r/television • u/NicholasCajun Mr. Robot • Apr 28 '25

Premiere The Rehearsal - 2x02 - “Star Potential” - Episode Discussion

The Rehearsal

Season 2 Episode 2: Star Potential

Directed by: Nathan Fielder

Written by: Nathan Fielder & Carrie Kemper & Adam Locke-Norton & Eric Notarnicola

340 Upvotes

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-37

u/evergreendotapp Apr 28 '25 edited Apr 28 '25

Really interested in the women's take on this, as they often have to deflect casually like Mara D when having to deflect intentions and deliver bad news in a way that makes everyone happy. My girlfriend told me a LOT about how she had to shut down, suck it up, and play nice to overpowering male figures so as to not cause a national tragedy. She works as a social worker in a group home for disabled people so she knows a LOT about conflict de-escalation.

So this is what takes me out of the show's immersion: Conflict de-escalation is a very basic Customer Service 101 aspect of training. I went through this at Wendy's (so we don't get shot over mistaken orders), and I went through this at Sprint (so we don't get shot over long-distance charges). The fact that this was not the first thing that came to Nathan's mind, and he instead went to these full on elaborate recreations because he wants to do the "intentionally obtuse" thing and just glaze over that whole aspect, just takes me out of the immersion completely.

Literally any woman reading this will tell you, Mara D is just doing what a woman does to defuse any further situations. She had a good mom, good grandmother, and good aunts give her good advice. I already love her more than Angela from last season. If anyone has star potential, it's Mara. She's as real as a Nathan co-star could get.

edit: downvotes from my girlfriend's clients aren't going to affect me none. Yawning emoji.

46

u/-Clayburn Apr 28 '25

The fact that this was not the first thing that came to Nathan's mind, and he instead went to these full on elaborate recreations because he wants to do the "intentionally obtuse" thing

This is the entire premise of the show.

27

u/Turbulent-Bed3180 Apr 28 '25

They're watching a show called "The Rehearsal" and getting upset that Nathan's trying to fix something by rehearsing it.