Flipping Out Recap: Say Hello to Hollywood

Jeff-Lewis-Jenni-Pulos-Gage-Edward-computer-Flipping-Out-001

Well, ’tis a season of change on Flipping Out. Do not ask for whom the bell tolls! It tolls for Intern Joe. As Jeff moves into his new Hollywood space, Joe moves on to greener pastures, or at least pastures that don’t abut Jeff Lewis properties. 

Gramercy is closing and tensions are high as Jeff flips out at Jenni Pulos for allegedly closing gates, not tracking Joe’s trash bags, and for breathing too much air in Jeff’s general vicinity. All of Jeff’s personal items fit into one Rubbermaid bin, which says a lot about his feelings on chotchkies. And life. While he may not be sentimental about things, he is sentimental about leaving Gramercy, once touted as his “forever” house that he and Gage Edward lovingly redesigned. (Is it weird that I’m sad too? <sniff>) Zoila Chavez, for one, is not going to miss Gramercy or its 50 steps she must climb everyday. 

CLICK THE CONTINUE READING BUTTON FOR MORE!

On the road, Jeff wonders why he wasn’t alerted of an appointment he was booked for today. Jenni interviews that Jeff is a “colorful” boss who’s gotten much better at delegating lately. Jeff interrupts and gets all wavy-hands, barking that he’d love to delegate more “If the f*kers could handle what I delegate! I’d delegate everything!” Delegate is Jeff’s button. And Jenni is pushing it.

Day 2 of the Gramercy move, Gage walks around with a wee tear in his eye thinking of the plans he and Jeff had for the house. He’s ready to move on, but can’t help but remember all of the blood, sweat, tears – and memories – they put into this house, which is truly a piece of art. Jeff instructs Jenni to give Gage a forced hug to stop the pain. But Jeff does admit that of all the houses he’s lived in over the years, Gramercy is the only one that felt like a home. Aw, man! I can’t take this! Ok, regroup.

The gang is moving back to a house Jeff renovated 12-13 years ago in Hollywood, which he’s now leasing with an option to buy. Jeff needs the office set up first so they can work right through the move. In HUGE news, Jenni has graduated from the Pre-K shared desk to her very own desk! She even gets to place a personal photo on it, which she may push to 2, she says. Does this mean she gets her own notepad too? And pen!? It’s a new day at Jeff Lewis, for sure.

At Eric Prydz‘ Mulholland remodel, Vanina Alfaro is busy working another 12-hour day schlepping furniture and fixtures to and fro. She feels like she has too much going on most days, but is hard on herself to keep things perfect. Jeff doesn’t understand everything Vanina does, she says, and Joe’s lack of work ethic (and his deep, deep confusion) piles more work on her shoulders. Joe has been relegated to tasks like ordering pepperoni pizzas and cleaning toilets with Zoila, it seems. 

Jeff checks on Vanina’s work at Mulholland, and is not happy with the missing and mismatched pillows in the outdoor patio area. He summons her back to the job site. Jeff knows Vanina is very bright and talented, and that she’s contributed a lot in the last five years, but he sees her work slipping lately. When Vanina shows back up at Mulholland, she’s ticked off that Jeff felt the need to call her all the way back to the job site just to discuss pillows. She leaves, frustrated.

Intern-Joe-Fired-Flipping-Out-001

Joe, meanwhile, is driving Jeff to drink more with his space cadet ways. Joe is asked to go to a restaurant he’s been to before. Easy, right? Nah. Joe has no memory of that restaurant, the food it serves, or the planet on which it’s situated. Jeff finds himself constantly proving reality exists to Joe, which is becoming a full time job.

As they drive to an appointment, Jeff, Jenni, Megan Weaver, Gage, and Vanina get a call from Joe, who is confused about buying…soap. Yes, soap. Other than my husband, I don’t know many people who would be confused enough about purchasing soap to warrant an ET Phone Home emergency. Alas, Joe is one of these people. Gage says Jeff “collects misfits” because he has a soft spot for ne’er do wells, but Joe’s ridiculousness has just about reached critical mass at this point. 

Sadly, the next thing we hear is that Joe is in the hospital! Shockingly, he sustained a head injury (concussion) while playing flag football. Concussion, believable. Flag football, not so much. Jenni calls Joe in the hospital to “check in” on him, but more importantly to follow up on some confusing notes he left behind.

Vanina-Blamed-Flipping-Out-001

At the Eads’ residence, the final touches on the outdoor kitchen are being installed. The installer notes an issue with the counter top heights and the grill not fitting together according to specs. The kitchen can’t be ripped out to accomodate the grill, so Vanina is at a loss. She tells Jeff about the disaster, and he is not happy about writing checks for everyone’s mistakes. At lunch that day, Jeff asks Vanina if she’s acknowledged her role in the barbecue disaster. She is shocked that it’s being blamed on her, as she expects the specs to be the specs, period. He reminds her that double checking is in order when it comes to specs, though. Jenni thinks Vanina takes a lot of pride in her job, and that Jeff is blaming Vanina for mistakes that aren’t entirely hers.

Intern-Joe-Instagram-Flipping-Out-001

Later on, Jeff rounds Gage and Jenni up to check out Joe’s Instagram account, which Jeff was tipped off to by an “anonymous source.” Really? Like Google? Jeff gets incensed as he takes a look through Joe’s (pretty harmless) photos, matched with insipid captions like “Smile today!” and “Life is like this flower. You can’t let its beauty go to waist.” W.a.i.s.t. Gage and Jeff notice that a lot of the pics are taken at work, with their house and even their office in the background. Gage is like, “Hashtag fill the f*kin fountain!” when he sees the above photo, and Jeff is hitting his limit of trippy dippy Intern Joe, so looks like he’ll be heading on down the highway soon. 

After Vanina gets the barbecue “disaster” straightened out with Monika Eads, she admits she is not happy about being blamed for the entire situation. Essentially, the cabinet was made wrong, says Vanina. So, why is she the fall guy?  

The actual weak link, Joe, is back at the office trying to balance lunch receipts – to no avail. Being the OCD person he is, Jeff wants lunch receipts balanced down to the penny, but Joe can’t even seem to get within the range of $22. Is this the final straw? (We know it’s coming soon!)

Jeff feels like Vanina is upset right now, but he doesn’t know why. Jenni agrees that she’s concerned, but knows Vanina is slow to open up about her feelings. So, later on Jeff confronts Vanina in front of the ENTIRE group to ask what’s up. Vanina admits she feels unfairly blamed for mistakes, which Megan agrees with. Jeff feels bad that Vanina is upset (to the point where she almost walked away!), and acknowledges that he’s been too hard on her. He also vows to help her more in the future rather than throw her to the wolves, and under buses. 

Intern-Joe-Zoila-Chavez-Hug-Flipping-001

Aw, man. It’s the day of reckoning for Intern Joe. After 7 months, Jeff has to surrender to the reality that Joe is more of a liability than an asset. Jeff tells Joe he’s been struggling to find household chores for Joe to do (as Zoila’s assistant) because he wasn’t cut out to be a project manager. Jeff no longer needs Joe at Jeff Lewis Design, so he’s letting him go. Joe is very sweet telling Jeff he appreciates everything he’s done for him, even giving Zoila a big fat hug on the way out. Jeff feels “gross” firing Joe because he’s a nice kid “who doesn’t have a mean bone in his body.” Shucks. What a w.a.i.s.t. 

TELL US: DO YOU THINK JEFF WAS RIGHT TO FIRE JOE? DID VANINA GET UNFAIRLY BLAMED FOR THE BARBECUE DISASTER? 

Photo Credit: Bravo 

X