Caemeron Crain
The following recap contains spoilers for Somebody Somewhere S3E6, “As Much as I Like Not Feeling” (written and directed by Lennon Parham)
Emotions don’t always make sense.
Somebody Somewhere S3E6 begins with Joel (Jeff Hiller) getting into a fender bender with an old lady, and he breaks down crying. The accident itself isn’t a big deal. Both cars are fine (give or take a scratch). The old lady is fine. She even calls Joel after he’s arrived at Chef to meet Sam (Bridget Everett) to make sure he’s OK because she forgot to ask. Joel says it’s the nicest thing anyone has ever done and starts crying again.
The French toast for the table helps, as does learning that Fred (Murray Hill) is cheating on his diet when he shows up for a to-go cheeseburger and fries, but Joel isn’t really crying about the fender bender.
Later, Sam has a date with Iceland (Ólafur Darri Ólafsson). She cries a little while she’s trying to figure out what to wear, but she pulls herself together and heads out to the farm to meet him. They go for a nice walk together, enjoying an easy rapport. Sam reveals that she was afraid they wouldn’t have anything to talk about, so she made a list. As he goes through it, answering her questions about his life, it’s easy to see that the two are hitting it off. He likes Debussy. She can name Debussy’s most famous song.
But when Iceland kisses Sam, she begins to cry. She can’t express to him why, but it’s not that he did anything wrong. Thankfully, she doesn’t insist on leaving at that point. She agrees to walk with him some more, and while we don’t see the end of the date, we can presume it was fine.
“As Much as I Like Not Feeling” ends with Joel and Sam having a sleepover, and it’s like old times. Ultimately, though, Sam wants to talk about why Joel has been so upset, and of course it’s because he’s given up on having kids. Or, at least, that’s a part of it. Joel’s life is going so well. He doesn’t know why he can’t be happy with it. It doesn’t make any sense.
Sam tells Joel about her date and how much she likes Iceland. The problem is how she feels about herself. She can’t believe that this guy would really want to get to know her or like what he sees if he does.
The friendship between Sam and Joel remains the heart of Somebody Somewhere, and while neither of their problems are resolved through this conversation, it’s wonderful to see the support they give one another.
Joel may or may not take Sam’s advice of talking to Pastor Deb (Ora Jones), who we haven’t seen since Season 1, but I expect that next week’s series finale will see him confronting the stumbling block in his relationship with Brad (Tim Bagley). Joel wants kids. Brad’s already done that. I can only cross my fingers that this somehow ends well.
Sam’s arc seems to be culminating in her potential relationship with Iceland, but this story has always been about her coming to terms with herself. The question isn’t whether she ends up with the guy at the end; it’s whether she’s come to accept who she is and what she’s doing with her life.
If it feels like she’s getting there, that will be a happy ending.
See you next week.
