What I’m Watching: The Detour

The Detour: Season 3, Episode 5 “The Boat” (B-)

More than anything this season, we’re seeing our characters experience delusion and see other people’s faces when they’re talking to them. So much for Edie’s investigation and getting close to Nate, who was so excited to see Robin at the end of the last episode but now just left her for nearly a year to go work on a fishing boat. Leave it to him to not ask any questions about the salary of “up to” $150,000, resulting in him nearly throwing up every day and experiencing a whole lot of cabin fever for a pretty low salary that definitely wasn’t worth that much. The crystal meth also contributed considerably to the whole thing, helping him to hallucinate his children when he was trying to cheer himself up with some high quality visioning. This show must be a lot of fun to film, particularly in this episode when Robin stood in for his opponent and then got replaced by Vanessa when Nate heard him challenge his dedication to his family. I’m not sure what episodes like this really accomplishes, though I suppose the idea is that there are infinite detours on their path towards prosperity and happiness and, eventually, their latest arrest and court case. I prefer the antics back on land, if not the mainland, with the whole family together and Edie getting closer and closer to taking down the Parker family once and probably not for all. We still have the season left, so let’s get things as focused as they can be on this singularly derailed show.