Egg Shells
Someone Somewhere begins with Sam returning home to find her neighbour, Drew, arrested. He’d been dealing Fentanyl and that gets her thinking about people closer to home.
Specifically, the cash in Rick’s pocket fuels the doubts Sam has over him and where he got it. She’s convinced that he’s dealing drugs, and believes the local Drive Thru is the hot-spot. So naturally, Sam waits for Rick and then tails him from afar with Joel as the designated driver. Parking up (in a shady spot) they notice him arriving to see a chainsaw artist called Bill Baker. ..
Unfortunately, both Sam and Joel fall asleep while on the job. When they awaken, Sam admits she has a big Saturday where she writes goals for the week. Joel meanwhile usually does a lot of charity work on Saturdays, trying to keep busy and “make sure the terror doesn’t creep in.”
Rick is on the move and the duo end up losing him on the road after a close call with an oncoming car. ..
Rick’s arrival at the house results in a scramble as everyone tries to cover up for him. Sam eventually comes up with a story that seems plausible, but is actually true. However, Rick is not content with this and leaves soon after. A fight ensues between Mary-Jo and Shannon, with the latter getting drunk and causing an inferno. Ed comes to the rescue and saves Shannon from burning alive, but Mary-Jo gets angry and starts to drink.
That night, Sam arrives at the church where Fred encourages her to sing. Sam completely rocks the crowd, letting loose and grinning from ear to ear. She even gets a standing ovation too. It’s a really beautiful moment, and one that’s incredibly well-acted by Bridget Everett. As she clutches her necklace, the mixture of elation, sadness and thoughtful reflection is so clear to see and it’s easily the best scene of the series so far.
That night, Sam heads home with the strength to talk to her father. After the Mary-Jo incident, Sam urges Ed to talk her into going to rehab. And as he heads inside to do just that, Sam watches silently from afar.
The Episode Review
This week’s episode of Somebody Somewhere was a lot of fun. The humour during the opening parts of the chapter, leaning into the absurdist humour with tailing Rick was really nicely handled and it also allows for the plot to develop a little as well.
Rick is definitely acting suspiciously, but it’ll be interesting to see what’s going on with him. I don’t think it’ll be drug dealing, but the two phones and the wad of cash could be linked to something bigger…or it could just be a misunderstanding. We’ll see! ..
This episode also has some really nice moments between Joel and Sam, especially the way Joel keeps himself busy. When he’s on his own, it’s clear he’s going through his own battles but is keeping busy so he doesn’t have to dwell on it.
We haven’t seen too much from characters like Fred yet, but hopefully the episodes ahead remedy that. Somebody Somewhere has been a really solid watch and despite a slightly wobbly pilot episode (which, let’s face it, many shows struggle with anyway), each chapter has been getting better and better. Roll on next week! ..
