All Rise Season 3 Episode 8 Review: Lola Through the Looking Glass
From the promo for All Rise Season 3 Episode 8, “Lola Through the Looking Glass,” you should at least be aware that it’s going to be a unique episode. Yet I’m not sure you can ever properly prepare yourself for what that means.
It would take an entire article just to cover all the new careers and personalities this episode contains. Suffice it to say many characters are the polar opposites of the ones we know, and the results aren’t always pretty.
The relationships are the meat here, though. Lola is married to Dre while Rachel is married to Robin. A very familiar-sounding romantic drama played out between them and their beaus, leading to a falling out. Worse, Lola and Mark also haven’t spoken in years.
That alone should make this world an undesirable one, but make no mistake– with no cases to focus on except one that pops up briefly in the waking scenes at the start and end of the episode, this is as close to straight comedy as All Rise has ever gotten.
It all gets a little too over the top at times, even accepting that anything can happen in dreams. The scene that winds up jolting Lola back to reality (well, almost) is probably one you’ll be glad to see interrupted, even if makes slightly more sense in context.
Amidst this circus, there is a handful of moments to ground us, bring joy, and remind us that the story we know still lurks under there somewhere. Lola makes amends with both her besties, and we get some of the best moments between them this season.
Perhaps the best moment, at least for fans who know both Ruthie Anne Miles and Lindsay Mendez best as Broadway headliners, is a duet between Sara, now a famous singer, and Sherri, now mostly a hot mess. If we can do this, we can definitely do a musical episode, right?
Still, the biggest question is just what we’re supposed to take from this entire fantasy. In most cases, a dream this intense would leave Lola with a clear answer of what to do about her entanglement with Dre, heightened when he invites her to speak at a conference.
We get no such results here. In fact, Lola briefly wakes from the entire sequence into yet another dream in which she is sharing a bed with both her ex and her husband. Sexy at it is, I’m not sure this is the best result of the new limits the show can reach on OWN.
Our heroine is as torn as ever. On the surface, it’s about whether or not she should attend said conference. But another layer to that internal debate is implied, and I’m already over it. We know Lola, at least in this world. Let her come to her senses already!
Other Notes
- Oddly, people are acting out of character even before the fantasy starts. Lola and Mark’s spat escalates in seconds. And what caused this new and unwelcome kind of tension for Luke and Emily?
- I will say the outfits are the one thing consistently on point in the alternate universe. Then again, the costume department has been at the top of their game all season.
- I’m not saying my love for avocados has been shaken in the long term, but I probably won’t ever eat guacamole wile re-watching this one.
What did you think of this episode of All Rise? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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All Rise airs Tuesdays at 8/9c on OWN.
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Caitlin Wyneken
Caitlin is an elder millennial with an only slightly unhealthy dedication to a random selection of TV shows, from PBS Masterpiece dramas to some of the less popular series on popular networks. Outside of screen time, she's dedicated to the public sector and worthy nonprofits, working to make a difference in the world outside of media.
2 comments
That was by far THE WORST EVER episode in this whole show 3 year history. Was so not what I would ever watch normally.
Tv-14 and the F word don’t mix.
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