Gage: The Sole Voice Of Reason On Flipping Out

It's hard for a non-competitive Bravo reality show to make an impact when most of the network's oxygen is sucked up by various covens of Real Housewives stirring up shit in various major cities across this great nation. Flipping Out has succeeded where shows like Welcome To The Parker or NYC Prep failed largely due to the charismatic, unpredictable Jeff Lewis, an L.A.-based real estate developer with a unique ability to attract unstable freaks to his employ. But while (now-departed) design or house assistants from Chris to Sarah to Trace have served to drive the drama on the show, I would be remiss if I didn't express my appreciation for the person whose reasonable behaviour reminds us that these other wackos do, in fact, have regular interactions with a functional human being. I appreciate you, Gage.

As Jeff's business manager/boyfriend, Gage has a privileged view of Jeff's questionable decisions. I certainly grant that some or all of Jeff's dubious hiring choices, inappropriate office talk, and needling talking-head interviews are purely motivated by a desire to make the show juicier, whether they're conceived by Flipping Out's producers or by Jeff himself. But what makes Gage so much fun to watch is that he reacts to the chaos like a normal person: he thinks it's fucked up, and he says so.

This tendency has particularly come to the fore in the show's current sixth season, with the addition of design assistant Andrew Coleman. At first, the viewer is told that Andrew has a trust fund, but that he has to be employed in order to maintain his eligibility to receive it a few years from now. Then, we see Andrew in action, and are given to understand that his habit of making sexual jokes at the office and on job sites is making everyone uncomfortable (though it seems as though nothing he says is really much worse than the kind of thing Jeff busts out on the regular). But last week, evidence started to accrete to suggest that Andrew hadn't been entirely honest with his colleagues: comparing notes, it seems as though Andrew has told different people different things about what his boyfriend does and where he is; he's also given several different accounts of where he lives, and about properties his (supposedly) wealthy parents (supposedly) own.

Things came to a head last week, ending with Andrew refusing to clear up the confusion, and quitting in a rage. But then in last night's episode -- very possibly on the advice of series producers -- Andrew contacted Jeff and asked to meet so that he could apologize and explain. Andrew admitted that he had lied about some aspects of his biography, saying it was because he'd been sexually abused for years by one of his father's business partners, which had caused him to retreat into a world of fantasy to help him to deal with the painful aspects of his real life. Gage gently tells Andrew that he hopes Andrew can get better (read: seek treatment for what is clearly a mental illness), but that he was probably right to end his employment. You see what I mean? It's an empathetic response, but one that doesn't violate professional boundaries or expose the business to risk from a potentially dangerous employee. (Gage also, wisely, suggests to Jeff that he be mindful of the possibility that Andrew might return to the office with violent intentions.) Unfortunately for Gage, he doesn't work at a normal workplace, he works at a reality-show workplace, and the show must go on. That means Andrew gets to come back.

You can tell design assistant Vanina agrees with Gage that Jeff is crazy to let Andrew come back, but she lacks the standing to say so; even Gage can't overrule Jeff, but at least when Andrew inevitably gets caught in another lie, Gage will be able to say he predicted it. That is, if he's still around: an alarming preview clip from next week's episode hints that Gage and Jeff may split over Jeff's decision to buy a house he remodeled without consulting Gage.

Fortunately, I've seen a reality show before: if producers want us to think a breakup is imminent, that pretty much guarantees that it it isn't. But it would be a real blow to Flipping Out if Gage goes the way of Jeff's old business partner/ex, Ryan Brown: as enjoyable as it can be to see things spin out of control on Flipping Out, it can be hard to buy that no one at any of these properties could see the calamity coming, whether it ultimately gets avoided or not. And even if Jeff doesn't always show that he deserves to have Gage in his life, the viewer certainly does.