“You’ve been smooching! Under my tutelage! I love it!”
The penultimate episode, and this one is again framed by a theme introduced by a Sam monologue, in this case that rituals are important, being an ongoing reassurance that everything is ok. And Casey’s birthday (she’s 16) is a day full of rituals for Sam- but are those rituals about her, or about himself? That’s a lesson Sam has to learn, gradually, with a lot of time-consuming and amusing rituals punctuating an episode dealing with a fair bit of serious stuff.
There’s a parallel with Elsa too; Casey wants to keep her birthday low key with just a few people, not least so that she can have her “second first time” with the rather lovely Evan. But Elsa arranges a large party, ostensibly for Casey but in reality because of her own need to be seen to be doing something to reconnect with her. These parallels are rather clever.
On top of this Zahid inadvertently blurts out to Paige that Sam has been smooching with someone else, and the party comes to an unhappy end when Casey’s “friends” from her new school, including Izzy, turn out to have been invited by Elsa in a clumsy attempt to get them to make up.
Still, all’s well that ends well, sort of. Izzy makes up with Casey, having never cared about her douchebag boyfriend anyway and being terrified of losing Casey- and they kiss. Most touchingly, though, Sam learned that day that he got into his chosen uni- but keeps quiet about it as the day is all about Casey. It’s a touching, funny, brilliantly structured episode. Aren’t they all, though?
Roll on season finale...
Showing posts with label Ariela Barer. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Ariela Barer. Show all posts
Sunday, 25 August 2019
Thursday, 15 August 2019
Atypical: Season 2, Episode 7- The Smudging
"Your wall is ringing..."
It seems that my blog of every episode consists of effusive praise about how perfectly crafted it is, which is getting quite repetitive. That’s awkward, because I’m going to do so again. This is awesome, and masterfully dine.
The slow outrage of Sam’s treatment at the hands of the police is simmering here. We learn that Sam has been sending Julia messages in place of his old appointments, something she has seen as harmless, but she is appalled at what happened to Sam. So, naturally are his parents, but this is also bringing them together. They agree that Doug, with his having a police mate, is the person to confront the police- but, while he makes it clear he’s not happy, all he achieves is an assurance that they will keep a photo of Sam to check in case it should happen again, which is clearly not good enough. But by the end Elsa suggests they both produce autism training for emergency services, not a bad idea. I like this; it’s a clever combination of building on their ongoing reconciliation while highlighting a real issue.
On a happier note, Sam has agreed to be with Paige in her lock-in, although she uses the worrying word “platonic”. On a distressing note, though, Casey does the right thing and tells Izzy about Nate’s move on her- only to be blamed and victimised when Izzy believes her skanky, creepy boyfriend. He’s a twat, of course, and I understand Izzy isn’t thinking straight, but isn’t she being incredibly stupid here? After all, why on Earth would Casey have said anything if she had anything to hide? Still, at least the whole incident with the trainers helps her to bond a bit with her mother.
We also get Sam stressing about choosing which uni to attend, and Paige sees him (single now, let’s remember!) getting a kiss from the cute and gothy girl. So many balls in the air yet it all makes total sense. This is good telly.
It seems that my blog of every episode consists of effusive praise about how perfectly crafted it is, which is getting quite repetitive. That’s awkward, because I’m going to do so again. This is awesome, and masterfully dine.
The slow outrage of Sam’s treatment at the hands of the police is simmering here. We learn that Sam has been sending Julia messages in place of his old appointments, something she has seen as harmless, but she is appalled at what happened to Sam. So, naturally are his parents, but this is also bringing them together. They agree that Doug, with his having a police mate, is the person to confront the police- but, while he makes it clear he’s not happy, all he achieves is an assurance that they will keep a photo of Sam to check in case it should happen again, which is clearly not good enough. But by the end Elsa suggests they both produce autism training for emergency services, not a bad idea. I like this; it’s a clever combination of building on their ongoing reconciliation while highlighting a real issue.
On a happier note, Sam has agreed to be with Paige in her lock-in, although she uses the worrying word “platonic”. On a distressing note, though, Casey does the right thing and tells Izzy about Nate’s move on her- only to be blamed and victimised when Izzy believes her skanky, creepy boyfriend. He’s a twat, of course, and I understand Izzy isn’t thinking straight, but isn’t she being incredibly stupid here? After all, why on Earth would Casey have said anything if she had anything to hide? Still, at least the whole incident with the trainers helps her to bond a bit with her mother.
We also get Sam stressing about choosing which uni to attend, and Paige sees him (single now, let’s remember!) getting a kiss from the cute and gothy girl. So many balls in the air yet it all makes total sense. This is good telly.
Friday, 21 June 2019
Atypical: Season 1, Episode 2- A Human Female
“Nobody needs you, Mom!”
On the surface this episode centres around Sam’s crush for Julia and his comical misunderstanding that he has the green light to pursue Julia, something which takes up a lot of screen time and allows him to bond with his dad while doing so, but this is all neatly resolved. Meanwhile, more long term things are happening beneath the surface.
Elsa, for example, is responding very negatively to Doug’s attention and eventually finds an excuse to meet that barman again. It’s clear where this is going, and she isn’t a likeable character, but before we judge too harshly we should remember that she’s spend years with heavy caring response divinities and, decent though Doug is, we live in a culture where women are expected to do this sort of heavy labour.
We also see an intensifying of the relationship between the touchingly inexperienced Casey and Evan. After kissing him for the first time her reaction is utterly, utterly cute. So far this is the nice and fluffy storyline, acting as contrast to the worrying possibility of adultery, and meanwhile Sam is oblivious. This is promisingly well written stuff.
On the surface this episode centres around Sam’s crush for Julia and his comical misunderstanding that he has the green light to pursue Julia, something which takes up a lot of screen time and allows him to bond with his dad while doing so, but this is all neatly resolved. Meanwhile, more long term things are happening beneath the surface.
Elsa, for example, is responding very negatively to Doug’s attention and eventually finds an excuse to meet that barman again. It’s clear where this is going, and she isn’t a likeable character, but before we judge too harshly we should remember that she’s spend years with heavy caring response divinities and, decent though Doug is, we live in a culture where women are expected to do this sort of heavy labour.
We also see an intensifying of the relationship between the touchingly inexperienced Casey and Evan. After kissing him for the first time her reaction is utterly, utterly cute. So far this is the nice and fluffy storyline, acting as contrast to the worrying possibility of adultery, and meanwhile Sam is oblivious. This is promisingly well written stuff.
Thursday, 20 June 2019
Atypical: Season 1, Episode 1- Antarctica
“People on the spectrum date, you know."
This is a series on Netflix that Mrs Llamastrangler and I are going to be watching once a week, one or two episodes at a time- expect the next episode's blog in the morning. It's a comedy-drama about an autistic teenager, his family and, well, the comedy and the drama that ensues.
Now, neither Mrs Llamastrangler nor I are autistic, and those people we know are all at the Asperger's end of the spectrum- as, I'm guessing, is Sam. It's with mentioning that people we know who are on the spectrum are very different individuals, and by no means defined by the fact that they are autistic. There's also nothing wrong with being autistic; it's part of the world of neurodiversity, encompassing all sorts of things. Autism is not a mental illness.
So it's also worth questioning whether it's appropriate to use this subject matter for comedy. So far, though (and I'll keep reviewing this) this is a balance of humour with drama that seriously explores the issues f how the world treats autistic people. Humour can be a very effective way of making a serious point, and there's a balance to be struck in any case between nasty humour that punches down and being overly pious. Personally, I'm a hearing aid wearer, and I laugh at my own comedy mishearings all the time.
Anyway, Sam lives with his overprotective mother Elsa, who is exactly the sort of person I wouldn't like very much in real life, and his long-suffering dad Doug. The two of them are worn out from years of caring for him, and their relationship looks fragile, held together only by routine and worryingly endangered should the nest empty. And it's worrying seeing Elsa with that bloke behind the bar...
There's also Casey, Sam's wonderfully cynical sister, and both teenage siblings are slowly exploring relationships. Finally, there's Julia, Sam's therapist, who is handy for driving the plot and giving a reason for Sam to have his humorous and counterpointing monologues. This aspect is very Sopranos. But Sam is funny, likeable, and frankly adorable. And he knows a lot about penguins.
It's good stuff so far, well written and set up nicely for various things to develop throughout the fairly short season. Do Americans really say "twat" like that though?
This is a series on Netflix that Mrs Llamastrangler and I are going to be watching once a week, one or two episodes at a time- expect the next episode's blog in the morning. It's a comedy-drama about an autistic teenager, his family and, well, the comedy and the drama that ensues.
Now, neither Mrs Llamastrangler nor I are autistic, and those people we know are all at the Asperger's end of the spectrum- as, I'm guessing, is Sam. It's with mentioning that people we know who are on the spectrum are very different individuals, and by no means defined by the fact that they are autistic. There's also nothing wrong with being autistic; it's part of the world of neurodiversity, encompassing all sorts of things. Autism is not a mental illness.
So it's also worth questioning whether it's appropriate to use this subject matter for comedy. So far, though (and I'll keep reviewing this) this is a balance of humour with drama that seriously explores the issues f how the world treats autistic people. Humour can be a very effective way of making a serious point, and there's a balance to be struck in any case between nasty humour that punches down and being overly pious. Personally, I'm a hearing aid wearer, and I laugh at my own comedy mishearings all the time.
Anyway, Sam lives with his overprotective mother Elsa, who is exactly the sort of person I wouldn't like very much in real life, and his long-suffering dad Doug. The two of them are worn out from years of caring for him, and their relationship looks fragile, held together only by routine and worryingly endangered should the nest empty. And it's worrying seeing Elsa with that bloke behind the bar...
There's also Casey, Sam's wonderfully cynical sister, and both teenage siblings are slowly exploring relationships. Finally, there's Julia, Sam's therapist, who is handy for driving the plot and giving a reason for Sam to have his humorous and counterpointing monologues. This aspect is very Sopranos. But Sam is funny, likeable, and frankly adorable. And he knows a lot about penguins.
It's good stuff so far, well written and set up nicely for various things to develop throughout the fairly short season. Do Americans really say "twat" like that though?
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