Guilty Pleasure: Wildfire

When it comes to television, I have more than one "guilty pleasure." I think that term means different things to different people, so I'll elaborate. I have more than one show I am embarrassed to admit to watching, usually because they are meant for people a few years younger than me. One of these is the ABC Family series Wildfire. I don't know quite what it is about the show, I don't have any interest in horse and there are more than a couple plausibility issues with the plot. Regardless, I was still giddy about the premiere of Season 4 last night.

Season 3 ended last March, so the details of how it ended were not completely fresh in my mind. But I did remember the basics and the cliffhanger - Kris losing her jockey license, Dani losing her racing license, Kris leaving with almost everyone hating her, Raintree losing its horse. Oh, and of course, the final scene, with Kris walking down a highway and looking into someone's car window.

That last part was resolved right away, with pretty much a nothing conclusion. It was Dani in the car. This was obvious to anyone who has seen the previews since they reveal Kris is gone from Raintree when the series starts. If anyone else had been in the car, they would have convinced her to come home. However, I was a little disappointed that Dani being in the car didn't mean the two girls were about to have some 'Thelma and Louise'-like bonding experience. They did hug at the lead in to the credits, but other than that, it doesn't seem like there was a whole lot of interaction between the two in the months that passed before the premiere. Hopefully, now that Kris is back, the two will have that - I have always thought they would be better friends than enemies.

Meanwhile, Raintree farms was turned into a dude ranch for tourists and has given up racing. I am not sure this is so bad. The ranch was always in danger of losing money, and a plot like that can only last for so long without the characters looking dumb. This will sort of solve that. However, I don't buy for a minute that Wildfire is going to be retired. This show is fairly predictable, so I see Kris coming back, helping him get his times up, him winning again, her getting her racing license back, etc.

Speaking of predictable, let's talk about Junior. last night. As soon as I saw that girl on the side of the road, I knew she was going to be Junior's new love interest. But I will admit to being a Kris/Junior shipper, so I kind of hope that doesn't work out. And as much as the previews have shown "Junior's wedding" I don't buy that he will actually get married - unless it is the season finale and he is marrying Kris. However, speaking of Kris/Junior, I do feel a little bad for Matt. He spends six months pining for Kris and when he goes to see her all she cares about is her horse and Junior? It is a bit of a slap in the face.

In total, I was a little disappointed about the premiere, but I think a lot of that is because the premiere was trying to re-establish storylines. I am still looking forward to the rest of the season - I have high hopes that there will be some good stuff with Kris reestablish her connection with Paublo and Dani finally getting recognition for how awesome she is.