UnREAL Season 1 Episode 2 Review: Relapse
Paul Dailly
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The past always comes back to haunt you.
That sentiment echoed through UnREAL Season 1 Episode 2 which showed us just how far Rachel pretty much every character is willing to go in order to get what they want.
We got so much more information about Rachel this week and it was needed. Rachel is one of the central characters on the show, and with a cast as big as this I thought she'd be sidelined for a few weeks, but that wasn't the case. She had her back against the wall for much of the hour thanks to her former friend Bethany.
Eve Harlow played the role of Bethany to perfection. She was a complete 180 from the character she played on The 100. We still miss you, Maya!
Bethany had every right to be mad at Rachel. I can only imagine the stress she had to endure when Rachel ditched not one, but THREE months of rent. One nitpick I have about this storyline is that Rachel kind of gave up in the minutes leading up to her deadline.
If she really wanted to get the money to Bethany, she would have found a way. So it makes me think that she was okay with the video being sent out.
This could have serious consequences for Jeremy's engagement. Who wants to see their fiancé being all intimate with someone else?
Lizzie must be feeling red faced right about now. From what we've seen of her to date, she is a nice girl, and I feel bad for what she's going through. Sure, it's a bit much working with your other half, but she's not gone out her way to make Rachel's life hell.
I have a feeling she will cut ties with Rachel, and her relationship with Jeremy will be strained to a point that they might call it quits. I'm not rooting for a Rachel/ Jeremy pairing. Is anyone else feeling the love with Adam and Rachel? If she wasn't on the show, he would have left back in UnREAL Season 1 Episode 1.
There is a lot of chemistry between these two and Rachel uses it to manipulate situations. She's a master at that. Just look at the way she did it to poor Anna.
I honestly thought Rachel was lying about Anna's father being in bad shape, and my jaw hit the floor. The notion that Rachel thought Anna would just continue to work on the show for another few hours until they got the footage they wanted was just ludicrous.
Quinn throwing in cash bonuses really drove home the fact that beyond all of the manipulation, these characters are just doing their jobs. Is this a real representation of what really goes on behind the scenes? I'm willing to bet that much of what see on this show is an accurate representation of "reality" TV. It should be renamed to "Manipulated TV."
Don't get me wrong, there are some highly addictive shows that fall into the genre of reality TV, but when these people are filmed for such a long period of time, you represent them whichever way you need for the show to be successful.
Quinn is still one of the most interesting characters, but Chet is a huge weak link for me. She could do so much better than him. He treats her like she is second best and that was proven this week by the introduction of his wife who looked like someone ripped straight out of The Real Housewives of Orange County.
"Relapse" was a fantastic follow-up to the series premiere. There is a lot going on that's keeping me glued to the screen and I can't wait to see what happens next. The ratings were less than stellar, but I wonder what Lifetime really expected, considering their only other scripted show is Devious Maids. What is the bar for success on their network? It remains to be seen.
Either way, I'll be watching this show until the end.
Remember you can watch UnREAL online right here on TV Fanatic. Get caught up on this addictive drama now!
What did you think of "Relapse"? Am I the only one seeing the chemistry between Rachel and Adam? What will happen in the aftermath of the video being sent out? Chat with me in the comments! I know a lot of you will have seen up until UnREAL Season 1 Episode 4, but please don't post spoilers in the comments section.
Note: UnREAL Season 1 Episode 3 airs Monday June 15 at 10/9c on Lifetime.
Paul Dailly was an Associate Editor for TV Fanatic.Follow him on X.
