If you would like to read my review of the last episode, click here.
Synopsis: A reporter looking to expose Everlasting’s secrets leaves Rachel with no other choice but to come clean to Serena. After Quinn approves Jay’s idea for a new show, he must make a potentially dangerous deal with one of the contestants. Rachel revisits a trauma from her dark park and uncovers distressing news. (TVGuide)
Writer: David M. Israel
Director: Shiri Appleby
Rating: TV-MA
Running Time: 42 mins
This week’s episode of UnREAL was directed by the one and only Shiri Appleby, aka Rachel. We are treated to more drama, sass, and insanity as reporter begins to dig around the set of Everlasting. The episode begins with Quinn preparing to pitch Jay’s idea for a new dance-reality show. She is adorned in a bright red custom suit as the tailor is making his final touches. The moment is interrupted when Madison comes in holding August’s man bun. Yes, you read that right, it appears someone cut off August’s man bun while he was sleeping and as a result, August has the house in an uproar.
Quinn finds this moment hilarious and as an opportunity to boost ratings, while on the other hand, Serena is furious and demands that she get a solo date with August. Quinn lets Rachel get to work on changing Serena’s mind as she heads off to the pitch meeting. Rachel convinces Serena to take Alexei, who Quinn also believes will be the host for Jay’s new show.
Jay is placed in an awkward position when he realizes he needs to convince Alexei to be the host and give his boyfriend Xavier (who originally came up with the idea) the boot. After sharing a kiss with Alexei last week, things are getting pretty complicated with Jay. The tension only rises when Xavier shows up excited about pitching the show and Alexei shows up and is all over Jay. Later that night, Alexei’s date with Serena is interesting as he gets a bit wild but manages to woo Serena anyway. However, Jay catches him snorting cocaine and learns Alexei is a hard-core addict.
Rachel seems to be excelling at every task she is given during the course of the episode, which only begs the question–when will she snap? Rachel shared secrets of the past season of Everlasting with him and now he is concerned that Rachel isn’t as put together as she is acting. Rachel and Quinn have a dramatic moment when Rachel asks Quinn if she wants her to get better. Her response? Of course, just wait till the show is over. This is a very heart-breaking moment for Rachel, as well as the viewers because it defines Quinn’s current state of mind and obsession with succeeding, at any cost.
Chet invites a reporter from the National Page to the set in hopes of having her write about his ambitions to obtain an Emmy for Everlasting. This has Quinn manipulating and changing things so the reporter doesn’t catch on to any juicy gossip. In the midst of the man-bun hoopla, Quinn and Madison convince a contestant to take the blame which leads to everyone trying to take the blame–just to impress Serena.
Madison goes through a bit of a journey this episode as Quinn and Rachel both point out that her affair with Gary is a sham. He hasn’t seen her pilot and refuses to be seen with her in public. Because Quinn was the one that pointed this out to her, Madison is on a path to get Quinn kicked out. She even tells the reporter that Quinn has been drinking a lot and doesn’t like younger, ambitious women.
The tides begin to change a little when Madison is ignored by Gary once again and Quinn tells her she’s hard on her because she wants to help her. This boost of confidence from Quinn is enough to send Madison snooping around Gary’s computer for any information that can be used against him.
Before being fired by Quinn, the reporter manages to sneak a couple meetings in with Serena to tell her how twisted Everlasting is and what the producers do to manipulate her behavior. Angry and annoyed, Serena goes to Rachel asking for an explanation. In a surprise twist, Rachel opens up about how much she has lied to Serena which pushes Serena to confront Quinn. This was Quinn’s plan all along to keep the drama flowing, and it works out perfectly in her favor.
Throughout the episode, we see Rachel looking up a man on Facebook and perusing through his profile. She finally decides to confront the man, who we learn shared an inappropriate sexual encounter with Rachel when she was only 12–and it was all because of her mother. The shocker comes when Rachel learns her father knew about this and though he beat up the man, he chose to remain quiet.
The episode ends with Serena connecting with Jasper and sharing a kiss with him as she soaks in the truth Rachel shared with her; while Jay makes a deal with Alexei to bring him on as a host as long as he provides him with cocaine. Heartbroken and shattered, Rachel goes to Quinn to find solace from her dark, dark past.
This episode of UnREAL is dark and gloomy and explores topics that the show hasn’t explored before while simultaneously focusing on intense character development. Where will Quinn and Rachel go from here? And will Jay get caught up in a mess that could land him in jail? We can’t wait to find out!
Score: 8/10
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