‘UnREAL’ season 2, episode 8 review: The full extent of Rachel’s trauma

In what may be some of the least-surprising news possibly out there, Monday night’s new episode of “UnREAL” was a hot mess. Was it entertaining? Sure, but there are a few issues at the moment that is keeping season 2 from reaching the same heights as season 1.

Perhaps the biggest problem is most that the amount of illegal activities on this show are really starting to stack up. Coleman learned about the death of Mary tonight, and in the process tried to get a confession out of Rachel about what happened to her. Rachel did share the information, but there is a serious case of questioning his motives at present. How are these people all out of prison for what they’ve done? How in the world is Darius back, even if he realizes that this show is the only way to salvage his career? It has put him in danger, and while he may be in pursuit of money and fame, it’s such a tricky tightrope and so many people could be in danger.

On the flip side, an emotional reveal from the vantage point of Rachel’s family was truly devastating, and it explained quite a bit about why her mental health has been such a roller-coaster ride since the beginning of the series: She was raped by one of her mother’s patients when she was twelve years old, and since that time her mother has tried to treat her own her own as a way to cover up the trauma and protect her own practice.

This is why we’re questioning Coleman at present: He showed so much care for Rachel’s condition in the moment, but later approached Yael, who told him earlier in the episode she was an undercover reporter, with more information. Does he love her or love what an expose could do for his career?

In getting back to “Everlasting,” we’re going to overlook the why for Darius being back and focus on him and Tiffany. He completely blew past the show’s structured rules and decided to take her on an intimate date. In the process, he cut the police officer, and that’s not exactly much of a surprise given what just happened to his cousin.

Ultimately, “UnREAL” has become completely unreal when it comes to realism this season, and yet we’re still entertained by it. We don’t necessarily think of it as Emmy-caliber anymore, but it does still have a compelling magnetism about it that is hard to ignore. Grade: B.