7.9/10245 votes#1 - Pilot
Season 1 Episode 1 - Aired 1/18/2010
After spending all of her 15 years bouncing from one foster family to another in Portland, Oregon, Lux as decided it's time to take control of her life and become an emancipated minor. Her journey through the legal system leads Lux to her biological parents, local radio personality Cate Cassidy and thirty-something Nate "Baze" Bazile, who had a one-night stand back in high school. Although they haven't seen each other in 15 years, it doesn't take Cate and Baze long to fall into the same contentious relationship they had as teenagers. However, when a judge decides that Lux isn't ready for emancipation and unexpectedly grants temporary joint custody to Baze and Cate, they agree to try to get past the arguments and awkwardness and make a belated attempt to give Lux the family she deserves.
Director: Gary Fleder
Writer: Liz Tigelaar
7.4/10187 votes#2 - Home Inspected
Season 1 Episode 2 - Aired 1/25/2010
Cate and Baze are paid a visit by a social worker whose job it is to evaluate both of them and determine if they are fit parents. Lux is torn when her boyfriend, Bug, and best friend, Natasha, suggest that Cate and Baze may not be in it for the long haul and that Lux should return to her old life and the people who love her most of all. Meanwhile, Cate is pressured by the executives at the radio station to deny that she has a daughter in order to save her job.
Director: Gary Fleder
Writer: Liz Tigelaar
7.9/10172 votes#3 - Rent Uncollected
Season 1 Episode 3 - Aired 2/1/2010
When Baze tells his parents about Lux, they insist on planning a dinner at which they can meet their granddaughter and Cate. Cate reluctantly agrees to go to the dinner and is further annoyed when her overbearing mother and neurotic sister show up unexpectedly. Meanwhile, when Cate hears about a gang fight at Lux's school, she immediately decides to have Lux transferred to her and Baze's alma mater, Westmonte.
Director: Gary Fleder
Writer: Liz Tigelaar
7.5/10154 votes#4 - Bong Intercepted
Season 1 Episode 4 - Aired 2/8/2010
When Lux gets suspended from school, Cate does her best to convince Principal Dugan to give Lux a second chance, but, unfortunately, her efforts may have made the situation considerably worse for Lux. Meanwhile, Baze is insulted when he finds out that Cate and Ryan are hosting a radio station event at the bar across the street.
Director: Jeff Melman
Writer: Emily Whitesell
7.5/10153 votes#5 - Turtle Undefeated
Season 1 Episode 5 - Aired 2/15/2010
Off to a rocky start at her new school, Lux offers to throw a party in Baze's loft in an effort to impress the high school quarterback, Jones, and his friends. Cate worries that her relationship with Lux will never measure up to the bond Lux has so easily made with Baze.
Director: Allan Arkush
Writer: Adele Lim
7.7/10146 votes#6 - Truth Unrevealed
Season 1 Episode 6 - Aired 2/22/2010
Pressured by radio station management, Cate and Ryan reluctantly agree to let Baze join them on air for what turns into a public therapy session. Lux tries to get Jones to drop the charges against her boyfriend, Bug.
Director: Nick Marck
Writer: Janet Leahy
7.3/10134 votes#7 - Crisis Unaverted
Season 1 Episode 7 - Aired 3/1/2010
In the midst of feeling like he is being pushed out of Lux's life by Cate and Ryan, Baze wins the chance to compete against Ryan in a radio station contest and is determined to be the last man standing. Cate contemplates finally telling Ryan the full truth about Baze, but can't bear the thought of what might happen if she does. When Tasha tells Lux she may have to move three hours away to a new foster home, Lux decides to help Tasha track down her mother who is still living in town.
Director: Jerry Levine
Writer: N/A
8.0/10115 votes#8 - Bride Unbridled
Season 1 Episode 8 - Aired 3/8/2010
Cate and Ryan are forced to put on a happy face as the hosts of a wedding expo, but the unfortunate situation becomes even more unfortunate after Baze and Math show up at the event. After watching Lux mope around the house for days, Baze solicits help from Jones in an effort to cheer her up.
Director: David Paymer
Writer: N/A
7.5/10124 votes#9 - Formal Reformed
Season 1 Episode 9 - Aired 3/15/2010
Jones asks Lux to be his date for the Winter Formal. Baze finds a condom in Lux’s room, and thinking it belongs to Jones, shows up at the dance to try and stop Lux and Jones from having sex. Cate agrees to chaperone the dance, but being at her old high school for Winter Formal brings back painful memories about the night Lux was conceived.
Director: J. Miller Tobin
Writer: Liz Tigelaar
7.5/10119 votes#10 - Family Therapized
Season 1 Episode 10 - Aired 3/22/2010
After Lux and Bug are picked up by the police for a curfew violation, Lux's social worker decides it's time to meet with Cate and Baze to reevaluate their custody of Lux. During a meeting with the social worker, Cate, Baze and Lux agree to put on a happy face to ensure that Lux isn't placed back in the foster care system. Meanwhile, in an attempt to show Lux that she supports her, Cate offers to find Bug a job at her radio station, but winds up disappointing Lux once again.
Director: Michael Katleman
Writer: N/A
8.2/10115 votes#11 - Storm Weathered
Season 1 Episode 11 - Aired 3/29/2010
Lux is forced to face her complicated feelings for Jones when she sees him kissing another girl at a party. When a storm hits Portland, Ryan and Lux find themselves stranded at the radio station, and Ryan learns more than he ever knew about what Lux went through as a child. Cate goes to Baze's bar looking for Lux, but the storm traps her there with Baze, Math, Jamie and her sister, Abby.
Director: Rick Bota
Writer: N/A
7.9/10127 votes#12 - Father Unfigured
Season 1 Episode 12 - Aired 4/5/2010
With her wedding on the horizon, Cate decides to take a road trip with Lux to find her father, Gordon (guest star Peter Horton), who abandoned her when she was a little girl. Meanwhile, when Bug’s “friends” trash Baze’s bar, Lux invites Baze to join her and Cate on the road trip, allowing Bug some time to repair the bar before Baze discovers the truth.
Director: N/A
Writer: Adele Lim
7.7/10143 votes#13 - Love Unexpected
Season 1 Episode 13 - Aired 4/12/2010
With her wedding fast approaching, Cate must confront her true feelings for the two men in her life, Baze and Ryan. To complicate Cate’s already conflicted feelings, on the day of the wedding, Lux reveals something that threatens to change all of their lives forever.
Director: N/A
Writer: Adele Lim
The Best Episodes of Life Unexpected Season 1
Every episode of Life Unexpected Season 1 ranked from best to worst. Discover the Best Episodes of Life Unexpected Season 1!
16-year-old Lux was given up for adoption at birth but never adopted. When she is put back into the custody of her estranged-since-high-school birth parents,...
Genre:Drama
Network:The CW
Season 1 Ratings Summary
"Pilot" is the best rated episode of "Life Unexpected" season 1. It scored 7.9/10 based on 245 votes. Directed by Gary Fleder and written by Liz Tigelaar, it aired on 1/18/2010. This episode is rated 0.5 points higher than the second-best, "Home Inspected".