Reflection: An UnREAL Season Two

[formerlyfreedom]

In the vein of the Retrospective: An UnREAL Season One topic, here is a spot to discuss ALL of Season TWO of UnREAL. What went wrong, what went right, and more!

"It's about race! It's about mental illness! I wanna have a baby! It's about sexism! Let's bring on an Englishman! It's about sex trade! It's about true love! It's about money dick power!"

I'm dizzy.

[NutmegsDad]

No one wants to start......?

In the "wrong" category:

Last year, they had a story. This year, they had a gimmick (Black Bachelor) that they worked around a story.

Last year, they allowed events and repercussions to occur in a slow burn. This year (especially in the finale), they had plot points come out of no where to resolve situations on a dime (Coleman and the faked sex documentary).

Last year, there were no expectations, and they succeeded beyond their wildest dreams. This year, they believed their own hype and started to tinker with what made it work, from the Lifetime execs to SGS going meta in the storyline.

Most of all, they broke up the power couple of Quinn and Rachel. It was the most potent relationship on the show the previous year, and the show suffered this season. You could tell when the cars went back on the tracks when they reconciled in the penultimate episode.

[nameless slob]

I agree with you, NutmegsDad. I stopped watching this season around episode 5, I think, when I could not remember or care for any of the contestants, or even the suitor. It gave me the feeling that Quinn could not care less for the show, only worried about her power struggle with Chet, Coleman and Rachel. I felt the show itself became secondary, and for me the show itself, Everlasting, is what draws me to Unreal. And the characters appeal to me mostly how they confront situations caused by the show, during the show production, how they create situations for the show, and how they care about delivering a story for that same show. I don´t just wanna see Quinn and Rachel and Chet. I wanna see them doing the show, during the show, doing Everlasting.

There was such a lack of storytelling this season: last season you could understand and follow the logic of such contestant staying on, such leaving, etc. This season, I think they could have picked random girls out of the streets for the finals and it would feel like she arrived there with the same merits as any other.

When the show runner said this season they would talk about race issues and gender issues, and how Chet comes back all manly and that would change the dynamics, I thought it would be a deep conversation, but it was all so cliché. With women in bathtubs as his ideal of the perfect show, and women playing football with tiny little outfits… I wouldn´t mind the cliché if there were meaningful discussions along with it. But I felt none. Plus, the race issue. If they had discussed it in all the little things that daily affects us all…

It was all for shock value. If felt cheap.

After I stopped watching, I was following the rest of the season on the forums. And always hoping some episode’s comments would make me wanna watch it. But no.

Now I just wanna rewatch season one, and that wonderful storytelling ending with a masterpiece of a season finale. That was wonderful.

[BingeyKohan]

Having recently seen (suffered through, if you like) the current CATS revival on Broadway, I will postulate that my inability to count myself a CATS person tracks with my inability to appreciate even the smallest whiskers of pleasure provided by UnReal S2. Both are centered around an annual spectacle (the jellicle ball, a season of Everlasting) on a gaudy, overdecorated set. Both build to the selection of a lucky, chosen specimen to receive a dubious honor (ascending to the Heaviside layer, having a skeevy bachelor propose marriage). And both forego nuance and character development in favor of vignettes where each cast member merely steps forward, announces their identifying detail, and recedes again to wait out someone else's turn to make their data dump in the litter box: "I'm a naughty cat that breaks all your vases," "I'm a cat that rides a train!" "I'm a combo of 10 mental cases!" "I"m a cop who hasn't a name!" "Me, look me up, I'm a racist of Instagram." "You and your sex slaves are just a big sham!" What can we say? Season 1 turned us into finicky viewers. We won't eat just anything.

[Auntie Anxiety]

Frankly, it got to the point that the only thing I found entertaining throughout Season 2 was the way Quinn would reply to Everlasting's host's opening comments. That always made me laugh.  The rest? Ugh! This show went from gold to shit in record time.

[buttersister]

Yeah, I came back for the finale, just to see if getting out was something I was going to stick with. Easily, I see. A colleague asked if I could recommend Show for her new guilty pleasure. I sent her to season one. And season one alone.

[Lurky McLurkerson]

Season 2 is like the bad student film that thinks it's much better than it actually is. It's like the showrunners were so busy patting themselves on the back for "addressing" all these controversial issues they forgot about quality writing and coherent narrative. Quantity if story lines doesn't make up for quality, and I find that SGS just comes off as totally insufferable and more impressed with herself than anyone else is. You, madam, are no Vince Gilligan.

[basically]

^ the Breaking Bad comparison SGS was always pushing annoyed the crap out of me. How about just be yourselves? Season 1 was unique. It had its own merits. It really didn't try to be anything else and it was good. Nobody asked for the SGS season 2 version of Breaking Bad! 

Edited August 11, 2016 by basically

[Auntie Anxiety]

UnREAL and Breaking Bad in the same sentence?  SGS must be living in an alternate universe.

[portfino]

Here's how I would've done it.

Rachel/Quinn are on a high from last season. Then they realize Everlasting's audience, who know a lot less than unReal's audience, were disappointed that they didn't get a "royal" wedding. Network's mad at Quinn, and Rachel uses this to force a black Suitor on her. Rachel actually brings in Coleman to document how awesome it is, not knowing that he and Yael have another agenda. Darius wants to do the show because America's sympathizing with Adam for being left at the altar, and makes a deal with the network to be a color commentator if he's the Suitor. As it turns out, Darius obviously favors Ruby damaging ratings (we could also up the cynicism by the ratings not actually going down but the network concerned the show is going "downmarket"). Darius is just as concerned as Rachel/Quinn it all could fall apart if he chooses Ruby so everyone gives more power to Chet who knows what Middle America likes. Tiffany has no real interest in Darius and is angling to be the first Suitoress. Chantel is a down to Earth person who gets edited into Evil Rich Bitch.

 

Issues - Quinn is in a way "too good" of a character. We're already at the destination. There's no journey. But they could've done something better than Booth and baby drama. Jeremy's always going to be an issue. Maybe I would've tried to ally him with Quinn somehow over shooting the show differently to hide that Ruby's the favorite? Knowing from jump street that Coleman's a bad idea based on what he's shooting?

[xaxat]

With the exception of Yael and Coleman wanting to expose the behind the scenes shenanigans, none of the major plot beats mattered by the time we reached the finale.

Chet and the baby?

Booth, Quinn and the non-baby?

Adam? (I admittedly might have hallucinated his return. Not really sure it happened.)

Jeremy assaulting Rachel? (Half a point there because it did get him fired so he could kill Yael an Coleman.)

Rachel, her mom and the sexual abuse plot?

As for the whole "black suitor" thing. You give me twenty minutes with the script and I could totally make that plot race neutral. Ruby and Jay got ten minutes over the course of the season to explore that theme. But Darius was limited to generic statements about wanting to  "improve my image." and "be a better me." Which is something all of us want, regardless of race.

Edited August 12, 2016 by xaxat

[EyesGlazed]

What a terrible misfire of a season.  And this opinion is coming from someone who loved S1.  Let me count the ways that S2 was awful:  1. Using the police shooting of an innocent black man, Romeo, as a minor plot point.  Then following it up with nothing:  no explanation of how badly Romeo was hurt, how he got better in time to appear on the last episode, whether he went to jail or charges were dropped or what, whether there was any discipline of the police officer who shot him.  What an insult to the characters and the viewer.  2.  The show has escalated from having its two "heroines" push the envelope in ways that led them unwittingly to contribute to the death of a contestant in S1, to having them conceal a double murder and harbor the murderer in S2 (and btw it looked to me like Rachel was winding Jeremy up in the truck scene, like she was manipulating him to do something awful).  I don't find this amusing or entertaining.  3.  Quinn's breakdown over not being able to have babies/keep Booth was completely out of character and ridiculous.  I suspect this one wasn't an SGS screwup; it was more likely a command "note" from the suits at Lifetime, who must pander to the idea that a woman isn't "relatable" unless she wants babies or considers her life worthless if she can't have babies.

I could go on but I'm too disgusted.

[marys1000]

Came here after watching the first 4 episodes (or most of anyway, what I could stomach) and I'm not going back. 

I have not seen S1 as I don't have HULU.  But lately  I'd been seen interviews with the actors etc. and decided to 

check out S2.  I'm ok with a lot of dark, gritty, dirty, a little stupid even but this was a trainwreck.  

I can't compare to S1 but this was just so unrealistic and crazy crazy crazy, no way could I suspend belief or be entertained.  

Edited August 14, 2016 by marys1000

[Christina]

In Season 1, Rachel had just had a mental break, was being blackmailed to continue working on Everlasting, and was coming to accept the fact that she is good at manipulating people and is a general bad person when it comes to her job. But they spent the time to make her a bit redeemable. She went head to head with Chet to not air Faith's coming out, and worked with Adam to change the story. She was a whole person. Even the women who were given more than 60 seconds of screen time had dialog that made them whole people.

This season was "We have a black bachelor and The Bachelor still hasn't!" Big whoopty do. SGS promoted this season as tackling racial issues. I understood that it was going to be from Rachel's perspective and based on the first season, expected so much more than what we got. In the first episodes we have Rachel and Quinn opining that a black man touching a white woman would set the internet on fire, they had to have the Black Lives Matter activist to battle with the racist, thought putting the racist in her Confederate Flag bikini would cause a fight, only to have the racist remove the bikini because she was a fan of the bachelor and didn't want to offend him, and the season could have had so much more of their assumptions being challenged.

The only other time I remember that happening was when they did the home visit and Rachel expected the family to be outraged, only to find that they were also fans. It is completely illogical and strains my ability to just "ride the fun train" (TM John Rogers) for the sake of the story to believe that Rachel did not know or expect calling the police could lead to Darius or Romeo getting shot after the discussion she had with Coleman about calling the police. SGS has given interviews praising herself for starting a dialog, that already existed. 

After reading the interviews in the media thread, it really didn't sound like the actors or the writer interviewed were as excited or proud of this season as SGS. Season 2 has become one of those "what could have been" experiences, leaving me wondering what could have been if MN hadn't left, if the writing had been better, if SGS' arrogance had been reined in, if, if, if...  

[Mabinogia]

If they actually wanted to deal with the social issues surrounding having a non-white bachelor/suitor, they should have held off on the Coleman storyline, the Rachel and Quinn fighting storyline, the Quinn baby storyline and/or the Undercover reporter storyline. All that other stuff left zero time to actually deal with the fact that they were changing history by having a black suitor. Make Darius a white football player and 90% of the season would have been exactly the same, which shows how little they actually did deal with Darius being the first black suitor. Where was the talk about the racist viewers boycotting the show? Where was the controversial press coverage? Where was the outrage about him hooking up with white women? Hell, even the Confederate Family failed to bring anything to the storyline. Unless the point was that this country is not as racists as networks think and would embraced a black bachelor (which I unfortunately do not believe. Sure there are a lot of people who would either embrace it or have no problem with it either way, there are going to be some very, very vocal people in an uproar and the show totally avoided dealing with that, at least that I saw) I just don't get why Darius was black other than for UnReal to brag that they did it before it happened in real life. Which, big frik! I think they really just wanted to get ahead of the ball so when it invidably does happen they can say it was because UnReal did it first.

[nameless slob]

4 hours ago, Christina said:

Even the women who were given more than 60 seconds of screen time had dialog that made them whole people.

Exactly! In Season 1 all contestants had a personality and were interesting in some way. Season 2 is like they were all extras in some other show, who had no line and needed to just stand still. It's like the writers forgot the show was about Everlasting, and couldn't be bothered about doing that show.

2 hours ago, Mabinogia said:

Where was the talk about the racist viewers boycotting the show? Where was the controversial press coverage? Where was the outrage about him hooking up with white women?

Also exactly! Were was the race discussion that they promised!? I watched five episodes of season 2 and gave up.

[jhlipton]

 The best part of Season 2 was Ruby denying Darius on national TV, then accepting him, but only on her terms.  One of the few things they did right was build her character so her decision made sense.

[Sparger Springs]

What could've made this season better.  I've been thinking about it. I had a few ideas in the other thread.

1. The bachelor should've been regular black guy. Not a superstar quarterback. He could've had ulterior motives pushing a business etc but also wanting to meet and be the focus of a bunch of pretty woman.  He should've wanted to be there. Not every bachelor should have a dark past and is trying to improve their image and angry about doing the show. They could've had Darius Beck pro quarterback's brother Damon Beck as the bachelor. He never made it to the big leagues like Arron Rogers brother. He could mention his brother at every opportunity. 

Yael could have been a new PA that was sniffing around. Since Madison moved up to producer. That way we wouldn't be all wondering how she managed to get there. She could've even said in previous life she was a reporter and changed careers. Being a reporter is not very lucrative these days.  She could've been working for evil ex husband of last years fake suicide victim to sue the show and the network.

Coleman not needed at all.

Quinn's rich boyfriend who brings up babies after 2 weeks of dating. I would've loved for Quinn to say she never had any interest in children. She is a 45 year old childless woman because she wanted it that way. Told rich dude to accept it or move on.  Quinn tearing up shit cause she can't have babies, whatever. Its like they had no idea who Quinn is.

Rachel, Rachel is at her best manipulating contestants, nobody wants childhood rape stories shoehorned in. Rachel's mom is an unethical sleaze we get it. We could've had Rachel manipulating the girls for storylines and actually getting to know the girls. Also this one week timeline they are on is ridiculous. If you want that do the amazing race or big brother show. I think it would be funny to show the contestants watching at home and seeing their edits with the rest of the world. Maybe having someone tracking down Quinn and threatening to sue and Quinn laughing in their face and throwing the agreement in their face that they signed.

Like I mentioned in the other thread racism isn't always some big life changing event like being shot by the cops. 

[earlbny]

I like everyone's ideas. Here's some thoughts from me.

When Shiri and Constance were on the View Sherri Shepherd said she has her own reality dating show. I don't remember the name of the show or the network its on. However she mentioned that her bachelor was Black. She said it like it was no big deal or UnREAL is not the 1st. 

I would have started the season off with Adam and Anna making the rounds on talk shows. Lots of stories in the tabloids. Maybe even exposing the show for what happened to Mary or all the manipulation that goes on. Then you can see Quinn and co trying to deal with all of that or trying to put together the new season. Various auditions for a new suitor and all the other contestants. Pressure from the network. 

I would have incorporated live tweets and ratings into the show. What they could have done was show tweets  during each episode from Everlasting viewers and ratings to show the impact of having a black bachelor.

I truly believe that the only person who loved season 2 the most was SGS. Everyone else kind of gave the company line. Shiri got to direct an episode this season so she's not going to say anything bad about the show. She wants to do more next season. Plus she may have landed another gig on Lifetime. I think she's producing a show or something.

Edited August 15, 2016 by earlbny

[Mabinogia]

14 hours ago, Sparger Springs said:

Quinn's rich boyfriend who brings up babies after 2 weeks of dating. I would've loved for Quinn to say she never had any interest in children. She is a 45 year old childless woman because she wanted it that way. Told rich dude to accept it or move on.  Quinn tearing up shit cause she can't have babies, whatever. Its like they had no idea who Quinn is.

As a 44 year old single woman with no kids this storyline annoyed me. I can't wait until my eggs shrivel up and I don't have to worry about accidentally getting pregnant. So what I can't choose to have a baby anymore. Doesn't make me any less of a woman, or a person, or a value to society. That really annoyed me.

I could see if they had portrayed Quinn as someone who had put her personal life aside to focus on her career and then looked up one day and realized it was too late. But that is not the Quinn they've been showing us up till no so it made no sense at all to me. Other than another distraction to hide the fact that the show did not actually want to deal with any race issues this season.

14 hours ago, Sparger Springs said:

Like I mentioned in the other thread racism isn't always some big life changing event like being shot by the cops.

I wish this is what they had shown. Rather than the oh so obvious, Confederate Flag bikini wearing southern girl and the horrible shooting, show the small, daily moments of racism. It is rarely ever as in your face as that for the average person. It's a joke here or a comment here, the little things that some of us don't even realize we are doing. Assumptions we make based on a persons appearance. I think making him a football star kind of hurt the story because it is different for famous people. So this wasn't so much "OMG we have a black suitor" as it was "OMG we have a superstar football player suitor" which is a totally different thing.

Giving them the benefit of the doubt, maybe they realize that is the only way society as a whole is going to accept a minority star on this type of dating show, if he's famous, but did they even bring that up?

IDK, this season was the polar opposite of the first. While the first felt fresh and fascinating this felt like a stale old soap opera.

[okerry]

Guys, I'll say it again: Quinn's reaction to her infertility was not simply grief over being unable to have children. It was because she knew (Ioan Griffith's character) was going to break up with her because of it.

If it hadn't been about infertility, it would have been something else, because this show is about True Love and how nobody wants that more than Quinn. Everlasting is her way of trying to create and control True Love because she's never been able to do that in her real life. The derisive remarks and constant humiliation of the contestants are because she's got such a love/hate relationship with True Love. She wants it desperately and created a beautiful illusion of it in *Everlasting,* but knows it isn't real and hence her disdain for the contestants.

The final scene this year showed Quinn and Rachel lying on the chairs not with their True Loves, but with their real loves - the very flawed, messed-up men who nevertheless are actually there and do love them. So which is better: True Love, or real love? That's what the whole show is about.

[Eolivet]

I feel like a broken record, but I'm just going to say it again: why does either Rachel or Quinn's happiness have to be defined by a man?

Why can't their jobs be their true loves -- the thing they love the most passionately and desperately, even if it hurts them? Why can't they truly embrace "money dick power," and have hedonistic affairs that fulfill them sexually while their job fulfills them intellectually?

Why the insistence that every single woman secretly wants the fairy tale -- the dashing suitor and the full-tilt romance and marriage and babies and promises of forever? Why can't the show's created family, along with a few well-placed flings, be enough for our two heroes?

Again, vast minority opinion, but I thought the best thing that came out of the Rachel/Adam relationship was that Rachel recognized the suitor as a person, not just a prop to be manipulated. Not that Rachel found her One and Only. I would've loved for Quinn to come out of the Booth relationship realizing that marriage and babies aren't everything, and it was nothing compared to the fulfillment she got from her work. In other words, use the men as plot devices to make our heroes realize how satisfied they are instead of everything they are missing. That's what I thought the season 1 finale was going for, before season 2 went "Just kidding!"

tl;dr -- when young girls want an example of a powerful, successful woman on TV who is great at her job and willingly chooses it over any man, I hope that old tapes of Cristina Yang on Grey's Anatomy are not all that we have to show them.

[Sparger Springs]

1 hour ago, Eolivet said:

I feel like a broken record, but I'm just going to say it again: why does either Rachel or Quinn's happiness have to be defined by a man?

Why can't their jobs be their true loves -- the thing they love the most passionately and desperately, even if it hurts them? Why can't they truly embrace "money dick power," and have hedonistic affairs that fulfill them sexually while their job fulfills them intellectually?

Why the insistence that every single woman secretly wants the fairy tale -- the dashing suitor and the full-tilt romance and marriage and babies and promises of forever? Why can't the show's created family, along with a few well-placed flings, be enough for our two heroes?

Again, vast minority opinion, but I thought the best thing that came out of the Rachel/Adam relationship was that Rachel recognized the suitor as a person, not just a prop to be manipulated. Not that Rachel found her One and Only. I would've loved for Quinn to come out of the Booth relationship realizing that marriage and babies aren't everything, and it was nothing compared to the fulfillment she got from her work. In other words, use the men as plot devices to make our heroes realize how satisfied they are instead of everything they are missing. That's what I thought the season 1 finale was going for, before season 2 went "Just kidding!"

tl;dr -- when young girls want an example of a powerful, successful woman on TV who is great at her job and willingly chooses it over any man, I hope that old tapes of Cristina Yang on Grey's Anatomy are not all that we have to show them.

Or Quinn can hate her job and still not want kids. Not everybody wants kids and a husband. The people at lifetime or still stuck on lifetime television for women.  We all want a knight in shining armor and beautiful babies that require no attention. She must want a man or life is empty. Quinn screaming about choices for a man she knew for less than a month was ridiculous. These are grown women that fall in love at the drop of a hat. High school girls with their first crush have better sense. It they wanted Quinn to be upset about babies they could've showed her being upset that Chet's baby was with his wife and not her. At least we  would've had some foundation to Quinn baby meltdown.

[jhlipton]

20 hours ago, Eolivet said:

Again, vast minority opinion

I'm at your table...

[okerry]

On 8/15/2016 at 3:41 PM, Eolivet said:

Why can't their jobs be their true loves -- the thing they love the most passionately and desperately, even if it hurts them? Why can't they truly embrace "money dick power," and have hedonistic affairs that fulfill them sexually while their job fulfills them intellectually?

Because a job is just a Thing, and it's not exactly healthy for a Thing - and not a human being - to be someone's true love. And because hedonistic affairs (sexual fulfillment) and jobs (intellectual fulfillment) do not provide true emotional fulfillment, which is the one thing not mentioned in your post above.

[TAG42481]

I think the season would have much more interesting if there had been some focus on the actual contestants.  I like the central cast, but watching them snipe at each other the whole time just got boring.  I felt that season 1 had a good balance of contestants and crew.  If they hadn't "changed the formula" so much for season 1, I would have liked it.  Wouldn't have need to worry about a sophomore slump.  I watched episodes 1-5, read the summaries for episodes 6-9, then watched the finale.  Eh.  Still deciding whether I'll watch next season or not.

[bblancobrnx]

I will be back for next season. This season was nowhere near as good, but season 1 was SO EXCELLENT that I will gladly give them another chance to get it right. I'll catch a few episodes and if seems too s2-ish to me, then I will give up on it

Edited August 20, 2016 by bblancobrnx

[nameless slob]

I am re watching season 1 and in the pilot there's a scene, right at the beginning, when the party is about to start, where I see a girl very much like Yael. Am I  confused? Was that addressed in the second season?

[Princess Sparkle]

15 hours ago, nameless slob said:

I am re watching season 1 and in the pilot there's a scene, right at the beginning, when the party is about to start, where I see a girl very much like Yael. Am I  confused? Was that addressed in the second season?

That's Maya, isn't it?  She does look a bit like Yael in that shot though.

[nameless slob]

I think you are right, Princess Sparkle. I got confused. Thank you!

[STOPSHOUTING]

On 14 August 2016 at 6:12 AM, EyesGlazed said:

What a terrible misfire of a season.  And this opinion is coming from someone who loved S1.  Let me count the ways that S2 was awful:  1. Using the police shooting of an innocent black man, Romeo, as a minor plot point.  Then following it up with nothing:  no explanation of how badly Romeo was hurt, how he got better in time to appear on the last episode, whether he went to jail or charges were dropped or what, whether there was any discipline of the police officer who shot him.  What an insult to the characters and the viewer.  2.  The show has escalated from having its two "heroines" push the envelope in ways that led them unwittingly to contribute to the death of a contestant in S1, to having them conceal a double murder and harbor the murderer in S2 (and btw it looked to me like Rachel was winding Jeremy up in the truck scene, like she was manipulating him to do something awful).  I don't find this amusing or entertaining.  3.  Quinn's breakdown over not being able to have babies/keep Booth was completely out of character and ridiculous.  I suspect this one wasn't an SGS screwup; it was more likely a command "note" from the suits at Lifetime, who must pander to the idea that a woman isn't "relatable" unless she wants babies or considers her life worthless if she can't have babies.

I could go on but I'm too disgusted.

Agree with all of the above, other than it being Lifetime's dictum that Quinn come down with a sudden case of baby fever because it's not Hallmark channel, plus the rest of the season was such a pile of poo that I don't give the writers any pass on stupid plot points.

Also, how old are the people that write this? In what universe does fantasy British billionaire boyfriend not realize that it's unlikely his 45-year-old childless girlfriend of five minutes can easily procreate in his fantasy "someday" scenario without major medical intervention (egg donor and possible surrogate, at least)? So, it's either, A, we're supposed to buy that Quinn is passing as 30. (And, again, how truly dumb is the guy?) Or, that he runs a worldwide corporation but never learned basic biology. Also, yeah, most billionaire media moguls look exactly like Mr. Fantastic, and not at all like Rupert Murdoch.

And, ugh, with the everybody-sleeps-with-Rachel bullshit that they doubled down on this year by turning it into everyone sleeps with AND luuuurrrrrvvves Rachel. I didn't really mind her hooking up with Coleman -- who was a terribly drawn, poorly thought out and completely superfluous character in every respect -- because, M.O. and self destructive, but to now have Jeremy be the lovesick stalker was totally not what we learned about that (fairly useless) character in season one or, heck, even the beginning of season two. (Jerk, yes? Longing glances all day that turn into I'd-kill-for-you ferver? Nope.) Ditto, Adam. I mean, he "loves" Rachel now? As, if! They had a certain desperate damaged seeking damaged bond when he was on set, cut off from the rest of the world, but the Adam we saw in S1 finale would have gone back to his partying, Playboy ways without a backwards glance and been all "Rachel, who?" a year later.

And "hot Rachel" being a secret (nope!) reporter that the show never noticed, and then sleeping with, well, everyone she's spoken with because, you know, reporter and that's what they teach at television-show journalism school: they're not a source till you bang 'em!

The entire premise of a black suitor and Rachel and Quinn running the show, or thinking they would, had merit but it went exactly nowhere, fast. From minute one the entire set-up of how Everlasting supposedly works made zero sense. It's an extremely produced, highly edited and packaged production that airs in real-time, apparently? Nope. Not even slightly credible. Despite it being highly popular and still currently on the air, they send the axed bachelorettes back into the world without a single peep in the press? Even when they bring in a fake "mom" for one of the contestants to manipulate the suitor, then he cuts the woman, sends her home, and she, or her fake desperate for publicity "mom" actress, are not ALL OVER selling that story? That's not an NDA, that's magic! (NDA's, as anyone with half a brain will tell you, don't protect a company from fraud revelations, and take YEARS of legal wrangling to enforce, if they even can be, and at that point the cat is long, long out of the bag, and damage done. They're 90% fear tactic.)

The 'We're making competing shows' and see what the network likes best nonsense? This is a major television production with hundreds of union employees, not a student film. That wouldn't have lasted for 10 minutes in any even vaguely realistic commercial endeavor. We are supposed to believe that there's a network somewhere that brings in a new show runner, but then, you know, doesn't actually GET RID OF THE EXISTING SHOWRUNNER(S) ... Because that's WHY you bring in someone new. You don't leave everyone around to spin up drama and cost you money. Contractually obligated to still pay Quinn and Chet? That I buy. Legally required to leave them on set for any goddamn reason? Not. For. One. Second. Plus, EVERY major network has someone on set of ALL their shows at least weekly, if not more often, to check on the investment and make sure things are actually getting done. They don't settle for occasional phone calls and blind trust.

The dumbass, totally insulting, nonsense with the police shooting, which is a total dropped plot point, basically immediately, has already been discussed. But then they end with a straight up, cold-blooded murder?? Methinks someone rewatched The Player recently.

By the way, to hide what, exactly? You go to the freaking network gaggle of lawyers and they throw medicine-withholding what's-her-name producer from last year under the bus and everyone says how shocked they are to learn of these revelations surrounding an already painful accident.

Of course, that's all putting aside the idea that a TV show WHERE SOMEONE LITERALLY KILLED THEMSELVES would ever be allowed to return to air in the first place, let alone without a raft of changes, legal and otherwise in place. It would have been MUCH better to have Quinn and Rachel return doing their own project, with perhaps Chet suing them for stealing Everlasting's intellectual property or something to keep him in the mix. Pretty much any idea other than those they went with would have been better.

Blruggghhh. I honestly can't even believe I watched the whole thing. 

[phoenics]

On 8/15/2016 at 3:25 PM, okerry said:

Guys, I'll say it again: Quinn's reaction to her infertility was not simply grief over being unable to have children. It was because she knew (Ioan Griffith's character) was going to break up with her because of it.

If it hadn't been about infertility, it would have been something else, because this show is about True Love and how nobody wants that more than Quinn. Everlasting is her way of trying to create and control True Love because she's never been able to do that in her real life. The derisive remarks and constant humiliation of the contestants are because she's got such a love/hate relationship with True Love. She wants it desperately and created a beautiful illusion of it in *Everlasting,* but knows it isn't real and hence her disdain for the contestants.

The final scene this year showed Quinn and Rachel lying on the chairs not with their True Loves, but with their real loves - the very flawed, messed-up men who nevertheless are actually there and do love them. So which is better: True Love, or real love? That's what the whole show is about.

Thank you!  This is exactly what I thought - also that Quinn is about control... and the choice to have a baby being out of her control really messed her up.  I never saw Quinn as not wanting babies - I saw her as wanting to control what she did in the order that she did.  Her biology taking the choice from her was so interesting.  I definitely identify with Quinn so much more this season.  She's so much more complex to me than a woman who has decided she doesn't want babies or does want babies, because I think it's a little bit of both... plus, in the end, it's all about love for her anyway.  

[EyesGlazed]

On August 26, 2016 at 11:31 AM, STOPSHOUTING said:

Also, how old are the people that write this? In what universe does fantasy British billionaire boyfriend not realize that it's unlikely his 45-year-old childless girlfriend of five minutes can easily procreate in his fantasy "someday" scenario without major medical intervention (egg donor and possible surrogate, at least)? So, it's either, A, we're supposed to buy that Quinn is passing as 30. (And, again, how truly dumb is the guy?) Or, that he runs a worldwide corporation but never learned basic biology. Also, yeah, most billionaire media moguls look exactly like Mr. Fantastic, and not at all like Rupert Murdoch.

And, ugh, with the everybody-sleeps-with-Rachel bullshit that they doubled down on this year by turning it into everyone sleeps with AND luuuurrrrrvvves Rachel. I didn't really mind her hooking up with Coleman -- who was a terribly drawn, poorly thought out and completely superfluous character in every respect -- because, M.O. and self destructive, but to now have Jeremy be the lovesick stalker was totally not what we learned about that (fairly useless) character in season one or, heck, even the beginning of season two. (Jerk, yes? Longing glances all day that turn into I'd-kill-for-you ferver? Nope.) Ditto, Adam. I mean, he "loves" Rachel now? As, if! They had a certain desperate damaged seeking damaged bond when he was on set, cut off from the rest of the world, but the Adam we saw in S1 finale would have gone back to his partying, Playboy ways without a backwards glance and been all "Rachel, who?" a year later. . . .

The 'We're making competing shows' and see what the network likes best nonsense? This is a major television production with hundreds of union employees, not a student film. That wouldn't have lasted for 10 minutes in any even vaguely realistic commercial endeavor. We are supposed to believe that there's a network somewhere that brings in a new show runner, but then, you know, doesn't actually GET RID OF THE EXISTING SHOWRUNNER(S) . . . .

Of course, that's all putting aside the idea that a TV show WHERE SOMEONE LITERALLY KILLED THEMSELVES would ever be allowed to return to air in the first place, let alone without a raft of changes, legal and otherwise in place . . . .

I had to re-post some of this, StopShouting, because I luuuurrved it so much.  Especially enjoyed the Rupert Murdoch line!

On August 16, 2016 at 1:01 PM, okerry said:

Because a job is just a Thing, and it's not exactly healthy for a Thing - and not a human being - to be someone's true love. And because hedonistic affairs (sexual fulfillment) and jobs (intellectual fulfillment) do not provide true emotional fulfillment, which is the one thing not mentioned in your post above.

Hey, you should write for Lifetime!  Or better yet, Hallmark.  I personally get emotional as well as intellectual satisfaction from my job, and I think a lot of other people do as well.

[phoenics]

On 8/29/2016 at 6:50 AM, EyesGlazed said:

Hey, you should write for Lifetime!  Or better yet, Hallmark.  I personally get emotional as well as intellectual satisfaction from my job, and I think a lot of other people do as well.

Meh - I don't.  And I don't think there is anything wrong with that.  Quinn doesn't HAVE to be that woman who doesn't want love or a family, or whatever.  She also doesn't HAVE to be the woman who does.  Maybe - she can be conflicted about it and kinda be both?

I get satisfaction from my career, but I don't get "love" satisfaction - I'd like to have a man and maybe a family one day.  What's wrong with that?  It sounds like there is anger that Quinn isn't as black and white as "I don't need a man, I get all of my emotional fulfillment from my job and I have zero regrets!"

Maybe she will get to that one day, but even if she does, I'd still say that it happened because she made the best of the situation she was in (and created due to her choices), not that she really wanted it to turn out that way.  Perhaps there are women who 1000% are there naturally and NEVER wanted family/husband, etc.., but that doesn't mean SGS means for Quinn to be that woman.

I enjoy that she has layers to her and that they're showing some depth to her rather than making her completely black or white.  I like seeing that she was upset that the choice to have kids was taken from her - because it showed her that her actions of embracing the show to the exclusion of all else (except an affair that really was self-sabotage) had consequences.  IF she wanted a family, she kinda missed her window (unless she adopts).  I think many women can relate to that.  It's not that she just from birth thought, "Nope!" to having a family, etc.. it's more that her career driven nature made her miss exit or rest area signs where she could have started a family and now biology has taken the choice from her.

I found that story to be so much more interesting (and relatable) than a blanket, black or white Quinn who never wanted family to begin with.  

[Chinspinner]

I am a bit late to this show, but just caught up with it on Amazon Prime. It is fun schlock, particularly in that it is really just a soap opera with a thin veneer of social commentary. One thing I am slightly unclear on is this: I think the writers expect you to feel some sympathy or pathos for possibly the most unpleasant lead character on TV, and episode by episode my dislike for her only grew.  

[SnapeCharmer]

Season two had some moments, but it was overall an epic fail. It had tons of potential, and like the show it's parodies it could have handled the social commentary around having a Black suitor better. I mean if they're going to go there, they must handle it better. Since they didn't, it torpedoed show. We're lucky there's going to be a season three, because after season two, I wasn't sure it would survive.

[uoflfan]

I'm in the minority here but I actually enjoyed season 2 and am eagerly awaiting season 3 with Everlasting's first suitoress.  Bring on the crazy.

I find it very interesting that the Bachelorette cast a black woman after UnReal s2.  It's like life imitating art.  heh.

I may just get myself a "Money Dick Power" tattoo!

Edited August 12, 2017 by uoflfan

[scrb]

It seems they had to ramp up the producer shenanigans to show how far gone Rachel, Quinn and others are.

The mind games and manipulations of S1 were not enough.  They had to raise the ante and have Rachel give one of the contestants food poisoning.  OK maybe a plausible extension of the show but would they actually air the girl having her accident?

What made the first season such withering critique of the Bachelor becomes less credible because the producers create situations which networks are unlikely to air.

Would a network air the footage of the police shooting as part of the show?  Unlikely though TMZ might if it got hands on the footage.

In the finale, Jeremy becomes a murder and Rachel, Quinn and Chet become accomplices — Or maybe the legal status would be accessories after the fact.

I haven’t started season 3 yet but I assume none of them go to the police about the car crash, at least not until the end of the series.