The Rehearsal: Gotta Have Fun
Season 2 Episode 1
Editor’s Rating:
Photo: John P. Johnson/HBO
In a recent episode of The Rehearsal, Nathan Fielder finds himself sitting down for a critical phone call. Why? Because apparently, airplane crashes can be traced back to something as quaint as communication breakdowns between the captain and co-pilot. One can only wonder if the real culprit isn’t the flight food.
Fielder, in an attempt to save us from falling out of the sky, decides to recruit Moody, a fledgling first officer he discovered lurking on LinkedIn. The catch? He can’t even access the private pilot’s lounge at the airport without playing a game of “Guess Who?” with the United Airlines media relations team. Hilarity ensues as Fielder explains, “We’re somewhat trying to improve cockpit communication… but remember, this is still a TV show, so we have to sprinkle in a bit of entertainment!”
Halfway through, as Fielder navigates the disarray of humor and the existential dread of flight safety, he inadvertently parallels this with the human condition. Moody’s struggle to assert himself in his long-distance relationship morphs spectacularly into the absurdity of pilot hierarchy discourse, making us wonder if love, too, could use a flight instructor.
In a stroke of genius, Fielder constructs an entire replica of an airport terminal in three interconnected warehouses in Los Angeles. After all, why merely film inside an actual airport when you can craft an elaborate cardboard cutout of one? As he immerses Moody in this bizarre pilot-world, he invites over 70 actors to simulate the daily grind of airport life, because nothing screams authenticity like a fake Panda Express and a bunch of aspiring thespians arguing over teriyaki chicken specials.
The episode’s standout revelation? Fielder contemplates how the co-pilot/captain dynamics might mirror those awkward conversations we all avoid—like talking about feelings or letting your partner know you’re not a fan of their latest haircut. It’s a profound moment happening amid the chaos, leaving us to ponder: could discussing relationship issues actually make us better at not crashing planes? Does existential dread serve as an effective co-pilot?
As Fielder navigates this minefield of absurdity, we see glimpses of truth. “Maybe the FAA never considered using personal emotions to better pilots,” he muses, because if there’s one thing more terrifying than turbulence, it’s airing out your emotional baggage. Who needs actual flight training when emotional intelligence might just save a few lives—if not a few relationships?
With punchlines sharper than a cockpit’s emergency exit, Fielder wraps up his journey through pilot training with the sage wisdom that maybe every new idea is a joke until proven otherwise. “Perhaps a clown can change the world,” he ponders, probably as he prepares for his next act—proving that the absurd can often teach us more than the mundane.
