‘UnREAL’ episode 5 review: A little Faith in humanity
Despite the fact that Lifetime posted the first four episodes of “UnREAL” in advance online for viewers to get hooked, what was particularly interesting about tonight’s “Truth” is that it may actually be the best one of the entire series so far. If anyone was not positively hooked on the series before this episode, they certainly were by the time this one wrapped … and we certainly hope some of the viewers who watched online actually opted to tune in. Was it necessarily perfect? We would argue that there are still some problems. Jeremy and Rachel’s story as a couple is not entirely interesting to us for one, and we telegraphed their almost-hookup from the second episode onward. Meanwhile, isn’t changing out Mary’s medication something that may even be a bridge too far for a reality TV producer? Maybe, but there is no question that it produced a strong moment at the end of the episode where Mary confidently proclaimed that she still “has it” and could win Adam Cromwell in the end. We won’t fight it too much.
Ultimately, this was an episode about Faith, the at-times awkward underdog believed by many early on to be an easy contestant for him to eliminate. What we learned about her tonight, and what we saw some people associated with “Everlasting” do as a result, was a pleasant reminder that there are some good people left in this zany world.
As it turns out, the reason why Faith is not so willing to sleep with Adam is not because she is a virgin; instead, it is because she is in love with her friend Amy, and does not know how to handle telling her super-conservative / religious town about the news. She almost became so empowered after telling Adam about it that she nearly blurted it out for all to hear. Rachel used Adam in order to save her from making the move before she was truly ready, and she still has this part of her privacy preserved … or does she?
The drama continued from here as Jay tried to sell out the true story to Chet, despite him being someone that Rachel thought she could trust. She tried to cover up the footage of Faith coming out by having them pretend to have sex, but that didn’t pass his test. If it wasn’t for Adam again bailing her out by discussing a “sex tape,” it still would’ve found a way to be the center of attention.
Breeda Wool is the actress behind the Faith character, and while we were not familiar with her work before seeing this, we really hope that she gets some sort of attention as a result of this. She’s been a course of some comic relief throughout the season, but tonight she was the emotional heartbeat.
As for Chet and Quinn, she managed to use an old cast with “I love you” written on it as the one last resort to win a potential case against Chet. She got 40% of the show in return, and precisely what she has always wanted in that regard. Was this moment of happiness for her rushed? Sure, given that we just learned that she conceived the idea for “Everlasting” a week ago. Yet, we have seen enough of her journey throughout the season that it still felt earned for Chet to have something not go his way.
As we mentioned, we don’t care for Jeremy and Rachel’s chemistry, and we actually like more of the back-and-forth with Rachel and Adam. Maybe it is because we find that more circumventing the norm. Either way, “UnREAL” is a show firing on almost all cylinders, and one you really should be watching. Episode Grade: A-.
Just for the record if you have been watching the series online, Lifetime does have “Truth” up over at the link here. You don’t need a cable provider to check it out.
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