What I’m Watching: Search Party

Search Party: Season 5, Episode 4 “Leviticus” (B+)

I’m not sure what was stranger in the opening scene – Dory going live from the bathtub or Portia being on the toilet in the bathroom while she did it. Portia drinking her bath water and feeling something within her was freaky and quite unappetizing, and both she and Drew seem very enamored with this newfound prophet. Dory didn’t want to reduce the experience to what Tunnel was marketing it as, and it’s clear that Elliott doesn’t have a clue what she’s supposed to be saying. His idea to market it as a random selection when Tunnel had in fact chosen key influencers to make sure that they could reach the widest possible audience was smart, and it was odd to see Dory introduce them as if they were team captains. She did a remarkable job of breaking down Elodie, and was probably a bit too harsh to the guy who decided to up and leave. “Rollerskating is not a point of view” was a particularly biting line, and those who are hypnotized by her really are buying what she’s selling, which of course isn’t something transactional but instead something transcendental. Seeing all of them with blood on their faces was an eerie ending, indicative of the fact that she’s really seeing these things, even if she doesn’t quite understand what they mean. She’s already drawing people into something that most closely resembles a cult, and hearing that they’re all going to die violently isn’t going to make anyone feel good or eager to learn more.