Showtime's Kidding - Episode 1.05 "The New You"
Jeff decides to step out of his comfort zone. Seb tries to get Jeff on board with new changes for Puppet Time, as well as his ice skating show - Pickles on Ice starring Tara Lipinski.
In 2018, it has become very difficult to keep up with every television show out there. It's even more difficult to provide adequate coverage on this site about the episodes that air every week. Not every show can get full coverage because of my busy and hectic viewing schedule. As such, some reviews will now be condensed to give only some summary thoughts. But it also affords a space for me to jot down my thoughts on the various episodes. And so, here are my thoughts on this week's episode of Showtime's Kidding.
"The New You" was written by Cody Heller and directed by Michel Gondry
Jeff genuinely seems like a normal and functional guy here. It's enough for Didi to wonder if the family is still doing the right thing by trying to replace him with an ice show and animated project. It seems as if all Jeff needed was some consistency in his love life. He was adrift when Vivian didn't text him back right away after their one-night stand. And now, she is becoming a consistent part of his life. She is doing so with full certainty that she is going to die in a couple of weeks. However, Jeff sees the beginning of a loving and trusting relationship. He has a great time with her. He wants to spend as much time with her as possible. Didi even suggests that medicine is curing diseases every day now. So, things may not be hopeless for Vivian. However, that isn't the same opinion shared by Vivian and Seb. Vivian is living as if she is dying. She is paying for everything with her credit card with the understanding that she won't be around to deal with the crippling debt. And Seb knows not to get his hopes up about this relationship ending any differently than with another tragic death. He associated that with the time when Jeff will break. As such, he has a time table in his head to enact all of these plans to secure the future of the show. He believes he's doing the right thing. He even tries to get Jeff on board with all of it because the family has abided by his rules for the entire run of the show. This is something that Seb wants to do to secure the future for everyone. Sure, he turns Jeff's personal difficulties against him in this argument. He makes Jeff worried that Will's drug problem could build up into something that could distract him from the show. Right now though, Jeff sees no reason why he would ever walk away from performing. This is his show. The character is him. He can't be replaced. He can't live on in some other iteration. He will forever be the only Mr. Pickles out there. That's the stance he takes with all of this. And yet, having Mr. Pickles as a father could be really disappointing a lot of the time for Will. He just wants his father to listen to him. Seb is able to get Will to stop smoking weed. It's something that Jeff has tried and failed to do. Will doesn't have any respect for his father. He only sees a man who is always trying to teach some profound lesson. That's not the relationship Will wants. He wants to be honest and open with a paternal figure. Jeff only speaks down to him in ways that don't connect in an honest way. When Will lashes out, it stings because these two are failing to communicate. Moreover, all of this could be building to a renewed sense of tragedy because Will sees that the next-door house continues to sit empty which provides a space for him and his friends to smoke again. But they'll run into problems with the stove being left on. It won't take much to completely ignite the entire building. And now, Will and his friends are in there with no awareness of the horror that Jeff left behind. That's agonizing and further contributes to the idea that Jeff has no real outlet for his anger. He is at least aware that it exists within him. He used to having coping mechanisms. But now, he is only continuing to internalize everything with him exploding at some point in the future. He can't release it now by punching his father. Instead, he is only met with the physical representation of his replacement in this world.
