What I’m Watching: God Friended Me

God Friended Me: Season 1, Episode 6 “A House Divided” (B-)

The sentimentality that is so intrinsic to this show makes it less effective than it could be, and the knowledge that everything is going to work out so neatly causes more eye-rolling than genuine smiling, at least on my part. What this episode did do that was positive was compound the nature of the God account and its influence by incorporating the religious beliefs of the latest friend suggestion into what its relevance to Miles’ life should be. I immediately recognized Navid Negahban from “Homeland” and “Curb Your Enthusiasm” as Hasan, the friendly cab driver who ended up taking them to his home because things were getting bad with his son, who turned out not to be the child with the issue. I have a hard time believing that Hasan would be so familiar with Jewish marriage customs like the ketubah if he wasn’t open to an interfaith marriage, and I’d be equally shocked that the two lovebirds would want to incorporate religious customs into what was going to be a shotgun wedding due specifically to their parents’ refusal to approve of it. Miles is also way too pushy when it comes to just showing up and trying to influence other people’s lives, and having a smile on his face the whole time doesn’t make his actions any better. Arthur awkwardly asking Trisha out was sweet, and that relationship seems like a much more productive idea than Cara deciding to give Eli a second chance when everyone knows that she should really be with Miles.