Genuinely believed he was trying to fix the damage by setting up an innocent playdate until they got back into the car and he was like "Did you get enough?" Lmao
When Nathan told that boy he was going to hell for not being a Christian and to not be like him was very powerful. The mom was rocked when she realized she got exactly the message she was trying to send without all of the sugarcoating and denial that comes with it.
Holy shit. I don't even know what to say about this, I feel like I need to read a million think pieces before I even begin to fully comprehend this. Nathan has created something so weird and funny but so stunningly profound with this. Is the whole show basically meant to convey how crushingly lonely he is? How badly he wants a real family and children but can't make it happen for whatever reason? How much of it was even real? Who would have thought the guy behind poo flavored yogurt would be capable of something like this? And how the hell is it going to get a second season?
Okay so upon thought my interpretation of the ending is that the events of this episode with Nathan and Remy (fucking heartbreaking by the way) along with his last speech at the end to the other child actor where he he got emotional and said "no, I'm your dad" all cultivated in Nathan finally realizing that he is prepared for fatherhood and that he really can handle it, so his rehearsal is complete and he's ready for the real thing Now how much of this is genuine or if it's more for the show is what I'm not sure about. It kind of reminds me of Bo Burnham's Inside in that way actually where you can't tell what's real and what's being played up for the camera
Holy cringe that birthday party. "I have to go to hell" line was hilarious telling a 6 year old in front of his mother. Older kids acting as younger kids was super awkward. lol and then the doll... wtf.
Don't know if it was just me but I feel like you could tell Nathan was actually pissed at that mom and being super condescending on purpose. I loved it lol
Another underrated scene is him making sure the older child actor (Liam?) knows it's fake and you can tell the kid isn't sure if he's supposed to respond to "You know I'm not your real dad, right?" in character or not
I agree that this is the takeaway. A theme that seemed to not be at the forefront was that he never seemed to figure out and articulate what would actually make him "feel like a parent" and no way to actually know that he completed the rehearsal. This is a similar theme to the grandpa inheritance, where he wants people to forget that they're inside a rehearsal and he's not even capable of doing that himself. So when Amber says she knew Remy was going to be okay out of instincts and seeing "herself"... He can complete it but seeing "herself" in "Remy", so when he says "I'm your dad" he's forgetting he's supposed to be mom and forgetting he's in a rehearsal which means the rehearsal is complete. cynically though I think most of the stuff with Liam is probably being played up
This is probably correct. My more cynical take was that by insisting he's Liam's father, he's reiterating his control over everything within the rehearsal; he's supposed to be Remy's mom, but when he's reminded that it isn't real, he changes the rehearsal to make it more real (the way he turned the pepper with the sticker on it). Gotta say, it's insane that this show of all things is making me analyze this much lmao.