What I’m Watching: Better Things

Better Things: Season 3, Episode 3 “Nesting” (B)

I’ll mention here that I guess I forgot about this show when I was watching my Thursday night television the last time around, and being so far behind at this point, I’m just going to have to catch up much later in the season. Up until that point, I’ll be a full week behind on this show whenever I review it, which for now is further behind given that episode five has already aired. Not too much happened in this third episode, though this show tends to be at its most effective when its characters are simply sitting around and talking about existence. Sam griping to her friends and family about how she was being underpaid compared with her much less famous costar was just the beginning, and it was a chance for both unserious and more important conversation. We’ve known for a while that Phyllis is no longer entirely in control of her faculties, and Marion took notice and tried to address it in a way that hasn’t necessarily done. It was extremely awkward when Sunny showed up and everyone else was already there, and this has never been a group that’s had a productive way of getting past that. I am intrigued to see more of Marsha Thomason’s Mer Kodis, whose interest in Sam certainly does appear to be more than just professionally-motivated. Sam could use an ally and a friend in the business after all these years, though I’m sure that this show will deal cautiously and smartly with a different kind of spin of something that could look like harassment in the industry.