"He makes me wanna get more botox."
Friday, July 8, 2011 
Aw! Here's my dilemma: My jealous brain is telling me to attack Gage, to heap verbal destruction on him until there is blood dripping down my chin and tufts of blond hair in my teeth and carrion birds circling overhead.
But my heart tells me that I can't. For one thing, look how happy Jeff is. He's smiling, he's hugging freely, he's getting some 25 year old ass. I myself am deeply familiar with the allure of the younger man--Frank is 3 months younger than I--and it would be hypocritical, not to mention cruel, for me to deny Jeff this pleasure.
Then there is Gage himself. In this episode, we witness him blushingly admit to eating 8-13 brownies in one sitting. At work. How can I hate someone who is so undisciplined when it comes to chocolate? How can I hate someone who is so much like myself? I am required to accept him as a brother.
I know Gage is sitting at his computer right now, sweating bullets, hitting refresh, refresh, waiting to see if I am going to give this relationship my blessing or whether I am going to drive to LA to murder him. Rest easy, Gage. I approve. All bets are off, however, if there is any making out on camera. Then we'll have to go back to the blood dripping down the chin scenario.
All right! Now that we have that out of the way, let's recap the season 5 premiere of Flipping Out:
1. In the vacuum between last season and this one, Valley Oak has sold and Jeff Lewis Design has moved into a new house. It's a smaller space, forcing everyone to work in tight quarters. Trace has been installed inches from Jeff's face because Jeff believes he's been sending too many personal emails. Trace laments his proximity to "the crazy" and longs to trade places with Sarah, who works two feet away at the dining room table.
Jeff reports that Sarah has not been making as many mistakes, but she's still "just a little slower than the rest of the kids."
All of this commentary is very important foreshadowing, as it has been hinted all over the internets that someone gets fired this season. That makes me nervous. The kind of nervous that involves a toilet.
2. Gage is introduced as Jeff's business manager and significant other (it does stick in my throat, I must admit) and we learn that Jeff has a speaking engagement at the San Francisco Design Center. In what proves to be a critical scene, Jeff tells Gage that he doesn't want to attend the cocktail party before or the reception after. He is contractually obligated to one hour of speaking, he says, and that's it. So fuck you motherfuckers.
Gage convinces him to do the cocktail party, but Jeff puts his foot down on the reception afterwards.
"I'm happy to get bombed with these people but it will be a cold day in hell before I eat dry chicken and sip Pelligrino with them."
3. Sarah is talking to the camera about Gage and calls him a baby, "and by baby, I mean [pause] babydoll." As she says this, she pats her heart lovingly.
Sarah, if you get fired, I would like to hire you as a close friend. It would be more like an unpaid internship, and there would be some babysitting and light housekeeping involved, but I think we'd both really get a lot out of it.
(Oh, and for those of you who think I'm getting all soft by liking everyone on this show, my therapist tells me it's ENCOURAGING and a POSTIVE STEP and I thank you in advance not to RIDE MY ASS ABOUT IT.)
4. At lunch, Jeff announces to Zoila that he and Gage are thinking about legally adopting her.
Wow, this must be a new trend, adopting these older girls! My own husband has expressed an interest in adopting a 22 year old fitness model from Sweden. That's my man--so generous and big-hearted. I'm not convinced it's a good idea at this time, but I promised Frank I'd think about it.
Anyhow, Jeff and Gage's hearts are in the right place, but adoption would give Zoila even more incentive to kill them. It's a legitimate concern.
5. Skipping to the drama--Jeff, Gage, and Jenni fly to San Francisco (in a private plane a la Skinnygirl) and head straight to the cocktail party. It's crowded and hot and everyone wants to touch him, and this pretty much sums it up:
"It's work," he says to the camera. But he's handling it very well. He's approaching groups and posing for photos and chatting amiably, UNTIL. Until Lisa, a blonde pixie-haired woman from California Home and Design magazine, confronts Jeff, Real Housewives style (i.e. AN AMBUSH). Guess who was sponsoring Jeff's visit and paying for his fancy hotel and just wanted a little lunch reception?
Oh shit. Oooooooh shit! The mood has turned from party to nasty. Jeff tries to buy time. "What did I do?" he asks. "What did I do again?" She tells him that he canceled the reception two days before, and it was an embarrassment to her and her clients. She is flushed and ANGRY. Jeff is shiny and stumbling and trying to buy time while pleading with his eyes to someone, anyone, the camera guy, Andy Cohen, HELP ME. Mercifully, Gage appears out of thin air at Jeff's side. "I looked like a dick," Jeff is telling Lisa, and Lisa agrees, "you looked like a dick."
As flustered as Jeff is, Gage is cool. Smoooooth.
Jeff: Oh God, I'm going to puke in public. Breathe, Jeff. Breathe!
Gage: Chill, baby! It's no good for a lady as fine as you to get all worked up."
Both of them apologize profusely and what to know what they can do to rectify the situation, but Lisa's all "THE DAMAGE IS DONE." To the camera, Gage accepts 100% of the blame. This is why Jeff loves him.
6. There is a short scene, presented without explanation, wherein a man named Guillermo takes photos of Sarah on a job site.
I enjoyed it.
7. Jenni, Gage and Jeff are headed to the speaking engagement. Jeff wants hand signals from Jenni if he starts to ramble, or if he gets too sweaty, or does some unspecified thing with his foot. He's nervous and vulnerable and it's all very sexy.
Backstage, he's pacing and Bravo's playing a song that is very reminiscent of Lose Yourself by Eminem and it is so intense, like he's heading into some sort of battle rather than a Q & A in front of a bunch of design geeks.
The actual speaking begins and he's fine, he's funny, but I can't really concentrate because in the corner of my tv screen, there is a pulsating platinum hatred radiating from Lisa in the audience. She will not forget the canceled luncheon for as long as she lives. NEVER!
8. There's a bunch of other stuff, like how Jeff is working on approximately 48 projects and did a remodel for this lady Marlo who was unhappy and complainy with Jeff and Sarah but I think it's mostly because she just broke up with her fiance and her life is in broken pieces. But they shared hug at the end and it was all fine.
Your thoughts? Don't hold back.
Reader Comments (18)
thank you!! love your recaps of our guy.
that lisa! i was so nervous during that whole scene!!! i cannot believe she called him a dick.
i think marlo was so cranky because she needs to eat a meal.
you can have sarah as a friend if she gets fired -- i want her JOB.
Now that you are back, when do we get a photo of Frank's butt?
I agree with Trudie.
I'm so glad you're back!
A show full of hot gay guys and you want Frank's butt?
I'll work on it.
Yes, the scene with Lisa was so cringe-y.
I dont want Franks butt. But thats just me.
I hope that woman was embarrassed by her behavior. All they could do was apologize. They offered more - what can we do? NOTHING! OK, well, sorry. SORRY'S NOT GOOD ENOUGH! Well, then what can we do? NOTHING! She was a little bit kookoo for Coco Puffs.
OMG SGM LOL! I find it sooooo hard to hate Gage as well. I mean, what is not to like about him? He is adorable. I want to spread him on toast and eat him up! Loved your recap girl!
Loved the first episode and your re-cap, SGM. Totally agree, Gage is a sweetsies-cutsies. I thought Sarah looked really great too - her hair was simpler and she lost the heavy pancake make-up from last season that made my heart break for the oh-so-unfortunate styling choices.
I still don't like Zola.
'Keep it gangsta.' ~Z
25? Yeah, right.
Sincerely,
Harvey Millstein, CID
I would like to thank you for reminding me of Sarah posing for Guillermo. I wish it were so easy to get things done at my office.
If they ever do a Real Housewives of San Francisco, I'd assume that pixie-haired Lisa will be the first one cast?
So happy you did a recap! I was totally prepared to hate on Gage too, but I just could not. I love this show so much. Oh and Lisa needs a tact lesson - you don't bring shit like that up in that setting in that way. She must have been PMSing or didn't take her mood altering meds or something. Wow, lighten up Francis...
Ohh SNAP Lisa called him out, and she was pissed, I think she LOVED it that cameras were there filming, it was her 15 minutes and she went for it! Totally my fav part of the show, he was shaking hands with people and trying to be nice and she slams into him!!! I like to see Jeff flustered, and he is lucky he has Gage. I think Jeff and Jenni are on WWHL Sunday, Andy better ask him about that fun time!!
Sarah is so sweet, wasn't he threatening to fire someone last season too? Is that his MO for his reality show?
did anyone else think that the poor Marlo woman looked like she was going to fall over from malnutrition? I mean LA is skinny but that girl looked like a sack of bones. Lets hope it was just the "divorce diet"
I think Jeff should fly up on his own $ and do a special lunch thing with Lisa and her clients - but that's just me
team lisa, 1000%.
People deserve very good life time and mortgage loans or sba loan would make it much better. Just because people's freedom is grounded on money state. htgpnt htgpnt - belstaff chaquetas.