UnREAL Review: Recurrent (Season 3 Episode 8)

Quinn and Rachel are such powerhouse characters that it is easy to put Jay on a back-burner. Not today, Jay, not today.

UnREAL Season 3 Episode 8, “Recurrent” grabs Baby — I mean Jay — out of the corner and puts his pain on stage. That’s a good thing in the context of UnREAL!

There have been some gut-punching scenes on UnREAL Season 3.

Rachel’s #metoo moment, Quinn cradling Rachel in her lap, Rachel and her dad dreaming of escape to an idyllic cabin, Quinn’s public take-down of Gary… The list goes on.

None of those scenes match the emotional intensity and anguish of Jay standing over the surveillance camera screens, watching Rachel screw Alexi.

It was a brief set of images, but I will never be able to unsee sweet, soft Jay, silently weeping as he watches Rachel get exactly what he wants.

Rachel has no idea that she’s stabbing her friend in the heart — the UnREAL writing team is channeling that good Shakespearean drama.

Constance Zimmer nails it as the director on the episode, in what is her very first turn behind the camera. It’s no surprise that the same person who delivers stunning performances as Quinn also has a keen understanding of internalized drama.

But this is Jay Day, so let’s get back to him.

Most of the episodes on UnREAL Season 3 close with a character gazing into a mirror. The motif is attached to Serena and Jay in particular as they face themselves throughout the season.

The surveillance camera in Alexi’s room is not a mirror, but in many ways, it acts as one on “Recurrent.”

Jay looks at the video, and he sees the reality of his choices reflected back at him.

The setting is the world of Everlasting, which he chose over Xavier. The room is Alexi’s bedroom, which he chose over Xavier’s.

The cameras are the hidden ones, lodged high in the ceiling to lull contestants into a sense of privacy. That, too — a false sense of privacy and intimacy — is what Jay chose over a life with Xavier.

And, of course, he sees Alexi, the person he chose over Xavier.

Jay stares at a reflection of the choices he made, and the life that he wanted but that rejected him and called him disgusting. He doesn’t look away.

It is enough to make me want to scream Rachel’s advice to Serena straight into Jay’s soul: “There’s nothing about this that ruins you!”

The entire plotline is made more devastating by the fact that we see on the episode how much Jay buys into the unreal romance of Everlasting. 

We haven’t seen a gay male suitor or contestant yet. So the avatars that exist for Rachel and Quinn and their dating lives haven’t really existed for Jay.

As viewers, we haven’t been privy to Jay’s personal attractions and dating style. So when he reveals the secret twinkle-light date for Alexi and calls it their own Everlasting, the big reveal is actually that Jay is a complete romantic.

I shout at the screen, “HOW COULD YOU HAVE LET SWEET SISSY BOUNCE XAVIER WALK AWAY?!”

It is so tender and sad that it is actually hard to watch.

But, I am so glad that UnREAL is giving Jay a complex love life and that he isn’t relegated to a land of no heartache just because he is a gay man.

Jeffrey Bowyer-Chapman is absolutely stellar in the scene.

On “Recurrent,” Bowyer-Chapman showcases his range as an actor, swinging from a sweet, giddy person crushing hard on a contestant, to a vengeful, broken-hearted producer by the end.

It is powerful and it is time. Jay deserves the development and emotional drama that other key characters get on UnREAL.

Real Talk:

• Rachel faces her mom one last time and is excited to be rid of her! But we know that Rachel’s mom lives on as the guiding voice in her head, telling her that everything is her fault. Those wounds aren’t scars yet — they’re still bloody.
• I’m gonna need Quinn to never leave the set of Everlasting again. K, thanks.
• I LOVE that when Chet tells Quinn, “You’re going to be so happy here,” she replies, “I know,” NOT “Thank you.”
• Quoting the Dalai Lama is NOT good foreplay.
• Rachel is OFF THE WAGON. Look out, folks. It is significant, though, that Rachel’s bender headed in Alexi’s direction rather than to Jeremy or a contestant Serena actually likes. She’s trying?
• #Quinning quote of the episode: “Screw ratings, and screw George, and screw every other man who wants us all to be perfect little princesses who have never had a period, or taken a dump, or ever even looked at another man. Everyone is damaged.” Where can I get my t-shirt?

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.

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