If you would like to read my review of the last episode, click here.
Synopsis: Gamby’s search for his shooter leads him into a novelist’s graduate-school class; Russell’s ire is fueled by an unflattering caricature. (HBO)
Writers: Danny McBride, John Carcieri, and Adam Countee
Director: David Gordon Green
Rating: TV-MA
Running Time: 30mins
For those wondering how Snodgrass ended up with that mystery man at the end of the previous episode (Fisher Stevens), this episode started with a flashback of when Gamby got shot. This was followed by Gamby’s impersonal rejection of her at the hospital.
Meanwhile, someone in the school is leaving unflattering caricatures of Russell which did not do any favors for his already sky-high ego. The evidence pointed to a faculty member and he was determined to find out who. By that he meant getting Gamby to do it. Bill Hayden was fired in the last episode and Russell was yet to find a replacement so he tasked Gamby to substitute for his class while also investigating.
Gamby did not approve of this and we quickly saw why when he was exposed in front of the class. Gamby generally doesn’t have a clue about anything and it showed here in his failure to teach them anything. It was a college-level class so the students called him out on this as well. He then gave them a drawing assignment to see if one of them was responsible for the caricatures. Russell, on the other hand, was even more obnoxious.
Later on, he had an awkward cafeteria conversation with the other teachers. What made it awkward was how he was trying so hard to fit in. There he learned that Snodgrass’ boyfriend was helping her get her book published but Gamby still found a reason to compete with this stranger while failing in the process. A run-in with Hayden didn’t get him help with his class but it did get him some more information on Snodgrass’ boyfriend whose name was Brian.
Miraculously, Gamby’s jealousy and paranoia led him to suspect Brian of shooting him. He recently moved into a secluded farmhouse and since then, he had made it into a fortress with surveillance and a series of very elaborate and surprisingly deadly traps. In order to get him to admit to what he did, Gamby confronted him after his class while awkwardly posing as a detective. After hearing what happened, Snodgrass finally confronted Gamby about her feelings and they finally broke up.
The episode ended with a fun montage with Russell getting revenge on the culprit behind the caricatures, the handicapped science teacher Mr. Milner (Christopher Thornton), Mrs. Nash got the upper hand on some students that were harassing her the whole episode, and Gamby and Snodgrass getting over each other.
Overall, this was another good episode with Gamby and Russell doing their thing in their own misguided and socially awkward ways. Despite not being the brightest, Gamby is still likable in a weird way and the over the top nature of Russell is still entertaining to watch. What makes them king of exciting is that you just don’t know what they’re going to do next.
Score: 8/10
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The EIC of the coincidentally-named keithlovesmovies.com. A Canadian who prefers to get out of the cold and into the warmth of a movie theatre.