UnREAL 2.01

War

The 14th season of Everlasting is about to begin. Rachel is now the show runner. Quinn is still her boss. The relationship hasn't changed much. Mostly it is their roles on Everlasting that have changed. Early in the episode they celebrate the new season by each getting a tattoo on one wrist that reads:

Money

Dick

Power

By the end of the episode things aren't quite so rosy.

Darius Beck, the bachelor for the 14th season is a professional football player, a quarterback. He is African-American and the network suits aren't happy about that. Quinn has to play hardball with the network to get her way. She promises ratings and all sorts of drama which will have everyone talking about the show. Rachel has to deliver on Quinn's promises.

There are a number of familiar faces in the supporting cast. Jeremy, the cameraman that Rachel was engaged to once upon a time is still working for the show. Jay, the assistant producer, who tried cozying up to Chet last season is also back.

Chet is back and boy has he changed. He went through a paleo-regime that has him thinking and talking very differently than he did last season. He lost a considerable amount of weight and looks much slimmer than he did during the first season. He is no longer in charge of the show but he isn't about to take that lying down. The title of the episode refers to his attempt to regain control of Everlasting from Quinn.

Madison, the PA, has been promoted. She is now doing the the job Rachel used to do. She isn't great at it. Rachel has to walk her though an interview with a contestant. It seems during the interview that Madison is about to lose it but based on her comment afterwards it sounds like she got a rush from the the experience even though she blew chunks after the interview.

Rachel tries to do run the show right but somethings go wrong. She can't delegate everything. She has to talk Darius into not breaking his contract when he gets cold feet. She goes after Ruby, one of the contestants, who changed her mind at the last minute because it would push back her graduation from university. Things really blow up when Chet lures the bachelor away on the first night of filming. Quinn has seen enough and steps in. She promises to relinquish control once things are back to normal whatever that means. Rachel doesn't look too happy about that but that's where the episode ends.

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Everything has changed and yet everything feels very familiar. I like it. I had my doubts but I like it. I don't understand how this show does it. It seems like a string of highlights but it works for me.

Part of the appeal for me is that it is essentially a workplace drama. I have a certain affinity for those kinds of shows. I don't like them all. I don't love them all but when they get it right, like this one does, I fall for them hard.

I think part of it is clashes of personalities. In part it is the moral ambiguities that the show navigates. They (Rachel, Quinn, or whomever) do something wrong but there usually is someone there to balance it out, to offer a counterpoint. They don't always say something, sometimes it is just the expression on their face, but their presence gives the show the balance it needs.