Life Unexpected “Ocean Uncharted” 

To me, this is the little show that could. Did I love the season premiere? No. But I liked it a lot.  I’m going write about it every week in the hope that I can get you to watch it. And if you already support this little gem, I commend you. It’s such an interesting and intriguing family dynamic. Baze, Kate, and Lux inhabit a special little piece of my heart but before I get too sappy let’s go to the recap.

Ryan has a big secret he’s keeping from Kate. As they start opening their wedding presents they get a very nice gift from a woman named Julia. Although Ryan claims not to know who that is it’s clear he’s lying. When Julia tracks him down on his cell, Ryan says it’s all good; the wedding happened. That worries me and, of course, you know it’s only a matter of time before Kate discovers his secret.

Bug proposes to Lux. I could kind of see it coming but I was hoping Bug wouldn’t actually do it. Since Lux doesn’t want to say no she says yes even though it’s clear this isn’t what she wants. She’s still in high school! While she’s contemplating the rest of her life with Bug, she meets Eric and has an instant connection with him. She tells him she hasn’t done enough yet when he sees the ring. He offers to take her to the ocean since it’s something she hasn’t experienced yet. They don’t actually make it there but a billboard with the ocean on it suffices. They share a kiss but Lux puts a stop to it. Eric gives Lux his phone number just in case she wants to see something else. Later when Lux talks to Bug she tells him she doesn’t know about the future but she wants to be with him right now. It’s not enough for Bug and he takes off after she returns the ring. The next day at school it’s not such a nice surprise when Eric and Lux see each other again. He’s a teacher.

Kate gets fired from the radio station. But before that happens Katrina forces them to take on another co-host: Kelly Campbell. She’s a born-again virgin who will sex up the show as a marriage counselor to the newlyweds. Kate has a hard time hiding her animosity and eventually runs out when she gets a call about the fire at Baze’s bar. It’s all the ammunition Katrina needs to fire Kate.

Baze sleeps with Paige, who turns out to be Ryan’s sister. Tina Charles called this a very One Tree Hill twist. I didn’t watch that show so I’ll take her word for it. But what led up to Baze having yet another one-night stand? Kate, of course. She puts him through another round of soul bashing and to cope Baze turns to alcohol. Earlier Baze told Kate he loves her but Kate says they’re broken and always will be. Baze wakes up to the smoke alarm going off the next morning after he’s hooked up with Paige. Even though she was warned not to smoke inside, it’s Paige cigarette that started the blaze. Thinking Lux may still be in there, Baze runs back into the burning building and ends up in the hospital. There are two good things that come out of the ruins: Baze realizes he wants to rebuild it all on his own and he, Kate, and Lux also get a bit of a fresh start. Kate doesn’t hate him and Lux knows Baze is committed to fixing everything in his life that’s broken.

Good things:

Baze and his father finally seem to have a healthy, adult relationship. It’s so nice to see Baze’s father supporting him emotionally and for Baze to be the kind of person his father can support.

Funny things:

Co means with not two.

Kelly is a Stepford Wife who isn’t married.

Interesting things:

Kate won’t answer Baze when he asks if it would have mattered if he’d arrived at the church earlier.

I don’t know how feel about this whole student/teacher thing. It’s extremely overdone. I feel like we’ve seen it before on a number of other shows.  I did like Eric and Lux together but things have to be different know that she knows he’s a teacher. And what happened to Jones? I hope we see more of him for a few reasons: he’s age appropriate and I like them together.

How do I feel about Bug leaving? Pretty good. Whenever things go wrong he is so mean and disrespectful to Lux. It’s just not an acceptable way to treat someone you love.

When do you think this whole Paige thing will blow up in Baze’s face? I’m thinking sooner rather than later. It will probably be when Kate has dropped her defenses and starts wondering if Baze is her soul mate.

Did you know?

Even though the show is set in Portland, it’s filmed in Vancouver. If you’re in Portland you should check out these places they mentioned/visited:

The Pearl District

Wallace Park

Rocco’s Pizza

Voodoo Doughnut