Can a show jump the shark in its first season? Such needs to be asked considering what Patty does this time to escalate the show’s drama. Network Netflix Director(s) Andrew Fleming Writer(s) Lauren Gussis, Jace Richadale Air Date 8/10/2018 We Can’t Seriously Be a Thruple: Coralee, Bob B, Bob A For a moment, it seemed…
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Can a show jump the shark in its first season? Such needs to be asked considering what Patty does this time to escalate the show’s drama.
| Network | |
| Netflix | |
| Director(s) | Andrew Fleming |
| Writer(s) | Lauren Gussis, Jace Richadale |
| Air Date | 8/10/2018 |
We Can’t Seriously Be a Thruple: Coralee, Bob B, Bob A
For a moment, it seemed Bob A had his cake and got to eat it too. Coralee and Bob B seemed fine with being in a thruple. However, Bob B reminds Bob A he is emotionally gay and just saw Coralee as some to deal with to keep Bob A happy. Which leads to the beginning of the end for their thruple since Coralee isn’t going to the the third wheel in her own marriage.
To make things worse, Bob A is forced to choose between the two and may have ended up choosing neither. Well, at least with him back to the point of suicide, that is what seemingly happened.
Commentary
I truly can’t with this show. There is a serious desire to want to take Bob A suicidal thoughts seriously, but everything surrounding them makes it play out like it is part of the joke. In a, “Look at how dramatic he is! Isn’t he so silly?” kind of way. Which I don’t think was the intention but what this show doesn’t seem to do well is transition from its serious moments to comedic moments well. Which could be the larger issue. It’s filled with emotion and strife but isn’t so much “satire” as it is some kind of spoof.
One which seemingly ridicules its own characters and doesn’t put them through hell so they can learn and grow, but set up new ways for them to get a taste of happiness before smacking that joy from them. Making you feel like you’re the bully by standing by and watching these people not only make a mess out of their lives, but vehemently make a mess out of each other’s. To the point that, as much as Bob A suicide is hard to take seriously in the moment, it is hard to not feel, like Patty eating that cake by herself, this should have been impactful and really seen as rock bottom.
Catch Me Once, Shame On You: Patty, Stella Rose, Magnolia, Roxy, Christian, Regina
Stella Rose is the one who kidnapped Patty and in a, “We rehash what characters do because we’re slightly lazy” kind of way, pretty much Stella Rose presents a very Regina styled reason behind it. Also, like Regina, she used her daughter for this revenge. Which does lead to the question of why but, at this point, I feel like I’m writing fan-fiction trying to come up with reasons for why anyone does or goes along with anything. So, let’s just assume all those foster homes left her screwed up enough to go with whatever Stella Rose says.
Leading to, long story short, us learning Stella Rose’s plan was to have Roxy trick the Bobs into thinking she’d be their beauty queen and then snatch her back. Thus leaving Bob A devastated. Thing is, she didn’t know about Magnolia, who becomes co-Miss Magic Jesus, so she qualifies for regionals, and the thruple thing. Which puts a damper on her plans, alongside Patty escaping. At least until Roxy gets her back and then handcuffs her in the wiener van.
As for Magnolia? Well, originally she was going to reapply for regionals but then Christian found her and roofied her. Why? Well, Regina planted an idea that he needed a grand romantic gesture to win back Patty. So what better than kidnap the competition, and later on kill Magnolia with her? But more on that in a moment.
Commentary
In a way, I appreciate this being a finale and the show doing the absolute most. Yet, being that the show isn’t really building to regionals as much as degrading its characters further and making them more insane, I can’t really enjoy the upswing. Which could just mean I don’t enjoy watching characters like these hit rock bottom. At least not the way Insatiable handles it.
However, Stella Rose using her child to kidnap another; Christian being a full-on stalker who is willing to roofie and kill someone; alongside Bob A being suicidal and Patty probably needing psychological drugs? It is hard to find the funny in this and not see the crazy part being that we’re supposed to laugh at these people. What is there to laugh at really?
Making me wonder, would this show have worked if it came before the era of social media and, increasingly, people knowing about mental illness and things of that nature?
Catch Me Twice, You Better Kill Me First: Bob A, Stella Rose, Patty, Christian, Magnolia
Where to begin? Should we begin with Stella Rose saying she is going to kill Patty so that Bob feels guilty due to it appearing as a suicide? What about Stella Rose seemingly having a mental break sometime after Bob left her? How about, off screen, Patty killing her, meeting up with Christian, who has Magnolia in his trunk, and Magnolia getting away? Which is a good thing because it left Patty the ability, somewhat, to kill Christian and call Bob A. Someone who was just about to kill himself but now he is right back to helping Patty deal with a criminal case. It’s just, this time it is murder and he is getting his hands dirty more than before. You know, by helping to push the car into a lake. One in which the car doesn’t magically float forward and then sink to the bottom.
Commentary
So Patty murdered two people. At this point, I don’t feel like there is any coming back from that. Her whole desire to make amends, be a better person, all that? So far out the window, it is in another country. Also, any type of, “We’re trying to drive conversation” excuse, just doesn’t make sense. Just because 13 Reasons Why said that, and some can agree, doesn’t mean Insatiable can use that excuse and roll with it too.
With that said, did anyone else find it strange how Christian got killed by Patty? I get him not being able to really fight Brick because, well Brickworks out. However, Patty doesn’t and those first few hits looked as fake as when WWE wrestlers punch each other. So while I know he had to be disoriented, he couldn’t grab that crowbar?
Then, with Stella Rose, how did she die? Never mind why would you kidnap someone, handcuff them, and not make that extremely tight? I get she is crazy, but she is also presented like a Dixie, or more so Regina, level crazy. So you think that detail would have been thought of. Also, considering how far that phone was, couldn’t Patty have taken off a shoe and possibly knock that phone her way?
I swear, this show really leaves you to wonder if Netflix gave the creators a tight deadline and they rushed themselves or their focus was so much on “satire” that they didn’t really think through anything.
Low Points
- Be it some form of SJW in me or this show grasping at straws for something funny, and or shocking, episode 12 just reached a point of pure and utter desperation. As if this was the end of the line and if this wasn’t a hit, multiple people would give up having a career in Hollywood forever.
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