The TV Chick

After an outstanding premiere, Life Unexpected returned last night to take on the struggles of Baze and Cate in “Parents Unemployed. Cate being Cate has no idea what to do with herself and she’s up early to listen to the new Morning Madness. This of course leads to a bit of a breakdown. Oh, Cate, it’s okay! Lux goes to school looking really good for Eric/Mr. Daniels/the hot teacher. And Math is back! Which of course leads Lux to lie to him about the reasons she’s talking to hot teacher. Yes, I will hereby refer to him as hot teacher.

Cate has a meeting with her agent. Apparently a Seattle radio station wants her. He asks if she’d want to produce the Ryan and Kelly show (it was apparently Ryan’s suggestion). She’s a bit offended to say the least. Later, Cate, Lux and Baze are all in the principal’s office and learn that Lux is failing out of school. OH LUX! Stop messing up! She has to get an A on the English midterm to pass the semester. The principal wants Baze and Cate to do career day, but they both don’t really have careers. Baze tries to tell the truth but Cate won’t come clean.

Baze goes for a job interview at his dad’s company. Of course in the elevator, he’s on a phone call about the bar that involves embarrassing words about Page. Emma Caufield interviews him (love seeing her!). But of course it was a terrible, awkward bad interview where Baze couldn’t even put into words why he should get hired. Adding some amazing drama to the situation, hot teacher Eric looks at a room in Baze’s loft. Apparently, Jamie had to move back with his parents. Is he off the show? Lux comes clean and says she has feelings for hot teacher, he says it was a mistake and he didn’t feel anything. LIES! I’ve seen people liken this potential relationship to Pretty Little Liars and the Aria/Ezra situation. I enjoy this relationship just as much as I do that one, but I think it’s a bit different. Aria is much more scandalous whereas this bond seems more sweet and innocent (even though yes, I realize he is a teacher.)

In any case, Math thinks Baze is standing in his own way and gives him a pretty great pep talk as to why he should keep trying to get the job. With Jamie out of the loft, I like this new confiding sort of friendship/reminiscing situation with Math and Baze. I hope to see more of it and hear more tales of their high school experiences, because I am sure Liz Tigelaar has MANY stories to tell, and wonderful ones at that. Baze decides to fight for the job and goes to the gym to work out next to Emma. And it’s an all women’s gym. Needless to say, he is less than impressive and she doesn’t really want to hear it.

And that radio station that wanted Cate? They wanted her for the 2 am – 6 am slot. I would probably cry and break down if I had to work those hours. Cate is pissed at Ryan. She asked why he didn’t quit. Apparently, he fought for her. Awww Cate. Usually she’s a bit crazy, but seriously I sided with her on this one. They were a team, and a married team. Why would he just accept that he has to co-host with someone else? She has every right to be pissed.

Next is career day. Cate starts to talk and Ryan comes up and saves the day. Cate was a PA on a show where Ryan was the host a long time ago. She was an awful PA, and they had to ask her if she wanted to even be there. She told them she wanted to be on the air. They put her on the air and she bombed but a couple years later, Ryan picked Cate as her new co-host. Ryan gave an amazingly inspirational speech. Baze even seems inspired too! This moment is one of those that makes the show so good. The characters are so well thought out, and every moment in their history is known. You can tell this was a story basically known from day 1, even if it was written into this script. I want to see flashbacks and more scenes from when Cate and Ryan worked on that radio show.

Aptly ditching career day, Lux and hot teacher Eric talk. She would have never known there was more if they didn’t go out that night. She feels there are so many expectations placed upon her. To her what they had was real. He tells her it was real, and they hold hands. And then Baze walks in! OH MAN! I really liked where this conversation was going. I like finding out about Lux’s flaws and I want to know the reasons behind why she is failing out of school. Baze and Lux have a heart to heart in the gym, and she admits she is scared of failure.

Ryan and Cate make up. He wants to feel like Lux is his kid too. He says he’s better with her than without her. But she’s so messed up! Why does Ryan keep coming back for more? I love it! Team Ryan and Baze! Later that night, Lux is studying and frustrated. So of course, she steals the answer key to the test from Math. Oh Lux! Sadness! I may have seen this one coming but I had faith in Lux. The truth will definitely come out. I think Math will wise up because Lux gets a 95 on her test and then feels all guilty about it. She’s a good kid so I just have a feeling she will come clean.

Baze shows up at Emma’s gym again and is well prepared this time. He looks good in a suit, and rather impressive. He ends up getting the job, and Cate decides she will produce the show because she’ll still get to work with Ryan. Baze finds out Page is Ryan’s sister, and awkwardness ensues.

I thought Parents Unemployed was such a great look at what happens when Baze and Cate are both afraid of failing. They are such polar opposites in terms of work ethic and personality but at their core, they both want to impress Lux and set a good example. I absolutely love getting a look into all of their pasts as each of them are vulnerable in so many different ways. They are all trying to make it work together and slowly but surely becoming a true family. I think Baze going into a new job is going to be a very different dynamic for the show. I love the bar, and all the hijinx that take place there. But Baze being forced to become a grown up in a corporate job will definitely provide some funny and interesting moments. I think he will definitely go back to the bar eventually (when it’s rebuilt and insurance money comes through like he said), but the bar is a huge part of how Baze is. So I’m not sure what he will be like when put in an office. Will he rise up in the corporate world? Will he and Emma Caufield hook up? (It seems like a distinct possibility.) Baze is this great character who has developed so much from the first episode that I am curious to see how he deals with all of this change.

As for Cate, I am interested to see what her new dynamic with Ryan will be at the radio station. Will she be jealous of him? Will she harbor resentment towards him? And Lux. Oh Lux, and your mistakes. My big question is will she make out with the hot teacher again? But more importantly, will her cheating ways be revealed? What will this mean for her relationship with Math and Cate?

CW, you have a real hit on your hands. Please give Life Unexpected a back 9 already. I know the ratings aren’t the most amazing ever but they are still pretty damn good and I know a lot of people who would be very sad if they only got a 13 episode second season. Pretty please?!

Life Unexpected airs Tuesday nights at 9 pm on the CW.