‘Average Joe’ Season 2 Episode 9 Recap & Ending Explained: Why Larissa’s Fabio Reveal Overshadowed Her Choice

The finale of ‘Average Joe’ brought its second season to a close with Larissa Meek choosing between two very different men. The episode aired on NBC and is listed as a season finale, built around hometown visits and a final elimination night. The show’s format brings handsome suitors into the mix halfway through to compete against the average Joes, which made the final choice feel like a verdict on the premise itself.

This ‘Average Joe’ finale recap walks through the hometown dates, the decision Larissa made, and the twist that followed once she reached Cabo San Lucas. The ending explained here also covers what viewers learned in the days after the broadcast, because the story did not stop when the credits rolled.

Average Joe Finale Recap and the Hometown Visits

The closing hour centered on Larissa traveling to the hometowns of her last two men. Gil brought her to Florida, while Brian took her to Boston. Those visits gave each man a last chance to show who he was away from the group dates that filled the earlier episodes.

Brian used the Boston stop to make an emotional move. During one of his commentaries he announced that he was in love with Larissa and told her so, which led to another kiss. It was the clearest romantic declaration of the episode, and it set up a sharp contrast with what came next.

Reality TV World identified Brian as the last remaining average Joe, a man from Boston. Gil was described as a construction worker, male model and aspiring actor, while Larissa was introduced as a model, aspiring actress and former Miss Missouri. Those descriptions help frame the contest the finale was built around.

The same report argued that the gap between Gil’s indifference and Brian’s devotion could only have mattered if Larissa was truly invested in either one.

Ending Explained as Larissa Chooses Gil

On the final elimination night, Larissa had to decide who would join her on a romantic trip and who would be sent home, and she picked Gil while explaining her reasons. Brian got on a bus back to Boston while Larissa and Gil arrived in Cabo San Lucas.

The result continued a pattern for the franchise. In the first season, Melana Scantlin chose Jason Peoples, one of the attractive suitors, over Adam Mesh, the last remaining average Joe. Reality TV World summed up the finale as a second straight loss for the average Joes against the hunks.

Writing for Reality Blurred, Andy Dehnart argued that NBC had once again failed to deliver an average guy to a woman who is far from average, and that the twist of adding handsome men led Larissa to take the bait and choose Gil over the more romantic Brian.

The second season was taped before the first season even aired. The first two seasons were intended as a mockery of traditional dating setups. Seen that way, a victory for the better looking suitor fits the joke the format kept telling.

The Fabio Secret and the Cabo San Lucas Twist

The twists were not over once the couple arrived, because Larissa had a secret she said she had kept for the entire time she was on the show. After a few days enjoying the trip, she confessed to Gil that she used to date the Italian celebrity Fabio.

The news appeared to hurt Gil, who left Cabo San Lucas. On screen, it turned a win for the hunks into an unexpected breakup. It also gave the finale a last beat that had little to do with the average Joe versus hunk question.

Fabio also weighed in, with coverage noting that he wished Larissa nothing but the best while taking a dig at Gil. Reality Blurred called the twist bizarre and noted that it kept raising questions in the days afterward.

Viewer discussion was just as divided. One DVD Talk forum thread shows fans arguing over whether Gil was insecure about measuring up to Fabio or simply bothered that Larissa had dated him at all, while some posters suspected the producers added the twist to make up for her choice.

What Happened After the Finale Aired

The on screen breakup did not hold up. TV Guide reported that Gil had not actually dumped Larissa after learning about Fabio, and that the couple appeared on the Today show the next morning to confirm they were still together. The outlet framed the broadcast as a case of viewers being duped by what NBC led them to believe.

That left Brian as a jilted everyman, a question the report raised directly. A later Reality Blurred post confirmed that Larissa and Gil were still together days after the finale.

According to one forum poster, Larissa, Gil and Brian all appeared on Jay Leno’s show, where Jay asked Larissa whether she really used to date Fabio. That detail shows how quickly the Fabio reveal became the main talking point of the entire season.

Beyond the finale, GSN acquired the first two seasons of the show in 2004, and a French version of the format was later made. With Larissa and Gil still together despite the on air breakup, was Brian the real winner of the finale for being the only one who made a sincere declaration, or does Larissa’s choice of Gil show exactly why the average Joes keep losing at the very end?