Alright, buckle up, buttercups, because Nathan Fielder is back, and Season 2 of “The Rehearsal” has officially taken off – though perhaps not entirely as expected. If you thought Season 1’s journey from awkward social rehearsals to a sprawling, quasi-parenting experiment was wild, then prepare for some serious turbulence.
Episode one, titled “Gotta Have Fun,” initially feels like it’s charting a course toward a specific destination: airline safety. So, let’s break down what happened in the first episode so far!
Taking Off with Trepidation: Airline Safety, Fielder Style
We’re immediately thrown into a terrifying scene: actors grimly reenacting a plane accident, their conversation extracted directly from the flight’s black box tape. Fielder, ever the deadpan maestro, introduces us to John Goglia, a former NTSB member, emphasizing that this isn’t your typical comedy show rife with ridiculous scenarios.
There’s a genuine, albeit slightly unsettling, earnestness in Fielder’s desire to explore how the principles of “The Rehearsal” – meticulous preparation and role-playing – could potentially improve cockpit communication, a factor Goglia believes contributes to many aviation disasters. The catch? HBO bankrolls Fielder, a detail he’s hilariously hesitant to share with the serious-minded Goglia.
The episode then pivots, with Fielder acknowledging the conspicuous absence of laughter in the first ten minutes. This meta-commentary is classic Fielder, a wink and a nod to the audience, letting us know he’s aware of the potentially heavy subject matter and that, yes, he intends to inject his signature brand of awkward humour. This arrives as a clown trapped under a van, met with the unhelpful amusement of paid actors – a stark reminder that we are firmly within the surreal landscape of “The Rehearsal.”
Between Sincerity and Surrealism: Navigating the Season 2 Premiere
Fielder’s first attempts to immerse himself in the world of aviation, notably shadowing a co-pilot named Moody, are predictably thwarted by the mundane reality of airport security. Undeterred, and with what must be a sizable HBO budget, he embarks on a genuinely insane plan: build a full-scale replication of an airport terminal, complete with 70 actors trained in the mysterious “Fielder Method.”
The actors shadow genuine airport officials, including pilots, to precisely recreate Moody’s pre-flight experience. The attention to detail is both crazy and weirdly remarkable, like witnessing a really well-funded yet strange community theatre show.
The central, and somewhat surprising, insight Fielder gleans from this elaborate endeavour is that pilots often have minimal interaction before entering the cockpit. Moody reveals that he frequently meets his captain for the first time just before takeoff and rarely flies with the same person twice.
This leads to an even more bizarre experiment: using Moody’s anxieties about his long-distance relationship to improve his assertiveness in the cockpit. In a truly surreal scene, Moody rehearses confronting his girlfriend (dressed as a pilot in the mock cockpit) about his fear of her leaving him for a Starbucks barista. The interaction is cringeworthy and poignant in equal measure, leaving us wondering if Fielder’s intervention will actually help or inadvertently accelerate Moody’s romantic woes.
How Is The First Episode Overall?
“Gotta Have Fun” feels like two shows wrestling for dominance. On one hand, there’s a genuine, if unconventional, exploration of a serious issue. On the other hand, it’s a masterclass in orchestrated absurdity, a reminder that Fielder’s primary goal is to poke at the artifice of reality and the human condition through increasingly elaborate and uncomfortable scenarios.
Whether this season will maintain its focus on airline safety or veer off into another unforeseen rabbit hole remains to be seen.
But if the first episode is anything to go by, we’re in for a uniquely unsettling and darkly comedic ride, even if we’re not entirely sure where we’re going. It’s Fielder being Fielder, and whether you find that genius or grating, it’s undeniably captivating.
Conclusion
So, “The Rehearsal” Season 2 kicks off with Fielder tackling airline safety with his signature blend of earnest inquiry and utterly bonkers methods. From recreating plane crashes to a full-scale airport replica, the premiere episode is a dizzying mix of serious exploration and cringe comedy.
Whether this aviation focus will stick or morph into something entirely unexpected is the delicious uncertainty Fielder thrives on, leaving us both intrigued and slightly disturbed.