dynamics the series reckons with feel half-hearted .” They appear half-hearted if Bastién is writing about Everlasting . But her reading is hard to justify once the critic retreats outside of Everlasting and interprets UnREAL . Once the cold-hearted producers demonstrate they are willing to risk Darrius ’ s football career by potentially paralyzing him and willing to put Darrius and Romeo in the line of fire of white police officers , it is difficult to avoid reading UnREAL ’ s depiction of Everlasting ’ s participation in the exploitation of black bodies and lives as a mirror to the actual injustices to black lives in contemporary society . Rachel ’ s call to the police to report a stolen car in Episode 7 , after Darrius , Romeo , Yael , and Tiffany take the Bentley for a joy ride , is a racist means for professional gain . That a liberal white feminist is making the call is a powerful way to get the audience to reflect upon the hypocrisy and racism often built into the white feminist project , which is just what Curry and Harris claim MacKinnon ’ s project is guilty of . Bastién argues that this move in the show is exploitive . Of course it is because it is a reflection of the exploitive nature of reality television and the entertainment industry .
Everlasting keeps Jameson ( Karissa Tynes ), a black cop contestant in the background , much like the reality shows it is imitating and critiquing . Rachel portrays the racist white liberal , who despite her empty desires to revolutionize television by featuring the first black suitor , uses racist schemes to do so and undermines her supposed goal by exploiting black characters ’ pain for personal , professional achievement . That said , UnREAL does fail to follow up on some of its potential . For instance , in the episode following Romeo ’ s shooting , the audience is deprived of an update on his health and any insight into the Darrius ’ s feelings about the tragedy and injustice his friend has suffered at the hands of the producers . However , one must decide to read Darrius ’ s mistreatment at the hands of his producers as a function of the injustice of Everlasting or of UnREAL . If the latter , the entire show participates in the exploitation of black bodies alongside profit-driven professional sports , such as the NFL . If the former , then UnREAL can be read as a critique of such unjust exploitation . Critics who take the first horn of the dilemma should be writing critically about a season of The Bachelor instead . Bastién claims that the show fails to illustrate the interior lives of people of color . But is this not because the UnREAL is itself a criticism of reality TV , which exploits gender and racial essentialist stereotypes for profit ?
Even Bastién ’ s criticism of Season 2 of Everlasting , which she couches as a critique of UnREAL , falls short because her hopes that Ruby will win the show are actually realized . To the surprise of most of the producers , Ruby does return , and Darrius jilts two fooled potential brides at the altar .
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