The Big Picture
Episode 10 of Mr Corman begins with Josh teaching his kids about the marvels of the universe. From a show of hands, only four decide they want to continue on with astronomy. The others are nonchalant and ready to get back on with normal lessons. That evening, Josh and Victor catch up over food. Victor has done a complete 180 and is actually taking things seriously now when it comes to COVID. Furthermore, he’s having bad dreams about people not wearing face masks. After dinner, Josh ends up on a zoom date but things are awkward. They have absolutely no chemistry together and worse, Josh sinks back into its judgmental ways. He claims not to be but when she mentions listening to the radio he does turn his nose up a bit. Anyway, the conversation turns to their parents and how their “thing” was heading over to the US. It takes a while but Josh eventually warms to the girl and speaks passionately about the kids he teaches. This is the spark. This is the moment that the pair finally connect. Josh and Emily continue to talk over zoom, even getting into bed and discussing the formulaic nature and awkwardness of first dates. The pair fall asleep, with Emily waking Josh up with a text about talking over breakfast. Through Emily, Josh is told again about his inability to finish things which sees their conversation come to an abrupt end. With Josh on a short fuse and constantly negative, he leaves a voicemail for Emily apologizing and admitting that he likes her. On the back of this, Josh embraces his musical roots again and begins to record various different sounds – making a genuine effort to try and be better with his family and reconnect. Within this montage are a few clips of Emily, so it seems like she’s been the catalyst to help Josh open up. As the episode closes out, he breathes deeply. There’s not a lot else to say about the finale really, as it seems Josh has finally seen the error of his ways and decided to start living life to the fullest. But has he really? Or is it just the high he’s getting from being infatuated with Emily? Will he return to self-loathing again? We’ve seen those parallel worlds show Josh as judgmental and self-loathing in every single reality so what’s to stop him from returning to that same vibe here too? The final shot does seem to hint that he’s ready to start living his own life but we’re left with a pretty open interpretation of this.
The Episode Review
Mr Corman bows out with a pretty conclusive ending, but boy has this show made us work to reach this point. Between fantastical flights of cartoon worlds and mundane episodes that do very little to progress the plot forward, Mr Corman has been a bit of a chore at times. The show struggles to be funny and its certainly not a comedy. There’s also not enough drama in this to make it a dramatic romp either. Instead, it occupies that weird, lukewarm area between the two. Sure, people will resonate with Josh’s character for his failed dreams but his self-loathing, judgmental attitude and inability to actually follow through with anything makes him a tough sell – until the end of this episode. There’s been very little growth for him across the season and a last minute 180 turn isn’t going to be enough to convince this reviewer that he’s actually changed for the better. In the end, Mr Corman has not been a show to remember. It’s been a dull, methodical crawl through a river of tar and syrup. It’s been tough-going and the end result certainly doesn’t justify the means.
