again not speaking and asks, “Algo errado, Rafael?” (“Something wrong, Rafael?”) And of course, Rafa – who does not give his parents eye contact – answers, “Estou bem.” (“I’m fine.”) But his parents know him better than that. They know what David Ty Reza did to Rafa, they know that Rafa was struggling to get through university (and that he will not be attending CSUN during the Spring), and they know that theatre, acting, nature, horse riding, and taking care of animals were his escape.

 

 

“Rafa… o que está acontecendo?” (“Rafa… what’s going on?”) Lorena asks. And Rafa lets out a soft frustrated sigh, looks at his parents and says, “Aparentemente, não estou emocionalmente presente. Aparentemente, trabalho demais. Aparentemente, deixo as pessoas preocupadas.” (“Apparently, I’m not emotionally present. Apparently, I work too much. Apparently, I make people worried.”) Rick says, "Bem, talvez você não queira ouvir isso... mas acho que você deveria considerar seriamente conversar com um terapeuta algum dia." (“Okay, well you may not want to hear this… but I think you should really consider talking to a therapist one day.”) Rafa is shocked by this and says, "Dizer o que?" (“Say what?”) Ricky explains, “Você tem passado por muita coisa. E eu não estou tentando te forçar a fazer nada, mas eu realmente acho que você tem adiado a terapia por tempo demais, filho. Me desculpe.” (“You’ve been going through a lot. And I’m not trying to force you to do anything, but I really think you’ve put off therapy for far too long, son., I’m sorry.”)

 

Rafa is annoyed by this and says, “Ah, não acredito nisso. Não consigo ganhar!” (“Oh, I can’t believe this. I can’t win!”) Ricky slightly raises his voice at Rafa and goes, “Rafael—” but Rafa – who is is fighting his hardest to not explode to his parents (he respects them too much to ever do that) – cuts him off and says with a harshly frustrated (yet shaky) tone, “Sabe, eu achava que sair do Brasil aos 13 anos tinha sido a pior coisa que me aconteceu! E desde que me mudei para cá, tem sido um verdadeiro pesadelo, cheio de gente me odiando por ser brasileira e cuidar da minha vida. Eu tento ser legal com todo mundo. Tento me dar bem com as pessoas. Tento agir com elegância. Tento dar o benefício da dúvida a todos. Tento estar presente para todos. E toda vez que faço a coisa certa, sempre tem alguém determinado a tornar minha vida um inferno. E agora meu chefe, minha melhor amiga e meus colegas de trabalho estão constantemente preocupados porque eu não quero falar sobre o que aconteceu comigo durante o verão e porque trabalho o tempo todo? Eu só quero que me deixem em paz!” (“You know, I thought leaving Brazil at 13 was the worst thing to ever happen to me! And since moving here, it’s been a living nightmare for me, filled with nothing but people hating me for being Brazilian and minding my own business. I try to be nice to everybody. I try to get along. I try to take the high road. I try to give everyone the benefit of the doubt. I try to be there for everyone. And every time I do the right thing, someone is always determined to make my life a living Hell. And now my boss, my best friend, and my coworkers are constantly being concerned about me not wanting to talk about what happened to me over the summer, and that I work all the time? I just want everyone to leave me alone!”)

 

As Rafa is about to go to his room, Ricky tells Rafa sternly, “Não podemos evitar nos preocupar com você, Rafa. Nós te amamos, e muita gente também; o suficiente para dizer que você não está se priorizando. Você está mentindo sobre estar bem.” (“We can’t help that we’re concerned about you Rafa. We love you and so do a lot of people; enough to say that you’re not putting yourself first. You’re lying about being fine.”) Yikes.

 

Fighting back tears, Rafa is not trying to hear that and says, “Não, pai. Não estou mentindo sobre nada. E cansei de tentar fazer as pessoas entenderem meu ponto de vista.” (“No Dad. I’m not lying about anything. And I’m done trying to get people to understand where I’m coming from.”) And he walks to his bedroom.

 

Moments later that same evening, Rafa is laying down on his bed, still fully-clothed and staring at the ceiling, when his cellphone turns on because he received silent notification that Alastair sent a text message saying, “I’ll always be here for you no matter what, buddy. ❤️” Rafa doesn’t open the message so he doesn’t leave Alastair on ‘read.’ And he looks at a 2010 photograph of himself at age 16 with 18-year-old Alastair at Alastair’s high school graduation. All Rafa could do at this moment is cry because he knows that the people he’s closest to care and are worried about him. But he’s just not ready to talk.

 

 

 

 

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Season 3 Episode 4 opens in the morning after Rafa’s argument with his parents about therapy.

 

 

"I didn't realize that I had cried myself to sleep until I just woke up at the crack of dawn... to the sounds of birds chirping outside. It was such a peaceful sound that I didn’t even want to get out of bed, to be honest with you. But I did stink, so I had to get up and take a shower because I never did when I got home. I was too wrapped up in my own thoughts," Rafa via confessional.

 

 

After Rafa brushes his teeth and gets dressed - just in time to do his farming duties - he walks in the kitchen to find his older brother Dominic. Dominic moved out of the house prior to Season 2 (but still lives in the City of San Fernando). So we haven't seen him since Season 1, until now.

 

"Hey Raf," Dominic says. And Rafa says to him, "Dom... what are you doing here?"

 

Dominic says, "Well... I thought we'd spend the morning together; get an early start."

 

Rafa sighs and says, "Thanks, but... I gotta do my farming chores before I make breakfast."

 

Dominic quickly says, "You don't have to. Mom and Dad are taking care of that right now."

 

Rafa lets out a sigh and rolls his eyes.

 

Dominic - looking like he's bracing himself - continues, "They also told me about what happened last night when you came home from Alastair's house. You and Dad had an argument after he suggested therapy?"

 

Rafa cuts him off and says, "He doesn't believe that I'm fine. And neither does Mom."

 

Dominic says, "Look, bro, I know that everyone is getting on your nerves about what you’ve been going through. Are you embarrassed?"

 

Rafa keeps his tone composed (although he's getting annoyed) when softly he says, "Oh, damn it Dom, not you too. I don't wanna talk about it, okay?!"

 

Dom sounds like he's ready to give up when he says, "Okay, fine. Forgive me for wanting to hear your side of the story. You don't have to talk about last night." And Rafa immediately says, "Thank you," before Dom continues, "But if you’re not gonna talk to me or Mom or Dad or Alastair, or anybody else, then who exactly are you gonna talk to, if not a therapist?"

 

Rafa pauses, knowing that this is already going nowhere, and kinda deflects a little bit when he says, "Look, if you’re just here to say, 'I told you so,' because you warned me about David, just save it; I'm already paying the price." And Dom says softly, "I'm not gonna do that to you, Rafa. Maybe we don't know the whole story about him. But what I *can* tell is that you’re not waiting to find out. And I don’t blame you."

 

 

"You're not gonna leave me alone until I agree to roll with you, are you?" Dominic says, "That’s right. I will stay here all day and night if I have to--" And Rafa cuts him off and says, "ALRIGHT! Alright. Fine. Can I just eat something first? I'm really hungry." And Dominic chuckles while saying, "Go right ahead, stranger."

 

Fast forward to where Dominic has taken Rafa: San Fernando High School. "Why are we here?" asks Rafa. "I thought maybe for your safety, you'd like to visit an empty school. Who needs a bunch of snot-nosed kids, right? Besides, it's Winter Vacation." Rafa is not impressed, saying his confessional, "The last thing I wanna do is go back to my high school and relive memories that I'd rather not remember."

 

With their visitor passes on them, Rafa and Dom walk through the empty hallways before making it to the auditorium where Rafa did his first play in the 11th grade: "Pippin," where he played Lewis. And we see footage of a 16-year-old Rafa on-stage performing as Lewis.

 

The Silva brothers sit down on the auditorium seats, and Rafa couldn't feel any more tense. Dominic asks Rafa, "Do you remember your first acting role here in high school?" And Rafa, whoc really doesn’t want to relive his high school days, softly says, "I was Lewis on 'Pippin.'" Dom simply says, "Yeah. And I remember that you auditioned for all the male roles, which was very smart. You were worried that you didn't do a great audition for any of the roles because you didn't think you were a good singer. But flaws and all, you never gave up. And you eventually took the role Lewis; not just because it was offered to you, but because you connected to him the most. And even with limited vocal ability, you gave it your all, and people loved you. It was the happiest I had ever seen you--" Rafa chimes in, "I'm guessing Mom and Dad also told you that I'm not going back to CSUN next semester." Dominic sighs and goes, "Yeah. They did. And... I was surprised because I knew how much you loved theatre and acting." And Rafa sarcastically says, "San Fernando's a small town. Word flies fast."

 

Dominic says, "Rafa... I just... I can't help but wonder what happened to that optimistic aspiring actor." Rafa bluntly says, "He grew up and had to work." Dominic says, "That doesn't mean that you had to give up on your dreams." And Rafa says, "It's not exactly giving up if I'm still doing short films, is it?" Dominic realizes this and goes, "Right. Um, you're right. It's not."

 

And Rafa says to Dominic, "Anyway, it's not like I was ever popular in high school, even with Pippin." And Dom says, "So? You were never in it for popularity or fame. You're an artist Rafa. And you’ve always the substance, education, passion and raw talent that most popular celebrities lack. And you didn't have to explain yourself to anyone."

 

Next, we cut to the brothers slowly walking back to the hallway, and they see a VPA (Visual and Performing Arts Academy) display, which honors the high school class of 2012 who attended the academy. Rafa’s senior picture from when he 17 years old is featured with the caption, "Best Smile and Best Spirit," and a quote he said in a school newspaper interview from 2012, "It's not the end of the world. It's the start of a new chapter."

 

In his confessional, a producer asks Rafa, "Do you remember saying that quote?" And Rafa says, "Yeah, I do. When I said that, I was trying to be as optimistic as I could be. But the truth is, I didn't know what I wanted to do after high school, and I was hoping and praying that the end of the world wouldn't actually happen. I was doing plays and short films here and there, but... I didn't think I was good enough to pursue acting full-time. So, I just never took it seriously. And that’s why I did my first regular 9 to 5 job at Rite Aid."

 

Rafa, with sad glassy eyes, asks Dominic, "So... what's this about Dom? Are you trying to tell me that I made a mistake leaving CSUN?"

 

Dominic says, "Not at all. I know why you're taking an indefinite break and I totally understand." And Rafa softly says with his voice cracking, "Dom, you couldn't possibly understand what I had to put up with for two years."

 

"But we both have been at the receiving end of it for almost 10 years," Dominic reminds him. "I was angry, too. I know you were not proud of fighting that racist asshole last year. And I wanted to kill David for what he said... about you and about our family. And I wish everyone at CSUN would mind their own business and respect your privacy. My only hope is that you're taking this break for you, and no one else. You're not wrong to leave university, Rafa. Life happens... and sometimes... school is not where you need to be."

 

Rafa doesn't say anything, but looks away, not wanting to cry. But Dominic softly says, "Rafa... look at me," which Rafa does while fighting back tears. "This is a transitioning period for you, and I can feel it, and I think Alastair can, too. That's not a bad thing for you. As you know, I'm visiting Brazil in a couple of weeks... and I think you should come with me. But I'll leave that up to you. Whether or not you decide to join me, just remember: I'll always support you. And I love you."

 

Dominic gives Rafa a hug, and Rafa hugs back tightly while crying in his shoulder. While still hugging, Dominic asks Rafa softly, "Aren't you glad I brought you here?" And Rafa says in his brother's shoulder, "No," and they both chuckle.

 

Rafa and Dominic’s brotherly relationship is something that we would've never seen from Enrique/Carlos or Jason/Alex C. Not necessarily because Dominic isn't a cast member or even queer, but because he never enabled Rafa or vice versa.

 

Enrique/Carlos and Jason/Alex C had a history of doing that A LOT, hence why Carlos was rejected after the sizzle reel and Alex C was phased out before the midpoint of Season 2.

 

But Rafa and Dom give a more authentic dynamic. They listen to each other. They love each other. And like pretty much all brothers and sisters, they fight/argue with each other.

 

 

 

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We also see in Season 3 Episode 4 David meeting with Karlo and Tino in Panorama City. They are hanging out in the Panorama Mall's food court, and they're talking about RAFA! Their conversation is skippable and boring. But during that conversation, what stands out is that Karlo tells David and Tino that “Rafa ain’t shit but a horny little trick,” which had me gasping. Karlo is determined to be the next baddest bitch, sacrificing likability, no matter how stupid his lies about Rafa are. He clearly has a death wish.

 

At this point, viewers are wondering, “Are these three guys just gonna be talking about Rafa every time they're filming together? And is it always gonna be in a food establishment? Do these new guys even know Rafa? What is going on?! WHY AM I EVEN ASKING THESE FUCKING QUESTIONS?! WHERE IS RAFA?!”

 

-----------------------------------

 

Alastair and Matthew

 

 

Season 3 Episode 4 is also the first time we meet CJ’s family, and it becomes very clear how close they are.

 

We see that CJ is a caregiver for his younger brother Noah who has Dextrocardia, and a babysitter for his much younger sister Savannah. But he presents a refreshing relationship with his dad, Antonio. What's unique about their father-son dynamic as Indians is that CJ didn't grow up traditional because his dad didn't believe in the typical Indian traditions, including the need to have an arranged marriage, saying that he met his wife and cancer survivor Susan (CJ's Italian, Irish, and English mom from Rugby, Warwickshire) after he had stepped away from his parents' (CJ's grandparents) box.

 

CJ maintains a healthy relationship with Antonio and the rest of their family, and was raised by both parents to always be open about his feelings. I'm sure a lot of Indian viewers (and Asian/South Asian viewers in general) who grew up in a strict traditional upbringing wish that they had this type of dynamic with their family. But as CJ reveals in his confession, “I still struggle to open up to my parents about anything I go through. I’m very aware of the homophobia and biphobia within the Asian community. And mental health is still taboo in the community, too.” Underneath his fearless (and sometimes cocky) personality is someone who bottles things up for so long that it’s amazing that he has yet to explode, which concerns his parents.

 

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Season 3 Episode 4 marks the first time CJ and Matthew meet with the rest of the cast in a meet-and-greet event (which obviously does NOT include Alastair or Rafa) in a local Denny’s. And yes, it’s hosted by our favorite asshole Enrique Sapene, who calls the event the Share Affair. Um… okay. Whatever. Enrique is trying his hardest to erase that ‘bully’ label that he has earned since Season 1, because he is tired of being accused of bullying Rafa and instigating the bullying towards Rafa.

 

“I tried reaching out to Alastair and Rafa about the event after they didn’t RSVP. I guess they had better things to do? I mean, Rafa’s got his horses. And Alastair’s got family drama. But they couldn’t make time for the Share Affair? Typical,” Enrique says in his confessional. Shut up, Enrique, you did NOT reach out to Rafa or Alastair, NOR did you invite them. If you don’t stop lying…

 

Enrique shows up with Jason and Aiden. CJ and Matthew show up next. And before they made it to the event, Matthew and CJ were walking, and Matthew said CJ, “Girl, listen, if I wasn’t trying to stay sober, I’d be begging for a drink right now because I don’t wanna see David again.” He and CJ laughs at the comment, and CJ says, “Oh man, I know. And to hear that he’s bringing two friends over to this Share Affair? Stupid name, by the way.” Matthew laughs and says, “Well I’m gonna be on my best behavior, I already know that.” And David finally shows up LATE alongside Karlo and Tino. And when David notices that Rafa and Alastair are absent, he says in his confessional, “Oh… so Alastair and Rafa are officially done with the show. Aww, that’s too bad. They would’ve been great companions to Matthew and CJ; always wanna take themselves too seriously, always gotta police freedom of speech. And now they’re in hiding. *laughs* Man, them bitches really said deuces.” What David doesn’t realize is that Rafa and Alastair didn’t quit the show; they just quit him, Enrique, Jason, and Aiden.

 

So, everyone is shaking hands and greeting each other, and it’s awkward as Hell…

 

And then Enrique asks, “So who in here lives in Sylmar?” David, Karlo, Tino, and CJ all raise their hands. And Aiden – being the first rookie to make it past his first season – asks, “And how many of y’all are new to this show?” Karlo, Tino, CJ, and Matthew all raise their hands. And Aiden asks, “Okay, and do all four of you know each other?” And CJ answers, “Not all of us. I know Matthew, and I don’t know Karlo or Tino, except that they’re buddies with David who I know enough about.” And that set Karlo off. Or maybe it didn’t and Karlo just wanted a reason to hate on CJ, a fellow Asian.

 

“What do you mean you don’t know me?” asks Karlo and CJ says, “I mean exactly that: I don’t know you. Never seen you or Tino before, never knew of you previously. Hell, I didn’t even know David still had any friends left.” Jason takes a sip of his Pepsi (a little Easter Egg from Season 1’s Tidal Wave Round One) when he hears this. When a producer asks CJ if he's seen Karlo and Tino during his time in Sylmar prior to joining the show, he bluntly says, "I've never seen them. You would *think* that I've seen them, since Sylmar is small as Hell, but... no.  Noooo... "

 

Karlo says to CJ, “Okay, well, you don’t have to get funny about it,” which Aiden softly says, “Oop, catfight,” and Karlo says to CJ, “Yeah, so relax. Don’t play with me, man.” And CJ says with a smirk, “Try telling *yourself* to relax *first* before giving me advice. Okay?” Karlo gives CJ a “talk to the hand” gesture and says, “Well okay, anyway,” and says defensively, “So, we’re having an event where we’re gonna get to know everybody and stuff like that; no funny business goin’ on, *CJ*, you know what I’m sayin’? So who wants to start first?” Everyone – minus David and Tino, of course – is thrown off by Karlo’s defensive attitude, while Matthew says to Karlo, “I… thought this was Enrique’s event?” And both Matthew and CJ start laughing out loud while Karlo is getting even more heated, and turns his attention back to CJ and says, “Straight the fuck up, man, you’re not gonna get funny with me.” And CJ says nonchalantly, “You’re the funny one for being so offended that I don’t know you.” Karlo runs out of things to say, only saying, “Whatever, don’t play with me, bro. I don’t got time for that. So let’s all get to know each other, ‘cuz that’s what I came here for.” And CJ says, “Okay mom.” And Aiden says while laughing with Jason and Enrique, “Damn… I’m sorry for asking if you guys knew each other.”

 

“Actually, David, I gotta say. All that stuff you said about Rafa and his family? Valid, but you *really* have diarrhea of the mouth,” says Aiden. David’s response? “I was drunk.” And Aiden says, “Yeah, but you woulda done that shit if you were sober anyway, and you know that.” David is visibly uncomfortable talking about the LATV incident. And Aiden asks, “So, are these two uh… friends of yours… supposed to be replacements for Rafa and Alastair now?” And David says, “No, Aiden. They’re nothing like Rafa and Alastair. Karlo and Tino are my real friends.” Aiden says nothing else after that but gives David the side-eye and goes, “Yeah…” while sipping his tea, and immediately says softly, “I think we all heard that one before.”

 

 

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Later in Episode 4 (a couple of days after that stupid Share Affair), conflict between waiter Matthew and customer Enrique begins the minute Matthew realizes he has to serve Enrique, Jason, and Aiden. This scene had to be a setup; it just had to. There is no way Matthew knew this was going to happen. You could even tell that Matthew was caught off guard as he wasn’t aware that the B&S brats or camera crew were going to show up to La Bella Pizza Trattoria Italiana. It had to have been set up by either a crew member or at least one of the B&S dicks. Even Matthew agrees.

 

“Wow… If I knew that I would be serving those three messy, messy guys, I would have taken the day off. What are they doing here?” Matthew via confessional.

 

Matthew reluctantly approaches the infamous trio and greets them, “Hello guys. Having a nice day so far?” Enrique looks at Matthew and says, “Why, yes. And it just got even better now that you’re here, *waiter*.” Matthew goes, “Um… okay. Can I start you guys off with drinks?” Jason and Aiden ordered Corona beer, and Enrique said, “And I’ll have a Pinot Grigio,” before immediately snapping his fingers and saying, “Make it snappy; we don’t have all day.” Matthew is thrown off by Enrique barking orders and is visibly uncomfortable. Jason and Aiden giggle at Enrique’s exchange, with Jason saying, “Damn, Rick. You turning Matthew into a slave?” You know Jason would say something like that. And Aiden jokes, “Yeah, man, you’re doing my job!” And Enrique goes, “Can’t blame a guy for wanting to give the weakest newbie some pointers.”

 

Matthew returns with their drinks, exactly as they wanted it. But then Enrique says, “You know what? I changed my mind. I don’t want Pinot anymore; I want water instead.” Matthew – who looks like he knows what Enrique is trying to do – asks Enrique, “Are you sure?” to which Enrique responds, “Are you questioning your customer? Or are you doing your job, waiter? Do as I say, or you’ll never work in this town again.” Matthew starts to look pissed and bitterly says, “Water coming up,” takes the Pinot Grigio away, but not before muttering, “You bastard,” and walks away as Enrique shouts, “What did you say?!” Matthew returns with a glass of water for Enrique.

 

When Matthew takes their food order, Jason and Aiden are sharing Lasagna Della Mamma, while Enrique goes for Pugliese Pizza, “and it better be fresh and hot, or I will give you an even harder time. Got it?” Matthew just says, “As you wish.” And before Matthew leaves the table to give the order to the kitchen, Enrique says to him, “You’re from the South right?” And Matthew says, “Yeah.” “Well show some Southern hospitality next time. Nobody likes a boring waiter.” This pisses Matthew all the way off, but as long as he’s working, there’s really nothing he can do.”

 

“I swear to God, if I wasn’t a waiter right now… I mean who does Enrique think he is?” Matthew via confessional.

 

When Matthew gives Jason, Aiden, and Enrique their food, Enrique sarcastically says, “Good boy.” And Matthew walks away from them without bothering to ask if there is anything else that they’ll need. He is over it. And minutes later, when he comes back with the check, Enrique – who promised Aiden and Jason that he would pay for the food – is shocked by the amount they have to pay ($67 plus tax which equals to 74.25). Matthew bluntly says, “Don’t forget the tip. I’ll be standing here until you do *your* part, *customer*. You * can* afford it, right?”

 

That exchange takes Enrique, Aiden, and Jason by surprise, with Aiden saying in his confessional, “Wow. That’s the most Matthew has spoken since we met him.” And Jason – who just had to include Rafa’s name – says in his confessional, “Rafa would’ve poured water on Enrique’s head, that’s for sure. This Matthew guy is just… there. Like, where was this side of Matthew at the Share Affair? As far as I’m concerned, the man was invisible.”

 

Enrique pays for the food and gives Matthew a tip, saying “Happy?” And Matthew says, “I would’ve been happier if you chocked on your food.” Which earns a gasp from Jason. “Have a nice day. Or don’t. I don’t care,” says Matthew as he walks away for the final time.

 

“Oh, Hell no. You think you can talk to me like that when I’m your customer? This is clearly not over. And he will feel my wrath. Just watch,” Enrique via confessional.

 

“There’s an old saying that the customer is always right. Most of the time, that is some straight-up bullshit,” Matthew via confessional.

 

 

 

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In Season 3 Episode 5, the Sylmar Sinner were just being filmed in the Carbón Grill, based in the City of San Fernando. And you guessed it – they’re talking about Rafa, again. This time, Tino is saying to Karlo and David that when he first met Rafa, Rafa was being very mean to him and 'condensing'. I think he meant to say, “condescending.” But either way, he also described Rafa as ironically being a 'soft-ass bitch' and alleged that Rafa called him a “never-was” actor…

 

Listen, we all have our moments that are petty and completely out of character of us. But I just don't see Rafa being mean to anyone, even if he may not like the person, unless you deserved it or gave him the same energy already.

 

Restaurants, *please* lock your doors to these Sylmarite troublemakers!

 

 

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Also in Season 3 Episode 5, there's a second attempt at a cast get-together thingamabob in Enrique’s house, so once again it's hosted by Enrique. Seriously, can y'all stop shoving Enrique down our throats? Thankfully, this game didn’t have a name.

 

Anyway, the following cast members are here: Enrique, Jason, Aiden, David, Karlo, Tino, CJ, and Matthew. Remember, Rafa and Alastair were not going to be there as long as Enrique, Jason, Aiden, and/or David were gonna be there. 

 

When David and his minions Karlo and Tino show up (LATE), they greet everyone with those fake-ass dry hi's. And when CJ gives Karlo, in particular, the cold shoulder, Karlo says this in his confessional: "I walk into the room, and CJ ain't speakin' to me. Whatever, I don't give a fuck; I don't like CJ's ass anyway." Well, go-go ho, if you don’t give a fuck, why did you bring it up?

 

Enrique suggests that they all play a game. OH, GOODIE! A GAME! WHAT COULD POSSIBLY GO WRONG?! Bitch...

 

"We each take turns talking a little bit about ourselves. Let's each take up to 30 seconds talking about ourselves. For example, I'll start first. Hi, I'm Enrique. I love everybody. I'm misunderstood. And I hope we can all forgive and forget, because there's only so many times I'm willing to apologize." Jason chuckles and says under his breath, “Well, damn.” David gives Enrique the side-eye at that introduction. 

 

Everyone else takes turns, and when it's Karlo's turn, he says with a sinister smirk on his face, "So, what's up, I'm Karlo. I'm very loud and outspoken. I'm very honest and blunt; always speak my mind. And I hate liars. Like, I can't stand a lying-ass bitch." This catches everyone by surprise. But of course, David doesn't count as a liar in Karlo and Tino's world.

 

Jason says, "Woah, shit just got real aggressive." Aiden - who looks like he has ulterior motives - asks Karlo, "Did... somebody piss you off today?"

 

And Karlo says, "Well, yeah. CJ, this is actually geared towards you." CJ says, "Me?" And Karlo nods while saying, "Mhm." 

 

CJ says in his confessional, “Oh God, what did I do now?”

 

"Wait, so just so I'm clear, mate, you're referring to *me* as a lying-ass bitch?" CJ asks. And Karlo answers, "Yeah, pretty much, boo."

 

CJ: "Wow, unbelievable. See, that's the type if shit I don't like from people like you,” which catches Karlo by surprise. CJ continues, “This is the second time you're comin' at me, and I didn’t do nothing to you. Like, what is wrong with you, dude?" 

 

Karlo says, "I'm just saying that I don't like lying-ass bitches. That's all I'm saying." 

 

CJ rolls his eyes and says under his breath, "Oh my God," and says in his normal tone, "Okay, well here's what you can do from now on: just roll with whoever you wanna roll with and leave me out of it, 'cuz I ain't interested in your bullshit, capisce?" Karlo mutters, "Alright, fine." 

 

Jason says in his confessional, "I've heard of battle of the newbies, but battle of the Asians? I'm seated, bitch." It can't be authentically Jason if he didn't say something racially stupid.

 

CJ says in his confessional, "You know... it's taking everything in me to not come up there and slap the dogshit out of Karlo in the face. Karlo, stop playing with me, or we *will* have a problem." 

 

And CJ drags the hell out of Karlo by saying, "You've been real foul since we met, and it's already getting old. We're supposed to be grown adults, and for someone who's three years older than me, you're acting like a fuckin’ child--" Karlo cuts him off, "Excuse me, I'm a grown-ass man." And CJ quickly says, "Not from what I've been seeing, you man-child. Grown men don't have beef with strangers," and Karlo keeps his mouth closed and looks dumb.

 

"And how am I a liar, exactly?" CJ asks Karlo. Karlo's answer? "Well, you said that you didn't know who I was." CJ response? "Yes, you're right, I did say that, because it's true. I don't know you at all because I've never seen you before, and we’re both from Sylmar. And due to your     shitty attitude, I don't care to know you, period." Karlo puts his hands up in defeat, "Alright, whatever. You don't wanna know me, you ain't gotta know me." And CJ sticks his tongue out at him and rolls his eyes.

 

Via confessional, Karlo says, "I'm starting to see CJ for who he really is: a reactive, manipulative, ugly, jealous bitch." And I'm thinking, "Ugly? Why is CJ ‘ugly’? Because he's 1/4 Indian and you're half-Japanese?" Karlo gives me colorist, y'all. 

 

 

 

 

 

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In the Beginning of Season 3 Episode 6, Jason and Aiden hang out late at night a gay nightclub in Reseda called C-Frenz, and it’s… whatever.

 

“My boo thang Aiden is here in C-Frenz, and it’s always great to hang out with him because these four new guys… their level of fun is not mine. And Aiden and I are just really brutally honest with each other,” Jason via confessional

 

Aiden asks Jason, “So Jay, what do you think of those four new guys?” And Jason says, “Well *clears throat* I’m sure outside of this show, they’re more tolerable, but right now as cast members, they’re just… not for me. Tino’s looking like some washed up video vixen, Karlo is so moody and bitchy. Matthew – the only newbie this season from San Fernando – is real quiet like a judgy church lady. And then I have no idea what to make of CJ. Do you?”

 

Aiden gets excited when Jason asks about CJ and says, “I’ll admit, CJ is starting to stand out to me the most.” Jason, “Really? How so, Aidencito?” “Well even though these new bitches are still too new for my taste, CJ definitely stood out as the wannabe ringleader. Like, he be on some shady shit. He’ll throw out these petty comments about not knowing someone and get defensive when someone calls him out for that. And this happened TWICE so far. Twice. The thing about CJ is that he can dish it, but refuses to take it, and that ain’t right. CJ started that shit by revealing that he didn’t know Karlo or Tino.”

 

“I have noticed CJ’s attitude. I don’t know if it’s the Indian side, the Australian side, the Italian side, whatever the fuck he wants to be today. And it’s really annoying the Hell out of me. CJ pokes the bear and throws the stick. If he doesn’t get it together, he can find himself another show, where he doesn’t visually stand out, if you know what I mean,” Aiden via confessional.

 

Uh, newsflash, Aiden: CJ is Kiwi, not Australian.

 

Jason goes, “You know what, A? When I found out that all of them, minus Matthew, were from Sylmar, I knew it was gonna be a fuckin’ disaster. Like, is everyone from Sylmar an asshole, or what? Like, ‘CJ what the fuck are you even doing here. And David, what were you thinking bringing your dumbass new friends?’”

 

“I’m not feeling these new bitches. I don’t know what their deal is, but CJ needs to claim his shade, boo,” Jason via confessional

 

“Do you think that Karlo and Tino are supposed to be the new Rafa and Alastair?” Aiden asks Jason who says, “Oh God, absolutely, but really I hope not. I can’t take anymore crying and everyone making everything about race for another season; I can’t do it! But maybe David will put those two guys on a leash, since he couldn’t do that to Alastair or that fucking Rafa, wherever he is.”

 

Wow… just brutal.

 

At this point, Aiden has built this gatekeeper reputation. What I mean is, after making it through Season 2 as a newbie to the show (despite being a big part of the 2013 sizzle reel) against fellow newbie Cory Zwierzynski (who was such an awful and volatile addition, and someone that Aiden clearly couldn’t stand and shaded the Hell out of), Aiden felt untouchable, and was willing to run any newbie off the show by all means necessary. And this season, those newbies would be CJ, Karlo, Matthew, and Tino. Basically, without actually saying so, Aiden’s whole thing is, “There’s only one successful rookie in this bitch, and it’s always going to be me; nobody else.”

 

 

 

 

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In the next scene of Season 3 Episode 6 (the very next day), Matthew is visiting CJ in his Sylmar house during the daytime, and it’s the first time he meets CJ’s family and realizes how lovely and funny they all are.

 

“It’s been a while since I’ve seen all the cast members, but I’ve stayed in touch with CJ who I see a lot. And it’s really nice to come to visit CJ while I’m at Sylmar. I’ve seen David a couple of times at Sylmar. I mean, that was bound to happen, right? But Karlo and Tino… no. I wonder if it’s because CJ lives in Foothill and the other three live in Dronfield. But both areas are very close, so… I don’t know,” Matthew via confessional Season 3 Episode 6

 

Matthew’s a little shy at first, but CJ’s parents, siblings, and girlfriend April make him feel welcome, with CJ’s 5-year-old sister Savannah saying, “You’re really cute!” which makes Matthew blush and CJ saying, “Oh God. I’m sorry Matt. So, uh, was it hard finding my neighborhood?” Matthew says, “No, not at all. It was easier than I thought.” And a relieved CJ says, “Oh, good. Good to know, mate.”

 

“Isn’t it obvious that we’re transplants? *Laughs* Matt and I haven’t lived in SoCal for that long. But what I’ve learned is that if you’re a transplant or tourist anywhere in Los Angeles, you just have to act like you know where you at, even if you don’t really know. It sucks asking for directions, for real,” CJ via confessional

 

Matthew says to CJ, “Dude your family’s really cool.” CJ says, “Thanks. And uh, sorry about my sister. She’s a handful, verbally,” which makes Matthew laugh. Matthew asks CJ, “Were you a badass kid growing up?” CJ doesn’t sugarcoat and says, “Yes I was, mostly with my mouth. I can be very brash and opinionated,” to which Matthew says, “Oh, I know,” which leads to a loud laughter from both of them. CJ says, “Honestly though, I envy you, mate.” Matthew says, “How come?” “Because you’re one of the sweetest people I’ve ever met at San Fernando Fitness, and I bet you’ve always been that way back in Dallas.” Matthew says, “Oh, well, yeah I always tried to be nice. But what shocks a lot of people is that if you give me a certain type of energy, I’ma give it back to you, good or bad. And my roommates know that all too well” CJ says, “Oh snap. That’s actually a good thing, if you ask me.” “I sure hope so, buddy,” says an amused Matthew.

 

“I love that Matt came to visit because it gives me the opportunity to show him around in Sylmar and show what the neighborhood has to offer and just hang out, no matter what we do. And since we’ll be going to Bakersfield soon, why not do what nobody else wants to do with us: connect,’’ CJ via confessional

 

“It feels really good to talk to CJ outside the group, and outside of San Fernando, honestly. I think he and I are getting better every day at just communicating with each other. And learning about our similarities and differences So far, he’s really the only cast member that I’ve gotten closest to since joining the show. Here’s hoping that our dynamic stays the same or even better when we go to Bakersfield. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.”

 

CJ and Matthew later go to “THE BASEMENT: A Live Escape Room Experience,” which has now been open for over two years. Neither have been to an escape room before and are up for the challenge. We see them actively enjoy the challenges and experience a thrilling, immersive adventure where they work together to solve puzzles and beat the clock.

 

After the excitement and chaos of the escape room, they dine in Ameci Pizza & Pasta (located in San Fernando Road, Sylmar) which serves NY-style Pizza. “We hear that the East Coast has the best fuckin’ pizza. But until I go to New York, Rhode Island or New Jersey, this is the closest to New York I’m gonna get *laughs*,” says CJ via confessional. As Matthew eats his pizza the usual way people do, CJ asks, “That’s how y’all eat your pizza?” And Matthew chuckles, saying, “Yeah. How do you eat yours?” CJ folds his before eating as he’s laughing and goes, “You don’t eat it like this?!” And Matthew giggles when saying, “No. But that’s cool. Where did you learn to do that?” “From my mom, when me and our family went to Italy. I saw a lot of people do that and just took that habit back to New Zealand and then California, my friend.” Matthew smiles in awe and says, “That is so awesome, CJ.” CJ blushes at Matthew’s appreciation.

 

CJ takes box of pizza for his family to go when he and Matthew are done eating and say thank you to the employees as they’re leaving. And Matthew says, “Ooh, I got a big tummy now,” which makes both men laugh.

 

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In Episode 7, just as he’s getting ready to go to Bakersfield, Jason is annoyed that Christian won’t come to the Bakersfield trip with him. His whole thing is, “Rafa won’t be there, so I thought you’d be able to pay attention to me for a change.” Of course, Jason. Police your husband while you get to freely play around with Aiden, allegedly. Christian, being the only reasonable B&S-adjacent element who makes sense, looks at him when he makes that selfish comment, and carefully says this to Jason: “I’m gonna let that slide. But Jay, I can tell when I’m not wanted. In case you haven’t cared to notice, your friends don’t like me. So, why would I go? And also, I don’t even think you guys like each other, so why are *you* going?” And of course, Jason doesn’t have an answer to either question, though many viewers are right to assume that he’s going because Aiden will be there. And it’s not like Christian HAS to go on the Bakersfield trip anyway because he’s not a cast member (though somehow, that doesn’t stop Enrique’s brother Carlos or Enrique’s husband Danny from tagging along, so whatever). Without saying so (because he knows Jason will jump to conclusions), he’s following Rafa’s example of avoiding people who bring nothing but drama, negativity, toxicity, stress, anxiety, gossip etc.

 

Also, notice that Christian referred to Jason as “Jay.” That has apparently never happened before until Christian reminded Jason, “I can tell when I’m not wanted.” We’ve always thought that Aiden was the only one who called Jason “Jay.” Jason even cringed when Christian called him “Jay,” but when Aiden does it, it’s a totally different mood, as if Aiden makes him feel special (and maybe even aroused). Yeah, I’m starting to see why Jay and Aidencito never have any scenes between the two of them during the Bakersfield trip; they are always with somebody else. That’s the best producers are *willing* to do. This is why Aiden never should’ve joined the show, even if he was a better addition than Estuardo.

 

 

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Let’s talk about Bakersfield.

 

The majority of the cast (Enrique, Jason, David, Matthew, CJ, Karlo, and Tino), as well as “non cast members” Carlos (Enrique’s brother) and Danny (Enrique’s husband), go on the trip to Bakersfield (which lasts Episodes 7, 8, 9, 10, and 11) and they share a big beautiful house.

 

 

 

"So Tino comes into the house, looking like he had just wrapped up a cabaret or burlesque show . Hey, he can dress very well - better than me, I must say. The problem is that he's *overdressed*. Like, dude, what are you doing?! " – CJ via confessional, Season 3 Episode 7

 

 

 

But much of the on-screen focus is on the bonding between CJ and Matthew. Normally, cast trips are meant to bring cast members together for bonding and activities (not just drama), and so far, no one is really doing that with each other. Or, at least, no one is doing that with CJ or Matthew. So, in a way, the two main newbies are pretty much iced out from the very first day onwards, which would've made for a miserable trip for both of them. David’s friend group is rude as fuck, and Enrique’s friend group is messy, but even CJ says in his confessional, “What’s the fuckin’ difference?” But actually, without those toxic-ass groups constantly in their ear, CJ and Matthew are able to get to know each other, for real. By this point, the two newbies had warmed up to each other, and always found their way back to each other. They just understood each other in a way that no one else did, which made communication between the two easier by the time they went to Bakersfield.

 

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Past noon, CJ and Matthew are the first ones to enter the house that the cast will be staying in, and it looks so beautiful and homey. Matthew lets out an “Oh, wow!” and CJ says, “Hi honey, I’m home!” In his confessional, Matthew says, “This house that production rented for us is just amaze-balls. The view is amazing, guys. The birds flying outside look so carefree. The overall vibe just feels so peaceful. The only downside is that we have to share the house with a bunch of assholes.” CJ and Matthew immediately pick a room to share. “The rest of the cast is gonna have find rooms of their own. Sorry if that makes me and Matt childish,” CJ freely says to the camera crew.

 

 

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The next people to show up are the Bullies & Snobs.

 

Now, if you thought I had a bad case of APML, you are absolutely wrong. But it means that you noticed that I did not mention Alex Paredes at all when I mentioned earlier who’s in, who’s out, and who’s returning.

 

So, if – for whatever reason – you’ve been wondering where the Dumb Pussy has been since storming out of the reunion last season, look no further. In Season 3 Episode 7, about thirty minutes after Matthew and CJ show up to the house, Jason, Enrique, Aiden, Carlos (Enrique’s brother), and Danny (Enrique’s husband) show up and are joined by Alex Paredes. Yes, y’all Alex P is back, and Alex is still Alex. Just boring. Just blah. Just a blank sheet of paper. Just nothing. Just hateful. Just full of shit. Just gullible. And just a dumb pussy who STILL refuses to think for himself.

 

When Enrique’s B&S cult makes it to the house, and both Matthew and CJ see them show up, the two are just as confused as the rest of us. Matthew’s confessional response to Carlos, Danny, and Alex P is simply, “Um… why do we have plus ones? I thought this was supposed a *CAST* trip.” And CJ says in his confessional, “Seriously? The dumb pussy is back? [Flashback to the Season 2 Reunion where Alastair called Alex P a dumb pussy who refuses to think for himself] And who are the other two?!” And a confessional producer tells CJ, “Carlos is Enrique’s brother, and Danny is Enrique’s husband,” to which CJ says, “Wow. Shows how much we know about Enrique.”

 

Enrique starts yelling at CJ and Matthew, “HEY, BITCHES, WE’RE HERE! THIS HOUSE IS AS BIG AS THE JACKSON ESTATE IN ENCINO! GODDAMN! WHOEVER BUILT THIS HOUSE OUGHTTA PAT THEMSELVES ON THE BACK, AM I RIGHT?!”

 

CJ says in his confessional, “But what I do know about Enrique is that he is loud as fuck! I mean seriously, mate, your mouth is bigger than your fucking personality. Shut it, dude.”

 

And Enrique makes a big fuss about CJ and Matthew already picking a room, yelling, “WHAT?! Y’ALL ALREADY PICKED A ROOM? Y’ALL COULDA WAITED, YOU KNOW?” And Matthew says, “Yeah, we didn’t wanna do that. Sue us.”

 

Jason and Alex Paredes share a room of their own, Aiden and Carlos share one, and Enrique shares one with his husband Danny. “So production doesn’t want me and Aiden to share a room together, and I don’t know why,” says Jason in his confessional. “Christian must’ve had something to do with this because he doesn’t like my friendship with Jason,” says Aiden in his confessional. And Jason says in his confessional, “I have to share a room with Alex instead, and I really don’t want to. But whatever.”

 

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Still in Season 3 Episode 7, Karlo and Tino have a field day with CJ and Matthew as soon as the Sylmar Sinners finally show up to the house, LATE. Karlo calls CJ a “disrespectful cunt” for bringing up David’s past (a reference to Season 3 Episode 3 meeting between David and CJ/Matthew at El Cariso Community Regional Park). And Tino says to Matthew that he’s a “scary little bitch” for supposedly not having the balls to stand up for himself. SIDENOTE: it really irritates me when somebody says “scary” when they really mean “scared.” If they’re trying to say that somebody is a coward or afraid, the correct word is SCARED, not SCARY. But then again, this is the same Tino who said that Rafa was being CONDENSING, when the correct word is CONDESCENDING. Illiterate ass. Even Matthew gets confused and says to Tino, “Okay, you had me at ‘bitch,’ but ‘SCARY’? First of all, girl, it’s SCARED not SCARY. Go back to elementary school.” Tino says, “oh, you callin’ me stupid?” “No,” says Matthew, “You said it, dummy. Not me.”

 

"Those two clearly learned from the best: David, spelled D-E-S-P-E-R-A-T-E; desperate. And the problem with Tino is that he says a lot of nonsense but never gets to the point. It doesn't help that he speaks really bad English, confusing word with another. Malapropism; yeah, there's a new word for you, Tino. You're welcome." says CJ via confessional, Episode 7.

 

And Aiden, the gatekeeper, says in his confessional, “Wow. I didn’t have to do anything this time.”

 

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Later in Episode 7, in a beautiful partly cloudy early morning, CJ and Matthew open up to each other in a bedroom that they are sharing together in the Bakersfield house, while the rest of the already-fucked up group is still sleeping like logs. The setting is very peaceful and quiet with the only background noise coming from birds chirping outside. The speak with their low indoor voices to not wake up anyone else.

 

Matthew tells CJ, “You know, CJ, I really don’t wanna do anything with any of those guys if we’re just gonna fight all the time.” CJ says to Matthew, “I couldn’t agree more, Matt. If I’m being honest, I’d rather spend this trip with you, whatever we end up doing.” Matthew softly says, “That would really be nice. I’ve never really bonded with anyone in my life. Not even with my mom.” And CJ asks, “Really?”

 

And this is when CJ (and we, the viewers) learns about Matthew’s strained relationship with his mom. According to Matthew himself, growing up in Texas, he has always had a lack of motivation, direction, or control, "as if I couldn't do anything right," which put a strain in his relationship with his mother Lori Frias for years, who he hasn't seen or spoken to since leaving Dallas, Texas and moving to the City of San Fernando in 2013. He has never met his father to this day, and none of his mom’s past boyfriends have ever been nice to him. In fact, one of them was actually physically abusive towards him when he was 12 years old. But no matter who the boyfriend was at the time, Lori would always take their side because she couldn’t stand the thought of losing another boyfriend. Although Lori always saw Matthew as the real problem in private, she always paraded Matthew as this perfect golden child in public, which he struggled to maintain for her. The stress over that became too much for Matthew, that at one point he had a panic attack, which she saw as him being "dramatic as usual." And when he was 14 years old, he told his mom was that he was gay, which she and her boyfriend at the time did not take well. And he knew that he couldn't control how his mom felt (and apparently still feels as of this season). He actually started drinking when he was 15 years old to cope with his family drama, religious trauma and abuse trauma, and feeling like a disappointment. After nearly dying from alcohol poisoning at 17, Matthew went to rehab during the Spring 2013 semester of his senior year in Dallas High School. He’s been sober since then, but still attends meetings in San Fernando, and still finds it hard to fight the temptation as of right now, sometimes affecting his job as a waiter where he has to serve alcoholic beverages. He’s still trying to figure out his purpose in life. He's not very consistent as an actor, and wonders if he was just doing it for the desire to be famous. He didn’t have any real friends back in Dallas, and he didn’t have any friends throughout his short time in the City of San Fernando. But the many rare times he’d speak to CJ at San Fernando Fitness prior to their casting on FBSF gave him some hope. “Yeah… and right now, that’s my life in a nutshell.”

 

An overwhelmed CJ tells Matthew, “I’m really glad that I gave you some hope. And I’m really sorry about what’s happened to you,” and his voice breaks, “I know that must’ve been difficult to talk about for years.” Matthew softly goes, “Definitely. And… I don’t know when or if I’ll ever see my mom again. But as of right now, I just need my space,” and whispers with a broken voice, “Just like Rafa…” CJ carefully asks Matthew, “Did you know that, um… you’re the first queer friend I’ve made in a very long time?” Matthew looks up to CJ with wide eyes and says, “No. Am I?”

 

This is when Matthew (and we, the viewers) learns about CJ’s first love and heartbreak back in New Zealand, which he experienced with a childhood male friend, who was also the first person that CJ ever made love to when they were teenagers. He met this person at age four, and they grew up together, sharing many memories and a deep connection. Their relationship evolved from friendship into physical intimacy and emotional exploration, where they planned a future together. But despite their strong bond, they never explicitly labeled their relationship as "boyfriends," but CJ considers him his first (and to date, only) boyfriend because of the depth of their connection and shared experiences. CJ had realized, by the time he was 13, that he was bisexual, but was very sure that what he was feeling was wrong, disgusting, and abnormal because that's what he grew up believing as a South Asian. The relationship ended when his friend started year 11 (which is 10th grade in the United States) and the friend’s new friend group disliked CJ, leading to him being pushed away and bullied by the friend. The heartbreak culminated in a distressing incident where his friend physically pushed him down and verbally abused him and called him a faggot. CJ explains to Matthew that experiencing this heartbreak while closeted was particularly difficult and depressing, as he was still in the closet and couldn't share the true reason for his sadness with his family. He had to "bottle it up," and believes this contributed to him being in denial and in the closet for a long time and refusing to be with the same sex ever again, as he didn't want to have those feelings for real. Eventually, at 18, he decided that he was tired of hiding and wanted to be honest about himself. And he did just that on his 19th birthday on March 14, 2014, coming out to his mother first, and then his father (whose acceptance CJ prayed for, the most). Thankfully both parents accepted him, and CJ had never felt so relieved to finally be honest with his parents and his siblings. He makes note that his dad started to understand the depth of CJ's feelings, especially regarding CJ's depression. CJ admits that even though he never hid from April that he is bisexual, he still doesn’t feel comfortable talking about men (or his experiences with men) with her because of the negative stigma that comes with being anything other than “just straight or gay.” Still, he never felt love again until he met April, who CJ refers to as the best thing that ever happened to him, no matter the gender. But he tearfully admits that he’s never truly accepted himself or recovered from that heartbreak, “despite my apparent confidence.”

 

Matthew asks CJ, “Have you ever thought about what could happen if you ever saw him again?” CJ says, “All the time. And honestly, I think the only thing I would feel is… anger. Because… he basically abandoned me and was homophobic. I just don’t know what I would say… or do… to him. Wait… I just realized something.” Matthew asks, “What is it?” And CJ tearfully says out of relief, “You’re also the first person, I’ve verbally opened up to about anything this heavy instead of writing it down for you.” Matthew smiles at this with watery eyes.

 

After about a minute of silence, CJ softly says, “Well then, what a lovely way to start our morning, huh?” which makes Matthew chuckle quietly, not wanting to wake anyone else up. They give each other a long hug. “If I had died from alcohol poisoning, I would’ve never gotten the chance to meet someone as strong as you,” Matthew says while still hugging CJ, who whispers, “We were both given a second chance.”

 

 

What many viewers appreciate about this scene is that there are no confessionals in-between the entire scene. From this point on, viewers no longer see a pair of strangers when they see CJ and Matthew interact. They started this season not even knowing if they can trust each other at all, especially in a fucked up cast, and immediately chose each other, and continue to do so.

 

 

 

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Later in Episode 7, after eating breakfast with the rest of the group (which, by the way, was super awkward and tense), CJ and Matthew start exploring Bakersfield without them (all of whom mainly just stay in the house all week), and it’s really refreshing to see just the two of them away from the others. In his confessional, Matthew says, “If we stay in the house all day, all we’re gonna do is fight with the others, and I’m tired of that. We need fresh air, damn it.” They visit the Flight Adventure Park, a trampoline park that they instantly find irresistible! And boy do they have a blast!

 

 

 

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And by Episode 8, everyone minus CJ and Matthew, can’t stop talking about Rafa. There was a lot of tension between B&S and the Sylmar Sinners. But rest assured, the Bullies & Snobs are always gonna complain about Rafa’s absence, how Rafa is a drama queen, how Rafa is boring, how Rafa runs away from his problems, how Rafa should stay off the show because he’s ghetto and violent. Meanwhile you got the Sylmar Sinners (which CJ wants NO part of) who complains about how Rafa is fake, how Rafa is a coward, how Rafa is mean, how Rafa is a terrible friend, how Rafa can’t get a man…

 

I was just like, “OH… MY… GOD!”

 

You guys, if CJ and Matthew didn’t go on this Bakersfield trip, I would not be discussing the events that go on during the trip. I hope y’all realize how much I love y’all. But even CJ and Matthew have had it with these people. “This is why CJ and I almost didn’t go on this trip,” says Matthew via confessional, “Every time we turn around, nobody else is truly bonding until Rafa’s name comes up. I realize that I’m not the right person to bring this up, because I don’t know Rafa at all. But everything they’re saying about him just sounds SO made up because they *have* no substance. They are nothing without him. Why can’t they just say that and be done with it?”

 

CJ rolls his eyes when they start complaining about Rafa again. In his confessional, he says, “If these people start complaining about Rafa one more time… I mean… WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOU GUYS?! WE’RE ON A WEEK-LONG VACATION IN BAKERSFIELD! WE SHOULD BE HAVIN’ A GOOD-ASS TIME AND BONDING AND WHATNOT. Instead, we got Jason complaining about Rafa, Aiden complaining about Rafa, Enrique complaining about Rafa, David complaining about Rafa, Tino complaining about Rafa, Karlo complaining about Rafa… I don’t know why *Alex* is complaining about Rafa, since Rafa doesn’t even remember that recycled-ass loon. And Karlo and Tino don’t even *know* Rafa. It’s literally just me and Matthew who are trying to have a good time. All these other people? They are so obsessed with Rafa, it’s kinda scary. Or, I’m sorry, the word is *scared*, you know, if you speak the *Tino* language. *rolls eyes*”

 

And how about that? Two insufferable alliances (B&S and Sylmar Sinners) hate each other. It doesn't matter that they have shared hatred towards Rafa and Alastair; they are not thinking about that, and they are NOT pretending.

 

Word on the street is that by this time, production regretted their decision to bring back Jason, Aiden, Enrique, and David, and bring in David's two friends instead of just firing them. But hey, drama sells, and nobody cares about growth, accountability, or authenticity, right? RIGHT?!

 

They oughtta be glad that CJ and Matthew agreed to go on this trip, or the old guard REALLY would've been screwed.

 

 

Luckily, CJ and Matthew don’t stay in the house for too long because they take tours of the Fox Theater at Downtown Bakersfield, visit the Bakersfield Museum of Art, and go to the BLVD for dinner and bowling. And again, they just really enjoy each other’s company, and STAY out of the house until late at night. They needed it.

 

As a matter of fact, the Bakersfield scenes involving the rest of the group could be described as Bad Boys Club when the attention is off CJ and Matthew (and even Rafa and Alastair who do not attend the trip).

 

 

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Also in Season 3 Episode 8, while CJ and Matthew are still pretty much M.I.A. from the house during the late afternoon, we catch up with Alex P and Jason, and tensions are at an all-time HIGH between the two.

 

We see that Alex P was still sticking with Jason's story about Alastair wanting to have sex with Peter (for the last time, you dumb pussy, that is NOT what Jason said), while the viewers simply DO NOT care about or believe the accusation at all.

 

Seriously, nobody cares about that stupid story. Even Jason has moved on from that story. Fuck, so has Alastar, who does not share a single scene with Alex P this season.

 

When Jason enters the kitchen, he sees Aiden, Danny, and Carlos, he sees that the overall vibe is very tense and weird, and asks. “What’s wrong guys? Did Rafa show up uninvited?” which makes the others laugh. And Carlos says, “No, instead we got bad news.” Jason is nervous and says, “What is it?” And Carlos tells him, “Alex is talking to Enrique in the backyard about what you said last year about Peter and Alastair?” This shocks Jason with his mouth agape, and he says, “What? Why?” And Carlos says, “I don’t know dude.”

 

“Is Alex *still* dwelling on what I said about Peter and Alastair? Dude, that’s over and done with. You formed your own opinion on what you thought I meant by Alastair making a move on Peter. You crumbled under pressure because you couldn’t handle Alastair’s mouth. And the universe kindly moved on. What else is there to talk about at this point, besides the fact that nobody remembers you? Don’t try to turn my friends against me just because you were being the gullible one,” Jason says via confessional.

 

Jason interrupts Enrique and Alex P’s conversation with, “I have a question, Alex. Did I offend you in any way?” Alex P says, “No, but as long as you’re here, you and I should talk because this is actually about you. What you did really hurt me, Jason. I mean, you’re telling me that Alastair wanted to sleep with my husband. Meanwhile, people are saying that you’re screwing around behind *your* husband’s back.” Enrique gets shocked by Alex P’s jab at Jason.  

“Well, first of all, I’m not screwing around behind my husband’s back. And second, I didn’t actually say that Alastair wanted to sleep with Peter, I just said that Alastair *tried to make a move* on Peter. You just assumed what you wanted to assume, and I didn’t say yes or no.”

 

 

Well, damn, Jason! Just petty! 😜🤪

 

Enrique is trying his hardest to not laugh. But in his confessional, he says while laughing out loud, “Oh, Jason! Buddy! You didn’t have to do Alex like that! But yeah, I mean, what’s done is done. There’s really nothing more that Jason can say at this point because… nobody really cares. Sorry, Alex.”

 

I think at this point, Alex has to know that Jason doesn’t have any empathy for him. And the fact that they have share a bedroom together… oh my God. I would’ve been like, “Absolutely the fuck not, bitch.”

 

But hey, at least the gang took a break from talking about Rafa… and talked about Alastair instead…

 

 

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But Episode 9 starts off stressful, and here’s why:

 

When CJ, Matthew, Karlo and Tino (basically all the four newbies of Season 3) are sitting down in the living room the next day, there is a lot of tension. Basically, when CJ asked Karlo and Tino, “So are y’all ever gonna explore Bakersfield or are you just gonna stay in this house all day like you’ve done for the past few days?” Tino says, “Well there ain’t nothing in this city that I wanna do.” CJ side-eyes that response while Matthew says, “Well, um, CJ and I traveled and went to all these different places like, the BLVD, the Museum of Art, and Flight Adventure Park. It was really fun and we got to stay active during those few days.” CJ adds, “Yup, and we also went on a walking tour of the Fox Theater at Downtown Bakersfield; it was so surreal. I think everyone in this group would’ve enjoyed those activities. Great distractions, if you ask me.” Karlo gets a bit negative when he says, “Hmm, maybe. Although Alastair and Rafa would probably be sulking,” which makes him and Tino laugh. CJ covers his face and lets out a muttered, “Oh my God…” Matthew says via confessional, “Yeah… I think CJ and I both know what – or rather *who* – Karlo and Tino are gonna be *talking* about for the rest of this trip. So much for bonding.” CJ wastes no time expressing his frustration via confessional, “Here we go again. I mean seriously. I can’t stand this group anymore, and I know Matt feels the same way. But at least he and I are making an effort to see what Bakersfield – a city that we’ve never been to – has to offer for tourists. And at least Enrique was paying for this trip, so thank you, Enrique, for making yourself useful. That doesn’t happen very often, mind you.”

 

CJ asks Tino and Karlo, “So you guys are just gonna stay here and be moping all day about Rafa and Alastair? Is that what it is? Because I know one thing: I did not come into this trip to be moping about drama that has absolutely nothing to do with me.” The rest of the group (David, Jason, Aiden, Enrique, Alex P, Danny, and Carlos) shows up just as CJ says to Karlo and Tino, “You guys and, really, *everyone else* – not you, Matt – have been going on and on and on about Alastair and *especially* Rafa. It is driving. Me. Crazy. Talk about something else! Talk about Donald Trump being our new president, for all I care. Just anything will do; anything but the same ol’ drama that you’ve been whining about since you got on this show. Please! Because this shit is getting ridiculous, I’m sorry.”

 

David butts in and goes the misogynistic route by saying, “Man, calm down. You on your period or somethin’?” CJ quickly says, “No but I know you’re always on *yours* when it comes to Rafa,” which shocks David and gets an “OOH!” from Matthew. CJ is not intimidated by David’s posturing the way a few others have been.

 

Matthew says, “Look, the point is this: Rafa and Alastair are not here. So, stop talking about them every five seconds.”

 

In his confessional, CJ shakes his head and says, “I can’t wait till Rafa and Alastair see this for themselves, mate. Lord, have mercy.”

 

Matthew looks at Enrique and challenges him by asking, “What do you think Enrique? Hm? You’ve been encouraging this behavior for three seasons now. And now none of your so-called friends can go a single minute without talking about two people who refused to film with y’all.”

 

Enrique has heard enough and says, “You know what, bitch? You and CJ don’t even know the story to be having an opinion about this?” Matthew argues back, “Neither do Karlo or Tino. And the only reason you’re not saying anything to *them* is because they don’t like Rafa or Alastair either. Don’t be a hypocrite.” Enrique says, “Well Matthew, I’m getting really tired of you and CJ complaining about what we do, when you two didn’t even have to come here with your foul-ass attitude, okay? We were doing just fine whenever you weren’t around, and I don’t appreciate you questioning my role as the leader of this show.” Matthew says, “The fact that we weren’t around when you had your conflict with Rafa and Alastair is irrelevant when you allow outsiders - who weren’t there either - to share your opinion on Rafa and Alastair, and agree with everything that you say! That’s not fair!” Enrique deflects by saying, “Well, look, if you don’t like our ‘behavior,’ then I suggest you do something about it before I do. Okay?” Matthew is taken aback by this threat and says, “Really? You wanna go there?” Enrique yells, “YOU DAMN RIGHT I WANNA GO THERE!” Matthew says, “Girl… I mean if we’re gonna be talking about things that happened when we weren’t there, I’m reminded everyday of why Rafa said that you were garbage. Because that’s exactly what you are.” Enrique angrily walks closer to Matthew and says, “Bitch, you wanna get smart with me? You wanna do that to me? ‘Cuz I can do so much worse to you, *and more*. Alright?!” While CJ is visibly disgusted with Enrique’s threat and blocks him from getting any closer to Matthew, Matthew exhales in disbelief, and softly says to Enrique, “Wow. Now who’s ghetto?” Oooh… Enrique is ANGRY.

 

Aiden says to CJ, “So… are you done bitching about us talking about Rafa and Alastair?” CJ – already frustrated - says to Aiden, “Aiden, stop, okay? I know you’ve been wanting me and all the other new guys to fight each other all season. You don’t want any of us to like each other, and you know it.” Aiden is determined to make CJ look crazy and says, “Well babe, if that’s what you wanna believe, then you’re dumb as fuck.” And CJ says, “Just mind your own business, White boy!” and walks away from Aiden who says, “Excuse me? You're White too, dumbass!” And CJ quickly says, “Exactly, so I can call you a White boy, dumbass.”

 

 

 

Don’t worry, CJ and Matthew excuse themselves out of the house to see what else they can find when in Bakersfield. Matthew was right to say that they needed air. And they end up going to the entertainment park MB2 Entertainment, in which they got to play mini golf and arcade games, but most excitingly laser tag and go-kart race against each other. They’re having so much fun that they almost don’t ever want to leave. But this is where their competitive edge really shines and they can forget for countless hours that they’re still filming a show.

 

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On Season 3 Episode 10, CJ and Matthew are unfortunately not the main focus during the Bakersfield scenes. Instead, the Bullies & Snobs, Sylmar Sinners, and the leftovers (Alex P, with a tiny dash of Carlos and Danny) dominate a great portion of the episodes. The biased part of me wants to say that those scenes are unbearable, but actually, it was quite satisfying to watch. Without CJ, Matthew, or even Rafa or Alastair to save the day, everybody else is left to crash and burn.

 

While CJ and Matthew are out exploring Bakersfield again in this episode, the rest of the group is going absolutely nowhere as a unit.

 

Alex starts shouting Jason’s name from their room, “JASON! JAY-SAAANN!!” David is in the kitchen with Karlo and CJ going, “What the fuck is Alex is yelling for?” Jason walks into the bedroom and asks Alex P, “What? I can’t have a drink?” Alex aggressively says, “Yes, baby boy, you can die of alcohol poisoning.”

 

“Alex is getting on my last nerve. He’s being all loud and aggressive, and I just wanna do something with my friends. I don’t wanna be arguing with Alex because I already know what it’s really about,” Jason via confessional.

 

“I can’t sit here and fake the funk, bitch. I can’t do it,” Alex P says to Jason while clapping his hands. As Jason is trying to talk, Alex talks over him, saying, “I’m not gonna sit up here and pretend like everything is cool between us.”

 

Tino says to David and Karlo, “Don’t worry guys, they just havin’ they’re little arrangement. It’s all good.” Karlo laughs and says, “Oh, of course!” By the way, ‘arrangement’???? I… think Tino meant to say, ‘ARGUMENT’. Girl…

 

Meanwhile, Enrique, who’s in the living room with his husband Danny, along with Aiden and Carlos, shouts out, “COME ON, ALEX, LET’S GO! WE SHOULD ALL BE TOGETHER. WE’RE ALWAYS SEPARATED!” Enrique walks in Jason and Alex’s room while Jason is saying to Alex, “Look man, you said you wanna have fun on this trip, so why are you fuckin’ turnt up?” And Alex P is not trying to hear it and yells, “Ohhhhhhhhh my Gaaaaawd!” Enrique finally enters the room and says, “Alex… why are you naked, babe?” Yes, we see that Alex Paredes is naked. His reasoning? “I’m about to get in the jacuzzi ‘cuz I need to soak away the bullshit.” Enrique is just… over it, scoffing and going “Okay, um…” And Alex cuts him off and says, “Yeah, I’ma just be quiet, ‘cuz I can already see I’ma little turnt up according to your little friend,” pointing at Jason as the little friend.

 

Jason asks, “Why are you so mad, Alex?” Alex P says, “I’m not mad! I deal with a lot of shit! Being called a dumb pussy by a bunch of strangers is one of them. You don’t understand what the fuck I’ve been through since that humiliating reunion, alright?! Meanwhile, you’re skipping in a field of flowers with Aiden like nothing happened!” Jason’s eyes get wide and he says, “What did you just say?”

 

Aiden, who was hanging out in the living room with Danny and Carlos, hears his name and goes, “Please hold,” and walks to Jason and Alex P’s shared room.

 

“Alex is being loud and obnoxious, and I see it as another way for Alex to get everyone on his side. I’m not gonna allow that. Jason’s my friend, and I’m not gonna let anyone disrespect him. Just chill out, Alex. You’re killing the vibe,” Aiden via confessional.

 

Aiden walks into the bedroom and asks Alex P, “Excuse me, Alex, but why am I hearing my name?” Alex doesn’t answer the question and says, “Aiden stay out of this. I’m talking to Jason.” Aiden tries to argue back, but Alex talks over him, “Me and Jason are TALKING! Stop being his fuckin’ chihuahua, bitch! Just get out of here already! Fuck!” Jason has had enough and walks with Aiden out of the room, “Come on Aidencito, let’s go. I’m done with this shit.”

 

 

After Jay and Aidencito leave the room, Alex says to Enrique, “Now do you understand what these bitches have put me through? They do not fuckin’ like me, They talked so much shit about me. And they have laughed at me,” pretty much confirming Rafa’s accusation that B&S is a group of people who don’t like each other. Enrique is quiet, for once, thank God. He also looks overwhelmed. I bet he’s thinking that he’s created a monster out of Alex Paredes.

 

And isn’t that something? Alex P literally said, “They do not fuckin’ like me, They talked so much shit about me.” Enrique is left looking triggered by Alex P’s accusation that Aiden and Jason don’t like him. And immediately, we are shown a flashback of the Season 1 finale in James’ Restaurant, in which Rafa – after banging on the table and demanding that Enrique shut his “big-ass mouth” – said to the B&S Crew (that consisted of Jason, Enrique, Alex P, and Alex C at the time – Estuardo was absent and Aiden wasn’t on the show YET), and I quote, “Y'ALL DON'T LIKE EACH OTHER! You guys talk so much shit about each other ALL THE FUCKING TIME!” Alex Paredes is literally quoting Rafa’s speech and proving Rafa’s point!

 

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Later in the evening on Season 3 Episode 10, CJ and Matthew still have not returned to the house (YET). In the meantime, the rest of the crew – Enrique, Jason, Aiden, David, Tino, Karlo, Alex P, Carlos, and Danny – are all in the living room having a slumber party-ish setting, with their jammies on (or really, t-shirt/tank tops and underwear; you’re welcome queer viewers), so yes, Alex P is no longer naked.

 

This is yet another attempt at Enrique getting everyone together (this time, without CJ and Matthew), and it certainly goes according to plan. And yes… I’m being sarcastic.

 

 

“So I have a bowl full of questions,” says Enrique, which makes Jason mutter, “Oh, shit.” Enrique continues, “And each person has to pick just one. When it’s your turn to read the question, you have to answer, and then everyone has to answer it, too.” After Enrique passes a question to everyone – and gets himself a question as well (he is a cast member, after all) – the game begins. It’s the usual blah blah blah with David’s question being “Pick two people you have to banish. One to Hell, one to Heaven.” When it came to the Heaven portion, that was difficult for everyone to answer, even David himself. But the Hell portion was super easy, because the easy targets were the ones who were not present: CJ, Matthew, Rafa, and Alastair. The only exception was Alex’s Hell answer, which was, “Jason.” Jason didn’t say anything to that answer, but held his head down and shook his head in annoyance.

 

Next up, Jason reads his question, “If you could change two things about yourself, what would they be, and why?” And his answer is… interesting, “I would change my… relationship with God, ‘cuz I’m not as close as I think I should be. And I’d also change my empathy, which is still a little bit off with people. I don’t know when it’s time to feel bad or good. And I kinda run away from my problems and other people’s problems.” Hmm… I’ll get into a tangent about this momentarily. Enrique responds to that answer with, “That was very amazing, Jason,” and Jason softly says, “Thank you.”

 

Okay, tangent time: Jason’s answer – real or fake – shows how little we truly know of Jason when you take away the Bullies & Snobs, his parents, his brother, his husband, and the now-broken alliance formerly known as the 3 Amigos. The fact that he waited until this Bakersfield trip to finally acknowledge his problems gives me “too little too late” vibes. Is it meant to imply the problems within his marriage to Christian? Does it have anything to do with his own insecurities? I don’t know. And I don’t know if he’s sincere. Okay, tangent over, though I’m sure Alex P is not buying Jason’s answer, either way.

 

Anyway, Enrique (being the instigator that he is) says to Alex P, “Alex, what’s your answer to Jason’s question?” Alex P says, “Um, I feel like I’m a hothead. It takes a lot to piss me off. I don’t give a fuck if you feel some type of way. I’m just gonna say it, and I feel like that’s not always right in every occasion, but oh well.” David goes, “You mad?” Alex says, “No, I’m okay. Like, I don’t know, I’m just—” A bored Jason asks, “Girl, what are you mad about now?” Alex P says, “I’m just, I’m tired of this whole shit about what happened to me last year. It’s been bothering me. Like I don’t give a fuck if you think I’m a dumb pussy or not. What happened to me was very unforgiving, and if anybody has problem with that, it’s nothing but space here and opportunity.” The entire crew is flabbergasted, to say the least. Enrique asks, “I love a good clean fight as much as the next Venezuelan, but who exactly are you calling out?” As if you don’t know, Enrique. “I’m calling out everyone who has a problem with me. It was never supposed to be anyone’s problem but mine and my husband. And the main person I’m calling out is Jason.” And it’s a lot of over overlapping yelling between Jason and Alex P.

 

“He keeps bringing up this stupid-ass subject about my Queerty interview. And he’s starting to turn me into the Incredible Hulk, because… he’s really pissing me off tonight,” Jason via confessional

 

Jason makes the biggest mistake by saying to Alex P, “You know what, Alex? I’ve been real nice with you, but at the end of the day, you’re the fucking liar, my nigga!” GASP! So, um… Jason is that typical Latino who says the N word. Why is Jason STILL on this show? I know if Rafa (who is from Brazil which has the largest Black population outside of the continent of Africa) was there and heard Jason say the N word, Rafa would be absolutely livid. But he’s gonna know about it regardless; he’s *still* a cast member after all, unbeknownst to Jason. And Rafa has to watch the season to prepare for the reunion. “OH, I’M THE LIAR?!” yells Alex P. And Jason says, “Yeah you are.” And immediately, as Alex is yelling at Jason, Alex picks up a glass of water and throws it on the living room table that the group is surrounding, which causes everyone to jump and get off their seats. Jason and Alex get up in each other’s faces and start yelling and screaming. Aiden, Carlos, and Danny are trying to break it up by pulling Jason away from Alex and blocking Alex. The Sylmar Sinners are just stunned by what they’re witnessing (we can easily deduce that David gets easily triggered by people throwing objects that they use as weapons, as evidenced by Rafa throwing a mic box at him, and Alex throwing - and ultimately breaking - a glass on the table, and even round one of the Tidal Wave Trilogy in Season 1 when Jason threw his empty cup of Pepsi to David's head after spilling the drink in David's face). The security jumps in. And Enrique is trying and failing to regain control, and yelling “HEY! HEY! HEY! WAIT A MINUTE! THAT’S ENOUGH!”

 

“Alex is calling *EVERYBODY* out. It was only a matter of time before he exploded at Jason in peculiar,” Tino via confessional. And the producer asks, “Did you mean to say, ‘in particular?’” And Tino says, “OH! My bad, dawg.”

 

Enrique looks furious as he says, “What the fuck is going on? We were having a great conversation.” Alex says, “What’s going on is that this bitch is the *REAL* liar!”

 

“He keeps saying that I’m a liar. He’s really messing with the right bitch tonight, I promise to God,” Jason via confessional.

 

Jason yells to Alex P, “I AIN’T NO LIAR, BITCH!” And again, they start yelling over each other – and really, everyone is yelling at this point; it’s a fucking brawl. A BRAWL, I TELL YOU! Alex and Jason are back in each other’s faces. And Enrique is being a loud mouth again: “OH, MY GOD, WAIT A MINUTE!” And he gives an even *louder* “WAIT A MINUTE!” as Alex pushes Aiden (who tries once again to get in-between Alex and Jason) to the floor, and spits in Jason’s face. This immediately causes Jason to try to lunge at Alex, but the security grabs him and won’t let him go, causing Jason to yell at them, “GET THE FUCK OFF ME, BITCH! LEMME GO! LET ME GO!!!!!!”

 

Enrique has absolutely no control anymore, and David calmly says to him, “Bitch, that’s your friends, right? Remember, you wanted this.” And Enrique says, “Oh, my God, David, shut up.”

 

“I don’t know where in the world Alex got these balls all of a sudden. But when you break a glass during an argument, there are no boundaries, period!” Enrique via confessional.

 

David goes, “Enrique, look where you at! You gotta to put your friends on a leash, homes!” Enrique goes, “No, stop! I don’t wanna hear it, David! Now Aiden, are you okay?”

 

Aiden says, “I *will* be when Alex leaves.” Alex goes the fuck off on Aiden, and points his finger in Aiden’s face, to which Aiden shouts, “BITCH, DON’T PUT YOUR HAND IN MY FACE!” and slaps Alex’s hand away. A brawl happens again, and as a result… Enrique gets punched in the mouth by *somebody*. Whoever it was, we never know. But… oooooooohhh! Enrique is fucking pissed… OFF! “GOD-FUCKING-DAMMIT! SOMEBODY PUNCHED ME IN THE FUCKING MOUTH!” Thankfully, he didn’t lose any teeth, but still… Lord have mercy.

 

“My lip is busted and I can taste blood. I have fucking had it,” Enrique via confessional.

 

Enrique gives up and tells a security guard, “You know what? Fuck this. I’m out of it. I’m not gonna stand here and deal with this shit anymore. Whatever.”

 

Alex P yells at Enrique saying, “Yeah, just stay where you are Enrique, ‘cuz that’s what you like to do!”

 

Enrique yells at Alex P, “NO, DON’T PUT THIS ON ME, BITCH! THIS IS ALL YOUR DOING! WE’RE SUPPOSED TO TALK TO EACH OTHER AS FUCKING ADULTS!”

 

Alex walks away goes, “Whatever, I’m not trying to hear you right now. I’m bleeding from the broken glass; I need a first aid kit, fuck all y’all.”

 

“Don’t disrespect me again, Alex. Because one of these days, you’re gonna get fucked up real bad,” Jason via confessional.

 

“Oh, you need someone to take care of your little booboo, Lexi Poo?!” Jason mockingly asks Alex P, who turns around and says, “What did you say, bitch?” Jason yells, “You heard me!” Alex gets louder, “What did you just say to me?! DON’T FUCKIN’ COME AT ME!” And the two finally SCUFFLE! And Alex is screaming, “DON’T FUCKING COME AT ME, YOU BITCH!” The security manages to pull them away from each other, but now Jason has Alex’s blood stains on him and now he has to take another shower to wash that off and wash his tank top and underwear. Alex P is shouting “BRING IT BITCH! BRING IT! I’M FUCKIN’ READY FOR YOU, YA LITTLE PUSSY!” while being taken outside by the security, one of whom has the first aid kit on him lol

 

The whole time that Jason and Alex are bucking up and scuffling, the Sylmar Sinners are just looking at the whole thing like, “What the fuck?”

 

“Enrique’s stupid ass got what he wanted, didn’t he? A bunch of thirsty-ass hoes fighting over nothing. There’s no way Rafa woulda lasted a minute on this trip with his sensitive ass,” says David via confessional. Why is David even on this show, at this point? What exactly did he bring, that was actually Rafa-less? Nothing. By this point, David has become increasingly irrelevant. His fellow sinners are pretty much taking over for him while he mostly sits it out.

 

A fuming Jason is not quite done with Alex Paredes. He knows that Alex was taken outside to the driveway to get treated and (with Alex’s blood stains on his tank top, undies, and bare arms) rushes outside through the backyard, and shouts, “I’LL FUCKIN’ KILL YOU, MOTHERFUCKER! I’LL BEAT YOUR GODDAMN ASS RIGHT NOW!” How the Hell did Jason sneak out of the house without security? Man, Jason still got that spice that allows him to get away with almost anything!

 

And Alex can clearly hear Jason’s loud voice and shouts, “YOU TALKIN’ TO ME?! HEY BRING IT, BITCH! I’M FUCKIN’ RIGHT HERE! FUCKIN’ COME HERE! COME THE FUCK HERE! I’M THE ONLY WHO’S BEEN THERE FOR YOU!” Enrique (who’s holding an ice pack on his mouth) and Aiden walk out the front to the front porch of the house to see Alex yelling out for Jason. “Wow, I never thought Alex would say this much because most of the time his mute button is on,” says Enrique via confessional. Alex yells, “YOU KEEP THAT MOTHERFUCKER AWAY FROM ME! YA HEAR ME, ENRIQUE?! I’M NOT FUCKIN’ PLAYING!” As Alex is hyperventilating and crying, Enrique and Aiden look so bored and over it. Alex keeps going: “WHAT THE FUCK?! FUCK YOU! FUCK! YOU!” Aiden says to Enrique, “Okay, I’m waiting for that bitch to turn into the Hulk, seriously,” which gets a laugh out of Enrique, who says, “I know right? I’m just like, shut up already.”

 

Alex P finally stops screaming, he’s crying hysterically, and security takes him back to the backyard.

 

“Well at least it’s not Rafa or Alastair crying this time. ‘A+’ for growth, I guess?” Aiden says via confessional

 

“What the fuck is wrong with Alex? Is he on steroids?” Enrique asks via confessional. From getting shoved by Rafa during Rafa’s fight with Cory in Season 2, to getting punched in the mouth by... someone in Season 3... I'm sure part of Enrique is secretly regretting his choice to create the concept of FBSF.

 

Minutes later, while Jason is in the shower, washing away Alex’s blood stains from his body, and his tank top and undies are in the washing machine, everybody’s back in the house trying to process what the Hell just happened. And CJ and Matthew FINALLY return to the house, with CJ singing, “Hello, hello, hello!” and says with his normal voice, “We’re back, and we didn’t miss y’all!” which makes Matthew laugh out loud. And they are shocked to see a messy living room, and Matthew says, “What the Hell? Was there a tornado?” Aiden, who is unamused, sarcastically says to CJ and Matthew “So glad y’all could make it back, at 11pm.” CJ and Matthew are confused until they hear Alex P in the backyard shouting again about how he always had Jason’s back, with CJ going, “Is that Alex yelling?”

 

“Matt and I were having a blast exploring more of Bakersfield and made it a point to just do whatever we wanted until late at night. And by 10:30pm, we were finally ready to go back to the house… only to find that everyone looks shaken and half-naked in their shirts and undies, Enrique has an ice pack on his mouth, Jason is apparently washing Alex’s blood stains off him, Alex is outside screaming ‘Fuck you, Jason! You lied to me!’ Do I even wanna know what happened?” CJ says via confessional.

 

Security takes CJ and Matthew back to their bedroom, and fills them in on what exactly happened, and the two new besties are in shock. And Matthew says, “You know what, CJ? It’s a good thing you and I didn’t unpack or pack too much.” And in his confessional, Matthew holds his hands up in defeat and says the realest thing known to God: “I’m done.” Matthew says to CJ, “You and I are getting our stuff and sleeping somewhere else for the rest of the trip.” CJ is relieved by this decision and says, “Good, ‘cuz this has gotten ridiculous, and I don’t wanna fight you, mate.”

 

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In Season 3 Episode 11, after coming into the house only to witness a ridiculous altercation, CJ and Matthew decided that they would stay in motel for the final day of the trip.

 

They’re spending the final day of the trip just resting and hanging out in the motel after traveling to various places in Bakersfield. Despite having to share a house with the annoying cast, the two gym besties did have a great time together. But they both agreed that the house was cursed by what CJ calls, “the old guard.”

 

As they’re each laying down in their beds during the beautiful breezy midday morning, CJ asks Matthew, “Hey, do you think it’s boring that we’re spending our final day in Bakersfield in a motel?” And Matthew jokingly roasts CJ, saying to him, “Well, as long as you’re here, with a mouth as big as yours, ain’t no way this is gonna boring for either of us.” CJ laughs out loud while saying, “Oh Damn, Matt!” while Matthew lets out a giggle.

 

 

“Truth be told, yes we wanted stay in the house; it’s beautiful as Hell. Lovely views, sexy jacuzzi, and our bedroom was so comfy. But CJ and I had enough of everybody over there. And we really have to watch our backs. From a distance, Alastair was looking out for me and CJ when he warned us that the rest of the cast were most likely gonna be complaining about him and Rafa – especially Rafa. Oh well. Now we know,” Matthew via confessional.

 

“I don’t know how much longer the remaining cast on this trip have left to live on this show. But I’ma tell you one thing: Karlo and Tino are easily the weakest parts of the show. They serve absolutely no purpose beyond their association with David, and that is *literally* it. Also, I do have a big mouth, don’t I? Well, I’m gonna try to work on that, I swear *laughs*” CJ via confessional.

 

CJ gives Matthew an unforgettable offer: “Well, Matt, I’m gonna give my mouth a rest. We’ll see how long that lasts *giggles*. I wanna know what you think of each person who was on this trip.” Matthew says, “Oh, shit,” and CJ goes, “Break a leg, mate. I’m ready when you are.”

 

And Matthew’s observation of each participant of the Bakersfield trip is spot on and earns a few oohs, oops, and laughs from CJ. “Alright, here goes nothin’. Tino… outside of his tendency to mix up words, when something doesn’t have anything to do with him, he kind of goes wherever the wind blows. And I guess that would’ve been fine if he wasn’t crazy as cat shit. Karlo is delusional as Hell, and aggressive as fuck. David is so rude and sexist. He has unresolved insecurities that stem from trauma, family drama, his past, and Enrique. Enrique is a cunt; no proof needed to support my opinion. Jason is a very hard person to read. But one thing that remains easiest to understand about him is that if he doesn’t like you, neither does Aiden. And Aiden is the biggest reason why a lot of us newbies have not been getting along with each other. And then I have no idea why Alex or Enrique’s husband and brother, whatever their names are, were even there to begin with. And that’s everyone.”

 

CJ is stunned by Matthew’s criticism of the Bakersfield participants. “Geez. How do you really feel, Matt?”

 

Matthew joyfully says, “And together, they are all really boring. Girl bye,” which gets a laugh from CJ.

 

In his confessional, Matthew says, “If CJ and I didn’t ditch the other to actually have a real Bakersfield experience, this trip would’ve been a total disaster for the two of us. Instead, we we consistently removed ourselves from that disaster and it became a bloodbath for the rest.

 

One baffling thing about this Bakersfield trip is that Carlos (Enrique's brother) and Danny (Enrique's husband) were part of the trip as Enrique's plus ones (or plus twos).

 

They didn't have to join that trip because they're not cast members, hence why Christian (a fellow non-cast member) refused to go (but the larger reason was that the old B&S guard never liked him, and bring nothing but negativity and hate, so he saw no point in going anyway).