UnREAL 2.03

Guerilla

Coleman, new show runner, lets Chet run the show, at first. Chet's first idea gets shot down by Darius as being too dangerous. His second idea is to have the women run an obstacle course. Darius is okay with that but refuses to run the course himself. He says it is because he can't afford to risk an injury. There is some sense to that but considering what happens later in the episode I have to wonder if he wasn't hiding something.

Quinn goes behind the scenes to spice things up. She has chats with two of the contestants (Brandy and Chantal) before the obstacle course, and gets them mad enough to start a shoving match during the obstacle course. Chantal falls from about 10 feet up on the climbing wall and lands on her back. Quinn loves it. She has Rachel put Brandi in a room and locks the door. Brandi flips out. All of this is being filmed for possible use in the show.

Darius is sent to check on Chantal who is by now in a hospital bed and has a bandage around her head. They talk. He is sweet. She feels better. They make out. Quinn loves it.

Ruby and Beth Ann have a moment at the party that afternoon. They go at one another, vocally. There are no fists thrown or hair pulled. Quinn does not love it.

Quinn pays Brandi a visit. She explains to her that she needs to apologize to Darius, tell him about her past, about being a foster child. They set things up. Darius and Brandi have their moment alone. Brandi explains how tough she had it growing up. Darius comforts her they kiss. Quinn is much happier.

Quinn calls a meeting with Darius in her office. She has a woman with her, Brandi's mother, who explains that Brandi was never in foster care. Her daughter is a compulsive liar. Darius feels totally betrayed and agrees to kick Brandi off the show. That is exactly what he does. He calls her out on camera in front of the other contestants. Brandi flips out and attacks Darius. She jumps on his back and gets him in a headlock.

Security pulls Brandi off of Darius. Darius looks injured. I'm left wondering at this point if he wasn't already nursing some sort of injury. It is possible that Brandi was able to cause him that much damage that quickly but I wonder if Darius hasn't been hiding something from the folks on Everlasting and everyone else. What Darius doesn't know but it quickly revealed is that the woman who claimed to be Brandi's mother was just an actress who was hired to convince him that Brandi was lying about the foster care system and the abuse she suffered when she was younger.

Quinn is laughing it up and has a good time though out this episode right up until the last few minutes. She has owned Chet. She did a masterful job of manipulating Brandi and Darius, with some help from Rachel. In the last few minutes of the episode Gary stops by the set of the show, the next morning, and congratulates Coleman (in front of the entire crew) for putting together a great episode. There was a moment there where it was unclear who he was going to congratulate. For a few seconds there I thought it was going to be Rachel, which totally would have blown her cover, but he didn't, not in front of everyone.

Gary pulls Quinn aside after he talks to everyone. He reprimands her for the voice mail she left him and then tells her about Rachel. Quinn is facing Rachel who can't overhear the conversation but who can see the look on Quinn's face. She knows that Gary is letting Quinn know about what she did. She freaks out, goes back to her office and starts to pack. Coleman walks in. He tries to reassure her. They make out briefly.

The final scene is a bit of a tease but honestly it wasn't as good as wondering what Quinn is going to do to Rachel. In the last scene Rachel goes to see Darius. He looks like he is in a lot of pain. Yes, it is a bit of a cliffhanger but there are other things that intrigue me more like what is going to happen to Quinn and Rachel's relationship now that Quinn knows that Rachel went behind her back.

This was more along the lines of what I was expecting from this season all along. This episode more or less followed developments on the set and behind the scenes of an episode of the show. This time out Rachel seemed to play second fiddle to Quinn, that isn't usually the case on this show. Yes, Rachel works for Quinn but Rachel seems to spend more time in the spotlight that Quinn does. It was also different to see Quinn running around goading the contestants and the bachelor into doing things. In the first season she usually stayed in her office or the control room and got Rachel to manipulate the folks on the show.

Overall this was a great watch. I consistently amazed at how much they manage to pack into each episode without making it feel bloated or like it is dragging.