UnREAL Review: No Limit and Tilt
Olivia Popp
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Hulu's shock value episode is UnREAL Season 4 Episode 5, but it ends up more horrifying than an intelligent move to make the end of the series memorable.
in fact, it simply reminds viewers that UnREAL is resorting to desperate measures to tie up its loose ends as it cuts loose contestant after contestant with barely a story arc found on its burn-it-down eight-episode bang-a-thon bonanza.
Thank you so much for your time. Please get an Everlasting water bottle from Graham on your way out.
Quinn
After the reveal that August is the father that leads to nothing climactic, this episode brings one of the first times that Quinn's pregnancy storyline goes beyond a bland attempt to include Chet.
Now, Rachel makes a move to show Quinn that having a baby is the wrong idea.
While the actual scenes including the baby aren't particularly entertaining as they simply involve Quinn complaining, it's easy to be amused by Rachel's scheming and patronizing language towards Quinn.
Yet the show still does not make an effort to complete Chet's journey, as he is still the bumbling fool he always was. Maybe that's the point, but there's really no need for his character if that's all the viewers are going to get.
This episode is also jam-packed with terrifyingly cringe-inducing moments, including the Egg-Marks-the-Spot challenge, Faith's return, and the entire carnival sequence. It's shaming after shaming, and it's not pretty.
UnREAL Review: All In and Double Down
It's even a bit painful to watch, and not in a way that makes you think about issues that the show is trying to tackle.
Now that Rachel is in charge, she isn't combatting the oppressive and overwhelming force of Everlasting by rising up to stop it from ruining itself.
Rather, she is the problem.
Candy's outburst at the end of the egg challenge is a small victory, even though the show feeds her all of the lines about women empowerment.
Maya's humiliation is also a painful moment, especially coming from someone like August, who the show frames as a rather sympathetic individual. It's a small betrayal as the viewer begins to discover how much reality TV can change someone.
I mean, this is amazing. You came to us as a straight contestant in search of love and now you're a gay therapist in search of crazy people. I am so proud.
Rachel
Faith's return is just a ticking time bomb as she gushes about how great Rachel is.
Yet, when Rachel goes above and beyond showing her true colors and lashes out at Faith's naivety, it's a harsh betrayal that leaves viewers in the lurch, wondering where Rachel's humanity has gone.
With Rachel's final plan set in motion, her small, evil smile now sends chills to the hearts of viewers as she gets Noelle drunk. Maya's terrified look only foreshadows the horrors that await, and the viewer isn't disappointed.
Related: 17 Reasons to Binge All Four Seasons of UnREAL
Even if Rachel's behavior is atrocious and unjustifiable in both a moral sense -- as the characters react -- and from a character development standpoint, UnREAL must be given some credit for its execution.
Viewers are left in waiting along with the characters until the final moments when Maya gets payback on Roger. In a way, it's a moment of catharsis and redemption, and it's edited in a way that makes it all the more exciting.
Quinn: This was our whole episode, your whole season. We have been building to this since day one, so what the hell happened, Rachel?
Rachel: You think I don't know that? I busted my ass for this moment and I am not gonna let some weak, damaged pussy take it away from me, okay? This is my moment! This is mine!
UnREAL Season 4 Episode 6 leaves the Everlasting producers to clean up the mess that Rachel made. Quinn and Rachel are thrown even further apart, and Quinn is understandably disgusted by Rachel's actions.
However, Tommy is impressed, beaming along with Rachel.
With the entirety of Rachel's history, it might be understandable to see why she goes to such violent lengths to try and prove her worth on the show, but Tommy's grin is wholly unjustified.
The viewer gets little to none of his backstory, and there's no reason to empathize with his rather sociopathic behavior.
As Rachel and Tommy continue their rampage, Rachel's scheming and acting are reminiscent of UnREAL Season 1, and it's scary how good she is.
Madison: Sorry, it's crazy over here right now, but I needed to warn you. Jay was here, and he made a complaint to Fiona. Like an official one, about a rape.
Tommy: What? Oh, my God.
Madison: I know. Like, what is going on? How could this show possibly have another "R"?
Chet is given the job of dealing with Roger's lawyer, but all this gives the viewer is a very strange look into Chet's visit with a "financial dominatrix." It's a humorous two scenes but nonetheless still rather unnecessary.
Here's our proposal. We will pay for Roger's mangled dick, and your wife will never find out about this.
Chet
Quinn doesn't get nearly enough screentime to justify her actions, and her feeble attempt at going to Fiona only results in her being torn apart by the network head. Quinn can do better than that, and yet, she isn't written as doing so.
Fiona: Rachel is out of control, and you know it.
Quinn: So fire her.
Fiona: That's what this whole thing's been about, right? You sending Jay to me so I'd do it for you? Because you're too chicken-shit to pull the trigger yourself. She learned her bag of tricks from you. You created this. So, if you feel like she crossed a line, fire her.
Quinn always confronts Rachel head on, but this time, she doesn't. Rachel and Quinn are simply playing a cold war, but they ultimately need to go head to head soon.
Welcome. Don't forget your cards. Winner gets their tab picked up. And you have to drink every time Graham says "Everlasting."
Host
Rachel's vomiting after seeing the episode in the Everlasting bar gives the viewer one last hope at Rachel's humanity. Quinn confronting Rachel at the very end is a subtle way to uncover this, even if Rachel does not heed her wisdom.
This is not who you are, Rachel. All the terrible things that have happened in your life, you can dye your hair any color you want, but there is a conscience in there, and you cannot shove it down forever.
Quinn
However, Rachel is too far gone to even begin to think about any major reparations. Just because she has a conscious doesn't mean she's going to listen to it, and it's all going to come tumbling down.
Make sure to watch UnREAL online and get ready for the explosive next episode, UnREAL Season 4 Episode 7.
Do you think Tommy and Rachel will go beyond a casual weekend flirtation? Let us know in the comments!
Olivia Popp was a staff writer for TV Fanatic. She left the site in September 2018.
