‘UnREAL’ season 2, episode 3 review: Darius’ secret and much more manipulation
Is our feeling on what “UnREAL” as a series should be different than that of the producers? After watching the latest new episode airing on Lifetime, we are starting to wonder that in so many ways.
We felt through season 1 that this was a show all about a woman in Rachel who worked for “Everlasting” out of a certain degree of necessity, and thought that she was above it all when it comes to her skill and was looking to eventually have a way out. That was why her relationship with Adam was so appealing, and while the ending was somewhat cynical in that this love didn’t work out, we still enjoyed watching it.
This time around, we’re starting to feel like Rachel, and the entire cast of characters, are so unlikable that it has us feeling detached. It’s almost like the showrunner perception is that this is the story of the Rachel – Quinn relationship, and how these two, despite their differences, manage to put on a captivating TV show. We like to think this world exists more beyond that. We certainly saw Rachel and Quinn make magnificent television in the latest “Everlasting” episode, but it took them doing some really awful things in the process, including breaking Brandy to the point where they made Darius believe that she had lied to him entirely about her past. This was really awful, hurtful, and probably even beyond what producers on “The Bachelor” would do. What made it worse is that nobody really seemed to feel that bad about it. We feel like season 1 Rachel would at least have a further measure of guilt.
As for Darius himself, it’s been harder to find common ground with him mostly because he has also been detached, hiding an injury that is obviously plaguing him to the point that he cannot get out of bed at the end of the episode. We need to get more inside this man’s head, since otherwise he’s always going to pale to Adam.
We are still enjoying “UnREAL” for its little stunts, and the characters remain interesting. New producer / love interest Coleman may be our chance to get more of season 1 Rachel back. Ultimately, though, the show’s cynical outlook this season has ballooned to such a degree that we struggle with what the basic premise is meant to be. Grade: B-.
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TV Watcher 35
June 21, 2016 @ 7:40 pm
Once again great review. While this episode was more of a return to season 1 form it was still not as good. This show has many different stories and so little episodes to tell them in. I love when Rachel is manipulating contestants. That’s when she’s at her best. Coleman’s chemistry with Rachel is not on the same level as Adam’s. It seems like Lifetime stepped in and said we need for Rachel to have a love interest because as much as where trying to re brand where still television for woman. I wonder who her love interest will be next season? Last night on twitter they asked fans what they thought about Rachel and Coleman and people said they did not like them or were still on the fence. A few people did like them. I bet the UnREAL people were like oh no our plan of making people forget about Adam backfired. Someone on another website called Coleman Geraldo Rivera lite. LOL they also said what if Coleman set up hidden camera’s and was secretly making a doc about exposing the BTS of reality TV? I find that a lot of the stuff they do is so over the top. After a while it becomes so not believable. All they want is shock value. Even Quinn’s one liners are getting old fast. I still don’t know much about Darius or the contestants. I am guessing Darius wants to be Michael Strahan. He probably has a career ending injury and wants to use this show to break into the entertainment business. Unlike you or eye he’s a famous athlete. He can get any show he wants. He does not need to go on a reality dating show. I still love this show despite the fact that season 2 is a bit off and not as good as season 1.
P.S. I read the New Yorker article with Sarah Gertrude Shapiro. I learned a lot about her and this show. She was forced to keep Jeremy around even thought she was not planning on bringing him back. She also had a falling out with Marti Noxon. She left to focus on Girlfriends Guide. That explains to me why season 2 not been as good. I hope they bounce back.