Take Three: Somebody Somewhere

Somebody Somewhere: Season 1, Episode 3 “Egg Shells” (B+)

Well, the relationship that never was between Sam and her neighbor isn’t going to happen now that he’s been arrested for dealing fentanyl, and the majority of this episode was devoted to Sam trailing someone else she was pretty sure was also dealing drugs. The surveillance operation with Joel on Rick was not quite thrilling, as highlights included him buying a hot dog and then watching a chainsaw artist for forty-five minutes. The far more entertaining bit was what was happening in the car, like Sam being unsurprised that Joel had binoculars because he was a birder and then wanting a snack before singing about details about the things Joel might have needed to do one time in his car. As usual, their enjoyable time together got peppered by something serious, as Joel commented that Sam sitting around drinking wine in her underwear on Saturdays sounded lonely. The fun started soon enough after, and fortunately this show is a comedy, otherwise that tractor-passing stunt would have been much more than just an exhilarating moment. Her on-stage performance where she sung her heart out and then ripped her shirt open followed by thunderous applause was quite triumphant, but I think my favorite musical performance of the episode was Tricia and Sam joining Mike on the guitar. The ensuing reveal of how problematic Mary Jo’s drinking has become led to a superb scene between Sam and Mike where he suggested rehab was only for movie stars, followed by an unheard but compelling conversation between husband and wife. We’ll see the effects of that in the future, but this episode still wanted to end on a light note, with the carefully-curated window display being ruined by graffiti penises.