The TV Chick

Just when I thought things couldn’t get more crazy for The Rock girls, they did. Last night’s episode of Make It Or Break It was an intense one. It featured probably some of the best acting performances by the girls on the show as each character dealt with their own looming set of problems. The episode starts with Emily in jail, recalling her arrest. She calls Razor for help, but since she’s a minor, her mom has to show up to get her. And boy does she show up. She’s dressed in a very revealing outfit with an interesting hairdo, leaving us to wonder, what exactly IS her new job? Emily and her mom duke it out at the police station. Soon after, Damon shows up to see her. They kiss. Woo! He got signed to a record label. Emily doesn’t tell want to ruin his good mood, so she doesn’t tell him about the arrest. Later, Emily and Damon are out on a date, and Emily comes clean about the endowment fund but not the arrest. She storms out of their date. She wants space because they weren’t supposed to see each other for two years. And in love triangle action, Razor is back working at the Pizza Shack. He tries to make her feel better about the bad date, and  they get in a food fight. Damon walks in on them. Oh wrong impressions. In the end, Damon tells Emily if she wants to be with someone in the meantime, she can. Emily looks sad and distraught. This is clearly not what she wanted! I love the Emily/Damon relationship, so  I am sad for both of them. But I also enjoy a good love triangle. I wonder if we will see a Razor/Emily kiss. I’m also Team Kmetko and hope that Emily really steps it up for World Trials and that this doesn’t distract her too much.

And in the aftermath of the big kiss from last week’s episode, Payson confides in her mom and tells her about her “former” crush on Sasha. But in the gym, Payson awkwardly ignores Sasha. When she is practicing her routine, Sasha hesitates before he touches her, causing Payson to storm out. Sasha tells her about his relationship with his coach and if he was a girl, he would have kissed her too. Their relationship is very close and intense and at times confusing, but he doesn’t want her progress to be hindered by what happened. Sasha seriously gives the best pep talks. I need him around!

Lauren’s storyline in this episode is probably the most interesting. On the outside, she is this huge bitch who likes to take everyone down. On the inside, she is hurting and vulnerable. It takes a great actress to play Lauren, and Cassie Scerbo really shined in this episode.  At the beginning of the episode, her dad won’t let her out of his sight. Lauren gets to to the gym early, and looks at the video that taped Payson’s practice. Of course, she sees Payson and Sasha kiss. Naturally, she’s going to do bad things with this DVD. Ugh, Lauren. Later in the episode, unbeknownst to Lauren, her mom shows up on Steve’s doorstep. WHOA! Crazyness. I did not see this coming. She wrote a note to Lauren, and wants to see her daughter. Steve is pissed at her, for good reason. She says she’s been sober for 2 years. He reminds her of the restraining order, and calls her a pathetic, weak woman. He reminds her that she can see Lauren in 2 years when she’s 18. He doesn’t buy her sincerity, and she tells him he’ll regret it. I loved finally meeting Laurens’ mother. Steve had every right to not trust her given her previous actions but I still felt very bad for her. Lauren needs a mother figure in her life and Steve can’t give that to her. Lauren is still trying to get her dad back with Summer (because of that need) and she asks Summer to go to dinner with her and her dad. Summer explains to her that she’s seeing someone else. Upon being pushed, Summer admits it’s Sasha who she is dating. Summer is very supportive of Lauren, but can’t be her mother.She storms out of their conversation (a lot of storming out happens in this episode!), and little does she know, her mom is watching from her car, out of sight. Both of them are crying. Aw, MIOBI, way to make me cry! Lauren has pushed away her friends and teammates by sabotaging them around every corner but she doesn’t just do these things for kicks. She’s not a bully to just be a bully. If she was, her character wouldn’t be believable. She’s longing for friends and a mom, yet the only thing she has control over is her own actions. So of course, true to Lauren form, she sends a picture of the Payson/Sasha kiss to Ellen Beals. Just when I thought she couldn’t get any worse!! Would we have expected anything different from her at this point though? What she doesn’t understand is this won’t win back Summer.

Meanwhile, Kaylie continues to struggle with her eating disorder. She proves she will go to any length to prevent people from knowing, although more people seem to be catching on. Kaylie’s mom brings her food, but she throws the food away behind her back. In the gym, Kaylie is doing great gymnastics but is out of breath and weak. Sasha tells her she is overdoing it. Sasha comes to Kaylie’s house out of concern for her weight. She gets on the scale and weighs in at 106, right in her target range. But of course, she was wearing 10 pounds worth of weights on her thighs. Kaylie, don’t do this!  That night, when she’s tucking Kaylie in, Ronnie discovers her thrown out food. As Kaylie delves deeper into a dangerous lifestyle, I am glad to see more people suspicious of her behavior. I hope Ronnie has the courage to speak up and help her daughter. I’d also be fine if Austin Tucker had to help her.

However, one of the biggest stories of the episode is about the election for Parents’ Board President. At election night, Steve makes his speech and compares Sasha to a fuhrer. Classy, Steve, very classy. Kim makes her speech, where she comes across genuine and that she cares about the girls. Alex Cruz endorses her, so does Chloe Kmetko and Ronnie Cruz. But it doesn’t look good for Kim Keeler, when Ellen Beals interrupts the meeting to say that Sasha has engaged in something disturbing. Ellen shows the picture of Payson and Sasha kissing to the whole meeting. Whew boy. This is huge. It puts Payson and Sasha’s career in jeopardy and it takes things completely out of context. Kim tries to explain that picture is not the whole truth, and that it was an innocent crush. Ellen Beals proceeds to make a speech about Kim not deserving to be Parents’ Board President because she turned a blind eye to what happened. Steve says they need to elect someone to take care of these matters.

Of course, Steve Tanner wins the election. UGH! Lauren and her dad are celebrating his victory, and he asks her to a father/daughter dinner. When Lauren goes to get ready, he gets a call about her mom. Lauren comes out for dinner all dressed up, and Steve has to break the news that her mom died in a car accident. She said she feels nothing because her mom never loved her and didn’t want to see her. Steve isn’t going to confess that she tried to visit Lauren. But obviously, this will come out at some point. Steve better redeem himself somehow. I understand that he doesn’t want to hurt his daughter , but Lauren deserves to know that her mom loved her and cared about her even if she screwed up. It will be interesting to see how Lauren handles all of this. It obviously will impact her gymnastics and her relationships.

Next week is the finale (so sad!) and I’m sure a lot of things will come to light: Lauren’s scheming, Sasha’s shaky status at The Rock, Emily’s arrest, and most importantly, Kaylie’s eating disorder. Bela Karolyi guest stars (as Sasha’s dad!) which is sure to be fantastic. He is a gymnastics icon and is also quite hilarious so I can’t wait. The last finale ended on the big Payson cliffhanger and if I had to guess, I would say that this cliffhanger is going to be about Kaylie. Will she get injured? Will she be hospitalized? Will Summer and Sasha’s relationship be taken to the next level? Will Payson be punished because of her innocent kiss? I hate that I have to wait a week to find out. Holly Sorensen (the creator) posted on Twitter that next week’s episode is even more intense than the past couple of episodes. How much more amazingly intense can it get? I can’t wait!

Make It Or Break It airs Tuesday nights at 9 pm on ABC Family.