Jeff And Zoila Are Still TV's Best Frenemies

The thing about taking any position on Flipping Out is that it's impossible to know how much of Jeff's objectionable behaviour is real, and how much is calculated to make him effective as a "love to hate" reality-TV personality. The premise of Flipping Out is that Jeff is a crazy control freak who is also unable to manage his anger and thus terrorizes everyone who works for him. Sometimes, this persona seems to be real: Jeff has had interactions with people (Chris, Ryan, Trace, Sarah, Andrew) whose reactions are too emotional to be fake -- yes, even for a show set in Los Angeles where it's reasonable to assume that most of the people who are able to get themselves on camera have showbiz aspirations (not just Jenni) (but especially Jenni). And when Jeff flies off the handle, he definitely comes off as someone who can't moderate his temper.

But though Jeff is also given to issuing unreasonable demands to his employees in his calmer moments, to me those are the fakest, and come across as the expression of his very dry sense of humour. Certainly, the only other two Flipping Out stars who've been around from the start -- assistant Jenni and live-in housekeeper Zoila -- are generally pretty respectful, but don't seem to take his most imperious orders or pronouncements very seriously. Zoila, in particular, sasses Jeff without consequence -- probably because his past treatment of her indicates that he values her more than most people probably value their domestic employees: he's paid for her to get cosmetic surgery, he bought her a Mercedes SUV for her birthday, and he responded to her complaints about having too much work to do by hiring her an assistant to help her with the housework.

So...how seriously are we to take Jeff's anger at Zoila in last night's episode? Does Jeff really think Zoila isn't happy in his employ? Does Zoila really think that when Jeff tells her to find another job if she's not satisfied that he'd ever consider forcing the issue by firing her? Or was all of this just a setup, for the sake of a juicy scene on the show, to get Jeff and Zoila into therapy?

If the purpose was juiciness, the mission failed. Jeff and Zoila agree to be more respectful of one another, and Jeff understands that when he acts like Zoila is bad at her job, it hurts her feelings. But by the time the session ends, Jeff is being a jerk again.

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Ultimately, nothing is going to change, because nothing needs to change. Jeff and Zoila are comfortable in their relationship as they've defined it for the past decade-plus: they're frenemies. He teases her about her laziness, but he obviously loves her. She acts dismissive about his compulsive housekeeping standards, but she tries to meet them. They've been in a relationship together longer than he was with his ex/former business partner Ryan, and if things keep going the way they have been, she may even outlast Gage. Simmering mutual hostility is what keeps them together, and is certainly stronger than the ministrations of anyone named Dr. Donna.