Previously on Famous In Love……Go ahead read my review from last week then come back here and you will find magic. On a serious note, I wasn’t a fan of last week’s episode, so I will not torture myself and my readers, but my review from last week has all the juicy stuff so, please feel free to read it. Thanks
“Reality Bites Back” begins with Rainer and Paige are filming a “sexy” scene on “Locked.” Paige is suddenly interested in Rainer’s charity work and wants to do something philanthropic as well; really, what happened to her publicists who was going to work so hard for her?. Rainer invites her to his fundraiser, and she mentions a screen test that she cannot share but tells him it’s a Scorsese movie; playing Boudica a female Braveheart of Celtic heritage is how she describes her. I am not familiar with her, but I made a note to Google, and I found some very fascinating information. I was a little bit uncomfortable with how comfy these two were with each other while working on this film. I know I am starting to sound like a broken record, but I am team Jake and Paige.
Sloane is visiting Alexis on the set of her reality show. Her crew is filming something; what exactly? I don’t know, but a man and a woman are on a bed with Alexis doing all these sexy things. Apparently, it was for her Alexilicious App. I didn’t think Sloane, and she were close friends, but from the hugs and “I am so happy to see you” shriek it seems like they are. Also, it could be fake besties, come on, this is Hollywood. Alexis is filling Sloane in on the drama that’s been going down, but she conveniently leaves her scheme with Ida to film Nina. Sloane smells like trouble and a she’s a blabbermouth, she mentions the fundraiser knowing well that Rainer did not invite Alexis. Ida, on the other hand, does not miss an opportunity to use this situation to get more content for Alexilicious. On the set of “Locked,” they are filming a scene of Alexis (as Maggie) crying over Rainer, Jordan is also in the scene saying something that I couldn’t comprehend and the director calls cut and it’s a wrap for Alexis. She tries to talk to Rainer and begs for forgiveness, but Rainer is not having it, he does let her know that she crossed a line, but it’s her personality (Okay so, that’s it?). He agrees to let her come to the fundraiser minus her Alexilicious crew; which is funny because we all know how opportunistic Alexis is; the cameras will be there.
Marisol is back, remember her? She was the sweet director of the after-school program where Jordan volunteered. Shows up at his hotel to give him a picture the kids drew for him, scratch that, the lady likes him and wants to be with him but will pretend it’s about the drawing. She is worried though, about his relationship with Tangey, Jordan reassures her that situation is over. Marisol is smart, and I am hoping the writers will not make her believe the lies, please leave me one lovely lady on this show. A paparazzi ambush him in his hotel room about lying that he is from LA which enrages Jordan. Marisol out rightly confronts him about the LA lie seems like the man had forgotten mentioning before being from Chicago. He needs to come clean because Marisol likes him and dang it I like them together too. He reassures her that what she is getting is the real deal, I don’t trust him though, and I hope she takes that with a grain of salt. It was sweet to see them together at the fundraiser despite the hostility from Rainer. I was glad he confronted Rainer about talking to the reporter even though it might not be him. I am happy that Jordan is standing up for himself when you are not of “wealth or class” people tend to mistreat you. Their friendship might never survive which I am okay with, and I would rather the writers develop the characters more since the show's plot is a meander to nowhere land.
Paige is sword training at her new house and lamenting about Jake not being there to help unpack. The trainer tells her to use that anger she feels to perfect her punches. Jake’s is shooting his movie, so he is busy for crying out loud, but this is a foreshadowing of the drama that will be coming down the pipeline for these two. My ship is about to sail south to yonder brethren, and I am not okay. We see Jake filming an emotional scene between Billy aka Vera from the diner and Shane. Her performance is so moving that the Shane and Jake are in shock and awe. Cue the heart emoji’s because this is how Jake and Billy fall in love. In my review last week I mentioned the anonymous wine that Shane brought to the bar for Cassie and Paige, well Abi, who watches the show and reviews for this site as well pointed out the stalker storyline and she was so right, this is going to happen. I might be jumping the gun here since my initial guess was Cassie, but it could be Shane. I know it’s a reach, but the scene with Paige when she visited the “Georgia Place” set kind of raised my eyebrows. Jake is shocked after he receives terrible news about his investor backing off because Paige is no longer attached to the project. Okay back up; Jake is a filmmaker, and director and this news is a shock to him? It is the norm in Hollywood, you replace a “big” star with a struggling actor, and the money scatters, sorry buddy do your homework or rather writers do better.
Jake is in a mood when they get home which is understandable, but Paige doesn’t help the situation at all with her whiny complaints about wanting to use her kitchen. They try to address the elephant in the room, but Jake is too hurt to deal with it but then goes ahead and drops the “Billy is a producer on Georgia’s Place” bomb, even though Paige wasn’t. Why would Jake make Billy a producer and not his girlfriend who is a well-paid actor? This situation is the cliché for all breakups on TV shows. Jakes insists that they invite Billy to the fundraiser, who gets there and conveniently finds a supposed investor for “Georgia Place.” The investor is a drunkard and insists that they take shots. Paige is hesitant but then gives in because Jake and Billy are enthusiastic about the prospects of getting a deal done. I have to mention that the investor is what’s his name douchebag bully from Glee that Blaine dated after breaking Kurt’s heart or was it the other way? (That was some train wreck writing) But I digress. Any blind person could see that this guy is all talk so when he started touching Billy inappropriately I was triggered, thank God Jake showed up and deterred a dangerous situation from happening. The writing and acting in this upsetting scene was excellent. If writers are going to address sexual harassment in their story, it is crucial that they not task the victim with the sole responsibility of deterring a dangerous situation from occurring, while ignoring the obligation of other parties around. In this case, showing what a witness can do to step in and help was essential, and it needed to be on television.
Nina and Jordan are still having a hard time being around each other for obvious reasons. He shuts her concerns down when she visits him at a photo shoot to beg him to stop using his own money to push for an Oscar (How much money does Jordan have?) She tells him since the Gold Brothers are protecting him, they need him to avoid more publicity. Journalists digging creates a messy situation for the studio. I agree with Nina on this, but Jordan shouldn’t be listening to her, he needs to stay far away, or he will start sleeping with her, which is not good. I cannot peg Steve and Nina; he seems like he likes her but also he came out of nowhere at least in my eyes. Steve might be able to tame Nina’s bad habits of interfering in Rainer’s attempt at adulthood. He does manage to prevent her from crashing the fundraiser which was surprising. I do hope that she gets with him and has some loving because that might heal her incontrollable self-damaging behavior.
Rainer had a lot of women problems in this episode. Sloane doesn’t waste any time before she starts flirting with him. Sloane seems to have a rap sheet on Harper and lets Rainer know all about it. I don’t trust Sloane, she’s conniving and enjoys yanking his chain for her pleasure. The Harper and Rainer relationship seems to be all over the place because of her meddling and inviting all the people who have he currently hates to the fundraiser. Letting Alexis bring her film crew was messy even though she feels the pressure of being with the “hottest” actor in town, I guess any publicity is good, and she’s not going to pretend she’s isn’t enjoying the limelight. The PSA presentation she set up was a total disaster; when you have an open bar at a fundraiser you might get some money but mostly drunk attendees, everyone knows this. The girl is trying I will give her that, but I guess inviting Jordan was the final straw for Rainer. I agree with him about all the triggers she’s lighting around him, and I am glad that he is aware of the things that get him to the dark place.
Rainer storms out after fighting with Harper and finds Paige outside knocked out. Despite not engaging much with her at the fundraiser, he agrees to take her home, but unbeknown to them Alexis and her good old pal Sloane capture them on film. I am already exhausted with Sloane's storyline, and this is her first episode, I am not sure I can take her shenanigans any longer. She is here to ruffle feathers, and she doesn’t hesitate one bit to let Harper know that Rainer went home with Paige. Trying to use Tangey in a passive-aggressive way to assert her superior manipulative skills was a bit much for me; a professed Alexi’s hater. Real Talk: I am the whiniest reviewer of this show. I complain all the time at the number of new character’s they bring on at the expense of their main cast, but it’s the honest truth. What Sloane is doing was already being done by Alexis in season one so why not continue with that arc and give her some growth.
The episode ended with a scene that was supposed to look intimate, but it was such a fail in my opinion. We can agree that there is an attraction between Rainer and Paige but can the writers at least give them better dialogue? e.g. when Rainer was taking her shoes off.
Paige: “such an intimating thing.”
Rainer: “what?”
Paige: “touching a foot.”
REALLY?
No one believes that Paige is regretting buying that massive house after how big of a deal she made when doing it. Carter Jenkins and Bella Thorne are good actors that have good chemistry, but at this point, the only well written intimate scene was the audition for the pilot. Also, if they are trying to set up a confrontation between Jake and Paige by having Rainer sleep on the couch, they couldn’t be any obvious. I am guessing that Jake went home with Billy so it will be a case of either keeping a secret or misunderstanding on his part when he concludes that Jake and Rainer hooked up when he gets home.
I have questions?
1. Where were Cassie and Tangey?
2. Will the show make Harper bipolar if not why make Sloane bring up all the names Harper has used before or her many fake lives? It could be a good storyline if they want to address mental illness.
3. What’s up with Paige’s makeup? I loved her make up from season one.
4. Is Shane the stalker? (This is about me wanting spoilers :-)
Don't forget to watch Famous In Love on Freeform Wednesdays at 8PM ET.
