Monday ABC Family premiered season 2 of the hit drama Chasing Life. Chasing Life is the story of April Carver a twenty something who discovers she has leukemia. If you’ve seen it before and watched Monday night’s episode then keep reading for my play by play reactions and commentary for the episode. If you haven’t then go check out the first season on Netflix.
Spoilers Below
Quick recap: At the end of season one April is readmitted into the hospital for chemotherapy after learning her cancer has returned. Right before the credits roll April’s boyfriend proposes and she says, yes!
The show starts with April being a major boss at the Newspaper and telling Dominic she’ll see him at home:
This is obviously a cruel joke on the audience… i.e. a dream.
The morning after there engagement Leo and April wake up in her hospital room glowing. Dominic walks into the hospital room as they romantically play and cuddle. Dominic almost automatically notices the piece of tape and his ex-girlfriend’s finger and Leo proudly announces that they are engaged:
Dominic is looking damn good with his haircut.
Oh damn, this is awkward.
One month later April’s mother and grandmother frantically sanitize the house awaiting April’s return home. She walks in with Leo and it would seem the wedding is still very much happening:
I can tell even during the happy start, that this episode will lead to crying.
Grandma is right, there is no way this wedding is happening…. if it does I bet Leo dies. I hope Leo doesn’t die… they wouldn’t get rid of the awesome love triangle…(well with Ape’s step sister dating Dom I guess it’s more of a love square?).
Leo and April have floor sex and he gives her his grandmother’s beautiful ring:
I want a nice ring but I also love the simplicity and sweetness behind the medical tape engagement ring.
Beth and April meet up for a little post chemo pow-wow. Beth fills her in on her busy schedule at work and apologizes for not visiting for an entire week:
Wow someone totally isn’t’ over Graham.
April hangs out with Danny who insists on paying the bill since she saved his job last season, by giving up hers. He asks her what her future plans are and she informs him she is ready to jump back into the working world:
To be so unlikable Danny’s character is annoyingly likable.
With her mom and Leo there for support April finds out the chemo didn’t work and she still has cancer:
I knew from her Italia Ricci’s interview with Entertainment Tonight, April wasn’t in remission but damn this is hard to watch… yep I’m in tears.
Brenna catches April up on what she’s missed with videos she has taken the past month:
April and Brenna always make me wish I was closer to my sister.
This kind of makes me want to donate stem cells. Oh yeah there will be a story there!
After Brenna encourages April to talk to Dominic, since they haven’t spoken since the awkward moment in the hospital, she shows up to his place. After telling him she wants to them to be friends, Natalie walks into the room and asks her if she wants to hangout. They go to the park where April thanks her for looking after Brenna and ends up dancing to street drummers and just letting herself be free:
Wow Dom, thank you for opening the door shirtless… I can already tell you’re a great host.
Why am I still crying, this is a sweet moment.
Natalie isn’t a bad person just misunderstood…. still crying.
This will be a hard season to watch!
Thank God a commercial!
April shows up to treatment and we meet a new character who asks April who she is “not your job, who are YOU.” April realizes she doesn’t have an answer and tells the girl she needs to prepare for her interview:
Who are you? Wow! That’s freaking deep,
Sara and Leo’s parents meet up at the coffee shop to talk about the wedding and engagement plans. Still hesitant about her daughter’s upcoming nuptials Sara tries to see if Leo’s parents know something she doesn’t. They pretty much insinuate that she guilted Leo into asking during her relapse by talking about how she might never see her own wedding day. Sara shuts them down, “I think you’re wrong.”:
Something about April and Leo’s parents meeting and Sara being there alone is sad .
April gets the job Danny set her up with and the gang celebrates by renting a party bus for 2 hours before going to a concert. Dom brings up his and April’s first date and things get tense between him and Leo, luckily Beth is there to recommend some stress revealing pole dancing:
Loving the stripper pole in the party bus.
We all need to do random adventures! It’s all about making memories.
“That’s fly”… no, just no. Beth who is this guy! He’s worse than Graham.
Poor Natalie.
I hope at some point in my life there is a reason to say, “I think it’s time we all pole dance.”
Someone has a crush and unfortunately for Brenna, she is the object of it. Waiting for film club to start she is desperately asked out by an overly eager girl at her school. Saved by the mentor, a strange comes in and Brenna takes this as her chance to be rescued.
Ugh oh new mentor.. I’m seeing Brenna with a possible new love interest.
April puts her first piece together for her new boss and apparently it’s too factual. She tells her that their target audience doesn’t want the facts, they want to be entertained.
You need list makers and you need news tellers.
While April gets ready for her engagement party Beth reads the article April posted on the company site that ultimately gets her fired.
April should start a blog.
Having a total quarter-life crisis moment… What would my obit say?
I love Beth! I literally say all the time that I need someone rich to adopt me!
The engagement party starts with everyone present and it’s sure to be interesting. Natalie tries to convince Dominic to sneak away with her for some sexy time at the party but he tells her, “It’s April’s day and it would be disrespectful. April announces bravely to her Sara and member’s of Leo’s family she was fired from her new job. Sara takes her daughter outside and tells her she knows what she’s doing, that she isn’t allowed to give up. April explains to her that she isn’t giving up, she doesn’t want to die, she just wants to live better. Brenna plays a video she made with the help of her new mentor with warm wishes from everyone including Uncle George and Dominic. Sara later gives a supportive and heartfelt speech.
Not to stereotype but Tripp. Classic rich white guy name.
Uncle George 🙂
Dom looks so sad when he said “Good luck”
Damn those dimples of his!
Forever team Dominic.
Damn it now I want to call my Mom… crying.
Back at Beth and Natalie’s apartment, Natalie and Dominic get ready for bed. He makes a move and she lashes out, “I don’t think it would be respectful!” They fight and she asks him if he is still in love with April, his response, “She’s getting married.” Natalie then tells him she was getting bored with him anyway and that he should leave.
Ah Nat, the old break up with them before they hurt me.
The day after the party Sara is getting ready to take Brenna in for the first day of her bone marrow donation. They leave but Sara quickly returns to give April a deep embrace.
I literally feel like a part of this family.
Seriously nothing like a hug from Mom.
(Because Chasing Life loves to keep up on the edge of our seat.) Beth walks into Natalie’s room to check on her before going to work, Natalie tells Beth she is fine and wants to spend the day finally opening the boxes Sara gave her that belonged to her dad. She stumbles across some old children’s book and then she finds a typed manuscript by her father entitled, “Chasing Life.” What is it about? A man who has 2 families and planned his own death!
What!!! Spoiler Alert! Chasing Life?????
Such a great episode can’t wait for the rest of the season!
What did you think of the season 2 premiere?
To learn more about how you can save lives visit:
The Kiss of Joy
Honestly, I don’t think Leo and April are going to get married! April’s on this path right now of self discovery and she’s also trying to live her life to the fullest and I just feel like she’s going to realize that she still has feeling for Dominic or she’s going to realize that she’s doesn’t want to get married even though she might be dying!! I kinda hate the storyline of her engagement to Leo because even though he loves April, he just proposed to her because she wanted to see her wedding day before she dies. Omg and that book that Thomas Carver wrote and he planned his death! Like seriously what is up with that!!!
Dia
I don’t see it happening either. The previews show Doom is coming. I think she’ll get sick at the wedding then realize it’s a bad idea. I forget who pointed out they only knew each other for 6 months and he was in a coma for 4 of them.
I don’t think she realizes she never got over Dom but it’s obvious he is still in love with her.
Yeah, I don’t know if you got to see the newest episode but they didn’t give us too much more about the book Nat found…