Let’s Compare: Old(ish) to New(ish) School Competitors; Bear/Puck Edition
First off, I want to say this comparison is less about how they perform competitively, as we never got much of a chance to see Puck compete, but as characters, they are similar.
Those of you who have started watching The Challenge more recently might not be well versed in reality TV’s original villain, Puck. He was a phenomenon on the Real World, showed up on the Challenge for Battle of the Sexes, and tore stuff up, literally. My comparison will give a bit of a snapshot into the type of character Puck was, but I seriously suggest looking him up. Even if it is only to see one of the strangest moments in history of the Challenge.
The Spitting Incident
On the first episode of Battle of the Sexes, Puck got into an argument with his castmate David. David claimed to be friends with Puck’s wife outside of the show and was following Puck around accusing him of domestic abuse. Knowing now that Puck has since been arrested for domestic violence, the things David says are heart breaking. Especially, as Puck later marries his wife in the middle of the season. But, in this moment of being accused, Puck spits on David, and David is outraged. He calls Jonathan Murray and insists that he will beat Puck up if Puck is not kicked off the show, stating that if he, a black man, had spit on Puck, who is white, David would have been kicked off. Then Jonathan Murray shows up, and the entire rest of the cast threatens to walk out if Puck is kicked off the show, showing support for the aggressor of the situation, simply because he is more charismatic than David was. A spit deal was then negotiated, saying that if David spit on Puck, Puck would be allowed to stay. In my opinion, this was the craziest episode of the challenge ever, and I don’t know how it could ever be topped, although some people can argue that Belou’s baby might edge it out.
Watch it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2opN1qTuqz8
So, while Puck was the one spitting on his season of the challenge, there are still some ways to compare it to Bear being spit on by Ashley on a recent episode. Bear sprays her with a fire extinguisher, releasing chemicals in her face. I’m not sure how much you all know about fire extinguishers, but although the chemicals aren’t poisonous, they make you feel like you can’t breathe. Normally they tell you to get fresh air, but hey our contestants are in a bunker. But anyways, I digress. Ashley spits on Bear, because what he did was in no way okay, and she was mad. Then, the whole house got mad that Ashley spits on Bear, and completely ignores that he sprayed a fire extinguisher at her. He was in a big way the aggressor of the situation, and yet she is the one who got in trouble, and she is the one who ended up in elimination. (Yes, I understand it was a girl’s week.)
The Good TV Argument
“He plays it up for the camera.”
“Do I think he’s a good person? I’ve never met the guy but based off what I see, no. Is he one of the most entertaining cast members because of it? You’re god damn right.”
“Lmao I love how Bear got outta that clean aside from a little spit. Ashley and Mattie get into it. Nany gets involved. I’m also 80% sure Kailah got turned on by it. And Bear has got the biggest shit eating grin for starting it.”
For some reason, people are obsessed with charismatic TV villains. Think about Evel Dick from Big Brother or Russell Hantz from Survivor, villains bring ratings. When Puck’s show first aired, he was a household name, even though he was a jerk. (Also, can we talk about how he had a thing with Rachel Campos? That’s crazy to me) We see them act poorly again and again, and yet for some reason love them.
Now there is the argument that Bear is not as bad as Puck, or that Bear is a villain, but he is in on the joke. But, Puck’s cast-mates all said that he was a good guy when he wasn’t being filmed. They all liked him, just like Bear’s cast-mates seem to like him outside the house. Sure, we don’t see anything about Bear being abusive, and I am not accusing him of anything. But we have seen him being manipulative in relationships, and that is another type of bad. Telling Georgia that the girl on the phone was his cousin, was really bad, but rather than saying it was manipulative, as many people called Zach on that same season, people just thought it was a funny joke.
The best villains are the ones that convince us that they really aren’t that bad, while never changing their behavior.
