For most time it was a decent episode. A bit sad that Sawyer's and Shauna's departure had to happen here rather than last episode. But considering how past rivals had been treated in the past, including Paul, I can't complain much because they were the rivals who got the most even after they were beaten by the main characters.
Now for Serena...
So, Serena started off like she was being set up to do contest, then we found out she wouldn't do contest but rather something else that's basically an inferior rip off of contests. And after speed running said not-contest goal, she is totally taking on contests so she can be better at the not-contest <_<
Really, this was one of the best series we've gotten but sometimes the illogical choices and bad writting/directing decisions screw it up so bad you can't help but think why you bother following it in the first place.
Man, when I think about all the opportunity they had with Serena becoming a coordinator... That could have happened in an episode promoting ORAS where May would show up. We'd get a callback to when May herself had found about contests and then see May's journey getting full circle with her doing for someone, something it has been done for her in the past. It could have been such a powerful arc. But enough fanfic-ing.
Anyway, I really wonder if the writers had a plan for Serena in the first place or they just include her character in the show with absolutely no clue what to do with her. That's the only way I can make sense out of the mess her arc end up being. At first, the plot "she doesn't quite know what she wants to do" seemed like a clever and organic way to build her character but end up being handled in a way that the writers were as lost as the character herself. Even the shipping bait subplot is now starting to look like they got desperate with trying to find a reason to put Serena on Ash's group and then resort for the shipping subplot.
Makes me feel really bad for Serena. Her character were filled with so much potential but she end up being treated as an afterthought.
On the bright side, I like that Palermo end up being a red herring of sorts. Well, if Ash can't have her, neither should the old woman lol