If a leopard never loses his stripes, as Deena pointed out, then it looks like Mike's lines are holding on with a vice grip.
"The Situation" seemed to have woken up on the wrong side of the bed and decided the "Jersey Shore" was a little too quiet for its own good lately. For reasons not totally clear, he deemed Snooki Public Enemy No. 1 and was finally ready to reenlist "The Unit" to break down Snooki's alleged infidelity to Jionni. Unfortunately, the guy was out of town, and the takedown would have to wait. In the meantime, trash-talking Deena's sister, who was dating Mike's brother, would have to sate Sitch's hunger for trouble.
While Mike, exhausted by scheming, caught some Zs, the rest of the crew got down at Aztec for the night. Snooks had a particularly eventful evening, but JWOWW was in a noticeable funk, still pissed off that Roger had been dodging her.
JWOWW's frustration mounted when Roger informed her he'd taken a day off to find his phone, something he'd never considered doing to spend more time with his girlfriend. She kept her rage under wraps until a later call, in which Rog said he was stuck at work and would have to push back the couple's date. Finally, Jen let him have it--the damage was done, and she was tired of not being considered a priority.
Danny, on the other hand, was tired of having to deal with Team Meatball's crappy work ethic. During a shift with Pauly D (who was knee-deep in evading one particularly consistent stalker), Nicole and Deena took off twice to get drinks on the boardwalk. Danny told PD to give the girls hell when he got home, but ultimately, he was too freaked out by his No. 1 fan to remember to pass the message along.
With a boardwalk buzz still going strong, Snooki returned to the house and, bent on mending her friendship with Mike, invited him out. Mike thought he'd been abandoned and was confused by Snooki's kindness, but agreed, and the trio was surprised by their evening's success. Still, Mike remarked in the cab ride home that he was keeping his friends close and his enemies closer. And if closeness was an enemy's criterion, PD's stalker must have hated the guy, as she spotted him again while he was out playing pool. Vin, irked by her evident DJ-specific sonar, helped his buddy out by inviting her to meet her crush and forcing the two into awkward conversation. Punk'd!
One event to which the stalker could not squeeze an invite was Sunday Dinner, the first we'd seen this season (and the first-ever featuring Chinese...?). Mike was quick to ruin the fun of lo mein and fortune cookies by taking some jabs at Deena's sister, but D was equally quick to cut Mike off, and warned him and Vin, who'd also chimed in, that she wasn't having it. Mike sought revenge by getting Unit's confirmation that Deena's sister, Joanie, was nothing more than a "smash and dash" for his brother, but when Joanie called for Mike's advice, he had some fun, led her on and told D's sister that the guy was smitten with her.
The phone barely got a break before JWOWW swallowed her pride and called Roger to apologize. Rog wasn't in a particularly forgiving mood, and Jen, who was blindsided by the tirade that followed her mea culpa, wasn't sure she could continue on with a guy who accused her of trying to kill their relationship.
Will Jenni and Rog be able to work past their issues? And what's to come of Mike vs. Snooki/Deena? Check out next week's "Jersey Shore" to see how things play out.
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