Mr Morales
Episode 4 of Mr Corman begins with a series of characters going about their morning routines. At each one, Victor shows up to deliver packages and help exude exposition. He’s pretty cheerful, which is a bit of a miracle given how much of a dementor Josh is being back home. For those who didn’t catch the Harry Potter reference, Dementors are creatures that suck the life out of everything. Anyway, Victor is the central focus this time around and he shows up to see Gabi. He tries to encourage her to a drive-thru take-out but she’s not exactly enthusiastic about it. Victor tries to encourage her out to a hike instead, ditching her homework to be with him. Only, she’s too busy on her phone the whole time. When Victor tries wrestling the phone from her, Gabi swears at him and comments on how old he is. Victor is desperate to connect with his daughter and eventually they end up watching videos together. Specifically, a YouTuber Gabi watches who inadvertently sold poisoned lipstick. Gabi ends up having her period though, which causes embarrassment to ensue. That is, until Josh’s friend Caroline heads over and she helps Gabi feel better. Apparently, Caroline has been seeing Josh now for about a week but all of this has occurred off-screen. When Victor brings Gabi back, awkwardness ensues as the two parents contemplate whether they’re actually doing a good job with their daughter or not. After all, they’re just drifting and I guess in a way, everyone is just doing the best they can in life.
The Episode Review
Mr Corman’s changed perspective to focus on Victor instead of Josh is a nice inclusion but it does feel like a somewhat strange detour to take. The episode is lethargically paced, despite its nice ideas about parenthood, but also devoid of the same artistic sidesteps the previous episodes had in abundance. Unfortunately it fails to really add anything new to this estranged father/daughter dynamic. It doesn’t help either that some big moments are occurring off-screen, like Josh apparently getting a girlfriend. There are some good moments in this show but right now, this hodgepodge of ideas lacks a cohesive thread to tie it all together.
