“I think you’ve got a little bit of Quinn on your shoe,” Jeremy sneers at Rachel when she pulls up to the Everlasting set in the passenger seat of Coleman’s Lamborghini. Later in last night’s episode, “Infiltration,” Quinn warns Rachel that Coleman is her Chet — a man who promises to give her the world but is only looking out for himself.
Five episodes into UnREAL‘s second season, it seems Rachel is falling for another kind of fairytale — not the dashing British millionaire who will whisk her away to St. Tropez like in the first season, but the more modern fantasy of a man who respects and supports his woman’s work. “In three years, I will have my own show and a man that loves me,” Rachel fires back at Quinn. Quinn tells her to be careful.
“Infiltration” sets a fuse to two developing storylines — Ruby and Darius’s relationship and Jeremy’s bitterness over his breakup with Rachel — and in the process hints at a disastrous outcome for the show’s two budding romances. Quinn meets her match in handsome billionaire John Booth, who owns a network of networks, and Coleman continues to woo Rachel, taking her to a fancy awards show and encouraging her on set. But in an episode that ends with Darius sending home the one girl he truly likes, not to mention a drunk Jeremy assaulting Rachel, the show appears to be waving a whole bunch of red flags. Fairytale romance exists on this show only to be mocked. As Quinn might say, this is UnREAL, people, not Outlander.
Both Quinn and Rachel get a taste of the princess life when they attend an industry award show. Quinn looks frankly ridiculous when she tries on a puffy, baby-blue ball gown, a look that Chet obviously likes: “You’re a vision,” he exclaims, before once again declaring his love for her. But she’s got business on her mind: She’s going to the Impact Awards to convince John Booth to let her run one of his networks.
Rachel once again sides with Coleman over Quinn, agreeing to go with him to the awards show even though the tickets usually go to Quinn — who’s no longer the showrunner. “Have fun, Cinderella,” Jay teases Rachel when she leaves to get ready for the event.
While Rachel and Quinn are gone, Jay’s left to monitor the Darius situation: Although he’s supposed to choose either Dominique or Yael to accompany him for one hot night in his private suite, he goes off script and picks Ruby. Quinn is about to pull the plug on the idea, but Coleman — who says the show has gotten boring — pulls rank and overrules her. But in the control room, Jay discovers that Quinn has set up extra cameras in Darius’s bedroom, breaking the show’s own rules. Although he promised Ruby no one would be watching, Jay agrees to keep the cameras rolling when Quinn plays to his desire to make TV history.
At the awards show, Coleman convinces Rachel to schmooze with John Booth, who apparently is Everlasting‘s biggest fan. (Red flag, Quinn! Red flag!). But when Quinn shows up, she steals the spotlight. John calls her a “legend,” and when she’s called back to set, she invites him along.
John gets a front-row seat to the Ruby debacle. Ruby and Darius may have started out innocently enough, talking about their families, pressure to succeed, their insecurities. But then they start to kiss, and then the clothes come off. “It’s like The Notebook for black people!” Jay squeals, describing the situation to Rachel on the phone. But Rachel knows Quinn better than Jay does; she knows she must be up to something. She and Coleman rush back. Just as Ruby and Darius are getting into it, Ruby’s dad appears on set — a dash of extra drama courtesy of Quinn.
Ruby’s father demands to see his daughter, and he sees her, alright: on camera, on top of Darius. Quinn leads him to Darius’s room, trailed by cameras. He walks in on them, and when Coleman and Rachel try to shut down production, Quinn reminds her, “This is who you are, Rachel, and this is what we love to do.” Rachel sides with Quinn, allowing the cameras to follow Ruby’s dad in the room, where he castigates his daughter for stooping so low as to appear on a reality dating show. Her dad isn’t impressed by Darius — he thinks he could be doing more for “his people” — but when he insists Ruby leave with him, she refuses. “I fell in love,” she says. Her dad is not moved. “I am so ashamed of you,” he says, and walks away. The cameras roll as Darius comforts a weeping Ruby.
Despite their obvious connection, Darius and Ruby are not meant to be. At the elimination ceremony, he tells her he doesn’t think he could ever be enough for her or her father, and extinguishes her candle — to Jay’s dismay.
Things between Rachel and Coleman are a little awkward after she sides with her mentor over her man. But then, they’re not so great with Quinn, either. “You could run circles around that snot-nosed brat,” Quinn tells Rachel. But Rachel’s still holding out hope for the fantasy of the perfect job and the perfect man.
Until Jeremy comes along to shit all over that fantasy. Pissed because Coleman moved him to another unit as punishment for throwing darts at a picture of Rachel, Jeremy makes a terrible decision: He accepts help from Chet. Chet takes Jeremy out into the woods for a he-man therapy session, but the result is surprisingly less toxic than you might expect.
Chet insists Jeremy take responsibility for his actions and desires, not blame others for his woes. Jeremy has a revelation, calling Rachel a “cancer” before admitting he loves her. Back at set, he watches Rachel and Coleman kiss before Coleman drives off in the Lamborghini. Then Jeremy corners Rachel while she’s trying to change out of her ball gown: Drunk, he calls her a “selfish bitch,” grabbing her and slamming her up against the wall. When she hits him, he hits back, hard. But it’s Chet who intervenes, pulling Jeremy off of her: “That’s not what a man does.” Before he goes over to make sure Rachel’s ok, he fires Jeremy. Chet, who are you?!