UnREAL recap: 'Confront' 

has been richly exploring that question in a way that previous seasons haven’t, and “Confront” only accelerates that process. There’s a lot going on here, in a dark episode even by

’s standards, but at its core is the web of power, intimacy, and pain that Quinn is tangled up in and trying to navigate.

producer being fitted into a custom red suit — she’s getting ready for her big pitch meeting regarding Jay’s potential new dance-reality show,

, and appears optimistic about its chances for a pickup. But before long she’s dragged back into the

drama, being informed of August’s man-bun being cut off in the middle of the night. Quinn can only laugh, hysterically, at this most absurd piece of news, and then feel the excitement of milking the incident for all it’s worth.

“One camera on August, another camera on his mangled head,” she directs as she enters the main

residence, where all of the men — including a de-bunned August — are feuding. Serena walks out in curlers, upset by the treatment of August — whom she believes is way more into her than he actually is — and scolds, “This frat boy crap is a huge turnoff.” She tells Quinn and the producers that she only wants a date with August, upset by the rest of the cast’s antics, leaving it to Rachel to once again manipulate the suitor.

Quinn is more than happy to deploy her deputy for the task — after last week’s major blow-up, they’re in a much better place here, chummy and even giddy at the sight of the show’s drama really kicking in. Rachel approaches Serena and tries to dissuade her from so prematurely picking August for her next solo date, explaining she’s making it “too easy” for him. Serena initially resists, skeptical since Rachel had just convinced her to really go for it with August, but is later won over by her suggested replacement: Alexie. Yes, the hunky Russian who just last week planted a kiss on Jay, and who — as far as Quinn knows, anyway — is the man slated to host

Alexei has emerged as the most fascinating and inscrutable contestant on

this season. And when Serena selects him, on Rachel’s advice, to take her to a private ballet performance date, we start to see what makes him tick. He’s technically Jay’s contestant, and there’s drama there, but Quinn also wants Rachel to go along since she’s been steering the show so effectively — in other words, every element is there for a maximum chance at disaster.

We’ll start with Jay. Quinn revealing the

poster sent a chill down his spine, as it revealed that the pitch revolved entirely around Alexei, who didn’t even know about the hosting gig, and who would be effectively replacing Xavier, Jay’s boyfriend and the man from whom the idea was born. Jay’s walking a fine line here — he seems to be a little attracted to Alexei after their strange encounter, while also afraid of pissing Quinn off and tanking his own show after misleading her. Rachel had previously told Alexei to commit to his date with Serena in order to irritate Natalia — the woman who broke his heart — but it’s advice that throws him into a tailspin. And it’s that tailspin which threatens to derail the fine line Jay is walking.

Alexei goes off-camera to hang with his friend Sergei before filming for the date begins; in the interim, Xavier appears out of nowhere, enthusiastic at the prospect of pitching his show beside Jay. Jay is thrown, and even more-so when Alexei resurfaces, and gets affectionate with Jay. He’s all over him, in fact, and then all over Serena when the date begins — Alexei shows off his wild side, even throwing himself into the ballet performance with a rousing dance. The date is weirdly successful, but Alexei seems off; later, Jay catches him snorting cocaine, the drug of choice when it comes to Alexei showing Natalia “the man” she wants to see. In other words, he’s an addict in a really bad place.

The same, perhaps, could be said of Rachel. She’s at a high-functioning level right now, which is both a relief to see and an ominous sign of things to come — of her impending downfall. Quinn is thrilled to see her right-hand-woman back in her element, but Dr. Simon informs her that Rachel told him some “things,” and that she needs to be on high alert. Quinn’s feelings about all this are best summed up when Rachel, later into the episode, asks if she really wants her to get better. “Of course I do!” Quinn responds. “Just not now. Can’t you just wait until the season’s over?”

Does Quinn care about Rachel? Certainly, in a sort of twisted, maternal way. But she’s also weathering other storms right now. She’s appalled to see that Chet has invited a reporter from the

is going in. She rightly chastises Chet for inviting her on, and then is left in the position of manipulating the day’s events so that Robin doesn’t have anything too juicy to report on.