Ryan's Reaction To JD's Prank

Ryan Conklin had one major complaint about how he was portrayed in The Real World Brooklyn. He felt that the scene in episode five that showed his shouting at JD Ordonez after the infamous shaving cream prank was edited unfairly to support an implication that he had post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Ryan claims that what was not shown was the time immediately before the confrontation when he and roommate Chet Cannon methodically planned to create the over-the-top display of anger. The supposed reason for Ryan to act that way was to persuade the other castmates that Ryan was filled with righteous indignation over the implication that he was responsible for the "shoelace prank" (for which JD had done the shaving cream prank in retaliation). Ryan wanted them to think that he was not the one that had tied the shoelaces backwards, even though he was.

The reason for Ryan's unhappiness about the PTSD implication is that Ryan has stated a number of times that he does not want other people to see him having problems, specifically the kind of lingering problems related to the traumatic stress that comes from combat situations. A reason for that could be that he has stated that he is very prideful, and presumably that would compel him to resist showing that he has any condition that he can't handle on his own.

On the other hand, Ryan admits that he became very agitated about the shaving cream. On iamonmtv he said, "Yes, I was legitimately mad, don’t get me wrong. I HATE being messed with in my sleep. I’m a light sleeper and sometimes I feel eerie when I sleep. Something the Army left me with."

Taking Ryan at his word, it appears that he intended to put on just a good show for JD and the house, but then at some point true fury took over and he started to lose control. This would fit with mentions from the house and at home of temper over little things, not commensurate with the cause.

Some of the other housemates, particularly Devyn Simone, thought that the blow-up was indicative of deeper issues. The next day JD, Devyn, and Baya Voce discussed the event and shared their views of it. JD said that he would never have done the prank had he known that Ryan would become so upset. Baya was surprised to hear from JD that Ryan was agitated to the point of shedding tears. Devyn thought Ryan was disturbed.

More about -> Ryan Conklin and the event and the rest of the episode.