UnREAL Season 3 Episode 3: Clarity Review

If you would like to read my review of the last episode, click here.

Synopsis: A patriarchal group date infuriates Serena, who refuses to heed Chet’s advice on how women should act; Rachel opens up about her past to Dr. Simon; one of the contestants reveals the real reason why he came on the show. (TVGuide)

Writer: Lisa Albert

Director: Sheree Folkson

Rating: TV-MA

Running Time: 42 mins

UnREAL stays strong with its dose of drama this week by taking us further down the rabbit hole that is Quinn’s downfall. If you recall, last week’s episode ended with her and August hooking up and this week’s episode starts off on the same note. However, Rachel has no idea that is going down, and finding out may send her off on her own downward spiral.

While they’re hooking up, August insinuates to Quinn that she must find a contestant to get with every season. No, August, that’s Rachel. Quinn may not be able to keep her and August a secret for long, especially since Rachel catches her getting cranberry juice delivered to her office.

On the Everlasting side of things, Madison has taken Rachel’s place as Serena’s “producer” and is pushing her to behave in ways Serena isn’t too pleased with. Things get even sillier when this week channels medieval theme with Serena adorned in princess attire while the men are dressed up as knights “fighting” for her love. Even though Quinn is completely against the idea, she conveys to Rachel that is exactly what the show needs. However, Serena is not into the “knight in shining armor” scenario and shows zero interest in going along with the week’s episode.

This week focuses a lot on the brewing rivalry between Quinn and Rachel, and despite her attempts at being honest, Rachel finds herself back to her manipulating ways in no time. After Quinn pushes her out in every which way, Rachel resorts to teaming up with Chet to produce a behind-the-scenes special for Everlasting. This entails one-on-one interviews with the guys with the hopes that they will give them some juicy material.

To take advantage of a pissed off Serena, Rachel pushes August towards her–in hopes that it will piss Quinn off. Some poking and prodding later, Rachel realizes August is the guy Quinn was fighting a UTI for. Talk about drama, right?

This moment pushes into the more dramatic elements of this week’s episode as Rachel confronts Quinn about her self-sabotage–the drinking, the hooking up, the carelessness, etc. Quinn reminds Rachel that she has been a hot mess the last few years and Quinn has cleaned up after every single mess–including the death of two people. This is the moment where Rachel truly breaks and reminds Quinn that she begged her to come back to Everlasting.

Things get pretty crazy from here on out as Rachel decides honesty is not the best policy. She pits the men against one another as Serena focuses all her attention on August. One of the contestants, Jasper, reveals that he came onto the show to try and be the first to sleep with Serena in order to win a $40,000 bet.

Just as things are about to get really heated, Rachel steps in to tell Jasper that Serena favors him and tells another contestant, Owen, the same thing. Ah yes, Rachel is back. Rachel even fires the bartender who tattled on Quinn for drinking too much, only to find out from Madison that the bartender’s son has cancer and he needed the work for the insurance benefits. It’s the first time we actually agree with what Madison has to say and a moment where we see how far gone Rachel becomes when she works on Everlasting.

Realizing she’s losing control, Rachel confides with the on-set therapist, Dr. Simon, with whom she shares the truth about the two deaths and how Jeremy was involved in them. Their conversation is cut short when it’s time for the elimination ceremony, but we’re certain that we haven’t seen the last of Dr. Simon just yet.

This week gave some of the supporting cast more story, which is a welcome change in the world of UnREAL. Jay has an idea for a show about the underground gay scene in New Orleans. After gauging interest from one of the contestants, Alexei, who has a huge fan following, Jay gets Quinn on board.

So far this season, Everlasting has taken a back seat to some of the other storylines the show is exploring–namely Quinn and Rachel’s rivalry, and Quinn’s struggles. This take on the show is giving it more life and excitement outside of simply following the drama of Everlasting around.

While Serena’s attempts at connecting with the guys are` quite entertaining, this season shines with Rachel and Quinn’s tumultuous dynamic which is sure to provide some very dramatic and interesting moments in the episodes to come.

Score: 8/10

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