Make It Or Break It – It’s not perfect, but it’s me

Poor Emily Kmetko. When will she catch a break? Having always been the underdog of the Rock was one thing. Being tracked by the NGO and having no personal life was another. Having a mom who needs to take a job bartending at a strip club to make the rent because Emily can’t work was yet another. However, these setbacks were all in the name of gymnastics and making it to Worlds. Being a gymnast is Emily’s dream, and she’d suffer through these other unfortunate circumstances just to get there, because she’s been given a chance.

But getting pregnant? That’s just the icing on her already bittersweet cake.

I’m a bit annoyed that they went this route because, should Emily decide to continue with the pregnancy, it’s an automatic out for her in terms of competing. She won’t have to “make her comeback” after getting slaughtered in Hungary on the uneven bars. She won’t have to prove that she is worthy of being on the World team. Because, even if her doctor were to permit her to compete — which I’m sure he or she wouldn’t, at least not after her first trimester — how’s she going to explain that one to the NGO? She’ll be taken off the team regardless.

In a surprise move, I found Lauren to not be overly irritating in this episode. And thank goodness, because she had been getting on my nerves lately and needed to be put in check. Actually, I thought she was the only one with any common sense on the plane when Payson and Emily were planning their impromptu trip to Bucharest.

In fact, that whole portion of the episode was ridiculous. It seems so out of character for Payson to do anything against the rules. Then again, she misses Sasha and feels as though the team needs him to excel. Maybe she’s right. Also, not to rain on anyone’s Romanian parade, but wouldn’t the ticket agent have asked for ID in order for Lauren to have bought over $1,000 worth of tickets? Would they have sold them to her if she were under 18? I guess we really don’t know how old these girls are. And by the way, Payson would have needed a credit card herself to have bought Wi-Fi on the plane, no? Of course, the unbelievable story lines are part of the reason I enjoy this show, so I’m not faulting it for that.

As grating as Darby’s super-sweet, “let’s all be friends and give each other positive energy” attitude was in previous episodes, she’s even more intolerable as the “new and improved” hard-ass, Coach Conrad. She’s like an overgrown child having one tantrum after another. As unconvincing a coach as she was before, she’s even less convincing as an authority figure. Does she think getting in everyone’s face is going to earn respect? I half-expected Kim to smack her when she blew up at Payson about the Rock girls not deserving their place on the National team. And even Summer told her to shut up! That was awesome. I knew Summer had a little fire in her.

The Hungary meet was pretty exciting, but not as good as some recent ones. I really didn’t think that the Ivanka was better than Lauren on the beam. She seemed so robotic and had very little personality. For once, I think that Lauren’s coy expressions might work in her favor because she knows how to excite the audience. Also, either team USA is really amazing, or nobody on the other teams are as good as their star gymnasts, because it seems as though the Rock keeps screwing up royally, yet still places. Silver’s not gold, but at least it’s something, especially considering Emily’s routine (literally) fell flat. And last week, all of them did poorly, yet they only lost to Pinewood by a small margin. I guess that’s supposed to convince us of how bad Pinewood is. But I didn’t see any of those girls mess up their routines.

It was cute how Payson’s mom and Lauren’s dad watched the meet together. For a second, I had this thought that they might end up getting together so that Summer could get back with Sasha. Then I remembered: Payson’s mom is married. Oops. Well, that relationship isn’t exactly the strongest.

Speaking of relationships, it’s funny that just as soon as people deny something is happening, that’s when it actually starts to happen. That’s what I saw going on with Kaylie and Damon. I really did believe Damon when he told Emily, “I love you … you’ve gotta trust me,” because I actually thought he believed it too. But then things started accelerating with Damon’s songwriting and Kaylie’s journaling, and the emotional scenes that they shared together seem too strong to ignore. The good thing about Kaylie’s recovery is that she seems to be making excellent strides on her own, and that she doesn’t “need” Damon to make progress, but having him around to write song lyrics for her is just an added benefit. And her strength gives Damon the courage he also needs to trust himself and his songwriting.

Like I said, poor Emily.

The girls seemed genuinely honest (yes, even Lauren!) when they told Emily that Kaylie is not the type to steal another girl’s boyfriend. But what if he’s no longer her boyfriend anymore?

The pregnancy is really going to determine, long-term, where Emily and Damon stand. I suppose she won’t need to worry about breaking the rules anymore, because she won’t be on the team once the NGO finds out. So she and Damon could potentially be together, if she’ll take him back and if he’s willing to be a father to their child. There is also, of course, the possibility that Emily could make the decision to terminate the pregnancy. I wonder if she would do that. And what would be more traumatizing for her right now? To have the baby and lose her dreams of becoming a gymnast, or to lose the baby and risk not being able to compete anyway? The USA coach indicated that she was expendable, as he illustrated to everyone by replacing her with Kelly Parker.

One thing I thought they did a good job of was including Sasha in on that conversation between Emily and the chairman of the Hungarian National Committee. It makes the secret not quite her own. How will she tell everyone? And how will Sasha handle it?

Quotes:

“I’m gonna get Sasha and bring him back to the Rock.” — Payson
“You don’t even know where he lives.” — Lauren, beneath a black eye mask, who we presumed was asleep
“Wrong, masked stranger.” — Payson, to Lauren

“When you gave this to me to hold, it represented something special. Not just athletic triumph, but everything I believed that you stood for. Courage, strength, kindness, perseverance, and never, ever giving up. Now when I look at it, all I can see is a quitter. You quit on me, you quit on the Rock, you quit on everybody. So — [puts medal down] here. I don’t want it anymore.” — Payson, to Sasha

“You know, I could have gotten them there.” — Darby, to Sasha
“Perhaps, in time. But we don’t have time.” — Sasha
“And you’re so sure you can get them to Worlds, where I couldn’t?” — Darby
“Yes.” — Sasha, blowing Darby off

“When I read what you wrote, it wasn’t … so much a peek into your soul as it was a question of how you’d seen mine.” — Damon, to Kaylie

“I’m done holding back / I dropped the act / I was keeping it together for too long / I’m through running scared / From what’s in there / It’s not perfect / But it’s me” — Damon and Kaylie’s song

Clacked by Rachel Blum-Jose
on Apr 26, 2011 @ 12:00 EST5EDT