Sure, Heidi has second-rate supporting status under Lauren and the dangerously controlling boyfriend, but this season’s goodness is all rooted in Heidi’s transformation from Spencer’s clay sculpture project to the independent powerhouse she became when she whitewashed Spencer’s hideous Hollywood graffiti in one of the series’ most inspirational moments ever. At least Heidi can say that her drama is her own. Lauren’s always been making judgments about everyone else around her and moping in her own habit of becoming excessively dependent on roommates who have every right to make their own decisions even if they are self-destructive.
Whenever Lauren has drama that is actually about her, she’s doing things (looking at Jason, talking to Jason, thinking about Jason, dating Jason, etc.) that she so melodramatically advises others not to do. Lauren ought to take some BFF behavioral advice from Lo and Elodie who always know what to say and what not to say to those they counsel. Lauren told Lo that she can’t do the roommate-with-a-sucky-boyfriend thing all over again, but I think it’s Audrina who needs to take some advice from Heidi and not do the roommate-with-a-BFF-possession-complex thing.
When Heidi spilled the sort-of-engagement news to Elodie, Elodie told Heidi to just start with the magazines, that she should put off the dress shopping and, you know, the real important activities, for a while. Heidi seemed to already have planned putting it all off before she had the talk with Elodie. Brody and Spencer’s conversation about the whole (dis)engagement situation was equally unsurprising. Spencer, who admitted he always thought marriage was just for desperate guys looking to control a woman into giving them food and sex (and this is different from the Speidi dynamic, how?) was already talking about a bachelor party and a future with Heidi (and his endless power to psychologically manipulate her).
The third-wheel awkwardness between Audrina, Justin, and Lauren when Lauren met them for drinks had to have broken a ‘Hills’ record (hopefully not the one with Heidi and Spencer’s recently leaked, intriguingly bad single featuring Spencer’s rapping). Justin, claiming to be sick before Lauren arrived, burped and told Lauren that he just didn’t care what she thought about him. Despite the early boyfriend-BFF setback, it doesn’t look like Audrina’s Motorcycle Dairies will come to an end anytime soon. Audrina dismissed Lauren’s opinion on the matter and, though she didn’t say the words, took Justin’s not-really-apology and accepted his offer to let time and truth see how feasible they are as a couple.
Spencer’s complete disregard for Heidi and her opinions couldn’t have been made any more clear when he moved giant arcade games into their apartment and told her that he wasn’t making any decisions for her, that he was just surprising her. Heidi, thanks to Elodie’s insight, confronted Spencer, suggesting they make decisions together. The devilish look on Spencer’s face when he walked into the apartment only to find Heidi figuratively (Heidi-is-pensive montages totally dominate Lauren-is-pensive montages) and literally covering the graffiti-covered wall with white paint was disturbing, but his subsequent reaction was that of a downright deranged man. The way he feigned submission to Heidi’s declaration of independence more-than-vaguely came across as serial-killer madness. Let’s just say that when Heidi left the room and Spencer picked up the white paintbrush, continuing where Heidi left off, I think the whiteout metaphor was implying something else much more deadly than it was when Heidi was painting.
