Tis Me Michelle

Ya’ll, I got sick, and watched too much TV. Could use some recommendations, because I am running out of things that are actually worthwhile. Finding Her Edge came out right when I was one with the couch. I thought it was a new take on The Cutting Edge, which they shout out in the show. I just found out it is actually a book adaptation. Apparently, every show I’ve watched lately is in the book-to-show pipeline.

The show follows Adriana Russo, played by Madelyn Keys. She is the middle sister of a renowned ice skating family. Her older sister, Elise (Alexandra Beaton), is the star on track to Worlds. The younger sister, Maria (Alice Malakhov), is killing it with her partner as an ice dancer. Both parents were gold medalist ice skaters in their day.

Spoilers ahead!

Adriana was an ice dancer like her younger sister, partnered with her first love, Freddie (Olly Atkins). Soon after her mom passed, she stopped dancing, and Freddie had to move on. He is now partnered with Riley, who is friends with Adriana. Adriana is just trying to help keep the house and rink her dad owns on his own afloat. To get the show really going, Elise, the star sister, gets injured. And she faces some anxiety about getting back on the ice. The Russo house needs a strong Russo contender. Lil sister Maria is still too young. And even though hot daddy, Will, thinks ice dancing is a bit silly, his business partner Camille has an idea to get Adriana back on the ice.

Camille wants Adriana to partner with the bad boy of ice, Braydon Elliot (Cale Ambrozic). And so obviously, after some back and forth, they get to it. After a very brief fling with Braydon and Elise, there are clearly some sparks with him and Adriana as they begin training. But Mr. Freddie is also staying under the same roof. What a conundrum from little Miss Adriana.

I feel like I’m coming off as facitious. You know, the plot line of Heated Rivalry was pretty chicklet-y, similar to this show. This show is like an extra G version of what was going on over there with Ilya and Shane. It’s not even the lack of heat. It’s the delivery. I found the buildup between Adriana and Braydon to be forced and very quick, but ultimately, I did like them together. They could have had more time with the enemies-to-lovers angsty buildup between them. And with the early little fling with Elise, it could have been another layer of tension. I just wanted more depth.

What sent me over was how abruptly Freddie came back into the picture. We knew that he was her first love. He had that silent brooding, getting mad from the sidelines thing going on. But they were barely engaging with one another. And almost immediately, it was like a switch flipped, and she turned from one guy to the other. It was rather frustrating. I wouldn’t have minded the love triangle if I felt like either side had enough history or chemistry, but I’m ultimately not invested in either relationship.

The relationship between the sisters was more interesting. Elise was annoying and made a lot of dumb decisions throughout the season, but she also had growth and landed in a good spot. I loved Maria. She was the most relatable of the bunch. Her reactions were what we, the audience, were thinking. She was funny, sweet, spunky, and exactly how she should be at her age. I wouldn’t mind seeing a whole season of Will (Harmon Walsh), the dad, he is fyneee. His arch was similar to Elise’s, which I found very fitting because he comes to realize how alike they are. Otherwise, I think I’ll leave it at this season.

The show just got picked up for a second season. For a sick day, it kept me entertained, but it’s not something I’d go out of my way to recommend. On top of some of the lackluster romance storylines, I found the acting and overall dialogue rough. I can also understand that this show may be for a younger audience and not really for me.

Rating: ⭐️ ✨