Television can be a very ugly business (R.I.P. LONESTAR). Which is why, following last week’s interesting, albeit somewhat depressing look at the “UNEXPECTEDly-Ugly Truth About LIFE As The Top Dog,” with creator Liz Tigelaar, this TV Addict wanted to make a point of talking about the actual show. So if you’re wondering why Tasha has been M.I.A this season, whether or not we’ve seen the last of Bug, and if poor Lux will ever catch a break… read on!
Tasha, where are thou?
“One of the biggest things I never want to stray away too far from is not only Lux’s foster care past, but how little Cate and Baze know about it,” explained Tigelaar on where Lux’s best friend has been all season long. “Tasha plays really centrally into Lux’s life and she’s back for good in episode 4 which might be my favorite episode that we’ve ever done. I love [the actress] Ksenia Solo, and she really becomes a member of the family.”
Don’t Cryan for Cate and Ryan!
“Ryan and Cate will start to learn that Baze was not their biggest problem and that there were a lot of things that they kind of glossed over in their rush to get married,” revealed Tigelaar with regards to the rocky road ahead for Cate and Ryan. “Ryan is a really good guy but I think there has to be a level of f•*cked-upness in him to have married Cate. They’re really going to have to go through their own kind of arc as a couple and hopefully emerge on the other side where they should have been in the first place.”
Gone Bug not forgotten.
“Bug is not gone, but I don’t know when he’s coming back! We wanted Bug to be a part of the whole season but it just didn’t work out that way,” explained a cautious Tigelaar who was clearly dancing around the obvious budgetary restrains that she’s under. “Really, I love that character so much and I hope we’ll be able to figure out a way for Rafi [Gavron] to come back. But I also at the same time we’re ready to see Lux get into a new dynamic. Bug really kept her locked in the past with her obligation to him and I think that what I’d like to see is her move on, and then him come back and see what kind of people they are then. If I were to put money on it, I would say we definitely haven’t seen the last of Bug.”
And speaking of moving on…
“Jones is who a normal 16 year old should want to be with and I think that it’s really complicated for Lux. She wants so badly to be and feel normal and she just doesn’t,” said Tigelaar. “What’s interesting with the addition of Eric (Shaun Sipos’ character) is that by continuously moving towards him she’s separating herself from normal. I feel like there is a pull inside of her with a normal choice and a not normal choice. The arc of the first 13 is really uncovering what’s going on with this girl, what makes her feel so not normal, why can’t she seem to get past it, how does she get past it, how can someone not normal help her get past it and then can she finally be normal. There’s definitely a long term arc with Jones that Eric helps facilitate.” 
You can catch brand new episodes of LIFE UNEXPECTED every Tuesday night at 9PM on the CW