Open House

Basic Synopsis
The cast are introduced to the house, host, game and each other.

The Story
We open with the host Jesse DuPoveny riding a limo to the manor that would be used for the show. He couldn't believe he was hosting a show like this of course, after all he used to be a world famous child actor, but oh well. He was sure that by doing this show(and correctly) he would be back on top in no time.

As soon as the limo parks, Dupoveny examines the house from the outside. It was an old southern mansion with tall white pillars and elongated windows. It used to be a community center, however, Dupovney and his friend decided to buy it and use it for this reality show. After murmuring about how old it is, the camera crew arrives to film the first scene. Not a moment too soon the contestants arrive. One by one they are introduced and speak to DuPoveney.

The contestants are Grace, a farm girl who longs for adventure. Yevgeny, a tough Russian immigrant whose goal is to win. Amanda, an outspoken progressive who's searching for a diverse friend group. Lance, an intelligent soon-to-be physiologist who craves to be noticed. Jeremy, a beach bug who lacks social skills, tells tall tales for attention and wants to have a good time. Olivia, a shy southern girl who just hopes to overcome her shyness. Patsy, a hopeless romantic who wishes to find the perfect man. And finally Ethan, a Mormon who just wants to help in whatever way he can.

With the contestants now introduced, DuPovney explained the rules of the game. If a contestant wanted to leave for whatever reason, they could leave a note of resignation. If they did this however, they would forfeit everything including the grand prize of one million dollars. Everyone is happy with the rules except Lance who has many questions(since the descriptions on the website were so vague).

After a brief fight on the porch of the Manor(which showed Jeremy's lack of social skills), the host led them inside the house. What everyone finds there is breathtaking. Though Amanda had a little distaste for some aspects of the house(a corporation taking over historical property, not treating the place like said property and DuPoveney avoiding the mentions of slaves) the rest of the contestants find the house amazing. It was a furnished house with many rooms and some of the best technology the production crew could find.

After getting a grand tour of the mansion, the cast got assigned their rooms. Grace and Amanda, Yevgeny and Ethan, Olivia and Patsy and finally(though much to Lance's annoyance) Lance and Jeremy.

Finally it was time for the host to say farewell and left the housemates to unpack and get to know each other. We follow DuPoveney as he gets in his limo and drives to what is known as the Foul Manor Headquarters. The place was located in a small grey ranch house in a small neighborhood of farm homes.. No one knew what happened in there and if the host had his way, no one ever would. After walking in and questioning the engineers about the footage he headed into his office(originally the bedroom). Armed with a note sheet, he took a look at the unpacking files from the rooms.

The first file(Patsy and Olivia) was easily the most friendly. Olivia nearly bonded with Patsy over their love of books, only to find out that Patsy really only liked cheesy romance stories. That bit allowed Patsy to tell Olivia a secret, the reason she was here was to find a perfect man. Olivia was a bit against the idea, knowing that what Patsy had in mind was very naive. However, her desire to not hurt her made Olivia keep her mouth shut.

Next was Grace and Amanda. These two mostly discussed the game and their theories for what was in store. Grace also got to see Amanda's opinionated side(an example being Amanda being upset that Grace din't let her pick her bed first).

The third file(Ethan and Yevgeny) was pretty much the exact opposite of Patsy and Olivia. Even though Ethan tried to get to know his roommate, he wanted none of it. There was a bit of talking but not much beyond a hello and a few snarky remarks from Yevgeny.

Lastly was Lance and Jeremy, who definelty had the worst relationship out of them all. While all of them were friendly to at least a degree, this "friendship" didn't have the best start. It started out with about fifteen minutes of silence between them until Jeremy started talking(this is narrated in the episode). Lance expressed his concerns for the game to which Jeremy brushed off as paranoia. Then Jeremy told a ridiculous tale(which I dare not spoil) that Lance debunked in less than five minutes.

With all the information he needed, DuPoveny shut down the files and walked into another room right near where he just was. This was a writing room that consisted of a table set and a huge whiteboard full of writing. He quickly took a magnet and placed the papers on the whiteboard and wrote "See what you can do with this" with an arrow pointing to the sheets.

Several hours later, DuPoveny was called to come back to the manor. He was unaware he had taken so much time preparing and making sure everything he did was just right. Nevertheless, he went on his way to the house. He headed to the backyard where the challenge had been set up. Pleased, DuPovney called for the contestants to come to the backyard. When everyone arrived, the host explained the game.

Two housemates would be paired up with each other to duel on a floating platform that was in the water. Both contestants would have to jump to it, grab the sticks and duel until one fell off(to which both would have to swim back). There would be no foul plays during the fight, anything was legal. The winner would be given a grand prize at the end.

With that one by one the duels began. Some lost easily while others had a long struggle. In the end, the four winners were withheld, withheld, withheld and withheld. The winners of the competition got a cool car to drive in to maybe go on some sort of road trip.

The housemates are told to wash up since who knows what was in that lake, to which Jeremy reveals he only showers once a week. DuPoveny would have stayed and watched the outrage and disgust from the others but he had work to do. Leaving the house, DuPoveny went once again to the writers room, only this time he wasn't alone. There were four other writers trying to make something of the notes the host gave. DuPoveny sternly told them they had to make this work, saying he went so far as to have a friend of his move to Beverly Kansas for one of the cast's sake. One of the writers then suggested to get to know the cast, they should watch the videos they all filmed in the confessional.

The story ends with each member of the cast expressing their thoughts on the show. Some said good things, some said bad things, but overall, everyone was excited to see what would happen next.

Trivia

 * This shows us early on that DuPoveny is not what he seems