Somebody Somewhere recap: Sam and Joel have a spat

I asked, and Bridget Everett and the team at Somebody Somewhere delivered. Last week, we heard Sam say that she had a few singing no-nos: “No Barbra, no Judy and no Branigan,” she told Joel. Before, of course, launching into a fun rendition of “Gloria.” In my recap, I objected to such a rule, hoping Sam would break it soon and gift us either a Barbra or a Judy tune. Well, I didn’t have to wait long as this episode closed out with “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas,” first sung by Ms. Garland in 1944’s Meet Me In St. Louis. Easily the most depressing Christmas carol ever recorded (even though it’s framed as a song meant to cheer a small child!), it makes sense why Sam would pry open her piano and give it a whirl. There’s an aching sense of what’s lost in its lyrics, a reminder that there’s comfort in looking ahead (“Faithful friends who are dear to us/Will be near to us once more”) but such comfort is clearly couched in wintry melancholy.

And there’s no better way to eulogize Darlene, her singing teacher, than to echo Garland’s wistful performance for an audience of one. It was also a perfect Somebody Somewhere moment, small in scope and yet so poignant. And, as ever, it was proof yet again that Everett is giving one of the most soulful and layered performances in contemporary American television—just bruising and brilliant work all around. The actor and singer constantly finds ways of embodying Sam’s world-weary attitude without letting such an attitude feel anything more than an ill-fitting armor this woman has chosen to don because to reveal herself and let herself be vulnerable would be too painful.

It’s what made Sam’s spat with Joel at the ice-cream place so hard to watch. You wonder how long she’s wanted to vocalize “I don’t want you to leave me” to someone in her life. For someone who lost a sister a year prior, who’s had to put away her mother all the way out in Wichita, who now has to make do with knowing her father is far away and unavailable, and who struggles with connecting with the one sister she has nearby, it makes sense Sam would have abandonment issues she’s not quite been able to shake off. But the spat and what started it (Joel not telling Sam about his new boyfriend) is also, in a way, a mess of her own making as well. She may protest that she doesn’t deserve for others to keep shielding her from stuff she can’t handle, but for someone who’s so quick to anger and so frazzled by newness, you can see why the likes of Tricia and Joel would tread gently when around her.

Somebody Somewhere excels at these knotty and knotted conundrums. Sam wants nothing more than to be loved and yet she demands so much of those around her that it can be overwhelming. We should all hope she hears what Fred tells her (“you gotta decide what’s important to you”) and really figure out how it is she wants to move forward in her life. She’s already cost herself a night of debauchery at a purple-hued party bus for Fred’s bachelor party (imagine that!), and no one else wants her to similarly keep missing out on stuff because she may think she’s not deserving or, worse yet, not welcome. This is what folks with depression, who struggle to see themselves as positively as how those who love them see them, have to contend with every day.

Which isn’t to say Joel didn’t mess up. Just as Sam probably wrestled with vocalizing her desire to not be abandoned, Joel’s simple “I’m just trying” line seemed just as revelatory. He’s trying his best. He could use some grace, the kind he so often offers Sam. But it looks like we’re gonna have to wait a bit more to see if these two can truly fix themselves by the time Fred’s wedding comes around.

Stray observations

• I’m glad Tricia insisted Sam try on her jacket because oh dear god.
• “Knock Knock. Who’s there? You. You’re still a cunt” is perhaps too wordy for a pillow case, but I still kind of love it.
• Brad is such a calming presence. Part of it is Tim Bagley’s no-nonsense, deadpan delivery, but at a deeper level is a self-collected demeanor that seems unruffled by whatever is happening at any given moment and which prompts those around him to take stock of what’s really going on. Take “And how did you want her to respond to that?”—a question so unassuming and literal it all but unraveled Joel. (Because, yes, maybe texting your friend you’re fighting with about your steps as if nothing had happened is a surefire way to get your text thread deleted, as Sam does at the start of the episode.)
• Fred’s love for purple truly knows no bounds. (I’ll admit that Party Bus, boobies and all, looked fab!) And I’m now wishing that, on top for selling select Cunt pillows, HBO would also sell purple “I’m with the Stud” tees as part of their Somebody Somewhere merch.
• I can’t believe we didn’t get shown what little piggy pancakes look like.
• Those Live Laugh Love gals love themselves some white wine but am I the only who, given their mother’s alcoholism, is worried about Tricia’s drinking as of late?
• “Linebacker adjacent” is going to be my new go-to backhanded compliment
• Tricia earnestly saying “I guess this is what happens when you try to be the bigger person” AFTER ADMITTING TO HAVING TAGGED CHARITY ON HER “CUNT” PILLOW PIC was easily the funniest line of the episode.
• I’ve sung the praises of Jeff Hiller and Bridget Everett often in these recaps but I’d be remiss if I didn’t single out the warmhearted presence of one Murray Hill. His Fred is not just a burst of bright sunny energy wherever he goes but there’s a grounding energy whenever he’s in a scene. Joel may be an unwavering optimist, but Fred seems like an upbeat pragmatist who doesn’t so much ignore the challenges the world throws at him as sees them as pesky obstacles best quickly overcome so you can get to the fun part of being alive. An inspiring stud whose mantra (“If my friends are happy I’m happy”) we can all get behind.