Don’t get me wrong, I love Unreal and have thoroughly enjoyed Season 2 just as much as Season 1, but there are a few things it got wrong during its sophomore run. From moving way too fast to taking its wild storylines over the top to making certain characters unlikable, the second season missed the mark here and there. Hopefully Season 3 will improve upon these aspects, but until we see if that actually happens, here’s where Unreal went amiss.
Quinn + John = forever love?
Can you really go wrong with Ioan Gruffudd? The answer is, definitely not, but the fact that fans are supposed to buy into Quinn and John falling head over heels in love in a matter of seconds? Not so much. Can it happen? Of course, but this is Quinn we’re talking about. Yes, Wagerstein told her to not mess it up with John, but to see Quinn dive so easily into a new relationship just doesn’t make sense. Maybe she was trying to deal with this particular relationship differently than she has in the past, but it just all seemed super rushed. Then, all of a sudden, she and John are talking about having kids. Quinn changing her mind about becoming a mom after immediately finding her supposed one true love? It’s just way too much, way too fast and in an unrealistic manner.
Where the heck is Adam?
Anyone else expect a bigger return from Adam? Yeah, he made quite the entrance and had some intriguing scenes with Rachel, but it all fell a bit flat. Maybe it felt that way because his comeback was teased so much. He’s no longer the main suitor, but couldn’t he have been in at least more than one episode? Also, where the heck did he disappear to after the shooting and seeing how distraught Rachel was as a result? Did he fly back to Africa? Is he somewhere else doing more charity work? Did Freddie Stroma channel his Harry Potter character and cast some type of spell to make Adam invisible? Seriously, what happened to Adam?
The unlikable Coleman
Did anyone else really want to like Coleman? When it comes to Unreal, viewers usually remain skeptical about new characters because they’re never sure who they can trust. The same can be said about Coleman, but it’s utterly disappointing that he turned out to be the typical “bad guy,” who used Rachel to further his own career and turned on her in a matter of seconds. Why did that have to happen? Why couldn’t the show have pleasantly surprised fans by making him somewhat decent and someone who only had good intentions? Granted, Coleman started off on a good foot and tried to take down Everlasting for all the right reasons (it is responsible for Mary’s death, among many other horrible events), but Rachel repeatedly getting hurt by a man is starting to get real old.
The same Quinn
What happened with Quinn this season? Yeah, she still killed it with her one-liners, and Constance Zimmer’s performance was on point (when isn’t it?), but Quinn was beyond frustrating this time around. From her same old sabotaging of the contestants to her constantly trying to rule Rachel, Quinn didn’t seem to really grow at all in Season 2, save for her relationship with John Booth and thinking about the possibility of kids.
Burning through storylines
It seems like Season 2 was all about burning through a bunch of different storylines as quickly as possible. This was OK when it came to Season 1 because that gave it an interesting and exciting edge, but the same can’t be said for the sophomore season. The fact that so many stories were told way too fast, the twists were boring. Now that Unreal is in its second season, it needs to keep things fresh and maybe even take things a bit slower than it’s used to. Shouldn’t fans enjoy what’s happening on screen rather than leave with a blasé taste in their mouths?
Not enough Ioan Gruffudd
As much as fans may not be buying Quinn and John falling in love as fast as they did, anyone else still need more Ioan Gruffudd in their life? The more of him, the better. He is a fantastic actor, not to mention charming and easy on the eyes. Seeing as his character did have such a strong connection to Quinn (even though it was unbelievable at times), it’d be a shame to never see John return. Plus, John and Quinn need to reconcile at some point, right? Here’s hoping Gruffudd pops up in Season 3.
Too many clichés
Anyone else feel like there were just way too many clichés this season? Where to even begin when it comes to Season 2 being filled with tropes… First, when Jeremy turned on Rachel and he hit her, well, that is the same sad and unforgivable story of a man abusing his ex-girlfriend because she doesn’t love him anymore. Then, what about Yael, the undercover reporter who will screw over or have sex with anyone just to get a story? Oh, and then there is the whole Quinn-John storyline. She is a powerful, feminist, career-hungry woman who all of a sudden realizes she wants to have kids after meeting her OTP. Basically a man flew in to save the day and made Quinn realize what she was missing out on. These were definitely disappointments.
Another suitor who hates ‘Everlasting’
It’d be a nice change for a suitor to be cast who actually wants to be part of Everlasting, enjoys the craziness and thrives on the manipulation. Both Darius and Adam were similar in the sense that they both hated the reality TV life and just wanted to leave. Thankfully Darius did get his happy ending with Ruby, so at least that was a nice change of pace. However, it’d be refreshing to see someone wanting to be part of it for all the wrong reasons. Hey, maybe even a female suitor next time around? Now that’d make for an exciting Season 3.
Too much of the same
A different kind of twist is so needed, especially when it comes to Everlasting itself. Maybe Madison’s suggestion of Everlasting: Exile in Paradise would make a welcome change? Or even bringing Adam back again and trying out Royal Renovations would switch things up in a positive way. Whatever happens in Season 3, let’s hope Everlasting doesn’t focus on too much of the same, like it did in Season 2.
Rachel’s overall story arc
Season 2 opened up the door into Rachel’s past and showed just how much her childhood sexual assault has affected her (and rightfully so), but there are some issues with the storytelling. Unreal needs to show more than just a woman being traumatized by a rape and her downward spiral as a result. It also needs to include Rachel’s healing, how she’s surviving it and to not let the rape define who she is. In a sense, Everlasting and Quinn have helped Rachel heal and shown her that she is more than her past, but Rachel going to therapy (or whatever is best for her) and the rebuilding of her life need to be shown for her rape storyline to not come off as just another rape that’s being told on TV to impact a character’s storyline, to further another plot or used as a way to make viewers sympathetic toward Rachel. When introducing rape, it needs to be handled carefully, and maybe Unreal will do that come Season 3.
Wherefore art thou, Romeo?
Unreal definitely took risks by telling a story related to the Black Lives Matter movement, police brutality and real-life events happening in 2016. However, rather than focusing on Romeo (the man who got shot by police) and Darius (Romeo’s cousin), it told Rachel’s story and her guilt stemming from the situation. Don’t get me wrong — Shiri Appleby did an amazing job as Rachel here and continues to prove why she deserves all the awards. However, fans didn’t even get a chance to see Romeo’s recovery, his time in the hospital or how getting shot affected him. Romeo’s storyline happened all off screen. The same can be said for Darius, who viewers didn’t even get to see deal with his cousin getting shot, not to mention he had his life-altering surgery all off screen. These are the things that would improve Unreal, so it’s too bad they weren’t shown.
Jeremy’s ‘redemption’
Based on the Season 2 finale, are fans just supposed to forget that Jeremy hit Rachel? It sure seems like the series is trying to make him likable again by Jeremy coming to Rachel’s aid and then doing whatever he did to hurt/kill Coleman and Yael. Is this supposed to be his redemption after striking Rachel in the truck? Either way, it doesn’t matter, because Jeremy hitting Rachel is not OK. Unfortunately Unreal sure seems to be saying that what Jeremy did is OK and that his crawling back to Rachel, telling her how much he loves her and then basically “handling” the situation with Coleman and Yael make up for what he did. Just because Jeremy did the so-called “right” thing by exposing Yael and Coleman’s plan to Rachel does not exonerate him from hitting her. It’s not OK, and it will never be OK.
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