Laid: Season 1 Episode 4 – Recap and Review

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Category	Details
Originally Aired	December 19, 2024
Network	Peacock
Director(s)	Mo Marable
Writer(s)	Jeff Chiang
Character	ACTOR’S NAME
Richie	Michael Angarano
Ruby	Stephanie Hsu
AJ	Zosia Mamet
John Early	John Early
Zack	Andre Hyland
Isaac	Tommy Martinez
Merci	Olivia Holt

Quick Recap

It seems Richie is a special one. Why? Well, for one, he kidnaps Ruby, and neither she nor AJ makes much of a deal about it; they just shrug it off since he was recently told he was going to die. But, strangely, he doesn’t. The exes we met in the last episode do, but Richie gets skipped, and the curse moves onto John Early, someone Ruby slept with when the pandemic hit – who happened to be gay.

While this is confusing, Ruby has other problems, including the fact that Zack will die, and he pseudo-manipulates her into taking their secret to the grave. As this happens, Ruby begins to realize she has feelings for Isaac. But in her defense, Isaac is charming and tries to bring her out of her funk by dancing to “The Greatest Showman,” and if it wasn’t for Merci, something could happen—maybe not while he is a client but soon after.

New Character Descriptions

John Early

John Early is a 54-year-old man who, right as the pandemic hit, after Ruby’s “Sex Cluster,” she slept with. Note he thought of himself as gay, and this was a bit of an experiment on his part, maybe material to add to his stand-up routine.

Richie

Richie does trivia at local bars and used to be with Ruby until they broke up because he refused to get a character’s name in “Malignant” right and started to really bug her.

Other Noteworthy Information

• Check out our show reference guide for more information.

Review

Trajectory (74/100): Plateau

While this episode lacked that notable conversation that could act as a silver lining, at least it had a funny moment. To me, Merci’s reaction to catching Isaac and Ruby dancing to “The Greatest Showman” was the first laugh-out-loud moment the show has produced. Now, was it good enough to compensate for everything else? No.

For one, out of all the exes we’ve met, Richie gets to live? Was everyone else showing up just a favor to Stephanie Hsu because they are friends or wanted to work together, but they couldn’t commit to multiple episodes in a meaningful way? I say this meaning no offense to Richie’s actor, but there is a real lack of excitement about the possibility of him being in this show for more episodes.

Though, on the positive side, rushing through so many exes, does push the idea this could be a one-season show and isn’t going to try to come up with another scenario to attract a second season. For as much as it would be interesting to see Isaac and Ruby ultimately date and her hold off on sleeping with him, due to the curse, nothing about this show pushes it needs, or deserves low-key, a second season.

And even with the Isaac and Ruby thing, I get friend vibes more than mutual romantic attraction. Heck, with Ruby, I more so get the sense that because Isaac is nicer than most guys in her life, that is the attraction. It isn’t because there is something special about him as much as he is the weird and nice Ruby isn’t used to, which makes him come off as special when he is just a good dude who just never crossed her path before.

Highlights

• Merci Catching Isaac and Ruby Dancing Made Me Laugh

Low Points

• Out Of All The Exes We Met, Richie Gets To Live?

On The Fence

• Isaac and Ruby
• The Story Wrapping Up In One Season

What To Check Out Next & How To Check This Out

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