S02.E05: Retired

[peachmangosteen]

Airs May 26th.

[Kiddvideo]

A few kicks in the teeth to Deborah’s ego. So many years spent in her Residency Bubble, she forgot she’s not the center of everyone’s universe and sometimes she doesn’t control the world. (And learned not everyone would want to be her.)

She’s actually a lot of fun when she gets out from behind her narcissism. Their “Name that Celebrity” game was great, and I’d love to see some outtakes or hear some of the ones they didn’t include in the script.

[aghst]

Not a fair game when she personally knows a lot of the celebrities and Marcus does as well.

They took a detour to some hinterlands to buy up some fancy perfume?  Don't think of a high end department store in the areas they're supposedly touring, which are smaller towns as Deb works on her new material?

Ava found some loafers which were $800!

Interesting that Deb would feel some guilt, was going to spoil the Susan and her grandsons but winning the prize made her confess?

I guess they want to keep showing Deb and Ava bonding more and more.  She seems to feel closer to Ava than any other of her employees, including Marcus and Josefina.  Certainly closer than her own daughter by now.

Will this tour end in some triumph where she becomes critically acclaimed for her material and wins a new audience, maybe younger than the audience which gravitate to traditional Vegas casino acts?

Younger comics try to get into film or TV to do more prestigious things than just standup.  Well Ava used to write on a show and that is where you'd think she'd want to return to eventually.  For Deb, she may not necessarily want to do regular TV, since another residency would be serious money for her.  But maybe she could do some movies and get some acclaim.  Some older performers like Tony Bennett have found younger audiences, who love him and not ironically either.  So maybe that could be where they take Deb.

[KarenX]

1 hour ago, aghst said:

Will this tour end in some triumph where she becomes critically acclaimed for her material and wins a new audience, maybe younger than the audience which gravitate to traditional Vegas casino acts?

I hope not! It’s too boring. I would like to see Deb expand as a performer, build on something really new. Be inspired and excited by possibilities and opportunity instead of just fighting to hold rank where she’s been for so long.

I suspect we will see Ava and Deb’s daughter be the sources of new networking. I don’t think Marcus wants back with Wilson. I want him to find another ridiculously attractive and smart workaholic he can love. And I want to see more of his mother and her friend!

[aghst]

She would be expanding as a performer if she did serious movie roles.

To win audiences outside the ones who came to see her at the casino, she would have to offer something she hasn't done before or been known for previously.

[peachmangosteen]

Ava giddily running to get shoes, Deborah saying 'Not from the men's section', and Ava just going dejected walk immediately was straight-up hilarious.

[arc]

Loooootta cringe in this one. I felt bad from the moment Deborah said she had screwed over her former friend long ago.

Kayla: "maybe I should just quit and go run Fox Searchlight or whatever." "*laugh* [$200K is] like, so little money" Oh, Kayla. But my god, she doesn't even know what "coverage" is???? Anyone who didn't come from egregious amounts of family money working in Hollywood as an assistant, particularly managers assistants, should know that. (Coverage is where people who don't make the decisions, like assistants, give advice about whether a script is worth the important people's (managers, agents, producers) time to read.)

Hah. Susan's story about DJ getting drunk (?) and a concussion and why it spurred her to retire reminded me of this classic tweet:

But overall, after how cringey that water balloon fair contest was, the heartfelt conversation between Deborah and Susan was great.

The business manager joke ended up pretty solid. I don't know if it's a killer, but it's good enough that it just needs good delivery and to fit in the routine.

By the way, the music choices in this show are so good.

[qtpye]

14 hours ago, arc said:

Loooootta cringe in this one. I felt bad from the moment Deborah said she had screwed over her former friend long ago.

Kayla: "maybe I should just quit and go run Fox Searchlight or whatever." "*laugh* [$200K is] like, so little money" Oh, Kayla. But my god, she doesn't even know what "coverage" is???? Anyone who didn't come from egregious amounts of family money working in Hollywood as an assistant, particularly managers assistants, should know that. (Coverage is where people who don't make the decisions, like assistants, give advice about whether a script is worth the important people's (managers, agents, producers) time to read.)

Hah. Susan's story about DJ getting drunk (?) and a concussion and why it spurred her to retire reminded me of this classic tweet:

I am so glad Kayla is finally getting opportunities after being so good at her job and paying her dues (rolls eyes).

[rollacoaster]

On 5/26/2022 at 5:20 PM, peachmangosteen said:

Ava giddily running to get shoes, Deborah saying 'Not from the men's section', and Ava just going dejected walk immediately was straight-up hilarious.

Yes! I rolled it back twice and laughed out loud both times!

It makes me smile to think of it right now. 

[paramitch]

On 5/26/2022 at 3:20 PM, peachmangosteen said:

Ava giddily running to get shoes, Deborah saying 'Not from the men's section', and Ava just going dejected walk immediately was straight-up hilarious.

I laughed out loud at that too. Those little physical moments are my favorites for me from Hannah Einbinder as Ava -- this one, or stuff like the one where she had to dance despite the fact that she was on a dinghy being ejected from the cruise ship with Deborah.

[paramitch]

I forgot to add that one of my favorite scenes this season was in this episode, when Deb decides to teach Ava to float.

It was just a very delicate, poignant scene because Ava is visibly scared and trusting Deb with her life (even though of course she was perfectly safe), and the physical intimacy and closeness of the scene added so much meaning and richness.

It's also almost a baptism, to me -- there are such strong parent and child vibes to the entire moment, both for Deb in choosing to do this for Ava, and for Ava, in trusting Deb to teach her to do something scary and vulnerable.

And loved the metaphor that Ava has learned how to float safely, enough so that Deb can leave her on her own.

[rollacoaster]

20 minutes ago, paramitch said:

I forgot to add that one of my favorite scenes this season was in this episode, when Deb decides to teach Ava to float.

It was just a very delicate, poignant scene because Ava is visibly scared and trusting Deb with her life (even though of course she was perfectly safe), and the physical intimacy and closeness of the scene added so much meaning and richness.

It's also almost a baptism, to me -- there are such strong parent and child vibes to the entire moment, both for Deb in choosing to do this for Ava, and for Ava, in trusting Deb to teach her to do something scary and vulnerable.

And loved the metaphor that Ava has learned how to float safely, enough so that Deb can leave her on her own.

This was so beautifully expressed. 

[paramitch]

11 hours ago, rollacoaster said:

This was so beautifully expressed. 

Thank you so much! That made my morning.

[meep.meep]

I loved the moment with the artist when both Marcus and Ava admitted that their lives existed for their work.  That's sure not true about Deborah!  She's driven by her career, but has a family, shopping, fishing, and black jack in addition to her work.

[arc]

6 hours ago, meep.meep said:

That's sure not true about Deborah!  She's driven by her career, but has a family, shopping, fishing, and black jack in addition to her work.

I think she has distractions and luxuries in her life but she would kick any and all of them aside for her career if any of those things got in the way.

[Kiddvideo]

6 hours ago, arc said:

I think she has distractions and luxuries in her life but she would kick any and all of them aside for her career if any of those things got in the way.

Ita. Not even her family got in her way when she was trying to make it, and I don’t think she felt it was a sacrifice. She had to be on the road and if they needed to be someplace else, well that’s just the way it was. The residency rooted her in Vegas, and she began establishing a more diverse life.

[The Solution]

This was my favorite episode of the season so far. When Deborah was buying the dress for Ava and said "It's not for you, it's for the rest of us." 🤣

[One Imaginary Girl]

I don't think I've ever identified with a character so much in my life as Deborah pulling out all the stops to get her hands on as much as possible of a favorite discontinued item.