TV Talk

spoilers for The White Lotus, The Pitt, and Severance

If you’re not caught up on White Lotus, Severance, or The Pitt… please come back when you are. Unless you don’t mind spoilers… then carry-on.

Now that the little disclaimer is out of the way… let’s talk some TV¹

Photo by Ajeet Mestry on Unsplash

The White Lotus

This past Sunday’s episode gave me everything I’ve been waiting for all season— including the incomparable Sam Rockwell. He is arguably one of the most talented actors working today, so when his buddy Walton Goggins and his brilliant partner Leslie Bibb were both announced for this season, I *hoped* it was only a matter of time before Sam showed up.

Thankfully my TV instincts were proven correct, and Sam and Walton (and of course writer/director Mike White) delivered one of the best scenes on television that only two talented men with a deep personal history could perform. If you haven’t seen the scene yet, it’s a master class in acting. Sam’s monologue is delivered with the cunning combination of empathy and morbid fascination, that leaves viewers waiting to be let in on the joke that never comes, while Walton’s face plays out every gamut of emotion.

Image thanks to Evan Ross Katz. This will also be the meme of the times for me personally :)

For a show whose theme is largely about white privilege, the monologue about the experience of a white man literally wanting to become the object of his fantasies is profound. Brilliant writing. Brilliant performance. Brilliant posing of existential questions that I’ve come to expect from this gem of a show.²

…and as if that wasn’t enough, the line of the episode had to go to Parker Posey’s line delivery of “You want to live in Taiwan?” What we’ve been missing from Jennifer Coolidge’s perfect performance straddle of comedy and drama, Parker is making up for. It’s actually a superb pairing with Jason Isaac’s³ brooding and pressure-inducing performance. Of course the Ratliff’s have several big problems swirling around them right now, and I’m not even including the brothers’ k-i-s-s-i-n-g.

Another standout performance this past episode came from Michelle Monaghan’s Jaclyn. The toxic-friendships aside (LOVE seeing this recognizable mean girls because we all know them in real life), there was something something so wildly raw about a woman who seemingly has it all trying to reclaim the one thing out of her control— her youth. When she notices the Russian dude’s girlfriend (and her girlfriends) staring daggers at her from across the club, she relishes the attention. More so than that, she relishes the knowledge that she can still stir up these feelings of inadequacy in her younger counterparts.

These are the complicated characters we deserve, and thank goodness we get to spend Sunday nights with them right now.

Severance

Season 2’s finale is this week, and while I’ve been loving this season— I can’t help but feel an internal dread at what’s going to go down. Oh Gemma, my heart worries for you.

The Pitt

I also have to give a shout-out to The Pitt, which feels like *classic golden television.* For those unaware of the premise, it reunites ER’s John Wells with ER’s Noah Wyle. Originally it was supposed to be a sort of sequel to ER, but rights-issues put the kibosh on that plan. Instead, it’s a show about Pittsburgh’s ER and the season takes place over the course of a single twelve-hour shift. As a result, the pacing is unlike anything I’ve ever experienced in a medical show and adds even higher stakes and opportunities for character development. It also helps that every character is dynamic and carrying much more than their caseload.

If you’re all caught up, you know things are about to get even crazier for our ER doctors and the staff, and the drama may be personal for the titular Dr. Robbie. Not to mention, the whole team has been through the ringer at this point… ooph.

I’m waiting on baited breath.

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1. Imagine this in a Linda Richmond voice for the full effect.

2. My parents’ and I went to Hawaii shortly after the first season premiered and all had an existential crisis about attending the Luau. Mission accomplished, MW.

3. I worked with Jason several years ago on a failed Fox series. He was super nice, super professional, and his eyes can most accurately be described as “piercing”