S01.E02: Not a Tiger Yet

[Whimsy]

Quote

As Nell tries to settle into her new job, she gets increasingly annoyed by her latest ghost. Meanwhile, Edward works on a project that sparks Nell’s journalistic curiosity.

Original airdate 2/8/23

[possibilities]

I adore her roommate and Cricket. Meh on everybody else, so far.

[AnimeMania]

Livia Treviño as Ruth Hochberg
Mo Collins as Jane Marvel, success coach/motivational writer     


 

I thought that Sam was drinking a lot, in both episodes, for a woman who was breastfeeding a child.

I really thought they were going to say that Lexi's father owned the stadium they were trying to build, which is why the newspaper killed the story.

This episode had me feeling weird, it wasn't exactly funny, but I was interested in what was happening.

[DanaK]

I’m liking it so far

[bad things are bad]

Bummed that the ghosts apparently don't stay around.  The world needs more Martin Mull

[akg]

14 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

I really thought they were going to say that Lexi's father owned the stadium they were trying to build, which is why the newspaper killed the story.

Me too. I know Gina's character didn't follow protocol but I was disappointed Nell? (I'm horrible with names) just dismissed the article and its subject so quickly. Why not do the fact checking and republish? Plus, now it looks like the paper was silenced by someone (the dad, the city, the actual builders...) which isn't great for their reputation.

I'm glad Cricket is sticking around although I wonder how Gina explained the coincidence of them meeting while she was writing the husband's obituary.

[Paloma]

It's not a good sign when the second episode is less interesting to me than the pilot, but I'll give it at least one more episode to see if future ghosts are more interesting. Also, I know it's a comedy, but the unprofessional behavior of the main character and the people in the newspaper office is annoying. Even more annoying is the behavior of the roommate, particularly the requirement that she walk his dog--why would he expect that and why would she agree to that? My 30-year-old nephew was diagnosed with Asperger's as a child and has some of the same personality characteristics as the roommate, but my nephew is friendly and not intentionally rude to others. If the roommate has enough social skills to work as a lawyer, he should also have enough social skills to behave decently toward others.   

[DanaK]

16 minutes ago, Paloma said:

It's not a good sign when the second episode is less interesting to me than the pilot, but I'll give it at least one more episode to see if future ghosts are more interesting. Also, I know it's a comedy, but the unprofessional behavior of the main character and the people in the newspaper office is annoying. Even more annoying is the behavior of the roommate, particularly the requirement that she walk his dog--why would he expect that and why would she agree to that? My 30-year-old nephew was diagnosed with Asperger's as a child and has some of the same personality characteristics as the roommate, but my nephew is friendly and not intentionally rude to others. If the roommate has enough social skills to work as a lawyer, he should also have enough social skills to behave decently toward others.   

I think it's clear Nell had trouble standing up for herself as evidenced by the lack of a kitchen table because the guy wanted his exercise equipment there. By the second episode, we see she is starting to stand up for herself, including getting a kitchen table, so maybe at some point, she'll refuse to walk the dog. That's definitely an over-the-line demand as were most of the other things the roommate demanded

19 minutes ago, akg said:

Me too. I know Gina's character didn't follow protocol but I was disappointed Nell? (I'm horrible with names) just dismissed the article and its subject so quickly. Why not do the fact checking and republish? Plus, now it looks like the paper was silenced by someone (the dad, the city, the actual builders...) which isn't great for their reputation.

I'm glad Cricket is sticking around although I wonder how Gina explained the coincidence of them meeting while she was writing the husband's obituary.

I don't think they explained it specifically, but I can see Nell telling her that she was writing her husband's obituary and recognizing the wife as part of her research for the writeup, she decided to go over and say hi

[akg]

1 hour ago, Paloma said:

my nephew is friendly and not intentionally rude to others. If the roommate has enough social skills to work as a lawyer, he should also have enough social skills to behave decently toward others.   

There are a lot of types of autism and a lot of people with that diagnosis don't always realize they're being rude. Based on the stacks of very organized documents for his lawsuit, I can see him being good enough at his job for his co-workers to brush off most of the things he says wrong. He at least seems aware of how he can come across enough to discuss things with his girlfriend and adjust his behavior accordingly (she pointed out his attitude towards obituaries wasn't everyone's and that they could serve a purpose. He listened and apologized to Gina).

As for the dog walking, it's his apartment and he put that stipulation in the lease. If Gina didn't want to do it, she should have argued then. I'm hoping they explain more about their living situation beyond "she found him on craigslist" though.

[Paloma]

15 minutes ago, akg said:

There are a lot of types of autism and a lot of people with that diagnosis don't always realize they're being rude. Based on the stacks of very organized documents for his lawsuit, I can see him being good enough at his job for his co-workers to brush off most of the things he says wrong. He at least seems aware of how he can come across enough to discuss things with his girlfriend and adjust his behavior accordingly (she pointed out his attitude towards obituaries wasn't everyone's and that they could serve a purpose. He listened and apologized to Gina).

As for the dog walking, it's his apartment and he put that stipulation in the lease. If Gina didn't want to do it, she should have argued then. I'm hoping they explain more about their living situation beyond "she found him on craigslist" though.

I agree about the different types, and there are also different levels of functioning and social skills. I just noticed this because he seems very much like my nephew in characteristics that are typical of what used to be called Asperger's, including high verbal ability (enabling the character to work as a lawyer) but difficulty with social skills. But you're right that he did show awareness and ability to apologize and adjust his behavior, so that's a good sign.

It's hard to imagine that someone would literally put dog walking as a requirement in a lease, much less someone agreeing to it unless there was a discount on the rent. Personally, as a big animal lover, I would be concerned about rooming with someone who doesn't care enough about his dog to walk the dog himself, at least part of the time. Maybe that's why I have such a negative bias toward this guy.

[possibilities]

I love the roommate! I find him delightful, not rude. Maybe he gave her a cheap rent in exchange for walking the dog. Lots of people make arrangements like that, to take care of things that need doing. He would probably have to pay a dog walker if he didn't have a roommate doing it, so it could be a good deal for the right tenant. Nell is not the right personality for that kind of thing, but she agreed to it, presumably because she needed a cheap rent. They should have said that explicitly though.

According to my values, leaving condoms all over the apartment would be rude, and that's something Nell did. So she can't really claim any kind of moral high ground here.

I've had friends who are on the spectrum, and one of the things I've liked is that generally they are more comfortable with blunt, direct communication compared to the neurotypicals I usually deal with. It's not a universal trait, but I found it credible. It's only rude in some cultures, and not others. Rudeness, politeness, and other social protocols are a code people agree to... or don't. But when people agree on the rules, it's not rude to be assertive and expect others to do the same. He was totally fine with it when Nell communicated with him in his way, which I think is totally fair since it's his home. Just because it wasn't the way she was used to doesn't make it wrong. And he did acknowledge that he can be difficult, and that he would work on it.

Honestly, the way a lot of neurotypicals give hints and don't say what they actually mean, could be considered way more rude, downright cowardly, and a kind of code that is inconsiderate, when you look at it from the other direction.

[AnimeMania]

Just now, Paloma said:

It's hard to imagine that someone would literally put dog walking as a requirement in a lease, much less someone agreeing to it unless there was a discount on the rent. Personally, as a big animal lover, I would be concerned about rooming with someone who doesn't care enough about his dog to walk the dog himself, at least part of the time. Maybe that's why I have such a negative bias toward this guy.

It is quite possible that Edward noted the time that the dog likes to be walked (use the bathroom) and realized that he would be at work and therefore made other arrangements to allow it to occur at that time.

[akg]

6 minutes ago, possibilities said:

Honestly, the way a lot of neurotypicals give hints and don't say what they actually mean, could be considered way more rude, downright cowardly, and a kind of code that is inconsiderate, when you look at it from the other direction.

I have no idea if I'm on the spectrum or not but I would definitely prefer it if people were more clear in their communication (especially my mother).

[Paloma]

20 minutes ago, akg said:

32 minutes ago, possibilities said:

Honestly, the way a lot of neurotypicals give hints and don't say what they actually mean, could be considered way more rude, downright cowardly, and a kind of code that is inconsiderate, when you look at it from the other direction.

I have no idea if I'm on the spectrum or not but I would definitely prefer it if people were more clear in their communication (especially my mother).

I'm pretty sure I'm not on the spectrum, but I often drive my husband crazy with my passive-aggressive way of communicating my feelings--a form of communication that is all too common in my neurotypical relatives.

[shapeshifter]

I was surprised at how well Nell/Gina rocked the retro shoulder pads.

[SomeTameGazelle]

I find that I am more interested in seeing Nell develop better relationships with people she has prickly relationships with so it was great to see her and Edward figuring out how to communicate better. I would like to see her gradually come to some sort of understanding with Lexi as well. I do like her being friends with Cricket but so far I am not terribly interested in Sam. Maybe I will change my mind depending on how the dynamics develop.

[SHD]

"Hey, Euphoria kid!" cracked me up. I see a lot of potential in the writing. I think the show just needs to settle in a bit.

[joanne3482]

19 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

It is quite possible that Edward noted the time that the dog likes to be walked (use the bathroom) and realized that he would be at work and therefore made other arrangements to allow it to occur at that time.

That was my assumption. As an attorney he may work longer hours and not always be available to walk the dog when the dog actually needs to go. 

 

21 hours ago, akg said:

I'm glad Cricket is sticking around although I wonder how Gina explained the coincidence of them meeting while she was writing the husband's obituary.

I just figured it could go as one of those freaky coincidences. 

[blugirlami21]

I actually thought this was the better episode, it was much smoother and focused since we know how it works and Nell does too.  She has obviously done several obits since the first one and while she doesn't like it she is good at it.

I thought the stuff with the roommate was once again a highlight.  There are many different kind of people on the spectrum with many different personalities and hangups. Edward explained very well how he needed things to be but he also gave insight on how to temper his expectations for when Nell doesn't get it completely right.  He's blunt and honest which can seem rude but I don't ever get the sense that is his intention.  Nothing he says is intended to hurt anyone's feelings.

I didn't like this ghost as much as the first but I do think she helped Nell stand up for herself a bit. The bit with the article was weird, I too thought it was perhaps bad press for Lexi's dad since he owned the stadium but it was really just Lexi being irritated that Nell wasn't staying in her lane.

Loved the end with Cricket, Nell, and Edward, very cute.

[possibilities]

I think it was a little more than Nell not staying in her lane. Having her article posted without being vetted by an editor meant it wasn't fact-checked. So, Lexi said, if it was inaccurate, it could lead to trouble for the newspaper.

However, it's true that refusing to let Nell submit the article for consideration did seem to be about wanting her to stay in her lane.

It shows Lexi is not a great manager because the article Nell wrote would, in fact (if accurate), generate a lot of traffic to the website and Lexi needs high profile features like that, if she wants to raise readership. I get that she wants Nell to do the job she was given, i.e. write the obits. But apparently she has actually been doing a great job of that. So having taken the initiative to write the other thing on her own time, actually could have benefitted the paper. She could also sell it to the competition as a freelancer, or give an interview to someone else where she talks about the story, if Lexi continues to thwart her ambitions. 

[chaifan]

Again, not a bad episode, but not great.  I really wish they would round Lexi out a bit and make her more than a sitcom-trope rich kid daddy's girl mean boss.  I'd like to see a scene with just her and Sam, and I think that would be the Lexi we'd all like to see more of.  I love Lauren Ash, so I just want her to have a better character than what we're seeing now.

I think Nell's ability to see ghosts is going to be like Early Edition, where Kyle Chandler's character inherited the day before news (and the cat that came with it) from the prior tenant.  But I'd like her to at least be curious about it, to track down the last obit writer to find out if they had the same experience. 

[CrystalBlue]

I loved Early Edition (and continue to be a Kyle Chandler fan)!  Here we have a cute, adorable dog, instead of a cat, who needs his walks!  I hope Nell bonds with Arthur, the dog, rather than not like taking him for the walks as she agreed to.  Also, not only was it rude for Nell to leave condoms all over the apartment, but it's a danger to the doggo if he swallows one.  Choking hazard too.

[bros402]

imo this episode was better than the first. The way the roommate was acting made me look it up and he is autistic! Yay, representation! I liked that it seems like Cricket is going to stay around and the roommate was much better in this episode.

[Johannah]

I'm enjoying it so far.  I like having different ghosts (I get my continuity-ghosts on Ghosts).  I wasn't too crazy about this ghost, but we'll see about the next one. 

I like the roommate and also got the impression that walking the dog was part of the agreement she made for a lower rent or just a chance at an apartment in her chosen area.  I hope she keeps her agreement, because an animal not taken care of properly, will make me stop watching.

I think there are more layers to the boss other than 'rich girl trying to please Dad'.  I think she is trying to prove to herself (via Dad's approval) that she is worthy herself.  If that made sense.  I think everyone thinking/knowing you got the job because of your father makes it hard to prove you deserve it, even to yourself.  But it's a sitcom, so, probably not that deep.

It's funny.  I don't know that I believe in ghosts or clairvoyants or mediums, but they make great television (I loved Medium.)  And I guess I'm keeping an open mind.  As in, there may be people that can communicate with the dead, but I figure most people claiming so, are charlatans.

[Bookish Jen]

On 2/10/2023 at 9:33 AM, SHD said:

"Hey, Euphoria kid!" cracked me up. I see a lot of potential in the writing. I think the show just needs to settle in a bit.

I would have called him "Stranger Things," but yeah, that was kind of funny.

I watched both the pilot and this episode. Neither one was perfect, but I'll keep watching for now. And I always like seeing Lauren Ash on my TV screen.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 2/10/2023 at 7:41 PM, possibilities said:

I think it was a little more than Nell not staying in her lane. Having her article posted without being vetted by an editor meant it wasn't fact-checked. So, Lexi said, if it was inaccurate, it could lead to trouble for the newspaper.

If she really wanted to protect the paper, she should have inquired how, exactly an unauthorized article got posted to the website. There has to be a password, right?

Would a paper really pay a living wage to someone who only writes 1 obituary every 2 or 3 days?

 

Edited March 2, 2023 by ItCouldBeWorse