Really been enjoying season 1 but got to this episode and was floored. Beautiful standalone story which shows how publishers will meddle into studio affairs and explores the debate of creativity and success. Jake Johnson and Cristin Milioti were amazing in it as well. Even if you don’t want to watch the whole show, you should give this episode a chance as it’s very loosely related to the rest of the series.
I was the same way! It started as just a fun show to put on in between the heavy hitting drama stuff I was watching but this episode set the bar for the kinds of stories they could tell about the human relationships of game designer characters. They really start finding a lot of ways to push that same exploration of complex relationships as the series goes on with even a few more episodes completely dedicated to it like this one was.
I agree this episode was really nice. All the flashback episodes I saw were nice (didn’t watched the last season beyond the first episode)
Series 3 has a good one that compares Ian and Poppy’s childhoods leading to their meeting.
I really loved that one too!
The Season 2 C.W. Longbottom backstory episode followed by the closure for it later in the present was also fantastic. It’s a shame F. Murray Abraham was making people uncomfortable on set after multiple warnings and restrictions from interacting with certain cast members because those episodes made C.W. one of the most interesting characters in the show. I thought they tied things up extremely well though and am glad the rest of the staff can be more comfortable on set now.
I heard there’s another great one in Season 2 but still going through quarantine episode.
It’s the only show with a covid episode that was good. So many failed attempts. They made a really solid one.
I didn’t watch the show until recently but even seeing it much later I agree that it hit all the right notes. Just the right blend of comedy, emotional insight, and zoom shenanigans without overdoing or downplaying any aspect of it. It’s crazy how I consider Craig Mazin’s role in it as one of his finest moments just behind showrunning the powerhouses Chernobyl and The Last of Us on HBO.
