![]() It’s an unremarkable, unobtrusive choice that feels right for both the character and the show, even though death is baked into the premise of Somebody Somewhere - which begins with Sam moving back to her Kansas hometown following the death of her other sister, Holly - as surely as it is in Succession and Barry. ![]() ![]() Interestingly, Somebody Somewhere doesn’t kill off Ed, opting instead to send him on an extended, offscreen fishing trip in Texas, a fate as down-to-earth and undramatic as Logan Roy’s airborne death was earth-shattering. ![]() The most intense scene in last night’s episode was probably Sam cleaning out her dad’s barn, a moment that takes on added emotional weight with the knowledge that Mike Hagerty, who played Sam’s father, Ed, passed away between seasons. Somebody Somewhere, by contrast, is not heightened at all. We care about the characters on both shows because we’ve grown invested in them over four seasons and are curious to see how their stories resolve, but their experiences do not necessarily qualify as relatable most of us do not fly to Norway on private jets or get into gun battles while we bust out of jail as part of our day-to-day lives. But as each series barrels toward its respective series finale, the dramatic stakes have never been higher. To be clear: I deeply love both Succession and Barry, two shows that can be just as funny, in their own distinct ways, as Somebody Somewhere. After the frequently nerve-rattling 90 minutes that precede it, Somebody Somewhere’s interest in the relatable, mundane moments of human existence, and in characters who are flawed but ultimately trying their best to look out for one another, feels like a sigh of relief. It is inviting us to laugh with Sam and those closest to her the same way we laugh with our actual friends. It is not inviting us to laugh at Swedish billionaires who send blood bricks to their employees or paid assassins accidentally blowing off their own fingers with exploding pens. This is the beauty of Somebody Somewhere, a series that unfolds at the pace and temperature of real life. Whether or not this moment was improvised, it feels improvised, as if this conversation over a bottle of Pinot Grigio would play out exactly like this even if we weren’t watching. “What about the salad-dressing test?” Sam asks, nestling a full bottle under one of her breasts while the entire table bursts into loud cackles. The two sisters then ask the increasingly uncomfortable Joel who has the better pair. Tricia, tipsy on white wine and attempting to boost her own ego, tells Joel she can still pass the pencil test, a thing she proves by placing a pencil under one of her breasts and watching it clatter onto her kitchen table, thereby offering demonstrable proof that her boobs are still perky. Sam (Bridget Everett) and her best friend, Joel (Jeff Hiller), are chatting with Sam’s high-strung sister, Tricia (Mary Catherine Garrison), who’s struggling to recalibrate after her recent divorce. There’s a small, unassuming moment in the season-two premiere of Somebody Somewhere - a show made up almost entirely of small, unassuming moments - that captures what makes this series such a welcome chaser to the Succession and Barry episodes that precede it on HBO’s current Sunday-night lineup.
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