DC ExtraTime: What If... - Jason & Nicole

 EDITORS' NOTE: 

Excerpt from DC SocialPulse: Rivals III EP 4 last night, re-posted in the interest of fans for the sake of presenting selected stories on their own and to make the site mobile friendly

BY DC CUEVA                     

> @DC408Dxtr / @DC408DxNow

If you were with us for our Exes 2 coverage last year, or read the bonus ExtraTime post here just after the shock medevac exit, one of the best stories to come out of that season for me was that of Nia and Averey. They were involved in the most infamous fight we've ever seen on The Real World when an issue of dog poop led to those girls getting into fisticuffs that became one of the defining moments in the show's history. They made up from the moment they saw each other in the house in Costa Rica and instantly put behind them that infamous day in Portland. And obviously, there was the two fights that we saw between CeeJai and Jenna at the end of the Go Big or Go Home season which we will touch on in just a little while here.

Credit: IG/@N_Zanatta

   Now considering what we've seen the past two weeks, a question you Challenge fans are asking, "What if the team who replaced Averey & Leroy on Rivals III weren't Amanda & Nelson?" Most likely, we wouldn't have that RW/AYTO bickering that took place on this week's episode. Maybe, we would've had the return of Trey Day in Trey from St. Thomas and RW's own RiRi - his roommate Marie. Perhaps Nia would've had a shot at redemption with Exes 2 champ Jordan had he not headed to Perry's Place. Or maybe for those who follow the elder statesman of the Trifecta, Bruno would've gotten into it with Tony in the house in him being paired with Skeletons castmate Sylvia.
   But a pair that would've made a strong point to be the replacement team is, in fact, Tony's fellow members of the Wolf Pack - a house clique that formed in the Chicago house last year - two of them are pictured above in Times Square when they met this past week there in New York City. When the season rolled along in the Windy City, Tony, Nicole, Bruno and Jason had developed a strong bond in the house, much in the same way as what we saw with the Cool Kids in the Gold Spike. And in some odd coincidence, when both of them were in town Tony's brother, and later Bloodlines partner, Shane hooked up with Bruno's brother, Briah.
   However, there was one night that changed everything for half of the Wolf Pack, and it was the events of what happened on this past week's Real World finale, and what happened in previous seasons, that provides context of what happened here. Towards the end of their stay when Madison's skeleton ex was in town, Tony got drunk during a night out, stole a $20 bottle of wine, got caught and never paid for it himself. Sylvia went off on that act and, just as Amanda did to Mike last fall, called Tony "trash," but then Nicole sticks up to him while the girls are getting mad at him. Jason is also mad over bottle-gate, while Nic hooked up with a random bar guy who, in turn, gives them the money to pay for that bottle.
   All of a sudden, Jason - who was seen as the calm one in the house (and wasn't featured much until late in the season when he becomes a dad and then sees his father in the finale) becomes a much different person as he was yelling from the patio of the house when Nicole decides she had enough and went upstairs to confront him. She gets in his face as Madison worries of what she's seeing as Jason pushes Nicole, then she runs out of the room and gets into his face in the hallway. Knowing the lesson they got for what happened in Portland - and what we would later see with CeeJai and Jenna last Thursday, security rushed in from the batcave to separate the two when he picked her up and threw her up against the wall. In the risk of not alienating viewers (as well as advertisers), the camera cut away to one of the surveillance cameras focusing on the bar when that push took place.
   She says, "Jason, you decide to pick me up. How do you feel about that? You are like my best friend...the fact that you put your hands on me, you're a boy." And Sylvia is left to wonder, "What just happened?" as Nicole runs out of the house. And Jason fesses, "I am ashamed of my actions. I wish that I would've chilled out. I know I was out of character. Very disrespectful. If I would regret it, absolutely. It's kind of scary. I didn't think I can get that angry. I hurt her and put her in a position that was never been in before, it was wrong." When Jason tries to apologize, Nic says that she's had enough with him and refuses to forgive him, citing that no one has ever put their hands on her and will never forget about it, though there's feeling for her by him.
   After their fight, and unlike what happened to the girls the other night, the consequence of it is an intervention by production and a call by Executive Producer (and RW co-creator) Jon Murray. But unlike what we saw when co-EP Jim Johnston came into the loft last Thursday, a therapist is brought in to talk to the group and to teach the house that abuse, both physically or verbally, should never be the answer or solution to any kind of conflict and that the ones we love also get hurt by it too. The house, except for Bruno, takes a break from what they're doing to go through this reality check. Nicole also decides not to go downstairs to meet the therapist, and when Jason begins to speak she heads into the confessional. It was an awkward ending to that season, just as it was this year.
   If what you saw on the AYTO 3 finale last year when Mike threw Amanda across the bed after she antagonized him was one thing - which we discussed here last week, what happened on Skeletons was very similar when the issue came up of a guy putting his hands on a girl, which is obviously against the code and morals. Obviously, the events of what we saw on Thursday left our jaw dropped, and so has other fights over the years on the Trifecta. And that brings us to what you see in the photo above, when just last week Jason flew up to the Big Apple to visit Nicole and Bruno for his birthday. There when they met, they finally had a chance to resolve issues and put this ordeal behind them.
   In his photo caption, Jason captions, "I got a chance to talk to you @n_zanattamtv and I missed you more than anything. It feels great to have you back in my life and I enjoyed our late night run through Times Square with no shirts lol #Legendary #Wolfpack #MTV #WhatYouWaitingFor #GymisLife #Wolfpackforlife 🐺" And in the Instagram caption above, Nicole adds, "Happy birthday to this man right here. After over a year and a half of not talking. Last week we got to talk and vent everything out about what happened the day/night that destroyed our relationship. So happy I got to see you and it warms my heart that we shared a amazing weekend with people that I am extremely close to. See you in August bro, some things are better left unsaid but we had a lot to talk about! ;) @_kazuhnova #wolfpack #brother #mtv #life #love."
   No one knows what might've happened if it was Nicole and Jason being that team that TJ brought on to replace Averey & Leroy, or any other team for that matter, and we all wonder what kind of factor they would've played in the house and in the game, and of what alliance they would form with Tony. But one thing now appears to be certain: if there's a Rivals IV on the horizon, then these two are no longer. The events of what happened at the end of that Skeletons season in Chicago is now behind them.

- I AM DC