If you were wondering whether it would eventually become a problem that no one knows what they’re doing on Avenue 5 and the people trying to keep things running are immature and egomaniacal, tonight’s episode answers that question with a resounding yes. Everyone’s worst instincts come raging to the forefront, with Judd’s insecurity and Ryan’s impatience combining to create a leadership vacuum. The end result is seven dead people, who then ricochet off the shuttle bringing much-needed supplies (and Rav).
For a show that is perpetually heading right up to the brink of utter hopelessness, it’s an incredibly bleak turn, especially with the development that Mike and Barbara, the recently introduced parents with a son in a coma back on earth, are both among the passengers who die. The show has a balancing act to accomplish, in that we must believe that the small crew of people keeping things running are always beleaguered and under assault from an ungrateful group of contempt-worthy passengers, but we have to stay invested in the survival of that same group of people. This episode features possibly the wildest swings on that pendulum yet, with the passengers so convinced the whole operation is fake that they rush into the airlock even after the apparent evidence that people are dying in it.
And yet…they have been lied to, and it is hard to tell what’s real, from their perspective. They’re in a really scary reality, utterly dependent on a blundering corporation to take care of them, and there have been repeated scares along the way ever since the ship first went off track. Is it any wonder they’re ready to believe the whole thing is fake? That said, it would have been nice if the show itself demonstrated a touch more empathy for its passengers, who immediately rush, lemming-like, to an airlock, on the authority of one woman saying she’s a VFX expert. There’s a sustained tension in the airlock scene that matched previous battles between the sane and ridiculous characters that the show has had, but with the added horror that people are going to die if Ryan and Billie can’t stop the tragedy. There are multiple points in the scene where it’s easy to assume the show will back down from the cliff, and the fact that it goes right over three separate times is one of the most genuinely shocking things that’s happened on Avenue 5 yet.
The scene also has some presumably unintended tension around who dives into the “fake” narrative. The specifics around who knows what have gotten completely baffling at this point—at the point that Spike and Matt showed up in the engine room, I couldn’t remember what parts Matt was supposed to know about. Mia knew the captain was British, but not that he was fake? Judd knew that the captain was fake, but not the bridge crew? All of this is part of what makes the show funny, but it created some unnecessary uncertainty around the mob panic that occurred by the airlock. It was hard to remember why Mia would be one of the people convinced their danger is fake.
And what will become of Matt? His cheerful nihilism has kept him moving through the various and sundry catastrophes afflicting the ship thus far, but he’s now largely responsible for people’s actual deaths. It’s hard to know what to make of him at this point—a person who cheerfully handed out the passcode for the airlock, but is also shattered by the results of his actions. If he was capable of being shocked and appalled by the result, why did he give out the number in the first place?
It all ends sort of quietly, with people drifting away from the scene of the disaster, and Karen giving Matt a reassuring pat on the knee for what was a horrific lapse in judgment. Will the show actually grapple with the tragic deaths of multiple people? The way Ryan hands off responsibility for dealing with Mike and Barbara’s son suggests it might reset to its status quo. It would be on par with this show’s general tone, but it’s also an indifference to human suffering that is hard to rein back in. In a show that generally traffics in hopelessness, is there such a thing as too far?
Stray observations
- Karen and Frank: a good love story, or a bad love story?
- The “will they actually go through the airlock” tension reminded me of the old Office episode where Michael’s GPS gives him directions to drive into a lake, and then he drives into the lake. It’s one of those moments where either it seemed like the logical conclusion of his buffoonery, or an instance of the show taking its own satire too far. The line felt similarly blurred here.
- The first half of this episode is a lot of the usual Avenue 5 stuff. Billie and Ryan argue about a chair, Karen lords over other passengers, etc. It’s a really abrupt shift to mass panic and death.
- So did Greta Gerwig murder someone, or get murdered? Guess we’ll need to listen to that true crime podcast to find out.
- I’m really going to miss Sarah.
- I understand why Doug had brought his golf clubs on the cruise, but why had that child brought a live rabbit?
- Thanks to Liz Shannon Miller for letting me step in on tonight’s episode. She’ll be back to deal with all the fallout next week!
63 Comments
I was really not prepared for how dark that went and how quickly it escalated out of control. The whole “is this really space or just an illusion?” mob felt like a Twilight Zone beat (in fact, wasn’t that the exact plot of the astronaut episode of TZ last season?). Having Karen show a split second of compassion for Matt there at the end was nice.
I’ve felt that the show was a little toothless up until now. Having it dive full-on into black comedy was an excellent choice.
Agreed. I laughed my ass off as those fuckers got spaced. I think this show is about performative stupidity which is really on the nose for our current dumbest timeline. A combo of the moronic crowds and people being so sure while being so wrong is my jam.
Me too. The only thing that would have made it better would have been if they jettisoned that VFX troll intentionally. The only thing that pisses me off is Harrison. He was supposed to be the foil and actually be apparently intelligent enough to be a billionaire (they need to explain how a moron like Judd got anywhere).
I think it was mentioned at some point that Judd’s father started the company.
That would make sense. The terrible hair, the childish demeanor and the belief that they are a singular genius. I can think of a rich person or two that fits that model.
I still think it’s a little uneven, but I loved this episode and I like where the show is going. There really should be an ongoing parade of Darwinian payback on board that ship.
The way I see it is a cavalcade of people who are utterly accustomed to their actions having either no consequences whatsoever, or have been so shielded from any consequences that they might as well not exist. In some cases that leads to panic (which has been Ryan’s go-to emotion since he’s fully aware he’s a fraud) wildly self-centered inadequacy (Judd) or just a bunch of attention-seeking idiots with unearned confidence in their dumb-shit opinions built on the flimsiest of evidence (basically everyone else).
You can pretty much draw a straight line from anti-vaxxers to three separate groups of idiots marching into the airlock to die because some other idiot convinced them they were on a reality show just by yelling really loud.
Holy shit, you were railing against anti-vaxxers on March 9, 2020. Have I got some bad news for future you.
My wife and I were crying from laughing so hard by the end. We may be terrible people…
yeah the fact that they went there 3 times in a row is what makes it good dark comedy and really sets the tone of the whole show.
It was for the first few episodes, but I feel like the worse things get on the ship the funnier the show becomes, and I’m all-in now. I love it.
I know. I’ve been waiting for someone to get air-locked, I just didn’t expect them to volunteer for it repeatedly! And a lack of empathy is kind of the point with black comedy. There had already been four deaths before this episode, so it should be no surprise. I think the choices of those particular seven to touch on the audience’s empathy, some of them were well liked by the viewers.Also, why didn’t the seven newly desiccated humans join the other four orbiting the ship? And how did is it the shuttle can get there so quick?
Sad to see Paterson Joseph go, but Harrison was kind of a one-note character—kind of a smarter yet shallower version of Judd. I’m comparing his run to Giancarlo Esposito’s appearance in Westworld, basically a cameo when the actor had a bit of spare time between gigs.
It’s also the main plot point of the mini series Ascension
I loved that part. This show has grown on me. I loved VEEP so I was a little disappointed in how mild the humor was in the first few episodes but as soon as shit starts to hit the fan the comedy rolls in and never stops. I’m hooked now.
This isn’t a serious show. They’re not gonna seriously tackle death, or tragedy, or literally anything. Everything’s abstract and absurd and exaggerated; hell, Rav just jumps aboard a launching spaceship like it ain’t no thing. We’re meant to laugh at the stupidity of the passengers jettisoning themselves from the airlock, not mourn them. There’s four corpses orbiting the ship with tons of crap, for crying out loud. And what was up with the seams in Sarah’s uniform? I thought for sure there was going to be commentary about her nipples, but it amounted to nothing but a weird wardrobe choice that no one pointed out.
Sarah was just about to change her outf…
I know the shift in tone is all over the place, but it’s the tone they wanted. If it were an accident or the result of editorial incompetence, I’d be more unforgiving. And I think I’m really starting to understand this show. Maybe. But poor leadership and poor decision-making born of magical thinking are how we here in the US got to our very scary place. Same with the UK. And if there were an airlock, we’d have a hard time keeping count of the dessicated bodies. Just sayin’…. This show is more like a speculative documentary. It’s where Veep led us in 40yrs time. I buy every frame of it
‘This show is more like a speculative documentary. It’s where Veep led us in 40yrs time. I buy every frame of it’Yes, this is pretty much it, to the extent that I’m sure we’ll get a Selina Meyers reference somewhere.I’m on board with it now. It took a few episodes for me to get on its wavelength, but this episode clicked everything together for me. I think it will be interesting to rewatch.
What better commentary than to take a genre full of inspiring promise (sci fi) and apply modern Anglo-American socio-political banality and entitled stupidity… of course it’s a cruise ship surrounded by bodies and gorgeous feces and not a multi-national exploration vehicle with a cool prime directive. This series is attempting quite a lot, not always successfully—but this episode was mostly brilliant. Horrifyingly.
All I kept thinking about is all those people quarantined on cruise ships due to COVID19 and how some incredibly stupid mutiny like this could happen
Who would have known Republicans would behave the exact same in America?
I would Have been fine if everyone went out the airlock, except Ryan and Billie.
By the time a third set of people rushed in, I was legit expecting that by the end of the episode, the full 500 people they were talking about jettisoning a few weeks ago would have spaced themselves.And of course, none of them would be the woman who worked in VFX
This is actually a brilliant twist in how the show is parodying how the modern world is only going to get even worse in the future. They WOULD believe they’re on a reality show (against their wills no less) at some point. That is the world we’re in in some ways. Reality is blurring. I’m really going to miss John/the other billionaire more. I was looking forward to the fight for who gets the shuttle seat and Gad losing it. I’m sure it still happens, but still. I’m enjoying it the more bleak it gets, I mean, it’s approaching full British Sitcom dark now. Seeing it’s renewed for season 2 makes me think they won’t just do a kill off at the end of the year which is good, if not a perfect way to end it. I also was waiting (and it may still come about) that they have a perfectly good pilot in Neelix. All the love stories are toxic on this so far, as well, is there a likable person other than Billie and the captain when he’s not pretending to be in charge. I also don’t get why him using a simulator would be so shocking. ‘Hey, this is something I do once a year, I gotta keep in practice’, hand wave it. And I really wanted that VFX person to go in the airlock too. Jesus…
I know! She so needed to be in that airlock.I think the problem is the fact that Ryan is the only living person who the ship will allow to pilot it. Otherwise Billie would do it.
That stands for Virtual special effects btw.
Take your star, and to the airlock with you as well, lol.
Oh my god, that moment when the kid came out of his coma right after his parents jumped out of the airlock — I died! Loving this shift into full-on black comedy
i’m really enjoying the show, and i have to wonder if the generally cool to negative responses from culture critics is due to them too closely identifying with the consumer class being so relentlessly skewered here? i guess i’m not surprised that the kind of people who consider funkopops and annual visits to disneyland the highlight of their cultural lives might find the satire here not to their liking.
I think part of it is (and I’ve seen this criticism in multiple shows I’ve really liked) that there are a lot of unlikable characters. I feel like some audiences want to have a noble, good person to root for and want to see succeed. I know we have Billie here but my point is I feel like sometimes people let “the characters are all assholes/dumb” get in their way of just viewing it for what it is.
Cruises are full of insufferable people. The show is nailing it.
Man, that is a *flaming* hot take for someone who deigns to spend his time posting on the AV Club.And I don’t even disagree. But still.
This reminds me of Hitchhiker’s Guide..in a good way
I’m getting a strong “B Ark” vibe off of this.
“I’m a VFX artist” is the new telephone sanitizer
Indeed! I definitely see a similarity between this show’s passengers and the Golgafrinchans. Truly useless and too stupid to live.
This show has really taken off, but the first half of the season was way to slow. I think it comes down to the world-building required. In Veep, you knew the broad structure pretty immediately, and just needed to be introduced to the character, so the jokes could fly fast at start. Here, it takes several episodes to understand the broad strokes of the world they’ve created, so it’s just now really picking up.
Anyone else get the feeling they were just ripping off one of the stories from Portal 2’s alternate Cave Johnsons and hoping no one would remember it?
The premise isnt new and while I love the Portal franchise they didnt invent the whole “this all might be a simulation” thing.
First I thought there was a mistake in the text (“bleak” in place of “hilarious”), but once I got to the “B-”, I quit reading.
Iannucci is clearly not for you.
Also its officially “Idiocracy in Space”
The only issue I had last night was that Ryan is the only one that can dock the ship, how was he not using that as leverage?
because at this point he’s still not pissed enough to blow his cover as fake captain AND give away the information he’s the only one who can pilot the ship; given how information goes around on this ship. And he’d be right because only the first information is basically what gets eight (very stupid) people killed.
Judd knows he’s a fake already, what he doesn’t know is that Ryan is the only one that can dock the ship. That seems to be a pretty big bargaining chip when Judd cuts off his access to food and housing.Not sure why you thought I was talking about the passengers.
Judd knows he’s a fake alreadyI’m really not sure about that; but maybe I missed something.
Because Judd is on a never need to know basis.
I thought this was the best episode of the series so far. I’ve felt all along that the show was holding back, luring us in and setting up a balls to the wall explosion of crazy.I loved the way things just kept getting more out of control until people just decide they’re going to walk out of the airlock because they’re not really in space. Ooops.Of course, the show still doesn’t make a lick of sense. But I’m now interested to see how they bring it home next week.
I’ve felt all along that the show was holding back.
It’s pacing itself.
Most underappreciated line: “it’s not fake, it’s just cheap” – perfectly captures the disposable, movie-set like architecture of modern hotels and cruise ships
“They’re in a really scary reality, utterly dependent on a blundering corporation to take care of them . . .”This sounds familiar.
As a big VEEP fan I was iffy on this show at first, and I think the first couple of “establishing characters” episodes had some very, very lame jokes, very mild and toothless style of humor. But a few episodes in, as characters really started to come into their personalities, and the plot continued to unravel the delicate psyches of each crew member and passenger aboard the Avenue 5, I’ve really fallen in love with the absurdity. This episode was my favorite by far, and I feel like the darker and more absurd it gets, the more it works. The first few episodes were somewhat mundane, and the characters a bit contrived. Watching them implode, though, has really allowed the humor to come to the forefront instead of hanging out back on the poop deck. I really hope this show continues to lean into its absurd side, and I really hope that’s enough to get us a second season.
Best episode so far. And the funniest too.
So is this a horror comedy? The soundtrack is so damn creepy (and very good one), its nightmarish music really.
The soundtrack is truly wonderful…
OOOF. That… that was an episode. That went hard dark, and got hard to watch. I adore this show, and I love darkly funny sci-fi, but god. damn.
That was some of the best dark humor ever. I’m not sure why people would be upset by it if you’ve made a decision to watch satire. I will say though that the details(their eyeballs exsanguinating and then freezing or that it happens when the door has just opened a half inch) is a little shocking and makes their deaths pretty gruesome. I wonder how realistic that is?
“Why would they simulate that? I don’t even know if that’s what would happen!”
“It would be on par with this show’s general tone, but it’s also an indifference to human suffering that is hard to rein back in. In a show that generally traffics in hopelessness, is there such a thing as too far?”Was this reviewer also upset whenever the big foot squished the guy at the end of the Monty Python credits?? It’s satire. Yeah, it was really upsetting when the actors playing ridiculously exaggerated versions or people had their contracts end. Jeez.
Agreed, this review was horrendously off the mark. “Indifference to human suffering” when the show is satirising the stupidity of the masses? Perfect commentary on current Angloamerican issues.
John Finnemore appears. As a pilot. That bumps the show, which I was enjoying, up to “love” level, and now feels like a personal gift to me. And I agree, the closest parallel it has is Hitchhiker’s Guide. Dark, funny, zany, British, and not always linear. I suspect it’s an acquired taste, and that early viewing of things like Monty Python and Fawlty Towers help.
“They’re your people, they’re idiots. Speak idiot to them!”
I’ll miss Sarah too!!!
2 things: 1. now that the show is not trying to be funny is was a much better episode. 2. I get suspension of disbelief but timing and speed of the rescue shuttle is just too unbelievable.
Wonderfully grotesque touch that Sarah the hand model lost her hand on the way out.
Man, this review really sucks. Like, I can maybe kinda get being upset about the deaths, but given the show we’re watching I don’t see how it’s a surprise. I mean, they already played the first four deaths for laughs, and then wrung more laughs out of the corpses.But you’re clearly looking for nits to pick if you question the kid bringing the rabbit. Of course some rich shits would bring their kids’ pet rabbit to space if they could (and you think Judd wouldn’t allow it?)