The Rehearsal (Season 2)

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⭐ 8.5/10

Nathan Fielder remains my favourite comedian, and I will watch everything he makes. The first season of this show hit highs I don't think will ever be repeated, a perfect distillation of all his comedy up until that point, but with moments that made me emotional. The final episode of Nathan Fielder is still his magnum opus, but the Rehearsal is an evolution on what is happening in that episode, which itself was an evolution on the rest of the themes in Nathan For You. This season didn't quite hit the same highs, but it is bolder and in some ways even crazier.

Nathan tackles a single issue throughout this season, which is aviation safety, and getting pilots and co-pilots to have better relationships, since his theory is that is what causes all these disasters. It took some funny twists and turns, like the pilot-judged singing competition, the awkward pilots he manages to pull in to this, and the miracle over the Mojave. That last episode didn't really move me or feel like a very satisfying capstone, but its easily the biggest stunt he's ever pulled and I was legitimately nervous for the whole episode. I think he's a genius, and this season is him using his genius to actually make a statement and genuinely try to solve a problem, but that also made it slightly less funny.

The Sully episode had some big laughs, with a hilarious connection at the end, but that was the first time I felt Nathan's comedy passing me by. The trademark cringe is here though, and I love being reminded how awkward and crazy most people are. I think daily about him choking on the milk (if you know you know), but this didn't hum at the same frequency of the first season for me. We watched the first episode of season 1 since Jess hadn't seen it and that is truly brilliant. That season has through lines as well, they are just more personal to him and less earnest about such a niche problem.

I still love the show, the bar in season 1 is just about as high as it could be for me, so a second season was always going to be a challenge. The budget of this weird comedy show is insane and I don't know how or why HBO keeps calling him back. If him and Emma Stone make that chess movie that they have the rights to I will reach Nirvana.

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