S01.E06: New Eyes

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

While Deborah recovers from surgery, she and Ava have a unique bonding experience when Deborah dispels a major misperception about her past.

Original air date: 5/27/21

[BingeyKohan]

I teared up at this episode - maybe the previous one too, since they release in pairs I just watch them like an hour. The wax figure trick made me howl. (Did I read that was actually Jean Smart standing really still?) I went from really disliking Ava to almost loving her quickly, I have to give credit to Hannah Einbinder for that.

[peachmangosteen]

This was easily the best ep of the series so far and I've liked them all. This was just fantastic.

[tabloidlover]

I swear this show gets better every week.  Loving it!

[Kenz]

Just give Jean Smart an Emmy right now. She is perfection in this role. I appreciate the way she isn't afraid to look haggard and with her hair all rumpled. I just want to see her in every scene, because she is such a great actress. Ava almost lost me in episode five, but she came around to show some sweetness in this episode. Kudos to the writers too. This show is fantastic.

[arc]

16 hours ago, BingeyKohan said:

(Did I read that was actually Jean Smart standing really still?)

yep!

BTW the other reason FaceID didn’t work on the sleeping Deborah is that it's specifically designed not to work on people who've closed their eyes. Otherwise anyone could get around the lock by using it on a sleeping person who didn't just have face surgery. ... I bet that wax museum thing might actually work though.

Edited May 28, 2021 by arc

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Woo, Marcus! I felt bad when he found his mom and aunt clearly ready to have a party at his place, but I loved that he got drunk, danced in the sprinklers, and then called the water meter guy.

I liked that Ava went from selfishly just trying to save her job to encouraging Deborah to be more honest and really listening to her. I don't think Ava even halfway believed Deborah in an earlier episode when she mentioned how much she'd had to claw and fight for every bit of success she'd had. But after hearing just part of her story, she finally realizes just how hard Deborah worked to get where she is.

This episode made me realize how long it's been since I've had french fries (from anywhere). I haven't been to any restaurants since the pandemic began but man, this episode made me really crave some hot salty fries.

Kiki continues to be awesome in the moments that we get to see her!

I liked that the show briefly addressed how women are often not taken seriously by doctors, especially in the ER. When they complain of pain, they're frequently told to go home without having tests run.  Deborah ordering the doctor to run more tests and telling him that she's very litigious was great. It's sad that sometimes it takes being threatened to get results like that.

Edited May 28, 2021 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ahpny]

I thought this was the best episode so far, and on the whole, the series is working well, but I was nerdily distracted by wondering whether using a wax manikin head to open an IPhone could really work.

Quote

I bet that wax museum thing might actually work though.

Minimal googling suggests this is (at least with earlier hardware and/or software iterations) indeed possible, but seems quite dependent on the fidelity of the reproduction to the original. Perhaps future phones can incorporate thermal scans to detect heat signatures.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I wonder if theoretically that means that Ava could have used a photo of Deborah to unlock her phone.

[arc]

Some phones’ face unlock can be defeated by photos, but Apple uses something (a camera that can detect depth, I think) that’s robust against using photos. The wax statue attack would address the depth thing, but a vanishingly small fraction of the population has lifelike sculptures of themselves around so I can imagine Apple didn’t defend against it.

[txhorns79]

On 5/28/2021 at 9:12 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

 

I liked that Ava went from selfishly just trying to save her job to encouraging Deborah to be more honest and really listening to her. I don't think Ava even halfway believed Deborah in an earlier episode when she mentioned how much she'd had to claw and fight for every bit of success she'd had. But after hearing just part of her story, she finally realizes just how hard Deborah worked to get where she is.

I'm very curious if the deletion of the messages is going to be an issue at some later point.  I feel like Ava got away with it a little too easily.

I also did kind of love them pretending Deborah had collapsed to scare the crap out of Perla.

[peachmangosteen]

1 hour ago, txhorns79 said:

I also did kind of love them pretending Deborah had collapsed to scare the crap out of Perla.

Perla subsequently not buying it when Ava was in actual pain had me rolling.

[Demian]

On 5/27/2021 at 2:13 PM, BingeyKohan said:

The wax figure trick made me howl.

It was the funniest fucking moment of this series by far so far.  And I love that the blackjack dealer came up with the idea.

Edited May 31, 2021 by Demian

[ElectricBoogaloo]

16 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

I'm very curious if the deletion of the messages is going to be an issue at some later point.  I feel like Ava got away with it a little too easily.

When Ava showed up at Deborah's house in the morning (at the very beginning of the episode), I was half expecting Deborah to say that she'd already heard Ava's message and that she didn't give a shit about her temper tantrum. I thought she'd blow it off with something like, "Do you feel better now that you got that out of your system?"

[littlepaw]

I do think this was the best show of the series so far. Somebody made the comment in another episode thread that they love that Jean Smart is not afraid to show herself in an unflattering physical manner...no makeup, hair a mess, and now post-surgery (kudos to the makeup people on this episode).

One thing I was wondering....did Marcus seem really uptight/pissy when Deborah called him? He just had a fun night getting drunk and dancing through the sprinklers, topped with a sexy visit from the Water Cop. Why did he seem to be in a bad mood, or is it just me that read it that way? 

[Domestic Assassin]

1 hour ago, littlepaw said:

One thing I was wondering....did Marcus seem really uptight/pissy when Deborah called him? He just had a fun night getting drunk and dancing through the sprinklers, topped with a sexy visit from the Water Cop. Why did he seem to be in a bad mood, or is it just me that read it that way? 

I think he was still mad about Deborah blowing off their dinner meeting. I'm kind of nervous about where this is heading actually. I really like his character.

[Slamera]

And then a Graham Nash song over the credits was (chef's kiss).

[sugarbaker design]

On 5/28/2021 at 9:12 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I liked that the show briefly addressed how women are often not taken seriously by doctors, especially in the ER.

Another thread of misogyny that the show continues to explore.  How about police and media not believing Deborah that didn't start the fire?  Losing custody of DJ after the divorce?  I hope Deborah take's Ava's challenge and talks about all these challenges.

[Iseut]

On 5/28/2021 at 6:12 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I liked that the show briefly addressed how women are often not taken seriously by doctors, especially in the ER. When they complain of pain, they're frequently told to go home without having tests run.  Deborah ordering the doctor to run more tests and telling him that she's very litigious was great. It's sad that sometimes it takes being threatened to get results like that.

Oooh, that fired me up. I've been through something very similar; went to the ER for what I thought was appendicitis. The very smarmy male ER doc, after the initial CT scan (at least they did agree to give me that), told me, right in front of my husband, that there was something on my ovary that made him think it was an STI. "Are you guys...monagamous?" We emphatically stated that we were, and the doc was like "Ehh, we'll get a gyno consult and they'll tell you more." The gyno confirmed that it was an ovarian cyst, just like Ava had, and I had surgery that night. Thinking about the nerve of that first doctor, I still get pissed off. Would have loved to have a Deborah to go after him at that moment!

[LisaM]

Best episode so far. Jean Smart is amazing and I actually did not dislike Ava for a change. The budding friendship between them is something that they both need. 

[Bruinsfan]

The post-plastic surgery bonding was great. It feels like Deborah and Ava actually became friends in this episode, which should make for much more entertaining hijinks together. Such as the prank on Pearla, and the payoff with her reaction to Ava's distress. I loved that Deborah was really concerned about Ava's wellbeing, and did a fist pump when she scared the doctor into ordering a round of tests.

Marcus finally landing his hunky water inspector was great too.

Edited July 12, 2021 by Bruinsfan

[paramitch]

This was my favorite episode so far. I loved the bonding between Ava and Deborah, and there were so many genuinely funny and poignant moments.

[LuvMyShows]

OK, I need some help here with something I'm confused about with the timelines in Deborah's past.  If I understand correctly, she and Frank starred in the TV show, then she did the pilot for the talk show, then the fire, and then the stand-up career, which she said she embarked on out of necessity of having lost everything. But if that's the case, and she had not yet become a very popular comedienne, then on what basis was she offered something as prestigious and groundbreaking as hosting a late-night talk show?

Unpopular opinion here, but I was not wild about what seemed like too quick-'n-easy of a buddy/bonding experience.  I did find it touching, amusing, and all the feels, but it just didn't seem authentic and felt a bit forced at times.  I think it would have been more in keeping with the characters if something more gradual came from that experience, with some regressions, and then moving forward, rather than an all-at-once thing.

On 6/11/2021 at 10:19 AM, sugarbaker design said:

How about police and media not believing Deborah that didn't start the fire?  Losing custody of DJ after the divorce?  

Since the police believed Frank about the fire, why wasn't Deborah charged with arson?  Also, if Deborah lost custody of DJ, how was she able to take her on the road with her?

[sugarbaker design]

17 minutes ago, LuvMyShows said:

Since the police believed Frank about the fire, why wasn't Deborah charged with arson?  

Deborah didn't do it, therefore there wouldn't be any evidence she did.  No evidence, no charge.

19 minutes ago, LuvMyShows said:

Also, if Deborah lost custody of DJ, how was she able to take her on the road with her?

It's quite common for a parent who loses primary custody to get frequent visitation rights, every other holiday and some vacation time.

[LuvMyShows]

On 7/11/2022 at 8:34 PM, sugarbaker design said:

Deborah didn't do it, therefore there wouldn't be any evidence she did.  No evidence, no charge.

Whether there's evidence that she actually did it, and whether she's charged with it, are two different matters.  Police just need probable cause for an arrest, not immediate evidence.  Deborah specifically said the police believed she did it, because of whatever "proof" or reasons her then-husband gave.  It does not appear that the police looked into it enough initially to know whether there was evidence or not.  If the police believed that she did it, especially with whatever the victim/accuser said, then she would likely have been charged with the crime...and at that point an investigation would be undertook, in which it would be found that there was no evidence that she did it, and the charges would likely be dropped.  Maybe her celebrity helped, who knows.  It just seems odd that it's never been addressed, especially since her act included a "confession" that was apparently believable.

On 7/11/2022 at 8:34 PM, sugarbaker design said:

It's quite common for a parent who loses primary custody to get frequent visitation rights, every other holiday and some vacation time.

The way that DJ described how crappy it was going on the road with her mom was not as an occasional thing, corresponding to some holiday weekends or week-long school vacation periods.  It was prolonged and a lifestyle.