Jersey Shore Review: “Awkward!” (Season 6, Episode 11)

Readers, let me first start off with a correction: in last week’s Jersey Shore review, I stated that there were only two episodes left in the season, when in fact, there are three. Please accept my sincerest apologies and continue to love me for what I really am, namely, a competent lover and exceptional cuddler. And on that note, let’s see just how awkward tonight’s episode, rightfully titled Awkward!, is.

First up is the long awaited talk between Jionni and Vinny, who are both looking to patch up their relationship after what happened in Italy. Of course, this goes over smoothly without any incident, and it looks like the two are ready to move on and even be buddies. For an event that was built up to be some huge, climactic showdown, it’s handled rather maturely and briskly. But hey, everybody’s happy to know that the two won’t be avoiding each other for the rest of their lives.

Next up on the awkward itinerary is Mike’s overdue apology to Snooki for being a jerk about…well, everything. As expected, he stumbles and mumbles his way through the whole affair, yet somehow he still manages to sound sincerely sorry for everything he’s done to her. She agrees to forgive him and begin working towards being his friend again, hopefully relieving much of the tension from the Shore house. It’s nice to see them both live up to their promises too, as later in the episode, they have a nice little talk about Paula and actually seem to get along. Sunday, Monday, Happy Days!

Mike’s not done facing his awkward “situations” for tonight, however! He meets Paula at the tanning salon and she hands him a note, basically telling him how much she loves him and that she doesn’t want to stop seeing him just because they broke up. So far, so good, right? Well, later at the club, Paula makes the mistake of tempting Mike with alcohol, which sets him off as he admirably rejects it. Mad that he’s mad, she stalks him the rest of the night, remaining in plain sight to scare away any woman talking to Mike. Paula is the master of post-break-up warfare at this point.

But wait, there’s more awkwardness! The guys invite Jionni to hang out with them so that they can properly welcome him into the Shore family. Although not quite as awkward as everything else up to this point, it still feels just a little too soon when he brings up Italy and calls out Vinny and Mike for their actions. I’m not here to judge, but props to the man for having the cojones to do that.

Not everything has to be awkward tonight, though. Vinny, sick with a cold, spends a night hanging out with Snooks while everybody else is clubbing. By hanging out, I of course mean riding up and down the boardwalk on the scooters that Snooki and Jenni preemptively purchased. All of the girls get to go to Snooki’s sonogram as well, leading to a sort of touching moment, but with a lot more talk about baby dongs.

Now that there are officially two episodes left in the series (for real this time), it’s really something to see so many frayed ends start to heal. Vinny and Jionni have started acting like adults to each other again, Mike finally realized he needed to apologize for his actions, and everybody just seems happy this time around. In the weeks counting down to the end, it doesn’t look like there’s too many speed bumps that are going to throw the gang for a loop.

At this point in Jersey Shore, it’s nothing but good times and reconciliation before the gang is gone for good. As corny as it all sounds, it really is awesome to see everybody mature just the slightest bit and start to move past their mistakes so that they can end their run on a high note. Is anybody else slightly giddy that the gang is fragmented anymore? Let us know what you expect from the rest of the series in the comments below!