What I’m Watching: The Detour

The Detour: Season 4, Episode 8 “The Same” (C+)

If nothing else, this episode reframed the hopeless search that the Parkers have been on for a while with both kids now on the run from the parents that just want to be reunited with them. It’s obvious that parallels are being drawn between the women and the men, with Delilah constantly compared to Robin and Jareb usually just as well-intentioned but truthfully useless as Nate. Delilah definitely doesn’t yet possess the same charming abilities as her mother, resulting in them getting on a nine-stop flight to Russia, which itself seems absurd given the multitude of connections possible from anywhere in the United States, while Robin got herself and her husband with the new shoes on a private charter plane thanks to the conveniently-present Gene. While Nate was entertaining himself by watching Delilah’s apparently hilarious ex-boyfriend, it was Robin who got their flight grounded by plowing a reserve pilot with alcohol so that he had to land the plane. I don’t have much to say about the antics in Iran, though I guess the two kids going to hide in the bathroom so that their parents wouldn’t see them and getting covered by the explosive toilet contents was even more absurd and over-the-top. Robin recognizing Delilah and Jareb by their eyes under the burkas was a sweet moment, which of course turned deadly serious in a second thanks to the presence of JR’S enemies ready to take them hostage. Nate doesn’t seem to be in much better shape either – I don’t know what to expect from the final two episodes of this season, but my hopes are not high.