What I’m Watching: Better Things

Better Things: Season 3, Episode 10 “Show Me that Magic” (B+)

It’s so interesting to see how Sam’s relationships with the men in her life are portrayed. As soon as Lala’s husband showed up to interrupt their girl time, she exploded, angry that he would dare to intrude on them. Lala didn’t take her reaction lying down, standing up to her in a way that the adults in Sam’s life rarely do. The fact that she still wanted to watch Sam’s movie after that was surprising, but I think these women realize that they just want to be together rather than engaging in the kind of battles they have to fight with other people in their lives. Sam getting into the car to see her father sitting in the backseat was yet another haunting reminder of the influence that he’s had on her, and I liked her response to Duke asking her about him and then pointing out that she’s close to fifty herself. The most memorable scene of the episode was Sam’s latest ill-advised session with Dr. Miller, which started with her bizarre request for him to lie to her kids about the adverse effects of their bad behavior towards her. Making out during the session was quite the development, and I like that Dr. Miller felt the need to point out that he wasn’t going to be charging her for the hour. A normal relationship doesn’t seem like it’s in the cards for her right now, but maybe this is just the kind of diversion that she needs at the moment.