Episodes - "Six" Review

“It’s not funny enough. It’s not smart enough, it’s nothing unique or special, it’s just profoundly mediocre.” -Beverly

My how self-aware Beverly is about Episodes. Wait. She was talking about the fictional show Pucks! she’s creating my mistake. Episodes is traveling down a path it does not want to go. It had a chance to make a kind of clever statement on the production of TV shows and the perils of making bad decisions while being a great show at the same time, however I can only think of one word to describe this show: predictable.

In this Episode we pick up where the show first started. When a TV series or any other media starts en media res I look for their to be profound changes from where we first saw the middle to when we actually get there. We want to be left with a sense of, “So THAT’S how that happened. Wow.” But instead I couldn’t help but think, “That’s it? That’s what led us to that point?” Sean and Beverly’s relationship is boring. We don’t particularly like any one of them and they’re always fighting. So it’s actually a bit surprising when Sean decides not to act on his impulses and pursue that starlet. This misdirection of course leads us to the elementary comedic tactic of Beverly observing what she thinks is an adulterous hug, whereas actually Sean and Morning are trying to save the marriage of Beverly and Sean.

Beverly storms out of the house and crashes her car into Matt LeBlanc because, wait for it, she’s driving on the wrong side of the street because she’s British! How hilarious is that?!?! Needless to say, Beverly uses this time with Matt LeBlanc to get to know him and she finds that he’s actually an alright guy. But, in an attempt to make Matt LeBlanc as unlikable as possible, he takes advantage of Beverly’s vulnerable situation and ends up romancing her. So now the woman with the supposed integrity and morals jumps at the first opportunity to screw the first person she gets to. But let’s not forget the most important part, she still doesn’t quite know the full truth about Sean and Morning. They say the cover up is worse than the lie. We’ll see what kind of effect this has on the relationship and the show.

As predictable as I thought the episode was, at least we have some action. Something has actually happened. Beverly has slept with Matt LeBlanc. I do not think that Beverly and Sean can survive this, much less the show, Pucks!. I think Episodes may have gone to the well too early. In Beverly’s verbal accosting of Matt she tells him that he’s ruined the show because, “everyone knows you’re going to get her in the sack eventually.” She of course was talking about the inevitability of his character getting together with Morning’s, but we’ll cross apply that statement to the show Episodes. I hope the writers have a way of making the inevitability I saw about Beverly getting with Matt not be the death of Episodes. Though I’m not so sure if I’ll be crushed.

Other thoughts:

-If Merc is self aware, I’d like that. I think he knows the show is crap. So I hope we get to see the Lincoln’s struggle to get the show back to prominence. And in doing so, they get back to the show’s original heart.

-Matt being introspective about the show is nice. It’s what the show needs. We can’t forget that he’s playing himself and how interesting of a dynamic it is that he’s so self aware. But, let’s not forget that he did work in how big of a penis he has to sub in for all the self deprecating humor.

-The guard at the gate of the Lincoln’s neighborhood is a good recurring joke.