S01.E02: Relapse

[Tara Ariano]

A family tragedy strikes one of the girls; Quinn offers a cash bonus to Jay, Shia and Rachel to create the season's villain out of the remaining girls; Rachel's old laptop falls into the wrong hands and threatens to expose intimate details of her past relationship with Jeremy.

[Primetimer]

Everlasting EP Quinn solves ordinary people's problems in her own inimitable way.

Read the story

[HunterHunted]

Rachel's former roommate seems to be far too old to be that pointlessly petty. She implied that she was going to start spreading deets about the crew. For someone who seems to be in a struggling indie band, it seems unwise to piss off people who might know music supervisors who might include the crappy single from your crappy band on the soundtrack of their show. The town can be so weirdly insular that why would you take the chance to accidentally burn yourself.

I love that Adam is so invested in his redemption narrative that he's willing to play nasty awful games too.

I hate it, but extra loud black woman is a reality TV stereotype that plays really well. As a devoted watcher of Real Housewives of Atlanta, you can tell when a quiet housewife feels like she's in danger of being cut. She always gets loud and messy.

[Bobcatkitten]

I hope this gets better. Right now it's just kind of depressing to watch. And the main female producer's voice is like nails on a chalkboard to me. Especially when she is constantly yelling.

[walnutqueen]

Trashalicious and Craptastic!   I am ever so eager to see just how low they will go.  But not eager enough to watch the next two episodes on Lifetime's website.  Unfortunately, they are not available On Demand on Uverse.   :-(

[portfino]

I really, really like most of the show. Shiri Appleby's Rachel is amazing, Everlasting is such a great/horrible "world", Freddie Stroma shifts from Prince Charming to a scumbag in a split second and yet is believable, the female contestants have remarkable depth.

 

That said, I agree with the criticisms: virtually everything involving blackmail/criminal stuff to keep Rachel on the show is silly, and I worry that I only think Quinn is a good character because of my residual goodwill for Constance Zimmer and the one liners. It certainly isn't her story with Chet.

[dubbel zout]

I hate it, but extra loud black woman is a reality TV stereotype that plays really well.

 

I had to laugh at the other woman: "I didn't go to Spellman and clerk for a Supreme Court justice to do this." I get her disgust at becoming a terrible stereotype, but what did she expect? She's on a dating show. Of course the lowest common denominator is what's going to come out. 

 

I kind of wish the woman who's father died had stuck to her guns and stayed away. Because yeah, suing her for breach of contract when her father died would have been an interesting side plot.

 

This show fascinates and repulses me in equal amounts, and I'm not sure which side will win out.

Edited June 9, 2015 by dubbel zout

[Madding crowd]

Why was Rachel getting paid with an envelope full of money? No company would do this. And maybe she should have deleted the embarrassing stuff from her laptop or brought it with her.

[Fallacy]

I love this show! It's not perfect but in general I worship the premise and sincerely hope that this show will get enough media attention and viewers to hurt the Bachelor franchise.

[sconstant]

Rachel's former roommate seems to be far too old to be that pointlessly petty. She implied that she was going to start spreading deets about the crew.

 

I think she was telling Rachel (1) that she found something embarrassing, and (2) that she will send it to everyone, because she also found the deets (e.g. contact information) for the entire crew.  And that's why at 10:04, everyone on the crew serially gets the little bing/tweedle/Nokiasound on their phone/device and looks at her funny. 

[aradia22]

I'm still liking the show. I thought this episode was a little weaker which is to be expected because they're obviously going to pour more energy into the pilot to make sure people watch and to initially sell the show.

 

Her getting into the shower with him was cute but kind of like a rom-com thing and I really don't want a romance between them. It does put her in the same realm of all those dudes who cross personal boundaries (House, Psych, etc.) so I guess there's that. 

 

I didn't really like the way they set up the stakes this episode with the emo ex-roommate. Really, the most incriminating thing on her Macbook was a video of her and her ex? And it's a little soon to be getting this episode about the problem of the week. You already have a structure with The Bachelor.

 

The stuff with the black contestants (or African.. African American?) was kind of interesting though they definitely held back. That's kind of the problem with a smart, socially conscious show. I did like the "Uncle Tom" comment and I hope the other character, the one who was playing the violin coming out of the limo, sticks around. She probably will.

 

I do not see where they are going with Anna. Is she going to be out next week. She seems very unstable and getting her back on the show seems pointless after they burned her character so badly this episode. I'm OK with the regular drama of filming a show like this. I don't need them to force family members with heart attacks in episode 2. 

 

Right now I'm conflicted. I guess they want to put 4 episodes up to boost viewership but if I watch them now then I'll have two weeks with no new episodes.

[RachelKM]

I think the point with Anna is to keep her as the villain. Rachel spliced together Anna's totally understandable freak out over the show keeping her from leaving to be with her father and brother to make it look like she's a monster bitch freaking out generally.  They're setting her up to stay to be hated, not win.

Edited June 9, 2015 by RachelKM

[aradia22]

 

I think the point with Anna is to keep her as the villain. Rachel spliced together Anna's totally understandable freak out over the show keeping her from leaving to be with her father and brother to make it look like she's a monster bitch freaking out generally.  They're setting her up to stay to be hated, not win.

Right, but it seems like it's going to be difficult to make her a long-term villain like Quinn wanted when she's this unstable. Will she last 6 weeks?

[loriro]

Why was Rachel getting paid with an envelope full of money? No company would do this. And maybe she should have deleted the embarrassing stuff from her laptop or brought it with her.

 

It was for a bet that Rachel won.   Quinn was looking for a new villain since Britney got cut and she and Rachel had a bet about whether Rachel could turn Anna into that villain.  I believe it is something they'd done before...there was a reference to it. Rachel went along with it b/c she got $5000 if she won, which she was going to use to pay off her debt to her old roommate and get her laptop back.  Unfortunately, she got the $ just a wee bit too late. 

[Maharincess]

Trashalicious and Craptastic! I am ever so eager to see just how low they will go. But not eager enough to watch the next two episodes on Lifetime's website. Unfortunately, they are not available On Demand on Uverse. :-(

I watched them on my Kindle in bed at 2 am a couple of mornings ago. My insomnia has been raging again but having shitty TV shows to watch help a lot.

[Andromeda]

I hope this gets better. Right now it's just kind of depressing to watch. And the main female producer's voice is like nails on a chalkboard to me. Especially when she is constantly yelling.

Seriously. It nearly drove me away 15 minutes into the first episode.

 

I'm kind of meh on this show. I have absolutely no interest in Quinn's love life. Or Rachel's, for that matter.

 

The concept is interesting. I love the Bachelor/ette franchise, and I know there's editing and producing hijinx. But I think if it was as overly produced as this Everlasting show, I would expect it to be a lot better! There have been some pretty boring installments, and leads who don't have anything much interesting to say (clearly not saying scripted sentences, because...dull), and seasons without clear "villains" or crazy people. They'll label someone crazy sometimes, but they don't do anything all that memorable. Unless you count Ashley from last season thinking a pomegranate is an onion growing on a tree...

 

Is the premise here that they're assembling each episode that very week? Because in the real bachelor world, they have weeks to assemble the entire show. They can tease out plot threads and edit the show to reflect where things end up, see what narrative possibilities the cast has given them. Of course, they also push forward plot movement during production (like with Nick this year), because they know some casts or leads just aren't that compelling -- something they probably figure out sooner rather than later. God knows Chris turned out to be a frikkin' dullard, and it only took an episode or two for us viewers to see that. Production probably saw it the first night (but they cast him!).

 

Adam is a great bachelor so far...totally fake, but playing the part of a rich and dashing eligible man. Wish we still had those on the Bachelor. Speaking of, was the woman giving him the blowjob in the trailer one of the castmates, or the wardrobe girl? I was confused.

 

I was feeling for Anna -- until she agreed to go back on the show. Really, Anna? And how could Adam take so much time off the show to go chasing her down? That would be really expensive with a production crew of that size, who can't do much of anything without their star. And why did they need her so badly, when there's still 20 women there? I could see it if she was one of the final four or so, but not this early. Why not do an episode about the drama of the contestant losing her father and having to leave? Years ago on the Bachelor, Meredith lost her nana, and we saw her take the call, and the women commiserating. It was compelling in its own way.

 

I was pretty bored by the saloon and funeral stuff. I like the action on the set scenes, except for Quinn's voice. Nothing was more boring than her relationship drama and the pregnant wife of her lover and the house blueprints scene... Reminded me I was watching a Lifetime show. Ugh.

 

Also, since I have a hunch 20 women competing for the same guy wouldn't all immediately love each other (women can be catty), just listen and find out who is annoying who, and get your "villain" from that. People love to pick on each other when they perceive them as rivals. Once you know who really doesn't like who, then move in and use that, instead of just pulling some random name out and claiming she said something about another girl. Seems counter productive, when personalities are bound to clash with a group that size.

 

So, suspension of disbelief required, just like with all fiction. Burning Love was more satisfying, though, and absolutely hysterical!

 

I didn't really like the way they set up the stakes this episode with the emo ex-roommate. Really, the most incriminating thing on her Macbook was a video of her and her ex? And it's a little soon to be getting this episode about the problem of the week. You already have a structure with The Bachelor.

 

The stuff with the black contestants (or African.. African American?) was kind of interesting though they definitely held back. That's kind of the problem with a smart, socially conscious show. I did like the "Uncle Tom" comment and I hope the other character, the one who was playing the violin coming out of the limo, sticks around. She probably will.

I think it was a love letter, not the video they showed. That was confusing, though. But they referred to her as "Jane Austen" and quoted descriptions she's written of his broad shoulders.

I agree on the black contestant situation. That part I found really realistic, that contestants will happily do what producers want to get more face time. We see that all the time, and on the Bachelor it's become so obvious, it's damaging their franchise ("brokeback bachelors" anyone?).

Here's a good article about some behind-the-scenes hijinx from the Bachelorette, with a producer that sounds a lot like Rachel.

Edited June 10, 2015 by Andromeda

[CMH1981]

So did the producers really tell Adam to choose Anna last, or is he just playing the game and being a dick by stringing her along like that?

 

I agree the whole roommate thing was farfetched, and the fact that Rachel didn't password protect her laptop...seriously?!  What did she just just tape the password to the bottom of the laptop?

 

Loved that Anna's brother knows how to play the game as well...wanting an Xbox in exchange for him convincing his sister to continue on the show.

[tivofanatic]

I still love this show, but let me restate that they would never have rehired Rachel.

I don't quite buy Rachel sleeping in the back of the truck. These rental houses all have bedrooms with sheets on the beds. At the very least there are couches everywhere.

I especially don't buy the cash bonus in the envelope. The reality cliche is, "Our show is a hit! Guess what? Next season's budget is smaller."

I'd like to see a clique of two or three producers that function like a Survivor alliance, hanging out after work and recommending each other whenever one of them gets hired by a new show. That's the way it really is. Right now it's such a snake pit. Control rooms are closer in tone to talking back to the screen when you're at home. Where are the laughs?

[Ms Blue Jay]

Did anyone else think that Rachel wanted that private material leaked?  She had the money in hand, and was only a few minutes late...  it seemed a bit ridiculous.

 

Very cool little brother but they could have picked a more capable actor because I don't think the intention was to have the character show absolutely zero emotion at his father dying suddenly.

Edited June 11, 2015 by Ms Blue Jay

[SonofaBiscuit]

Yeah, Rachel's not too bright.  She has important material on her laptop, but she leaves it sitting around with no password protection, so anybody that has access to it can take a peek?  Great idea!

 

Did Rachel really have to get in the shower with Adam?  She couldn't have snuck in there when everyone was occupied outside?  No, of course not, because I'm fairly certain that the show is setting up an Adam/Rachel/Jeremy (the ex) love triangle.  

 

I really like Faith, but I'm torn because I don't want to watch her be destroyed by this Bachelor-esque show (what is the show that they're filming called anyways?).  I mean, there are some truly awful shits on the crew.  I don't really care for Anna much, but it's disgusting that she wasn't immediately told about her father, and she found out about his heart attack too late to say goodbye.    

[Mabinogia]

She couldn't have snuck in there when everyone was occupied outside?  No, of course not, because I'm fairly certain that the show is setting up an Adam/Rachel/Jeremy (the ex) love triangle.

 

That was my least favorite moment of the show so far because it was just so painfully obvious. Oh, look how cool Rachel is, she doesn't mind jumping into the shower with the guy cause she's so edgy. But she's no whore, she won't let him look, oh, isn't she just the perfect little anti-heroine? It reeks of trying too hard.

[aradia22]

 

Did anyone else think that Rachel wanted that private material leaked?  She had the money in hand, and was only a few minutes late...  it seemed a bit ridiculous.

That didn't make a whole lot of sense even if she'd gotten the money a few minutes before. How was she going to transfer the cash through a Paypal account? 

[Amy Beth]

So did the producers really tell Adam to choose Anna last, or is he just playing the game and being a dick by stringing her along like that?

Last week, the producers didn't seem to know who he was choosing because they were blindsided when he picked Faith instead of the ready-made villain, Britney. And this week, they not only know who he's picking, but are dictating the order?

Something doesn't add up.

[TiffanyNichelle]

I don't understand why Rachel didn't bring her laptop with her on set. She already owed a bunch of back rent. I would have been afraid my roommate was going to kick me out also.

 

I wonder if there was some kind of weird backstory involving the dead father and the contestant. The brother was really ok with bartering for an X-Box at his dad's funeral. That's ice cold.

 

I like the show but here's hoping next week they don't come up with yet another weird hoop to force Rachel into doing her job that she's actually good at. I want them to explore how much she hates that she's good at the job instead of coming up with some backwards reason to make her do her job.

[CMH1981]

 

The brother was really ok with bartering for an X-Box at his dad's funeral. That's ice cold.

 

I just found it realistic, based on the fact that Rachel and Adam, the insanely rich hotel heir, basically lied to him and said that it was a given that his sister would win.  In his mind he is probably thinking all about the money his sister would gain and thereby share with him  as his sister wouldn't leave him behind once she were to get married to Adam.  He didn't put it together that they were both lying to him so his sister would come back w/ them so Rachel's ass would be saved.

Edited June 12, 2015 by CMH1981

[C76]

I enjoyed this week's episode. The scenes featuring the woman whose father died opened my eyes regarding editing. I know that when we watch The Bachelor(ette), we're being manipulated. However, I've never considered that when someone loses it on the show deception may have taken place behind the scenes. I usually wind up shocked, thinking,"You can't make this up...So-'n-so really is mad about XYZ."

 

Enter this episode. The idea of producers shooting someone when they were legitimately upset, and depicting him or her as going off just for the hell of it? 

 

I know I've been naive, but I didn't think they were that low. 

Edited June 11, 2015 by C76

[ketose]

I don't watch the Bachelor, but I love this behind the scenes stuff. This is kind of like "I Want to Marry Ryan Banks" except way darker. But it's still a TV show. Ryan Banks and unReal both took place on a week to week "live" basis. The main reason for that is to have more surprise and reaction to the unknown. Who wants to watch a show with a bunch of innocent activity followed by weeks in an editing bay making it look exciting?

 

Rachel in the shower was really edgy. Also, why did she bother taking off her underpants when she was already in the shower. They were wet by then and it's just going to get swampy down there if she puts them back on.

[JenE4]

The tall, awkward, red-headed girl is totally going to be the winner or second-place finalist the way Quinn has so much disdain for her. Either that or there's just so much focus on her--and even with her being Adam's first pick at the bracelet ceremony and the first one he greeted in the crowd earlier--because she's going to be the next one taken down because Quinn doesn't see her as a "wifey."

[queenanne]

I just found it realistic, based on the fact that Rachel and Adam, the insanely rich hotel heir, basically lied to him and said that it was a given that his sister would win.  In his mind he is probably thinking all about the money his sister would gain and thereby share with him  as his sister wouldn't leave him behind once she were to get married to Adam.  He didn't put it together that they were both lying to him so his sister would come back w/ them so Rachel's ass would be saved.

 

I took a different angle, that his brotherly/family pride was roused and the thought being, "of course my sister's the prettiest and smartest.  Why wouldn't she win."  (I admit I think this partially because my sister is a devotee of the franchise, and spent a stout 15 minutes one year trying to convince me I should try out.  I could but laugh, as I'm built closer to "hearty farmgirl" than lollipop-headed ingenue, and probably a good dozen years older than their cutoff - all of which being things I swear my sister knows - but for a few mad moments, she was absolutely sincerely determined that I audition even though I stand less of a chance than that proverbial snowball.)

Edited June 18, 2015 by queenanne

[editorgrrl]

Anna's brother's motivation could go either way, and that's what I enjoy about this show—the greys, the ambiguity.

Rachel, Quinn, and Adam are terrible people, yet I like them.

[formerlyfreedom]

Rachel, Quinn, and Adam are terrible people, yet I like them.

 

And this is why I keep watching. I know better. But I still like them.

[lucindabelle]

I think Anna's really beautiful and that indeed she and adam like each other. I liked her dont tortur me moment,

And if he had blindsided the producers the week before it makes perfect sense that this week they gave him explicitly instructions,

I am buying all the implausible things.ll she didn't ahower in someone else's place because she didn't think of it, she didn't take her computer because she left during a meltdown. And if the computer was password protected the angry roommate just guessed it.

I actually fucking love Quinn. I'd love as a manager to be able to tell an employee someone else is getting the assignment because people like them more. Her get to the point frustration totally works for me. Yes i see how she's hoerible in her bottom likeness but I love her too.

[Milburn Stone]

Everlasting is such a great/horrible "world"

 

It reminds me of Wayward Pines.

[Miles]

Yeah I don't buy it. I've seen enough reality TV. I remember when a contestant on survivor "had a feeling" that her father was taking a turn for the worse and quit to go home. Which translates to production having told her about it. Because nobody wants a disgrunteled contestant to go on to give interviews to everybody and their mother about how producting kept it from them that their parent was dying.

So even keeping it from her in the first place was a stretch. I could get behind the damage control they were doing the rest of the episode, but the ending was just dumb. You REALLY don't want to piss her off after the shit you just pulled and she is going to be royally pissed off, when she sees the episodes.

I know this is a dramatisation and stuff, but I think even in the world of the show, this doesn't work at all.