The title of HBO’s Somebody Somewhere already has all of the show’s subtle (and hence endearing) charm. This is an example of generalization that relies on detail: Sam (the amazing Bridget Everett) has the potential to be a famous singer in a big city like New York.
If the first season of the show created by Hannah Bos and Paul Thureen meant anything, it was the belief that it is and should be enough to just exist in some context (as a sister in Manhattan, Kansas, for example). Sam’s abridged search for her people in her sleepy Midwestern community is played at a deliberately low note. Her heartbreak and frustrations, like her good fortune and abilities, are common and mundane.
Season two opens with Sam showing us everything she’s gained since arriving in New York City in Season One. And the scene is as subtle as it is funny and touching, rivaling the greatest of the first season: In the early stages of their dance routine, we see how close Sam and Joel (Jeff Hiller) have become and how their slang has developed.
But even in this nearness, Sam’s shortcomings are being revealed by Somebody Somewhere. Her commitment to NNP (“no new people”) may be fleeting, but it should give us pause; it certainly gives Joel concern, whose outgoing personality has done wonders for Sam’s social life.
However, we still have a ways to go. (On a side note, I appreciate how they’ve made public displays of affection between them into a source of humor. Such a scene exemplifies the deftness with which Somebody Somewhere navigates the space between Sam’s cynicism and Joel’s earnestness.
Sam’s urge to restrict her social life is a protective mechanism, especially now that she’s responsible for running her father’s farm. She has a hard enough time maintaining cordial relations with Tricia (Mary Catherine Garrison), her sister who is also going through this.
After all, the season before, she found out that her husband had been cheating on her with their mutual best friend and business partner. That’s a lot to take in, and now her daughter is leaving for college (with a “DREAM” sign in tow, no less), so it’s easy to sympathize with Tricia and her perpetual air of exasperation.
However, Tricia’s preoccupation with her own personal turmoil frees up Sam to deal with getting the family farm ready to be sold, as their father has requested now that he is leaving to get some peace and quiet away from caring for their sick (and allegedly now chain-smoking!) mother.
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Tricia and Sam are both making efforts to forget the past. , if you are coerced into it. On a deeper level, the stories of Somebody Somewhere appear to pose a question that most of us have pondered at some point in our lives: How do we go on without losing what we had? How can we develop as people without losing sight of our roots? Simply said, how can we develop?
The emotional weight of Sam clearing out the barn (and quietly breaking down with Joel on the phone) is a perfect metaphor for the arduous task of letting go of the familiar in order to make room for the unknown.
Thankfully, the program doesn’t just let us stew in these tangled and depressing emotions; instead, it quickly transports us to a “lit” night in between Joel, Sam, and Tricia(!) that ends up being a lot more enjoyable than any of them could have imagined. For this, we can thank the pencil test.
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