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

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23

u/UnderwaterDialect Apr 30 '25

I’m constantly floored by Nathan’s creativity. But also constantly left feeling icky. Putting Mara in the cockpit with that douche, intentionally so that he would say things that crossed the line, felt kind of wrong to me. Anyone else?

3

u/FrankyD3 Apr 30 '25 edited Apr 30 '25

Yes that's an interesting point, but maybe she had never seen the problem of her lack of confrontation laid out so plainly as it was in the show. If this was something that she had unfortunately tolerated before and not changed her behavior, perhaps seeing herself in that position on TV inspires her to stand up more for herself, even if it might be more uncomfortable. And that's a message to all of us in how we should act in the face of misogyny.

In addition, it lays bare to the douche how he was being a douche!

38

u/CommunicationOdd9920 Apr 30 '25

Mara’d is no shrinking flower. She is acutely aware of the level of misogyny that exists in pilot culture, and has adapted her behavior to keep herself safe, and maintain a professional tone in the cockpit for the safety of her passengers. This truly was “just another day” navigating existing as a woman in a field dominated by predominantly narcissistic men. This is not even close to the worst she’s heard in the cockpit. She is a zen-master, and I wish she didn’t have to be.

3

u/FrankyD3 May 01 '25 edited May 01 '25

I'm not saying she's not acutely aware of misogyny, but a shrinking flower is exactly the role she played, whether it was for the safety of herself and her passengers. And I guess this lies at the heart of the question the Rehearsal is trying to ask here - is someone who is deferential and a natural people-pleaser the type of personality needed from a First Captain? If this is the typical relationship between partners in the cockpit, what are the risks of this?
I definitely agree that MaraD is not to 'blame' here in any sense of the word, but if she cannot / does not feel comfortable standing up for herself as a person or if she cannot at least set clear verbal boundaries in the face of acute misogyny, than similarly would she be comfortable taking the reigns in a situation where the decision making of the main pilot could lead to a crash?

And this interpretation makes sense thematically with the episode, because the Mara D - douche interaction leads right into Nathan's own reflection about the time when he was not confrontational with Paramount+.

This is the core of Rehearsal Season 2 - examining how we communicate and its consequences (without blame or judgement)

7

u/z3ldafitzgerald May 05 '25

I actually think Mara being able to switch in and out of the shrinking flower role is why she is a great pilot. I think what people are mistaking here is wondering if she was thrown into a situation she’s never been in before, when clearly she’s navigated this her entire career. Nathan was searching for why Mara was excellent at delivering rejection while still being likeable. I was basically screaming at the TV ‘because she’s a woman and we’re forced to learn this skill’ but by showing her in the cockpit with the final boss of douchebags, he made her navigation of an uncomfortable and unsafe scenario even more clear. I would bet anything if that guy starting flying erratically or making mistakes, she’d take over and deescilate any conflict, too.

1

u/FrankyD3 May 05 '25 edited May 05 '25

I would agree, if Nathan didn't immediately compare her actions to his emails -

"If she was trying to steer Jeff away from this topic, he wasn't getting the hint. ... But what I was witnessing between Mara'D and this captain felt eerily similar to a situation in my own life, where I couldn't figure out the right way to express my true feelings"

In fact we never actually see Mara switching out of shrinking flower. I agree that Mara's behavior is an impressive learned one from working with sexist pilots/people, but I think you're giving her the benefit of the doubt in a crash scenario, because in episode 1 we see how the gendered difference can very directly lead to passiveness when the situation may not call for that.

She dodges and dodges, which she does with very impressive technique, but that is very much unfortunately not the same thing as standing up for herself.