Hannah thinks the actress Gordon hired for Reed’s daughter Wendy is not put together. She can’t act, which is a problem because she’s supposed to be the perfect daughter for the role.
Timberly Fox, a contestant on a reality dating show, reads Hannah’s “serious” script poorly and it upsets Reed that she ruins his pivotal scene. Bree, on the other hand, is just happy that Timberly doesn’t outshine her. ..
Zack, meanwhile, struggles to tell his mom that he doesn’t want her hanging around the set, so he enlists Clay’s help. Throughout the week, Clay tries to talk to his mom, but gets sexually involved with her each time instead.
Hannah and Gordon continue to battle each other, with Gordon adding scenes without Hannah’s approval, and Hannah later cutting them. This has led to tension between the two, with Gordon feeling that he is not being given enough credit for his work. ..
Hulu refuses to fire Timberly, which makes Reed unhappy as well. So, Gordon convinces Reed that it’s his responsibility to take Timberly under his wing and teach her how to act.
Bree doesn’t like this, however. She watches as Reed coaches Timberly and hates the see the young actress getting better. ..
Bree tells Timberly that she knows what Reed is going through with acting notes. She says that he can go overboard with them and it can be a disaster. She then promises to tell Bree what she needs to know. ..
Later, Reed is frustrated when Timberly changes up her approach and becomes difficult to read again. ..
Hannah receives new pages for the last scene of the play just thirty minutes before show night. She goes to Gordon, who tells her that he lightened up the scene because Timberly, the actor playing Lawrence, can’t handle it. Hannah then accuses Gordon of not wanting to make Lawrence into an asshole, since he is based on Gordon. “You know,” she adds, “you’ve never apologized once for disappearing.” ..
He accuses her of hijacking his show to make him look bad. “I’m not gonna be the villain,” he says. “Too late,” she responds.
Reed finds out what’s been happening and accuses Bree of sabotaging Timberly. Bree tells him that’s just how it is in Hollywood. In all her previous gigs, other women would sabotage her out of jealousy. Reed sarcastically congratulates her for giving Timberly a similar story. ..
Bree finds Timberly crying in the bathroom before she goes on stage. She admits that she is really nervous. She is not an actor like they are and does not know what she is doing. Not to mention that everyone’s advice is conflicting. ..
Bree asks her friend Reed to forget what she said. She hasn’t acted in 15 years and is terrified too. “Listen to Reed, and you’re going to be amazing,” they hug.
Hannah watches the premiere of “The Handmaid’s Tale” nervously. Hannah and Elaine (vice president of comedy at Hulu) chat about horrible fathers. Elaine’s dad actually wants them to work together. He thinks she’s crazy for ditching computer science to work in TV. Her parents used to work all the time, but she did get to watch about happy families every week. Her favourite show, Step Right Up, tells Hannah, was about a family that was very close and loved each other very much. ..
Hannah gets new pages for the last scene of the play. When it plays out, it’s real, like Hannah wanted. And it’s an apology from Gordon, who watches Hannah watch the production.
Reed, who is incarcerated and serving a life sentence for a crime he did not commit, tells his daughter that if he could go back in time, he would change things. He hopes one day she will give him another chance. ..
Hannah applauds and chases after her dad. She thanks him for the scene. He says he’s sorry that he didn’t have Lawrence say more to his daughter, but “characters can’t change that much in one episode.” ..
The Episode Review
In this episode of Reboot, the show seems to be trying to say something significant. For example, characters can’t change that much in a day, but they can still have a lot of trauma. Additionally, the problem of women in Hollywood sabotaging each other is not easily resolved. However, the episode ends with a strong message that we should not be afraid to try new things and be ourselves.
The resolutions the show does offer are still too “cute” and “cliché” for a show that, much like Step Right Up, feels like it should be more “real.”
The talented cast of Step Right Up is carrying the show right now, and it’s clear that there are a lot of issues to be explored both in and out of the confines of the show. There’s still time, then, for the show to “get real.”
