It's been more and more obvious as the series has progressed, but this week Mike 'The Situation' Sorrentino seemed to finally become aware of what we've already worked out. It became clearer to him when out in a club with the gang on 'Jersey Shore' (Thu., 10PM ET on MTV).

"Who's got your back when you're fighting?" he mused. "You turn around and look who's with you, you know who your friends are."

In the past, there was nothing that would stop the gang from jumping into any fight, but on this night, no one was interested in backing Mike up as he got into a shouting match with "a hater." As tensions escalated, the others simply left the club, leaving him alone.

"If Mike right now gets into a fight, I'm not gonna jump in," Ronnie said later. He's kind of brought this on himself, but if the group starts to fracture, will the show lose what makes it special?