S04.E03: Two for the Road

[chitowngirl]

Charles, Oliver and Mabel begrudgingly pair off with new investigators - actors Eugene Levy, Zach Galifianakis and Eva Longoria.

Episode drops September 10, 2024 on Hulu.

Please keep on topic with things that happen in this episode. Spoiler tag things that happen in future episodes.

Edited August 27 by chitowngirl

[dwmarch]

Ah, so it is OMIT B after all!

[thuganomics85]

Uma!  Glad we got our first appearance of her for this season.  Only one line but she almost stole the entire thing with it!

Looks like the FBI is taking over the case but that leads to Detective Williams actually helping the gang out with some clues.  Even if she still is only a few steps away from strangling Charles and Oliver whenever one of them opens his mouth.  But she will power through and hopefully use her "Zach Pass."

Fun seeing the gang get paired up with their respected actors and seeing them play off one another.  Figured Charles and Eugene would be socially awkward together in a way only Steve Martin and Eugene Levy could be (and when you toss in Richard Kind with them, it goes to a whole other level!) and Zach would continue to think little of Oliver and basically play along with him.  But Mabel and "Maybell" ended up being the surprise for me.  Eva Longoria being the impulsive wildcard with an exasperated Mabel is a fun little idea and I'm kind of curious to see where they will go with this.

Looks like Vince/Richard Kind and Rudy/Kumail Nanjiani are currently off the suspect list, but I can still see swerves with them coming.  In particular, it seems Vince had a photo of their neighbor but he scratched out their face for some reason?  Even if neither pulled the trigger, I can see them at the very least keeping something from them that would actually help with the case.

I see that; unlike Eternals; this show took advantage of Kumail's new abs.

Not sure how accurate the Squatter's Rights idea is, but Mabel putting herself in position to flush out the mysterious neighbor certainly shows how far she will go to protect Charles (and probably would do the same for Oliver.)  The scene with the three in that apartment was a nice moment.

The voice over the radio sounded familiar to me, but I can't quite place it yet.

[Irlandesa]

I love the theme song to Perfect Strangers so that montage was my favorite part of the episode. 

[Snazzy Daisy]

This episode focuses more on character development than advancing the plot.

The side plots with Charles/EugeneL and Oliver/ZachG are funny but feel a little bit too long. Eva Longoria is quite annoying because unlike the 2 gentlemen, she tries hard to create her own Mabel. And what’s with the ripped pants exposing the butt cheek?  

Anyway, I love the “Perfect Strangers” moment with the Ollies and Uma makes it better. 😘

Quote

“Whatever this is, I hate it.”

🤣🤣🤣

Based on the warning from the ham radio lady, Sazz was the intended target because she was poking around and she was the last person on the “445” frequency.

The marked person in this photo looks like a tall lady with blonde hair. 👀    

 

[paigow]

Mabel can now be arrested for illegally entering a marked crime scene... likely cancelling out squatting bylaws...

[peeayebee]

8 hours ago, dwmarch said:

Ah, so it is OMIT B after all!

What are you referring to?

 

2 hours ago, Snazzy Daisy said:

And what’s with the ripped pants exposing the butt cheek?  

At first I thought it was an exposed butt, and I thought, "What?" but a second later I thought it was her shoe as she sat that way on the couch. But no, uh? Her butt? I'll have to rewatch.

Early in the ep, there was a scene where Oliver says, "What?" and the way he said it cracked me up.

I'm enjoying Zach G the most of the three stars. I think his character is the most  interesting of them. I loved the Perfect Strangers sequence with them.

It bugged me that when Charles and Eugene saw the photo in Vince's apartment they didn't just ask him about it. After all, they were on good terms at that point.

Oh, and when that whole scene began with them wanting to Vince to take off his eyepatch, I was afraid of what his eye would look like. And... yuck.

I love the movie 'Two for the Road.' Audrey Hepburn, Albert Finney. Yum.

[sjankis630]

OK the woman on the ham radio at the end with the accent. Is that Helga from Sazz's notes?

[dwmarch]

13 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

What are you referring to?

How the abbreviated title for this show is supposed to be pronounced. They made a joke in an earlier episode about Loretta's show having a title like this. She said the abbreviated title out loud and no one knew what she meant.

[shapeshifter]

Another wonderful episode. I even LOL'd once (something I rarely do when watching TV). 
So packed with details. 
I must rewatch sooner this week. 

5 hours ago, Snazzy Daisy said:

The marked person in this photo looks like a tall lady with blonde hair. 👀    

 

Actually, the hair is white.
Sazz? Meaning she was the target after all?
If so, would "Tap in" mean Sazz is telling Charles to "Tap in"?
Like: continue whatever Sazz was up to?
And is that a pig or a dog?

Edited September 10 by shapeshifter

[Snazzy Daisy]

33 minutes ago, shapeshifter said:

Actually, the hair is white.

If you’re looking at the top of the head, it could be a cap. Look at the low pigtails.

 

[cardigirl]

43 minutes ago, Snazzy Daisy said:

If you’re looking at the top of the head, it could be a cap. Look at the low pigtails.

 

I was just coming on to say I thought it was a cap. I hadn't noticed the pigtails. Holy Moses it's Meryl, er, I mean, Loretta!  

[Juneau Gal]

7 minutes ago, cardigirl said:

I was just coming on to say I thought it was a cap. I hadn't noticed the pigtails. Holy Moses it's Meryl, er, I mean, Loretta!  

That is who I think it is too and that makes me sad if she is anyway involved in the murder. I kinda wanted she and Oliver to ride off into the sunset together, happily ever after. Let Oliver have one success in life, at least. 

[Affogato]

Tap is an alternative to morse code for Ham radio. Here is a Wikipedia link 

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tap_code

—————
from this link:

The tap code, sometimes called the knock code, is a way to encode text messages on a letter-by-letter basis in a very simple way. The message is transmitted using a series of tap sounds, hence its name.[1]

The tap code has been commonly used by prisoners to communicate with each other. The method of communicating is usually by tapping either the metal bars, pipes or the walls inside a cell.

————-

there is a translator but you will have to follow the link because the formatting didn’t translate. 

Edited September 10 by Affogato
Sp

[tennisgurl]

We have our first Uma sighting! It was only one brief scene but she certainly made the most of it. "I don't know what this is, but I hate it." 

The three actors tagging along was fun, you could tell all of them were having fun playing these crazy versions of themselves. Eva is an unhinged wildcard taking major creative liberties, Zach is a frustrated artist annoyed that he's slumming it when he wants to be taken seriously, and Eugene is so dedicated to becoming like Charles that their awkward energy is taking over. 

The person with the ham radio sounded like she had an accent, is that the Helga that Sazz wrote down? It seems like Vince and Rudy are crossed off the suspect list for now, but it could always come back around, or maybe they did something else. 

Rudy the Christmas guy being trapped doing Christmas forever for views is the kind of humor I love this show for. 

[peeayebee]

1 hour ago, shapeshifter said:

And is that a pig or a dog?

Sure looks like a pig to me. I'm assuming it's the bathtub pig earlier in its life. Man, I can't remember all the names. Kristin Piig... I should have written them down. They were good.

[ofmd]

They take "criminally underusing Uma" to completely new heights! Still nice to see her, finally.

ETA: am I totally misremembering, or is our favorite police detective married with a baby? What's with the ogling of 'scrumptious' Greek dudes? Not judging, maybe it's an open marriage, but still...

Edited September 10 by ofmd

[paigow]

FYI...

 

[Lugal]

8 hours ago, Snazzy Daisy said:

The marked person in this photo looks like a tall lady with blonde hair.     

After a quick checking of actor heights on IMDB, I learned that Meryl Streep is 5'6" and Jane Lynch is 6' tall (and for reference, Kumail Najiani is 5'8.5" and Richard Kind is 6'1").  They could be wearing a white cap, but the hair is definitely blonde.  My money's on Sazz.

5 hours ago, peeayebee said:

At first I thought it was an exposed butt, and I thought, "What?" but a second later I thought it was her shoe as she sat that way on the couch. But no, uh? Her butt? I'll have to rewatch.

Her pants were cut in the back on both legs just below her butt and when she sat just right it showed off her upper leg.  Not sure about that fashion choice, but Eva Longoria is unhinged.

[Snazzy Daisy]

6 hours ago, peeayebee said:

At first I thought it was an exposed butt, and I thought, "What?" but a second later I thought it was her shoe as she sat that way on the couch. But no, uh? Her butt? I'll have to rewatch.

25 minutes ago, Lugal said:

Her pants were cut in the back on both legs just below her butt and when she sat just right it showed off her upper leg.  Not sure about that fashion choice, but Eva Longoria is unhinged.

 

[Abra]

1 hour ago, ofmd said:

ETA: am I totally misremembering, or is our favorite police detective married with a baby? What's with the ogling of 'scrumptious' Greek dudes? Not judging, maybe it's an open marriage, but still...

She mentioned Zach G was her "pass".

 

[peeayebee]

1 hour ago, Lugal said:

Her pants were cut in the back on both legs just below her butt and when she sat just right it showed off her upper leg.  Not sure about that fashion choice, but Eva Longoria is unhinged.

She probably thinks it's what the kids are wearing these days.

[Affogato]

59 minutes ago, peeayebee said:

She probably thinks it's what the kids are wearing these days.

No.  It is part of the character she is making for her version of Mabel. Frumpy pants with a surprise. Drinking at 10 AM. Etc. 

[Affogato]

So, everyone in the picture knows about the pig, the apartment, ham radio. Are their four aparments per floor?  The woman holding the piglet sure looked like Sazz. The stance was familiar as well. It might circle back to Jan, who might be renting the apartment from prison and communicating via ham radio? 
 

i guess we will find out. Loved the theee and their doubles equally. Just perfect for Charles, a fan, someone who takes him seriously. And Oliver, someone who gets the real him, maybe unfortunately. Mabel gets the short stick. But Eva Longoria is brilliant. 

[shapeshifter]

I just noticed there are a lot of different “ham” references:

• Ham radios
• Gourmet ham in the shower
• Hammy Faye Bakker, the pig
• Hammy actors acting 

[Chit Chat]

4 hours ago, peeayebee said:

Man, I can't remember all the names. Kristin Piig... I should have written them down. They were good.

Natalie Porkman; George Swinebrenner; Gloria Swinem.  

I think that Kristen Piig was the best!

I loved the shoutout to one of my favorite shows, Perfect Strangers!  I'm curious as to the backstory on that choice by the writers and/or producer.

Eva's pants looked like they had a zipper on the back of the thigh.  I hope that's not a new fashion trend!  It fits with her zany character though.  

[Sailorgirl26]

I burst out laughing when Eugene Levy spit on Richard Kind and Richard Kind punched him in the nose. That entire scene between the three of them is a master class in comedic build-up. The hand-off of the casual mention of improv and the first "yes and" was so subtle it could have been easily missed. Those three playing off each other was GOLD. 

I'm not a big Eva Longoria fan, so I guess she was fine. 

Out of stellar performances by all, Kumail Nanjiani stole this episode --- like, give him the best actor in a guest appearance scene theft. The switch from Mr. Christmas-All-the-Time fitness influencer people pleaser to JFC I hate Christmas real person was so well done. And the "my parents are so disappointed in me" just sealed the deal. Well, that. And the abs.  

I caught "George Swinebrenner" and "Gloria Swine-em" but didn't catch the actual name at the end. Anyone? 
 

Edited September 10 by Sailorgirl26

[Snapdragon]

7 minutes ago, Chit Chat said:

 

I loved the shoutout to one of my favorite shows, Perfect Strangers!  I'm curious as to the backstory on that choice by the writers and/or producer.

 

The woman on the radio had a German accent, so maybe Sazz has a German cousin (Helga) who moved to the States and they bonded over the show?  That could be who's in the picture.  It would be ridiculous but eh, why not?

Although if Jane Lynch played both parts and they were identical cousins, then it really should be the Patty Duke show theme that was used instead.

Edited September 10 by Snapdragon

[helpmerhonda]

33 minutes ago, Sailorgirl26 said:

I caught "George Swinebrenner" and "Gloria Swine-em" but didn't catch the actual name at the end. Anyone? 
 

I think it was Hammy Faye Baker.

[Chit Chat]

40 minutes ago, Sailorgirl26 said:

I caught "George Swinebrenner" and "Gloria Swine-em" but didn't catch the actual name at the end. Anyone? 

The last name I heard was Kristen Piig.  I completely missed Hammy Faye Baker though, so I'm not sure which name he decided on!

[Affogato]

3 minutes ago, Chit Chat said:

The last name I heard was Kristen Piig.  I completely missed Hammy Faye Baker though, so I'm not sure which name he decided on!

Hammy Faye Bakker was what the voice on the radio called her, so presumably it is her original name. 
 

because pigs can only be punned. 

Edited September 11 by Affogato

[Aryanna]

Something something Bea Arthur

[secnarf]

11 hours ago, dwmarch said:

How the abbreviated title for this show is supposed to be pronounced. They made a joke in an earlier episode about Loretta's show having a title like this. She said the abbreviated title out loud and no one knew what she meant.

The fans also called them OMIT-B  in season 2.

[txhorns79]

14 hours ago, Snazzy Daisy said:

Anyway, I love the “Perfect Strangers” moment with the Ollies

It just felt like a time waster to me.  

I'm not entirely sure having the Hollywood version of the group around is working.  I feel like Eugene Levy understands his assignment, but Galifinakis and Longoria aren't really doing it for me.  Maybe they will improve as the season progresses. 

[Quilt Fairy]

4 hours ago, Affogato said:

her version of Mabel

That's MaBelle to you. 

[peeayebee]

5 hours ago, Affogato said:

No.  It is part of the character she is making for her version of Mabel. Frumpy pants with a surprise. Drinking at 10 AM. Etc. 

Yes, that's what I meant, but I guess I wasn't clear.

 

3 hours ago, Sailorgirl26 said:

The hand-off of the casual mention of improv and the first "yes and" was so subtle it could have been easily missed.

I forgot to mention that. I loved all the "Yes, and's". 

 

 

[Aryanna]

11 minutes ago, Quilt Fairy said:

That's MaBelle to you. 

It was sounding to me like Eva was saying Ma Bell.

I feel like the marked out face in the pic is a red herring. 

[Affogato]

52 minutes ago, Aryanna said:

It was sounding to me like Eva was saying Ma Bell.

I feel like the marked out face in the pic is a red herring. 

I thought she was saying Mabel with an accent mark above the e to make it sound French. I can’’t find how to do it on the phone. Asterisk above e. 

[Aryanna]

31 minutes ago, Affogato said:

I thought she was saying Mabel with an accent mark above the e to make it sound French. I can’’t find how to do it on the phone. Asterisk above e. 

I agree. It was intended to sound like a fancy way to say Mabel but I also heard Ma Bell.

Mabél

On my phone if you long hold a letter, it pops up with alternate versions with accent marks and whatnot.

[Affogato]

12 minutes ago, Aryanna said:

I agree. It was intended to sound like a fancy way to say Mabel but I also heard Ma Bell.

Mabél

On my phone if you long hold a letter, it pops up with alternate versions with accent marks and whatnot.

Thanks, I will try 

sounds like ‘ma belle’

[shapeshifter]

25 minutes ago, Aryanna said:

I agree. It was intended to sound like a fancy way to say Mabel but I also heard Ma Bell.

Mabél

I watch with captions on, which spelled it like the old telephone company nickname: Ma Bell

So even though it seemed obvious that Eva was giving Mabel's name a more flattering twist with an acute accent over the (é), every time "Ma Bell" displayed in the captions, it was like Eva's character was being appropriately mocked.

[iMonrey]

I think Eva Longoria is an absolute scream in this, but I have always liked her so I'm biased. I'm neutral on Zach Galifianakis. I love  Eugene Levy but I'm not sure he works as well as the other two because his character is too similar to Charles so their scenes together kind of drag for me. It's more fun watching Oliver and Mabel being exasperated with their counterparts. 

At this point I'm just along for the ride. I know how this show works and it's way too early in the season to even try speculating Who Dunnit. 

[shapeshifter]

9 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

I think Eva Longoria is an absolute scream in this, but I have always liked her so I'm biased. I'm neutral on Zach Galifianakis. I love  Eugene Levy but I'm not sure he works as well as the other two because his character is too similar to Charles so their scenes together kind of drag for me. It's more fun watching Oliver and Mabel being exasperated with their counterparts. 

I warmed up to Eugene Levy's role in this episode, seeing him as a warm counterpoint to the other 2 abrasive actor characters.

[Lugal]

16 hours ago, Chit Chat said:

Natalie Porkman; George Swinebrenner; Gloria Swinem.  

I think that Kristen Piig was the best!

Also Piggy Smalls and Notorious P.I.G.

16 hours ago, Chit Chat said:

Eva's pants looked like they had a zipper on the back of the thigh.  I hope that's not a new fashion trend!  It fits with her zany character though.  

[cardigirl]

22 hours ago, Juneau Gal said:

That is who I think it is too and that makes me sad if she is anyway involved in the murder. I kinda wanted she and Oliver to ride off into the sunset together, happily ever after. Let Oliver have one success in life, at least. 

 

21 hours ago, Lugal said:

After a quick checking of actor heights on IMDB, I learned that Meryl Streep is 5'6" and Jane Lynch is 6' tall (and for reference, Kumail Najiani is 5'8.5" and Richard Kind is 6'1").  They could be wearing a white cap, but the hair is definitely blonde.  My money's on Sazz.

I have had suspicions about Loretta through the end of Season 3, and while I don't know if the person in the photo is her, so far she's the only character who has worn her hair that way. 

Someone else (possibly here or on another thread of the show) suggested that we may have not yet met the murderer, but I'm pretty sure we have, this show does seem to follow the rule of fair play, in that the murderer is introduced early and not added in late in the game. So ... Loretta could be a suspect, but seems unlikely, given that we've had one murderous girlfriend story already.

I have a suspect, but no motive.  Not going to name him/her yet, just going to see how things play out.

Also, I hope the "why" of the murder is clued in earlier for the viewers. It always comes at the last episode, and is usually a COMPLETE surprise to me. Ha ha.

[Chit Chat]

2 hours ago, shapeshifter said:

I watch with captions on, which spelled it like the old telephone company nickname: Ma Bell

I'm old enough to remember 'Ma Bell' as the telephone company, so that's what I thought about every time she said MaBel!  

I like having Zack, Eugene & Eva on the show this season.  It's good to shake things up so that the show doesn't get stale with the same formula.  

Poor Oliver!  Zack hurt his feelings, and just when I thought he was really getting into the character and actually enjoying it.  Pfftt to Zack!!

Charles warmed up to Eugene with his praise of Charle's intellect: The History of Wood.  snerk.   It was funny watching them both wear their eyepatches over their glasses rather than over their eye!  I've never seen it done that way before!  

Of course, I know who Eva is, but I haven't watched many of her shows/movies over the years.  I think she's hysterical in this role.  Listening to her casually name-dropping was funny too.  

 

[Night Cheese]

I really felt for Oliver when Zack was talking about him on the phone. It immediately turned me off to that whole part of the storyline, although I hadn't been particularly interested in the movie/actors plot anyway. 

Speaking of Oliver, are we ever going to see his son, grandson, or Winnie again?

Edited September 11 by Night Cheese
"Or" not "ir"

[Ohiopirate02]

7 minutes ago, Night Cheese said:

I really felt for Oliver when Zack was talking about him on the phone. It immediately turned me off to that whole part of the storyline, although I hadn't been particularly interested in the movie/actors plot anyway. 

 

I hated that part because it is such an overused trope that it dumbs down the characters at this point. I expect better from this show.

[Katie W]

On 9/10/2024 at 1:01 AM, thuganomics85 said:

I see that; unlike Eternals; this show took advantage of Kumail's new abs.

My husband during this scene, "He finally got to show off those abs!"

[Sailorgirl26]

1 hour ago, Katie W said:

My husband during this scene, "He finally got to show off those abs!"

Kumail's abs will forever remind me of Hasan Minaj's rant about said abs:

NSFW language warning: