#LIFE UNEXPECTED SEASON 3 SERIES#

But for Cate and Baze, this process has forced to the surface some major insecurities as it relates to how much theyвЂ™ve changed from their past, and this episode is about those two characters coming to terms with what it means to change, and what role things like love, honesty and family mean in that scenario. As Ryan points out to Lux late in the episode, that is in some ways the end of her journey: she was playing the adult for so long, and now sheвЂ™s finally the kid again. The episode begins with a positive result of such change, Lux officially becoming Cate and BazeвЂ™s child for really the first time. This show is all about change, about how LuxвЂ™s life changed when she went out on a limb to try to find her birth parents, and how Cate, Baze and Ryan have had to change their lives and reflect on how much theyвЂ™ve changed as they adapt to her presence. The show, whether for budget reasons or for story purposes, has sort of worked most often on a small scale, and that has played to TigelaarвЂ™s aptitude for scripting honest and realistic conversation between her characters. With such a short order, a finale becomes about priorities: the young men in LuxвЂ™s life are absent, Abby ends up with food poisoning, and only one out of Math and Jamie makes an appearance. The show just doesnвЂ™t play as well on that broad level, which makes sense: itвЂ™s tough to establish that sort of setup in only 13 episodes, especially when so many of those were either forced into вЂњPilot RepetitionвЂќ or focused very exclusively on our family unit of sorts. When things start going wrong or becoming complicated in ways that are outside of the characters themselves, a character like Cate tends to overreact, and the normally shrill Cate nearly turns into Bridezilla.

I understand that itвЂ™s the finale, and that they wanted to give some of the characters a last hurrah of sorts, but this is a show that works best in small scenes shared between characters. The Rehearsal Dinner was a fine example of this: while IвЂ™m sure it was fun to shoot, we hadnвЂ™t met RyanвЂ™s parents before, and MathвЂ™s вЂњOpposites AttractвЂќ bit went on for just a little bit too long. To some degree, parts of the big wedding scenes played against the seriesвЂ™ strengths, pushing it towards large group scenes which it tends to overplay (I find LuxвЂ™s mother to be particularly problematic in this way). I donвЂ™t want to suggest that вЂњLove UnexpectedвЂќ was in any way a perfect episode. ItвЂ™s a delicate balance, but вЂњLove UnexpectedвЂќ manages to find a middle ground between a romantic fairytale and a frank depiction of humans being human, as characters make choices inspired by fantasy but grounded in reality вЂ“ if this show is robbed of a deserved second season, it had absolutely nothing to do with the show living up to its creative potential. Despite what one would call a thrilling conclusion, one that was most certainly expected, the show uses it to reinforce notions of family, self-empowerment, and tragedy in a scene that is endlessly complicated but which doesnвЂ™t feel like it over-complicates the showвЂ™s message. The surprise, in many ways, is that the show manages to confirm rather than tear apart its various definitions of love while playing on the tension surrounding cold feet and unspoken attractions. I still think the title is a bit of an oxymoron (in that we went into this finale very much expecting something at least marginally sappy, if not majorly sappy), but вЂњLove UnexpectedвЂќ ends up working extremely well by avoiding, or more accurately dancing around, the вЂњlove triangleвЂќ on the surface. The show wears its heart on its sleeve, so we knew from the beginning that Cate and Baze shared a connection, and there were more than enough hints towards it being something more than just sexual tension along the way to make this finale all about Team Baze vs.

#LIFE UNEXPECTED SEASON 3 SERIES#

I was very ready to write a very sarcastic opening to this review: the gall of series creator Liz Tigelaar to contend that the love between Baze and Cate, or the love between any of these characters, was unexpected. вЂњItвЂ™s not having feelings for two people that matters itвЂ™s what you choose to do about them.вЂќ

Life Unexpected Season 3