UnREAL – Transference

By starrymag | April 8, 2018

By: Taylor Gates

 

 

Rachel (Shiri Appleby) and her dad (Barclay Hope) take a walk before work. Jeremy (Josh Kelly) sees the two of them and asks what’s going on, and Rachel begs him not to say anything. A few minutes later, her cabin realtor calls her and says he assumed she wasn’t interested in the property anymore. He now has a couple willing to pay above asking price. She pleads for five minutes to speak with the owners and tell them how much the place means to her.

 

Serena (Caitlin FitzGerald) wants to use this week to sit around and talk to all the guys. Jay (Jeffrey Bowyer Chapman) and Madison (Genevieve Buechner) know Quinn (Constance Zimmer) is not going to be too keen on this, but Rachel approves the idea. As expected, Quinn is furious, but Rachel promises that after the talking, Serena will go on one super romantic date.

 

Dr. Simon (Brandon Jay McLaren) gives Rachel the name of a rehab close by for her dad. Although it’s expensive, it has good reviews. Rachel is adamant they don’t need it. When her father disappears from her truck, however, she gets worried. Stressed, she tries to focus on watching the monitors, but Jeremy offers to take over for her while she looks for him.

 

Quinn tells Chet (Craig Bierko) she wants to get more eyes on the show. To do that, they need to uncover something buzz worthy and scandalous. They observe the guys as they play volleyball and see Warren (Marcus Rosner) and Guy (Terry Chen) getting close and get an idea. Since Jeremy is gone, they tell Charlie (Chelsea Hobbs) to work the camera.

 

Serena is horrified when a random man walks in on her showering. Asa apologizes, telling Rachel he was just trying to find a bathroom. Quinn walks over to diffuse the situation and Rachel is forced to admit her father is there with her. Rachel lies and says they’re just having father/daughter bonding time, but Quinn doesn’t buy it. Rachel suggests that Madison handle the one-on-one, but Quinn refuses—Madison may be able to screw her way to useful information, but she can’t perform voodoo like Rachel.

 

Rachel’s dad tells her he secretly watched Everlasting in order to feel close to her, asking if he can stay and watch her produce for awhile. In the middle of the segment, Rachel gets an urgent FaceTime call from the cabin owners. She has Jay cover for her and explains how much the place means to her, even offering to pay $75,000 in cash. The owner promises to think about it.

 

Serena grills the guys during the interviews, asking Alexi (Alex Sparrow) about his drug addition, August (Adam Demos) about how many women he’s slept with, and bringing up Owen’s (Alex Hernandez) failed marriages. She shocks everyone by choosing Guy and refusing to even speak to Jasper (Bart Edwards). Quinn is excited this could offer a love triangle with Warren.

 

Alexi tells Jay he needs more drugs, but Jay refuses to give them to him. He also says what happened the other night cannot happen again, as he has a boyfriend. Just then Xavier (Jaime M. Callica) shows up to surprise Jay with a protein shake and Alexi drops the bomb that he’s the one hosting Passport to Dance. Xavier is furious Jay didn’t tell him this news earlier. Jay promises he’s trying to get Xavier approved as a segment host, but it’s not enough.

 

Jay apologizes to Xavier, offering him a finder’s fee, but Xavier says it’s not about the show—it’s about him turning his back on the one person who was there for him. Xavier says he gave up everything for Jay, moving his whole life for him. Jay reminds Xavier he never asked him to do that, saying he’s coming on too strong by showing up at his work. Xavier thinks maybe he should just move home to New Orleans, and Jay agrees. Later that night, Jay tells Alexi they broke up, and he convinces him to try coke to feel better.

 

Owen and Jasper go to the gym at the same time and throw shade at each other. Jasper tells Owen he’ll never be good enough to Serena, but Owen reminds him he hasn’t lost Serena’s trust because of a bet.

 

Quinn brings Warren along for champagne and an interview in a limo. She says she feels bad Serena hasn’t really give him a chance, asking what he does all day. He starts raving about how much he loves being Guy’s roommate, sharing that they’ve stayed up late talking and drinking tea multiple nights. Quinn asks Warren if he’s gay, and Warren is insulted. She tells him it’s Serena who he needs to convince, and he agrees to tell her immediately.

 

The limo drives to where Serena and Guy are having their romantic restaurant date, and Warren interrupts them, telling Serena he wants to put his hands all over her. Rachel is irritated that Quinn and Chet didn’t tell her this plan ahead of time. Warren starts getting aggressive towards Guy, but Guy tries to diffuse the situation, reminding him they’re on the same team and going through all of this together.

 

Serena is pissed at Rachel, convinced Rachel doesn’t care about her. Rachel promises her she’s treated her better than she’s treated anyone who’s ever been on this show, but Serena brings up the fact Rachel didn’t tell her about Jasper’s bet. Rachel says Jasper didn’t even know her when he made the bet. She also reminds Serena she’s a real person going through things of her own—she’s not just a job. She sarcastically tells Serena she’s sorry if things aren’t as picture perfect as she believes she is.

 

When Serena gets back, there is a huge flower wall in the shape of a heart. Jasper says he bought them for $100,000 and donated $300,000 to Planned Parenthood and Girls Who Code in honor of her—it’s the exact amount of money he would have won on the bet. He says money is nothing compared to her. Serena promises to give him a chance but isn’t swooning over his act, which makes Quinn irritated.

 

Rachel’s dad gets to talking with Zach (Melvin Gregg), who tells her that Rachel is so good at what she does he lives in constant fear of her. Asa goes to Rachel’s truck while Rachel produces the one-on-one date. Dr. Simon sees him there alone and decides to use this opportunity to speak with him. He tells Asa that he shouldn’t put his problems all on his already stressed daughter and that the Everlasting set is more than anyone can handle. Rachel comes in and is furious at Dr. Simon for putting ideas into her dad’s head.

 

Quinn and Chet show Guy the Guy/Warren love video they edited. Guy refuses to participate at first, but when they promise to get him press and invest in his restaurant on the Vegas strip, he agrees to lean into the narrative. His only condition is that they let him be bisexual.

 

Asa starts ranting in front of the entire cast and crew about how terrible Quinn is, saying Rachel has more talent than anyone there. He breaks down, apologizing for not protecting Rachel. The whole crowd starts to laugh, but Jeremy yells at them to have some respect. Quinn sees Chet taping the whole thing and tells him to stop—this isn’t good drama; this is real. This is Rachel.

 

Quinn and Rachel talk in Quinn’s office. Quinn sympathizes but tells Rachel that her dad doesn’t belong on set. Rachel is adamant she can do it herself, but Quinn tells her he needs real help. Quinn knows Rachel thinks that by fixing Asa she’ll be fixing herself, but that’s not how it works.

 

At the elimination ceremony, Guy announces that he fell in love with another man. When he leaves, he squeeze Warren’s shoulder, and Serena decides to cut him as well to be with the person he’s meant to be with. Warren barges into Quinn’s office, fuming that he’s not gay. He tells her that getting mercy slammed by a contestant is sad before storming out.

 

Serena apologizes to Rachel for being rude to her, but she’s distracted and short with her. She makes the difficult decision to check Asa into a rehab, using the all the money for her cabin. Afterwards, she’s understandably upset and hugs Dr. Simon for comfort.

 

Chet tells Quinn he appreciates her for taking the Emmy campaign seriously. He thinks this is his only chance to leave a legacy for his son, who he’ll probably never see again. Quinn tells him he just needs to fight for it. Chet longingly watches Quinn’s car drive away and is distracted when Crystal (Kassandra Clementi) calls him. Quinn goes to Rachel’s truck to check on her and sees Jeremy there doing the same thing. Quinn tells Jeremy to leave Rachel be—they can’t go down this road again.