If you would like to read my review of the last episode, click here.
Synopsis: Under Dr. Simon’s watchful eye, Rachel tries to help her father come off his medication; Jay delivers difficult news regarding his new show; Quinn and Chet decide to handle two of the contestants. (TVGuide)
Writer: David Branson Smith
Director: David Solomon
Rating: TV-MA
Running Time: 42mins
Airs: Mondays at 10pm on Lifetime Canada (Canada)/Lifetime (United States)
Things aren’t exactly ideal on the set of Everlasting this week, given that Rachel is taking it upon herself to wean her dad off of lithium. As always, UnREAL delivers a strong, dramatic, and gut-wrenching episode, and takes us deeper into this season’s plot and character development. This season seems to be taking a different approach to the concept of love and is placing it between characters we don’t quite expect.
Serena and Jasper have been on the outs since she discovered he became a contestant on Everlasting in order to win a bet. However, this week he goes all out to win her over with the sweetest romantic gesture that left all of us jealous. And Serena is slowly becoming a force to be reckoned with. She is not taking any crap from anyone and is setting her own rules and ideas for how the show will play out. This week instead of some cheesy, ridiculous game, she just wants to talk to the men one-on-one, and get to know them on a deeper level.
Quinn isn’t too excited about the idea, but Rachel convinces her it will end in a way that will be just what they’re looking for. Quinn takes matters into her own hands and recruits Chet to help her find a scandal amongst one of the contestants. They decide to create one by concocting a story that two of the participants, Guy and Warren, are gay and in love with one another. This week Guy gets to go on a date with Serena and cooks her a lavish meal at a restaurant. Quinn and Chet decide to work on Warren and hype him up about being in love with Guy and then crash Guy’s date with Serena. And though Warren rejects any notion of being gay, it sets off something that wasn’t there before.
A conversation between Guy and Warren gives Chet and Quinn exactly what they’re looking for. They use the dialogue between the two to convince Guy to pretend he is bi and interested in Warren. Serena is quite displeased with what went down at the restaurant and approaches Rachel aggressively about it.
Things are pretty intense for Rachel this week because her dad is living with her on set, and is “tapering” off lithium. Of course, this is easier said than done, and he inevitably has a breakdown after spending the episode having tremors and anxiety. And though Rachel almost makes a payment on a cabin in Mount Hood, a place for her and her dad, she decides to use the money to admit him into rehab.
And then there’s the Jay drama. This week places him in a very unexpected situation after he and Alexei had their fleeting moment of sexual favors. Not only did he give in and snort some cocaine with Alexei, but he also broke up with Xavier after he told him that he isn’t really a part of the dance show that Xavier worked on. Sigh.
Jasper went all out at the end of the episode in an effort to prove to Serena he really does care about her. The money he would have won from the bet he used to set up a beautiful display for her as well as donate to charitable causes. Instead of gushing over the grand gesture, Serena walked away telling Jasper she has to think about it.
In order to make the episode of Everlasting somewhat interesting, Chet and Quinn piece together dialogue from Warren and Guy’s encounter and use it to convince Guy to play along, as previously mentioned. In order to bribe him, they offer to make him a deal for a restaurant on the Las Vegas strip. And though Serena cuts out Warren during the elimination ceremony, Guy is the one to excuse himself. But not before revealing he has feelings for someone else besides Serena as he lovingly grabs Warren’s shoulder.
This week’s episode of UnREAL felt raw and so real. There is something to be said about the storylines that are developing as the season progresses. While the drama isn’t new, the raw emotions are. Rachel isn’t exactly breaking down as we expect her to, but rather facing the issue with her dad head-on. Quinn is rising above her downfall to make a place for herself. And Chet, well he’s Chet. There is a lot being unpacked with each passing episode and it will be interesting to see where it all ends up!
Score: 8/10
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