How To with John Wilson (Season 3)

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⭐ 9.5/10

(Originally written by Tim)

Looking back on my reviews of prior seasons I don't think I have given this show high enough scores. It is a miracle that something like this exists, and now that its final season is over I feel like I think about this show more often than anything else.

Its basically an awkward guy with a camera documenting weird stuff he sees in New York (and beyond), tying it all together with a loose narrative. Things always go off the rails, in a way any Nathan Fielder produced show would, and its always incredible.

When I watch this show I am amazing at how crazy real people are, and you don't have to look far to see something truly bizarre, especially in New York. But something I realized this season is that John is super weird too! He records everything all the time, so people probably see him as some crazy dude wandering the streets, so its not surprising that groups of weirdos always welcome him in with open arms. He attracts the strangest people, but his lens gives them so much humanity. He is never making fun of these people, and I think in this season the most he truly relates to them all.

I cannot stop thinking about the series finale, not because I actually know one of the real life people who his camera glances over in the most unexpected place, but because of his place in it all. The whole series has been him grappling with how to live a rewarding and fulfilling life, and this season he comes to terms with his success not being as satisfying as he hoped it would be. The finale is filled with people hoping to live forever (its complicated), but when he talks to them about how they fill their time now it is more mundane and meaningless than you could imagine. Deciding to stop after an episode like this is pretty powerful, and I wish John well as he puts down the camera and tries to find purpose.

This is something I latched on to in The Bear as well, aimless people trying to discover what is important in life. Its interesting to see from a perspective where religion isn't mentioned, since for those of us with some sort of faith-based lifestyle the answer always seems so clear. But John has shown me cities full of people lacking direction and trying to find purpose in insane hobbies or niche social groups. These things are important, and I have some intense hobbies. The way John has filmed all these people and moments has made me more empathetic to the outcasts and the weirdos, finding them relatable in ways I wouldn't have before.

I would love it if everyone in the world would watch this show, because I think its an incredible capsule of our modern time and because it finds humanity in the messiness of humans.

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