Nathan Fielder plays husband and parent with mixed results.
throughout nathan for you When rehearsalthere is an implicit assumption that the viewer understands that Nathan is wearing a persona.
That persona appears to be an exaggerated version of Nathan’s awkwardness, but it’s still a mask. Even if only for a moment, we seem to get a glimpse of who Nathan really is.
The episode begins with a sketch of Nathan eating chocolate and pretending to poop, which Nathan and little “Adam” came up with. Obviously, this is the height of her six-year-old humor, but when the two show Angela the sketch, she can’t hide her disgust. Angela has never pretended to like Nathan, but now her disdain is fully evident.
The illusion becomes surprisingly real when Nathan invites his parents to come visit, and his mother realizes that the dynamics between him and Angela mirror those of his previous relationships. To avoid conflict, Nathan goes with the flow and often ignores his own discomfort.
His mother suggests that Nathan “raise” Adam both Jewish and Christian, as Nathan himself was raised Jewish. It’s funny that Nathan’s mother even cares how he raises his fake son, but perhaps she sees it as a better practice than the real thing.
Adam’s “faith” seems to be a real concern for Nathan, but it’s also the perfect way to push Angela’s button – Angela clearly Does not sympathize with other belief systems.
So Nathan prepares for a difficult conversation with Angela by rehearsing with one of the students in the acting class from the previous episode (and, to her credit, the actress does not understand Angela’s passive-aggressive behavior). Totally nails the whisper – you might have something to say about Nathan’s method). ).
The two rehearse different reactions, but when the real conversation begins, the real Angela quickly dismisses the idea. She does not seem to view Judaism as a valid belief system because of her devotion to Jesus Christ.
Nathan therefore decides to covertly expose Adam to Judaism under the guise of swimming lessons, which are actually sessions with a rabbi named Miriam. Tensions are rising, absurdity is soaring. The house is surrounded by fake snow, a winter imitation ordered by Nathan. This will help make your home feel more festive and spark conversations about faith.
Angela denies Judaism when she nonchalantly tells Nathan that his favorite movies are Apocalypto (great movie), and her favorite director is Mel Gibson (Wow), notorious for his blatant anti-Semitic rants. The timing is so perfect that when Angela finds out about Adam’s secret education, her reaction will be…interesting.
Eventually, Nathan takes Miriam home so she can make his point, and the conversation becomes incredibly tense. Miriam urges tolerance, but Angela never wavers, insisting that worshiping Jesus is the only way to live.
A frustrated Miriam quickly gives up and even considers Angela an anti-Semite. And frankly, she’s probably right – her insane obsession with Angela’s satanic rituals puts her adjacent to Qanon, and when it comes to conspiracy theories, all roads are to the contrary. lead to Judaism.
Later, Nathan retreats to a replica bar he built for the first episode of the series, and sees footage of Angela shot by cameras scattered around the house, noticing that she was killed when he wasn’t there. Make sure you take rehearsals seriously. Of course, Angela doesn’t mind staying in character while Nathan isn’t around.
So Nathan engages in a series of rehearsals to confront Angela about her true motives, but tensions between him and the real Angela continue to grow. Angela can’t get past the poop sketch, and she even declares it a satanic ritual – Nathan’s exasperated, sarcastic response feels like another glimpse behind his mask.
Sure, Nathan’s experimentation isn’t too mean, but there’s no denying that much of the charm is laughing at Freak Show.
Fake Angela even accuses Nathan of being emotionally hurt, accusing the whole series of being nothing more than an attempt to feel something – Nathan’s reaction seems genuinely hurtful. We don’t know how much was scripted, how much was improvised, or if Nathan wrote this script himself.
Finally, it’s time for Nathan to have a real conversation with Angela about what they’re doing here. This may be her dream home and fantasy life, but Nathan is a puppeteer who pulls strings.
Nathan’s subjects are rarely as outspoken as Angela. I have been putting up with the scenario for a long time because it seems to be aware of it and it was a kind of vacation.
But enough is enough. Angela decides to leave. Her lofty goodbye to Nathan highlights the fact that she’s never felt comfortable around him, but Nathan decides to continue her experimentation with just him and Adam.
Miriam returns home and heartily congratulates Angela on being gone. Miriam’s candor is refreshing until the final scene, when she begins to aggressively impose Zionism on a decidedly obnoxious Nathan. We are governed by an ideology that we believe to be the only truth.
In a way, the show is a character study of all these random oddballs that Nathan manages to find, even Nathan himself, to an extent.
It will be interesting to see how the next episode, the finale, will tie all these weird and wonderful plotlines together into a cohesive whole, or if Nathan turns the tables again with something totally unexpected.
I’m sure it will be the latter.
If you enjoyed reading, check out my summary Click here for the first part
.