UnREAL Review: Insurgent (Season 2 Episode 2)
A separation is already growing between our ‘Money, Dick, Power’ duo on UnREAL’s “Insurgent,” with Rachel realizing that she never got the reins to ‘Everlasting’ in the first place.
Sadly, it looks like Rachel will have to take down her mentor to get what was promised.
Quinn lets her hatred for Chet cloud her thoughts and distract her from what’s really going on. She’s ignoring Rachel and making it about herself instead of following through with her promises.
Is Quinn pushing Rachel’s buttons to make her work harder and to surpass the perceptions that everyone has about her? Is she losing control of something that was within her reach because of her mentor? Or was Rachel doomed to fail from the beginning? Honestly it seems like a mixture of all three.
Quinn loves her, dotes on her in this twisted mother/daughter way, but she isn’t ready to let go of the kingdom yet. Especially with Chet’s threat to tear down and tarnish her fairytale with his ‘guru transformational shit.’
Rachel taking this to the head honcho of the company is her way of grasping at control because she feels herself spiralling. It’s brave of her to fight for what she wants and what she was promised. Unfortunately, she gets shot down again in a surprise move by someone she trusts.
That’s where the problem lies.
Rachel should not trust anyone. Time on Everlasting has shown her the ugliness of this world and the cost of making good TV. She should run before it devours her once more.
And yet she stays, because it’s easier to spiral and not worry about your own problems when you’re drowning in other people’s drama. It’s a coping technique that only lasts for moments before episodes of manic behavior begin once more.
A part of Rachel knows that she shouldn’t be on Everlasting anymore. You can see it in her eyes in those quiet moments she smokes, hides in her room, or glares at Quinn with those crazy eyes full of scheming intent.
Then there’s Madison.
This young woman, who posed no threat the previous season, is transforming into a mini-Rachel ready to follow in her mentors steps at the drop of a dime. She’s exhilarated by what Rachel can make her feel and what her life can be like if she keeps pushing.
Madison hasn’t realized that Rachel is achieving nothing at Everlasting.
Quinn is still in control. Rachel is still her little minion who gets pushed around. And Chet is still the misogynistic ass he was before, except now he has a walk-about of enlightenment under his belt.
Breaking ranks, and ratting out her two bosses to Gary, is never going to change things on Everlasting. If she doesn’t pull back NOW she’s going to destroy herself in hopes of making a great show.
Rachel has to choose to take care of herself and leave the job that enables her destructive and debilitating behaviour.
Favorite Quinn Quotes from UnREAL’s “Insurgent”:
- I can shoot ping pong balls out of my vagina but no one wants to see that.
- Ok, tits up, everybody. Let’s do this.
- Listen, did you do any paperwork on these side-dicks?
- Ok, you can pat your liberal white self on the back later.
- I know you think you’re televising revolution but what we need right now are wet panties.
- Crazy white trash will live to see another day. Praise the Lord.
What did you think of this episode of UnREAL? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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UnREAL airs Mondays at 10/9c on Lifetime.
Lyra Hale
Lyra is a TV and movie enthusiast. It all started on a dark night when she turned on Fox and fell in love with the X-Files. It was all history after that as she got lost in Doctor Who, The Marvel Verse and most recently everything DC. Her love for Doctor Who lead her to study abroad, where she fell into live-tweeting and the lovely explosion of fandom life that Tumblr is. Her main love for the summer (with a mega re-watch happening) is Arrow. When she isn’t sharing her love for TV and movies she’s writing fan-fiction, taking care of her family, and puttering around her kitchen.