UnREAL Review: Shield (Season 3 Episode 2)

UnREAL Season 3 Episode 2, “Shield,” is a shot of vodka. It leaves you gasping for breath, but sinfully warm and tingly in all of the important parts.

On “Shield,” Serena is a mirror for Quinn and Rachel, but she’s not a mirror in the sense of being the same as them.

Serena is not either woman’s avatar, and I believe Quinn when she shouts, “I don’t want what she wants.”

Serena is a mirror in that her experiences reflect back to the producers the shape of themselves. They see themselves through Serena, not in her.

Both have to look away.

Rachel accuses a spiraling Quinn: “Bullshit. You want exactly what she wants. You’re just too scared to admit it, because you’re afraid you’re never gonna get it.”

And although the first instinct is to give a few snaps and nods, I’m actually not with Rachel on this one.

There is fear, that is to be sure.

But I think it would be more accurate to say that Quinn is afraid of the fact that she DOES NOT WANT what Serena wants, what every other person on the planet seems to want. Her true desires scare her.

Quinn is devastated by Chet’s relationship with Crystal, but not because of wanting him for herself. It’s not really jealousy.

I think, rather, it’s the realization that she will always be more and want more and be capable of more than someone like Chet.

She is not simple. And that makes life endlessly difficult. Quinn is in open rebellion against the fact that she will never be happy with the simple life.

Quinn is so far from basic that she is salt. Some of us can relate.

The girl Rachel sees in the mirror is so raw that she runs away and guards against seeing anything about herself.

Rachel is trying to be honest, but she can’t even approach the idea of being honest with her own faults. Instead, she reverts back to her “safe spot” — controlled chaos.

We see Rachel get back into her skin when she talks to Russian Dancer about stirring things up. She produces; she sighs in relief because once again, she has control.

It’s quite powerful when Jeremy invades her control zone with a question about her intentions. It breaks the spell. Rachel shields herself against the honesty with barbs of her own.

I’m loving the dance between Jeremy and Rachel. It’s not shippy, but it is about love.

The relationship between Rachel and Jeremy IS about what in the world you are supposed to do when someone who sees you for who you are isn’t asking you to change — but can’t save you and can’t fix you.

This goes from beyond “all the feels” to “all the burns.”

The relationship between Quinn and Rachel is decidedly complex. It’s not quite mother-daughter, it’s not quite mentor-mentee, it’s not quite lovers (even though I DO ship it), and it’s not quite equals.

It’s a great many things. On “Shield,” the most poignant aspect is the co-dependency in their relationship.

From the get-go, Quinn has been clear that she needs Rachel. She says that she needs her producing talents, but this episode shows that she needs her more deeply than that too.

Rachel validates Quinn. Rachel makes Quinn feel like she belongs, like she is anchored to the earth.

When Rachel is “healthy” and is trying to take the high road with Serena, Quinn falls apart.

Yes, this is also because of Chet and Crystal, but Rachel is more central to Quinn’s identity than Chet. When Rachel rejects the vapid, gluttonous, empty pursuits that Quinn champions, Quinn feels a deep loss.

Quinn feels rejected.

This dependency on being in the same muck and mire colors Quinn’s choices, including sleeping with August.

In the sexy and victorious over-the-shoulder shot we see of Quinn as she’s banging the Aussie hottie on her executive desk, she’s not smiling because of the sex.

Quinn is smiling because she knows that having sex with August is going to bring Rachel back to her, under her thumb, and that’s right where she wants her.

UnREAL uses the show-within-a-show set-up expertly, ushering us into exciting and sharp social scenarios and providing meta commentary from the leads’ perspectives.

The direction on “Shield” magnifies the impact of the show-within-a-show.

When Chet mansplains being a woman to Serena, the camera angle makes him so small. His manthropology is diminutive.

During Rachel’s scene with Russian Dancer, too, the perspective of the camera empowers the masterminds and saps the contestants below of their agency.

Rachel lurks, with a smile dancing upon her lips, when her producing plays out and a fight erupts. The camera follows her quiet joy and then pans to Quinn’s. It connects them without a piece of dialogue or physical interaction.

“Shield” confirms that UnREAL is intoxicating TV. Everyone who has ever felt the high of being on a roller coaster — and liked it — needs to watch.

Real Talk:

• Owen is a gorgeous human being who mirrors what Jeremy is to Rachel: someone happy to see and accept Serena for who she is.
• I like that UnREAL is ditching the plot mishaps and strangeness from Season 2, but NOT the character choices. It is following the mental health threads of the previous season.
• New Shrink is my favorite. I ship him with everyone, even Graham.
• We need more Jay! I loved seeing him go to bat for Rachel and Quinn.
• All the back shots of August, please. All. Of. Them.

What did you think of this episode of UnREAL? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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UnREAL airs Mondays at 10/9c on Lifetime.

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