What I’m Watching: Better Things

Better Things: Season 4, Episode 6 “New Orleans” (B+)

This episode truly felt like a journey, taking its main character out of her normal life and transporting her to a magical place that she had apparently never visited. Sam absolutely had the right attitude for going to New Orleans, eager to take it all in and do the things that she was supposed to do even if she wasn’t necessarily prepared for them, like ordering the crawfish. She was warmly welcomed by her two friends who were getting married, and cheered them on to go buy fancier clothes when they were turned away from the restaurant, allegedly because they didn’t have collars but likelier because they didn’t have brides. Sam hit it off with Andrew’s family, played by veteran actress Elizabeth Ashley, who recently appeared in “Russian Doll,” and she swooped in to defend Sam’s honor after she was unfortunately recognized by someone all too willing to admit how he knew her so well. Molly Shannon’s guest appearance felt completely normal since she was just another actress, or even just a wedding guest, chatting with an old friend. As Sam stopped by a real estate office to marvel at the prices of homes, she seemed ready to move there, though it’s a good bet that her daughters and mother would be so against it that she would never even bring up the idea. Bumping into her ex three times made the world feel a bit too small, and she made a clear choice for the familiar in deciding to leave the bar and this fantasy with him.