One of the struggles in covering Dispatches From Elsewhere has been deciding how much focus to put on the game being played, largely because the show itself seems uncertain about that question. However, when it comes to the game, this week may be one of the most essential episodes yet, delving into the mythology on a whole new level. “Clara” is not all about the missing girl who’s at the center of whatever is happening—big moments for many characters do happen. But now we not only know a lot more about who Clara is, but we know the power she has to change lives, even in absentia.
The episode picks up right where last week left off, with the gang of four opening a door to a subterranean staircase. There, they discover what appears to be Clara’s abandoned apartment, with walls covered in her writing about what led her to create the Elsewhere Society—which began as a group of young folks who cared about art and defying the rules in the grim black-and-white world of Fishtown. However, in Clara’s story, she was able to bring color, especially the color blue, into people’s lives—specifically in the photorealistic murals seen both in this episode as well as previous installments.
Fredwynn is a real agent of chaos this week, most notably texting rude things to Janice’s husband’s nurse using Janice’s phone, but that’s because this new level of gameplay has enabled him to go “full Fredwynn.” This is, in some respects, an intimidating thing, but it’s also pretty wonderful to watch Andre Benjamin’s face light up as he figures out the saltpeter clue and sets Clara’s bathroom ablaze, revealing a whole new chapter of her story.
Clara, we learn, was a young woman trapped in Fishtown who found a way to escape and bond with three local youths, transforming the local neighborhood from its grey drudgery thanks to her artwork, including a waterfall mural that comes alive in front of people’s eyes. In her telling of the story, she’s quite happy to paint and revolutionize the world with her friends, but enter Octavio Coleman, who offers her all the resources she could want, if she’s willing to work for the Jejune Institute.
In the story, Clara rebels against Octavio, literally fighting off Octavio’s lieutenant with a paintbrush, but then disappearing, leaving behind just her story. (For the record, actor Cecilia Balagot packs every moment she’s on screen with charm—she actually manages to come across as a potential leader of a revolution, which isn’t necessarily the easiest thing.)
While her current state of being remains unclear, learning more about Clara has a profound impact on both Peter and Simone. In Peter’s case, her voice in his head becomes an earworm, and when he goes to work the next day, she ends up taunting him into breaking one of his company’s biggest rules, and adding The Beach Boys’ “Good Vibrations”—the first song, it seems, he’s ever really liked—to the playlist of every user on the music streaming service he works for.
The decision seems to make a lot of people happy, specifically cheerleaders and those hanging out at a barbershop. (The cowboy funeral, in fairness, finds it a bit jarring.) But that doesn’t matter to Peter’s boss, who fires Peter — though Peter basically quits in the same conversation, because he wasn’t paying attention to his boss’s “work stuff” blather, but had finally figured out that he was done with that job.
Meanwhile, Simone reconnected with her art history professor, which wasn’t nearly as seismic a moment as Peter’s firing, but did lead to her realizing that she doesn’t want to return to school, and that she’s doing a smart healthy thing right now, by focusing on figuring out what she wants to do next.
In the meantime, there’s the game, and she’s responsible for discovering a massive clue that may not solve any puzzle except the biggest one—is this real? Per an email from her former professor, the answer is surprisingly yes, as he finds proof that Clara’s mural was painted in Fishtown, 20 years ago. It’s outside evidence that there’s real magic happening here, and it has serious potential to change everything going forward. A lot of information was revealed about Clara, but there are still more mysteries to come. Despite the minimal amount of Richard E. Grant, it’s a compelling episode, thanks to how the game only gets deeper.
Stray observations
- I’d be remiss in not mentioning that Janice’s frustration with the team leads her to storm out at the end of the episode. While it’s unlikely that this is Sally Field’s last appearance on the show, we’ll have to wait until next week to find out if she’s really out of the game.
- Perhaps it’d been revealed on screen before, but this week we get a nice long look at the not-Spotify-don’t-sue service that Peter worked for, and thus learned that it’s called Manamana—a not-so-stealth Muppets reference, which is fitting given Jason Segel’s previous relationship with the franchise.
- Jason Segel’s “This is my face, inspired,” is a hilarious echo of Mulder Panic Face.
- “Why would I want to text message my face as a dragon?” Janice, I am decades younger than you, but I still understand your confusion.
- Look, I love a slow-play will-they-or-won’t-they romance, but Simone and Peter need to take their foot off the brakes, if you know what I’m saying.
- What I am saying is that they should kiss. Please kiss! Please! Soon!
23 Comments
We now have a second character who can break the fourth wall at will. And it just so happens both are on opposite sides. Doesn’t seem like a coincidence given Fredwynn’s assertion about the nature of the game in the last episode.
Potential nod to the original game: the painting of Clara in the false window is at least conceptually similar to a wheatpaste of Eva — the character’s original name — on a sealed-off window in a Chinatown alley. Here’s a photo:
Tonight’s episode is directed by Alethea Jones, future Emmy nominee for Lodge 49’s “Circles.”
Perfect choice of director for this episode. Gosh, I miss Lodge 49. Thinking of how amazing it would be to have both these shows on the air at the same time hurts my heart.
Sadly, the Emmy’s will likely ignore BOTH Lodge 49 and Dispatches.
worth the entire show just for Jason Segel’s delivery of the “no, I don’t usually carry spices” joke – so good
really, this was probably my least favourite so far, if only because we didn’t have one central character to focus on, so it kind of tried to split the difference by giving us drama between all four major characters and Clara’s backstory at the same time. this was necessary, because we really needed some concrete information about Clara, but it was hard to avoid the feeling of it being a really well-told, visually interesting info-dump, even though Clara herself is goddamn adorable. I’m just hoping we’re now done with backstories and we can really kick off into the meat of the show
IT completely failed to engage me, probably because of my disdain for Claras. I have known several Claras and they’ve all been the same, everything must serve their goals, their vision. There is no room for other voices, the rest of you just don’t understaaaaaaand. They are exhausting people, and all too frequently, users and martyrs.No, Peter and Simone should not kiss yet. They both very clearly need to grow a little more, as characters.
She’s quirky and charming now, but give her a few years and she’s Ed Harris in Knightriders.
You get a star for that deepest of deep cuts.
I…I’m gonna argue that the blanket-fort reference from my other comment was a deeper cut than Knightriders. Less buried treasure, more, the abyss.
A little late to the party here, but I’m finally binging this series and loving it. And for some reason, this was my favorite episode so far. I think I just feel a little more oriented now that I have a handle on all the main characters, and can focus on how intrigued I am by the mystery. I enjoy the way the main four’s abilities and attitudes compliment each other and lead them to the next clues. And I am very intrigued to see what unfolds as Janice’s real life problems intrude on her participation in the game. It makes sense that Fredwynn, who essentially has no human ties or responsibilities, is the one who is most obsessed, and therefore, the most annoying. He’s lucky his partners are so polite and restrained. And yes, I can’t wait to see Simone and Peter kiss, but I trust that the show wants to make sure the romance is completely earned and in character when it happens, since each one of them is insecure and shy in their own way. Their dynamic together is just delightful.
Man, people type ‘breaks’ when they mean ‘brakes’ so much nowadays, it gives me FoMo on some evolution in grammar.
Re: Peter-Simon romanceSo I know Eve Lindley is trans. My question is… Is Simone trans? Did we find out and I missed it? What episode? If Simone is trans, does Peter know?
yes the show made it cleardoes Peter know? is he blind and deaf?
I know it seems impossible for him not to notice, but he does seem unrealistically clueless. He’s the only one who doesn’t completely come across as a real person to me. No one could be that apathetic and still function.
Well, if he didn’t then, now he sure does – Simone said she was trans during their disastrous date. He didn’t look too shocked so he knew all along I think. And about Peter – he is unfortunately a very real person. I know at least one person like that who I am really close with and it breaks my heart how they cannot shake out of a state of non-living, no matter how I try. One scene in episode 8 when the narrator said Peter was hiding behind rituals and habits or some such when he was sitting in front of a TV with his tray of sushi – this broke my heart, how familiar this is to me. Episode 9 offers some hope for Peter as he is trying new experiences. Alas, IRL, no such progress.
In this episode her professor asked if he was allowed to say she looked great. And in her response, she referenced looking great in a “post-transition” way.
If there was any doubt left about the Jejune Institute and the Elsewhere society, they definitely cleared up which side are the good guys, or at least which side we are supposed to believe are the good guys. I wouldn’t be surprised if a show like this manages to develop a more nuanced take on those two groups, but for right now it’s pretty yellow and blue, er, black and white.
Look, I love a slow-play will-they-or-won’t-they romance, but Simone and Peter need to take their foot off the brakes, if you know what I’m sayingif peter and simone don’t end up together by the end I will riot. simone is scared and peter is too much of a nice guy. he should have made a move in the house in the end of the episode when they were alone. What I am saying is that they should kiss. Please kiss! Please! Soon!I haven’t wanted a couple in a show to hook up so much since.. well, to reference the review, X-Files? come on! they are both dancing around it.
Given their characters, and unlike in most will-they-won’t they sagas, it seems highly realistic that this would be a very slow burn.
Okay, that girl would definitely Kickstart a traveling blanket-fort project.
I was torn about this one. We definitely needed some more info about Clara, and many of the scenes were visually arresting and well done. The animated scene was, like the others the show has used thus far, excellent.On the other hand, I don’t love a bunch of vague talk about *freedom*! and *imagination*! which all basically translates to “most people are boring and everything should look like the backdrop from a cool travelling production of Cats!”It’s also hard not to feel like the game being “real” is nothing more than a head fake, given how much has previously been done to establish it’s fakeness. There’s gonna be some light magical realism in the show, but it seems very unlikely at this point to commit to actual fantasy.
Stray Observations:1) Did no one else notice that the taller of Clara’s male friends (forget his name… Taz or something?) lives in Unit #14?! He obviously grows up to be Commander 14!!
It’s interesting that the group took the Fishtown mural’s existence as evidence that Clara’s story was real. We viewers know (because of the existence of the documentary) that things are not what they seem, but Fredwynne better be questioning the heck out of that email next episode. The existence of the mural does not equal the entire story being true.