Showtime's Kidding - Episode 1.06 "The Cookie"
Will tries to honor his brother in a unique way. Jeff decides to make some changes to Pickles on Ice. Deirdre lets her anger out on Maddy. Jeff tries to convince Vivian to continue with her treatment.
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 Cookie" was written by Noah Haidle and directed by Michel Gondry
This episode really articulates that every person puts both good and bad out into the world. It may not be some higher power actually exerting its influence over humanity. It may entirely be the actions of humans. Will and his friends almost die because Jeff left the gas on in his new house. That action was bound to lead to devastating consequences with Will and his friends seemingly receiving them. Meanwhile, Vivian's life improves because she has Jeff fighting in her corner to ensure that she doesn't lose out on anything she still wants to do in her remaining time left alive. However, things are never what these characters perceive either. There is every expectation that Will and his friends are about to blow up. They don't. They survive which Will takes as reason to thank his brother for having died and now watching over him. And then, it seems like Jeff is purely invading Vivian's life and telling her to do the things that will benefit him and his relationship with her. He doesn't want her to die. He has only known her for a brief period of time. He wants her to fight to get as much time with him as possible. He believes it's still likely that she can defeat cancer. She is defeated and just wants to go home and die. She sees this as the end. There is nothing more to look forward to. Her boyfriend is being very forceful and makes her accept that life isn't over even though her doctors are telling her that it is. She only signs up for another round of chemo because of Jeff. It's his grand romantic gesture that seems to save the day. And yes, that moment in the studio is very sweet. It's quite imaginative too. It's easy to see why so many people have fallen in love with Mr. Pickles and the other characters on his show. It may just be inspirational enough to know that Vivian's life meant something. Her legacy is this new character that Didi has created. It's Jeff proving that Vivian can still make an impact on the world around her. There is still goodness that can be explored and shared. As such, he basically convinces her that she shouldn't give up on her dream of traveling to Honduras for a festival where it rains fish. That's something that she has always wanted to see. The show presents all of this as magical and larger-than-life. Jeff puts some good out into the world. He feels good about what he has done. It also just comes at a time when he destroys Pickles on Ice for good. The show obviously has a lot of fun imagining Tara Lipinski as this selfish individual who believes she's generous and caring of the world. And yet, she only gets the respect she genuinely deserves while wearing the Mr. Pickles outfit. It's also just silly to cast a known figure skater in this role only to then hide her face. Anyone could be under the giant Mr. Pickles head. So why would Seb and the producers cast someone who would obviously cost more? That may prove that Seb isn't as smart a businessman as he believes himself to be. He has always had the power to reign Jeff in. He needs that control. And yet, he appreciates the imagination from his son as well. It's the only thing that kept him going after his wife left him. However, that moment on the bed with him also proves that Jeff making a character out of a woman's clothes is a pattern of his. It's not original to his situation with Vivian. As such, all of this is still bound to end in disaster. It will remain as shocking as Jeff sticking a dead bird down the garbage disposal of his apartment.
