The TV Chick

You had your tissues all ready last night, right? Or perhaps a shot glass? That was how intense last night’s episode of Life Unexpected was, titled “Crisis Unaverted.” Liz Tigelaar (creator) deemed this her favorite episode and I can see why. It centered around family, lies and the aftermath of Baze and Cate sleeping together. Baze seems threatened by Ryan taking an active role in Lux’s life and he decides to stand up for himself. After getting shut down by Cate, he calls the radio show and inadvertently gets entered in a “hands on a hybrid” contest where people compete to win a new hybrid car and whoever keeps their hands on it the longest, wins. Baze decides this will be a good chance to show up Ryan. Meanwhile, Lux thinks she sees Tasha’s mom outside a store. Tasha later comes to Lux and says she’s being sent away to a new foster home 3 hours away. Lux does some research and finds out that it was Tasha’s mom she saw and she lives near by, has kids and has turned her life around. When Lux takes Tasha to visit her, Tasha’s mom seems genuinely happy to see her. It seems like all is well, until Tasha storms out crying. She tells Lux that her mom won’t take her in because she reminds her of her past and she has new kids now and can’t risk the chance of relapsing. Lux offers to talk to her mom but Tasha doesn’t want that. Lux is left to figure out something for Tasha, so she doesn’t have to move away.

The Hands on a Hybrid event begins, with Ryan and Baze each trying to out do the other. When they are on a mandatory break period, Jamie listens to Cate and Ryan’s conversation and tells Baze that he is Ryan’s weakness, and to get up in his face. Baze tries this tactic, and Ryan confronts him about trying to make a pass at Cate. Baze tells him it was mutual and they were both drunk and nostalgic. It’s at this point that things get hot and heavy–Ryan punches Baze in the face and they are both out of the competition (not beacause of fighting but because their hands came  off the car). Ryan runs off and Cate goes to apologize. She thought Baze told him they slept together but instead she is the one who reveals this. Ryan stands up for himself and says he has been patient through everything and he’s not going to be anymore. He declares the relationship over. She begs him to stay, but he leaves anyway. While this crisis is going on, Lux asks Cate to take in Tasha. Cate had previously told Lux she can go to her for anything and she will help her. But this time, Cate tells Lux that it’s too much to ask of her, and she is sorry. Lux says she’s sorry too. She finds Cate later crying and devastated that Ryan left her.

Lux goes to Baze to ask the same question (if he can take in Tasha), and he is more willing to help out. He creates a room/area for Tasha in his apartment and they invite Fern up to evaluate his cleaned up abode. She says unfortunately the court wouldn’t allow Baze to become a foster parent to Tasha, but he could now share custody of Lux. Lux goes to Cate’s apartment to pack her bags and explain that she will be staying with Baze for a while. Lux shares a very sweet heart-to-heart with Baze where he tells her that he wanted to win the hybrid for her. (There was a driving lesson reference earlier in the episode with Ryan wanting to teach Lux) Lux tells Baze he doesn’t have to give her anything. She settles into her new room at Baze’s and there was a lovely montage with Lux and Cate both sad, adapting to their new situations. Cate is all alone in every sense of the word, just when her relationship with Lux was starting to work.

Ryan had to leave to allow for Cate and Baze to figure things out. He will be back (next episode, even) but it is going to take a lot for him to return to Cate. I’m glad both Baze and Ryan decided to stand up for themselves. Baze is really maturing and becoming a good father to Lux, and he deserves to have an equal part in her life as Cate does. Ryan has been lied to and eventually the truth was bound to come out. I don’t blame him for leaving. On the alternate side, I also don’t blame Cate for saying no to Lux. She can’t just say yes to anything Lux requests because she feels bad for missing the first 16 years of her life. She has to have a say in things, too. I have to admit, I am still conflicted between teams…I would say I am leaning towards Team Baze, but Ryan really earned my respect in this episode. Cate needs to work out her feelings for both Ryan and Baze and decide if she is going to explore her options with Baze, beg Ryan to return, or in an 90210-like move, choose “herself.”

I love what this show is developing into. There are sweet, shocking, gasp-worthy moments, and funny ones thrown in there as well. I’d like to see more of the radio show as a backdrop, as we saw in the pilot, but really, this show hasn’t let me down. The love triangle is fantastic, and Britt Robertson anchors the show so wonderfully as Lux. One of the things that I love the most is that it isn’t predictable in the least. Earlier in the episode, Lux has the option of going and stealing a dress with Tasha, but she declines. Old Lux would have jumped at this, but this shows how much she has grown as a character. This show isn’t about lying and cheating and screwing over friends — even if those things happen. The show at its core is about the characters, and this “bent or broken” family dealing with their relatively new life together. CW, we need more shows like Life Unexpected! Please renew it! Soon!