Saturday, March 19, 2022

What I’m Watching: Better Things

Better Things: Season 5, Episode 4 “Ephemera” (B+)

It’s hardly a surprise that Phil wouldn’t be a fan of a concept like Google Earth, though, like many of her generation, she misunderstood how it worked and didn’t get that it wasn’t a live photo of what was actually happening. Her aversion to using the cloud was cured when her grandchildren were able to instantly find an old friend and she was able to start chatting with him on Facebook. I suspect she won’t be nearly as amenable to the idea of giving up her three-bedroom house, something Marian noted was not at all necessary for her. Sam was far more interested in keeping the pen than anything during that serious financial conversation, which she managed to do after expressing that she didn’t like the tone of his face. Duke’s freak-out at her friend was a very memorable moment, something we’d likely never see her do in front of her siblings or her mom. Sam was leaning all in on the pronoun jokes to Frankie, something that doesn’t really indicate the willingness to understand and learn that she explicitly said she had, and Frankie’s response was perfectly matter-of-fact about how things didn’t need to always be gendered all the time. It was surprising to see Frankie respect the religious traditions of the man lighting Shabbat candles at a grave, and I think Sam appreciated that, especially before heading home to Max telling her that she needed her to know that she didn’t want to live with her. She nearly cracked when Sam said she wanted her to know that she knows, but she wasn’t referencing what Max thought, just showing support as a mother who has been through plenty in her life.

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