All For One Recap: Episodes 1-5

By starrymag | March 14, 2016

By: Michelle Rose Micor

 

For Dorothy Castlemore (Gwenlyn Cumyn) today might be the worst day ever, but for fans of the beloved Alexandre Dumas novel, The Three Musketeers, it is indeed a very good day.

Last week KindaTV in collaboration with Corus Entertainment and ABCSpark, premiered their newest web series created by Cherrydale Productions, All For One, a modern adaptation of The Three Musketeers.

Now I know what you’re thinking, The Three Musketeers, really? Yes, really!

RJ Lackie (The Soliloquies of Santiago, Coupleish) and Sarah Shelson (The March Family Letters) brings to life the story of Dorothy Castlemore, a Freshman in University and her college adventures in romance, making friends (and enemies) and sorority life.

In episode one, audiences are immediately immersed into Dorothy’s life and her band of Internet friends (The Inseparables) who provide live commentary via online chat. One of the things I immediately noticed were some guest appearances by other beloved web series characters, CookieMonster anyone? I see you Laura Hollis! Be sure to keep your eyes peeled for more cameos as well!

When we first meet Dorothy she’s feisty and swooning over her cute roommate Connie (Linnea Currie-Roberts) who’s at her side with an ice pack to help the bruising of a lovely black eye from someone Dorothy dubs “douchecanoe.” And based on the commentary from her friends, this isn’t the first time Dorothy’s gotten herself into trouble. As Dorothy goes into further detail of the incident, Connie’s not so subtly throwing her some heart eyes and The Inseparables have already named their ship #Dornie.

We learn more about Dorothy’s mission to getting accepted into Mu Sigma Theta (MST or Sigmas) and how her gran was once part of the notable sorority that Connie also just so happens to be rushing as well – just not for the reason you may think. Connie’s cousin, Anne, is the President. Therefore making her sorority gold and most likely a shoo-in. But there was definitely more to Connie’s lack of energy when discussing it.

Before Dorothy can ping Connie for more information on her cousin, Connie’s phone goes off and she very aggressively answers it and leaves the room. When Connie’s clearly out of view, Dorothy takes to the camera once again to discuss her roommate and how much she’s totally sending her heart eyes!

Come episode two and we’re already making headway on the ship that is Dornie, or so we think. After being able to attend her first recruitment event, philanthropy night, Dorothy recounts her all sorts of awkward introductions only to be teased by her friends and called charming by Connie, catching her off guard.

We segue into some sorority talk, where the roommates discuss their Rho Chi, Treville (Denise Yuen), no doubt the modern version of Monsiuer de Treville from the novel. She’s nice, but in the words of Dorothy, “definitely more of an 18^thcentury madam.”

For those of you who aren’t too familiar with what sorority life or recruitment is like, Rho Chi’s serve as mentors for potential new members (PNMs). They help guide you through the process of recruitment while hiding their affiliation to maintain unbiased guidance.

We meet Treville and she’s definitely as intense as described as she pays Dorothy a visit to discuss her selection sheet in which Castlemore only declares interest in one sorority. Treville lets her know that her decision is most definitely unwise and will most likely end up with her being sister-less and alone. The ever-defiant Dorothy stands by her decision and as Treville bids her adieu she reminds her to keep her fists to herself (Douchecanoe had it coming).

Connie comes and tells her how great she is for standing up for herself and the smile that breaks out on Dorothy’s face is honestly too adorable for words! We also learn that Anne’s ex-boyfriend Rick has been on a rampage in the student union ever since their breakup.

Cut to Connie going on a passionate rant on how Dorothy should do whatever her pretty heart desires and then dun dun dun…Dorothy whispers, “Can I…” and leans in for what we all hope is an epic first kiss and then this happens.

Connie leans in and then backs away telling Dorothy that she has a girlfriend. She has a long-distance girlfriend named Monty who apparently is “amazing,” (you can’t see me, but I’m rolling my eyes).

Connie apologizes profusely for having misread the situation and Dorothy tells her it’s not her fault and that she just must’ve misread everything to which Connie replies, “No, not everything,” and then my heart breaks. How the writers were able to create such epic chemistry in just two episodes, I’ll never know, but there are zero complaints on my end. After the awkward encounter, Dorothy immediately jumps to the extreme of telling Connie she’ll find herself a new living situation and Connie shuts down that option really quick (#Dornie) and more awkwardness ensues.

Thus far, I have to say that episode three is probably my favorite. Maybe it’s the inner sorority girl in me but this brought back some college nostalgia for sure.

We meet three new characters, Portia (Claire Gagnon-King), Ariana (Angie Lopez) and Alex (Alejandra Simmons), all three belonging to MST.

So why is this my favorite episode so far? Cut to the last few minutes of the episode in which the MST sisters come to the realization that Dorothy is a PNM and, in fact, breaking some very important rules when it comes to the fraternization of current members and potential ones.

Why does this matter? When it comes to recruiting, having any current sorority members interacting with PNMs outside of a recruitment event is considered “dirty rushing,” which in the long term can impact whether or not a PNM receives a bid from any sorority. Dorothy doesn’t seem too fazed when the girls leave, but I don’t think she realizes how much trouble she could actually be in.

Episode four is hilarious! I love the realness of it. Dorothy comes into frame and she’s immediately doing an outfit swap because (drumroll please) she has a date tonight. My favorite part about this episode is the way the writers set up the date that it’s not some huge reveal that our leading lady is a lover of both men and women. It’s the setup that makes it golden.

Our favorite CookieMonster is very vocal about her concern for Dorothy going on a date with a guy to which Dorothy replies, “Oh Laura, shut up. You know I like guys just as much as I like girls,” and Laura replies with a simple, “I still think Connie likes you.” Also, the signature Musketeer hat makes an appearance. I was absolutely delighted, but some of The Inseparables, not so much.

Fast forward to Dorothy returning from her date with her mystery man who now has a name, Miller (Dan Mousseau). I’ll be the first to admit, I wasn’t too keen on this Miller nonsense because I’m Dornie all the way, but the way Miller looks at her is pretty freaking cute – not to mention his very McDreamy hair and the way he happily obliges to paying Dorothy in pie for losing in video games.

Spoiler alert: They kiss. Actually, I guess kiss is putting it lightly, but before they can move forward with any sexy time they’re rudely interrupted by none other than Douchecanoe. Douchecanoe whose real name is Rochefort (Damien Doepping) we find out is none other than Miller’s bratty younger cousin who, along with his cronies, have been harassing Dorothy all week.

We find out that Miller totally bailed on his baby cousin to hang with Dorothy. I guess I’d be pretty upset if my cousin did that to me, too. Miller leaves, escorting his cousin out and Dorothy simply yells to him, “You owe me pie!”

Onto episode five and it’s “pref. night,” one of the last nights of recruitment in which PNMs are invited back to sororities. But, as we quickly find out, it’s not all sunshine and rainbows from here. Sorry, Dorothy.

Ariana and Portia appear looking as cute as a couple can be until Alex enters announcing that they’ve done their job of making sure Dorothy made it home safely and that it’s time for them to go.

Portia leans in for a hug, which is a MAJOR NO-NO in recruiting. If that weren’t bad enough, she says, “We’ll see you tomorrow,” basically promising Dorothy that she’ll be receiving a bid. Alex quickly drops the hammer on that and does her best to keep her composure knowing that Dorothy’s bid is most likely invalid at this point.

The girls leave and Dorothy resumes her update of pref. night with the Internet and giving me some major flashbacks of my own pref. night many years ago. She gushes over her meeting with President Anne and calls it a night.

Next morning is Bid Day and we see a very ecstatic Dorothy (I mean truly ecstatic) – she even does a little dance. However the celebration is cut very short by Treville who comes bearing extremely unfortunate news.

Dorothy is told that she will not be attending Bid Day as there won’t be a bid waiting for her. My heart absolutely feels for Dorothy in this scene. My first time rushing I wasn’t given a bid from my top choice and the feeling you get is absolutely unreal. You don’t realize how much it means to you until it happens and when it does it’s hard to describe.

The story is just getting good and I know that viewers are not going to want to miss what’s coming next.

Be sure to tune in every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday at 5:30PM EST on KindaTV and ABCSpark for new episodes and be sure to subscribe for updates!

In addition to new episodes every week, you can fill your A4O craving by making sure you’re following the series on Twitter and the transmedia accounts for each character! If you’re new to that sort of thing, transmedia is a wonderful way for stories to be told through different platforms allowing for multiple stories to come to life simultaneously.

I hope you all enjoyed the recap and I look forward to bringing you one every week. You can come bug me on Twitter and gush over the series! Until next time, all for one and one for all!