UnREAL recap: Treason

Everlasting is built on lies: lies to the easily duped audience, lies to cast members, lies to fellow producers and showrunners, lies to the network, lies, lies, lies. So it should come as no shock to Rachel that Darius has been keeping a dark secret of his own: He’s hurt. Like hurt, hurt. So hurt it could end his football career forever. So hurt that without surgery, one wrong move could paralyze him.

Does that cause Rachel to contemplate ending the season of reality TV she’s dreamed of? Absolutely not.

Rachel is having to lie to the entire cast about Darius’ condition in “Treason,” and it starts with a visit from his doctor dressed as a messenger so he can treat Darius on the DL. With his room camera turned away, she wants him to give Darius something for the pain, but the doctor says that’s no longer safe. He needs surgery stat. Romeo — who is furious Rachel even knows about this — says it’s worth Darius having the surgery, even with its 18-month recovery time, if the alternative means losing his ability to play at all.

Ever the manipulator, Rachel is able to spin this for her own gain. She says if he leaves the show now, everyone will know he lied to his team. But if he stays for the day, she’ll get enough footage to make it look like he was hurt when he hauled Hot Rachel out of the pool and Brandi’s attack just made it worse. Romeo and Darius agree to this — only because an Entertainment Weekly reporter named Dominic is on set and they don’t want the news of his injury to get out. (Oddly, I’ve never seen Dominic around the office before…)

The fact that Darius is supposed to be playing quarterback in a powder puff game with the women is only a small hiccup for Rachel. She quickly pivots the group date and tells Jay that Darius and Tiffany are going to do play-by-play from the side while the other women play. Jay is not having this — he knows something is up. When Rachel won’t talk to him about it, he goes to Quinn and Chet. (It’s a little unclear why Chet is now okay with not being in charge, but maybe having his kidnapped baby with him on set has made him soft?) Quinn starts watching the tapes and puts two and two together.

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Much like Rachel, Quinn spins how this could help her. She says if he gets hurt on set, they could medevac him out — which would cause the show to tank on Coleman’s watch. Chet says the network would have to come back to Quinn. He may not be happy his “kingdom” is being given to someone else, but he’d rather see Quinn running the show than “little weirdo and dick for brains.”

NEXT: How to Get Away With Destroying a Reality Show

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To put Quinn’s plan in motion, before the powder puff game kicks off, Chet gathers all the women together and tells them the first person to tackle Darius will get a one-on-one date. Tiffany and Darius have a little bit of time to connect on the sidelines before London (the “terrorist”) pulls him away, saying he needs to be on the field with them and show them how to play. She’s emboldened thanks to Madison’s insistence that she loosen up and drink — for the first time ever — before the game.

On the field, Darius is telling the ladies he can’t play in his suit, but London isn’t having it. She comes out of nowhere and tackles him; all the other ladies pile on top as well. Everyone is laughing until they move off him and realize he can’t move. Cut to Quinn smiling in the editing bay.

Quinn hasn’t had the best day — she found out her father died, and to make it worse, Madison was the one to tell her — but this “good news” about Darius’ injury could turn things around for her. Rachel and Coleman come ask her what she’s doing; Coleman points out that she’s culpable for not vetting Darius properly, but she says the network won’t care he was brought on under her reign because the incident happened under Coleman’s.

Luckily for Coleman and Rachel, they have another plan. Unluckily for Darius, it involves a medical act his doctor recommended against. Coleman’s friend (he just happens to have a friend in sports medicine, very handy) comes on set to give Darius an epidural shot. Although Darius is worried that if he won’t feel the pain, he won’t know when he’s gone too far (as the doctor said), Rachel is able to use his family responsibilities against him. She points out that if Quinn shows him hurt on camera, he’s done forever and then he can’t support his mom, niece, Romeo, etc.

So Darius gets the epidural. And while Quinn is prepping her girls for a stretcher with injured Darius on it, instead a besuited Darius walks out, throws a football, and says it was just another day at the office. He’s all ready to go on his one-on-one with London… until she pukes on his shoes.

He walks off camera and runs straight into Romeo, who is furious he let Rachel manipulate him into getting the epidural. “You think she’s going to wipe your ass when you’re in a wheelchair?” Romeo spits at him. Darius says this is what’s best for him and if Romeo can’t support that, he can leave. On his way out, Romeo catches Rachel and essentially goes on a tirade about how terrible she is, ending it with “You talk to God about that, Rachel.” I hope Romeo isn’t gone too long. This show needs more people with consciences.

Since the ambulance is already at the mansion, Quinn gives them money to strap London onto the gurney and take her around the block. With everything died down, Chet takes this moment to tell Quinn he still wants her — and that he’ll be different this time. “It would be a whole new universe. It would be the one you deserve.” No sooner has he said that than cops pull up to arrest him for kidnapping. You think the network lawyers can get him out of this one?

NEXT: Is Quinn cracking?

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And with all that, there’s still an elimination to get to. Darius has to say goodbye to five women. He calls Ruby, Chantal, Tiffany, Jamison, Beth Ann, and Yael — which leaves four women we don’t know and London. She screams that they just wanted a “drunk Muslim” (absolutely true) and runs off. Madison, who is really getting the hang of this, yells at the camera crew to follow the drama.

Under Jeremy’s direction, this camera crew really isn’t the best, and he’s too busy hooking up with Hot Rachel to notice. It appears to all be a ruse to get his keys, but I’m not exactly sure what her end game is yet.

The crew doesn’t completely fail, though, because Jay has them secretly follow Ruby, where she has an “off camera” chat with Darius. She witnessed his blowup with Romeo and asks if he’s okay. She tells him she doesn’t like how this place is making her care what other people think… specifically him. He tells her he’s always felt the pressure of doing what other people expected, but now he wants to do what he wants. And what he wants is to kiss Ruby. Did Ruby know she was on camera? I’d like to think this was genuine, but maybe this place is bad for her.

God knows it’s bad for everyone else. After learning her father died, Quinn throws herself even more fully into her work. Rachel tries to come and say she’s sorry about her dad dying. “Oh, that’s what you’re sorry about?” Quinn says Rachel stabbed her in the back by going to Gary. The younger producer tries to claim she was doing it for the show, but Quinn says it was a power grab, pure and simple. And it was.

Quinn tells Rachel she’ll never be able to do the show on her own, that she’s too fragile. “You’ll always crack, Rachel,” she says. “You’re unstable and ungrateful and you cannot make this show without me.” Choking back tears, Rachel just says, “Watch me,” and leaves. And, with a bit of help from Coleman, Rachel is able to make this episode without Quinn.

But Rachel isn’t completely heartless. She goes into the control room after everything goes down and looks like she wants to reconcile with her mentor, but Quinn has other plans. “Congratulations — you showed me,” Quinn says. “I guess you can make this show without me. And then Quinn says she’s getting rid of all the “garbage people” in her life, including Rachel, Chet, and her now-dead father.

It’s a bold statement because these garbage people ARE her life. Quinn doesn’t know how to have life outside this show and neither does Rachel; Chet probably doesn’t, either. Coleman, you should get out while you still can.

Extras:

• “Oh my god, eww. Is that a real baby?”
• Rachel and Coleman make out — which Rachel instigates with “Are we doing this, Wasserman?”
• “What would Hillary say, Rachel?”
• At one point, Quinn tells Chet to put a pillow over his baby’s face. “It’s early enough to claim SIDS.”
• Madison tries to console Quinn with Lucky Charms without the marshmallows!? What is wrong with her? The marshmallows are the best part!
• “Little weirdo and dick for brains” are my favorite nicknames ever.
• Seriously, what is Hot Rachel up to?

What did you think of “Treason”? Who do you think will win in the Chet-Quinn-Rachel-Coleman power play? And who do you think is currently the leading lady for Darius? Share your thoughts below or find me on Twitter @realdalener.