BFD
Sam is grateful to Joel for his offer and decides to take the day off. She goes home, where she reflects on her sister’s death and how it has affected her life. She also reflects on the fact that Joel was there for her when she needed him and she thanks him for that.
As they drive en route to meet up with Kayleigh Normandin, Sam and her friends notice that one of their old classmates, Kayleigh Normandin, is about to release a new book. This reminder that for Sam, she hasn’t moved on and has been stuck in a rut since then.
“Sam and I used to talk more at work,” Joel recalls. “We would reflect on our high school days and how great we were. But then she stopped pursuing it.”
On the way home, Sam and Joel both pick up Kayleigh’s book and laugh about how awful it is. Eventually they put it down, likening it to bathroom reading material, as we get a glimpse of Sam’s dysfunctional family. A family that appear to be hoarding toilet rolls it seems.
The tension in this story comes from Tricia, who laments that Sam’s latching on to her daughter and turning her into “the new Holly.”
Joel and Sam encourage Sam to join them at choir practice that night. When she shows up, she finds solace with new friends, Fred Rococo and Michael. We also learn here what was written about Sam in Kayleigh’s book. It turns out she wrote about Sam sucking on tampons, with the nickname Sampire.
Joel asks Sam to join him on stage for a song that night, and the two of them soon find themselves in the middle of a rapturous applause. Joel has always been one of the most popular members of the band, and it seems like he’s still got plenty of energy left in him.
The Episode Review
This series is not a comedy, and despite the genre listing it as such, it’s more along the lines of drama with a sprinkling of half-amusing jokes.
The introduction to Sam is rough here too, and her sitting in a car laughing with Joel laughing over a woman’s book being published feels incredibly cynical and mean-spirited – despite what may be on the pages inside.
I found it difficult to connect with the characters and their motivations in this novel. The tone alternates between heartwarming and uncomfortable, which makes it hard to invest in the story. ..
The show has been criticized for its lack of diversity, specifically in the form of characters who are not white or male. The show has been accused of being “generic” and “safe.”
Someone Somewhere starts off rather tepidly, and it’s hard to tell if things will pick up in the next episode. We’ll just have to wait and see.
