Secret Skater
Episode 2 of Zero Chill begins with Anton giving Kayla a lift home. She cracks some jokes on the way, which does little to dispel Anton’s bad mood. Her Father is not thrilled to see her, and even more so when he finds out what Kayla has been up to. Kayla charges up to her room though and rings Sky, excitedly telling her about the mysterious stranger. She remains determined to find 67, as she turns in for the night. The next day, Kayla gets up early and remains determined to find the stranger. At the ice rink, Kayla is given her punishment by Anton, which includes mopping up the floors overlooking the rink. Here, she takes the opportunity to scout everyone out. Down on the ice, Mac is pranked for joining the team, complete with balloons in his locker and his bedroom. Mac thinks twice about joining the rink, storming off in a huff alone. As he does, he meets Sky who tells him she was ill the previous year. In fact, she had leukemia but she’s free of her illness now. Sky smiles weakly, shrugging off his attempts to carry her bag, and heads in to work. Sky does eventually catch up with Mac later on though, explaining her standoffish attitude with him. She doesn’t like talking about her past as it makes her feel awkward. Eventually Mac heads on the ice but Coach realizes he needs someone fast to help with the drills. This brings him back to Kayla, whom he manages to convince to join the team on the ice with the promise of free slushies and no more cleaning. Kayla begins showing up the other skaters, as Ava arrives and silently begins skating in front of her. Kayla believes she may be the mysterious skater and asks Ava this very question in the locker room. She looks confused though and rejects that notion. When she does, Kayla suggests she try out for the Hammers. That evening, Anton shows up at the house for dinner. Well, they’re not alone as both Sky and Ava show up too. There, Kayla learns that Sky was the mysterious skater in the previous episode. Sky storms out though, prompting Kayla to follow her outside and ask outright about skating. Sky’s Mother shows too, having overheard everything, and tells Kayla about Sky’s illness. This certainly quietens her down though, as she heads back home. Thankfully Mac is there to offer some words of encouragement for Kayla. This comes to a screeching halt though when Kayla checks online and notices that Jacob isn’t in Canada after all – he’s actually in England!
The Episode Review
Zero Chill returns for an episode with, quite literally, zero chill. Between contrived drama and expository-filled dialogue, Zero Chill is a painfully orchestrated skating drama that really feels like a watered down version of Spinning Out. There’s very little here worth getting excited about and the characters don’t have a lot going on either. Out of all the characters – supporting and main – it’s Sky who’s the most interesting so far. Her whole backstory is fascinating but there hasn’t been a lot of depth here beyond surface level thoughts. Ava too has a nice arc and it seems like she’s destined to go up against Kayla in this Blade Star competition. We’ll have to wait and see though, but her pushy parent angle does raise some intriguing ideas for the future. For now, Zero Chill delivers another mediocre slice of skating drama. Hopefully things pick up in the episodes to come.
