Satisfaction Season 1 Episode 1 Review: Pilot

There seems to be a lot of controversy about Satisfaction Season 1 Episode 1 on USA. And with good reason. It’s uncomfortable and a little upsetting to root for characters who cheat on their spouses.

It goes against our common values and even makes us question those values just a little. But I think that’s what makes this show so fascinating.

Granted, the episode starts out a little rough. There’s a rushed exposition that shows Neil Truman having a rather unbelievable meltdown at a meeting, followed by a slightly more believable meltdown on that airplane (5 hours with an awful flight attendant who won’t give the passengers water? I’d jump, too).

By this point, though, the viewers have to root for Neil. We’re excited when he gets off that plane and heads home to his family, knowing he’ll be able to see his daughter perform in the talent show that evening.

And the events that follow make us feel sorry for him: he lands defeated, in a puddle, after an encounter with the man (Simon) he just witnessed having sex with his wife (Grace). Even worse, Neil learns that Grace is paying this man.

So when Neil finds Simon’s phone later that evening, we almost *want* him to do exactly what he does next: to pretend to be Simon and meet up with a woman. It’s a way to get revenge– on his wife, sure, but also on Simon. More than that, it’s a way for him to finally “feel more,” and to gain some insight into his own relationship.

It is that last piece, I think, that gets at what this show is really about it. Neil’s eyes are opened when he encounters the first woman, as she explains why she called for an escort. Neil realizes that Grace must feel the same way– as though her husband doesn’t want to put as much work into his marriage as much as he does on his job, and as though she isn’t “wanted.”

And the next woman, who turns out to be a madam, teaches him that he should accept gifts from women and be grateful. At the end of the episode, he makes a point to let Grace know he appreciated the tie she gave him.

What I don’t think the show is trying to do, is tell us to go out and cheat on our spouses. Instead, it is examining why that sort of thing happens, perhaps making us all examine our own relationships a little more closely.

All in all, I really enjoyed the pilot episode. The characters are complex, the show is well-written, and even more– it’s going to start some really productive discussions about relationships.

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Ashley Bissette Sumerel

Ashley Bissette Sumerel is a television and film critic living in Wilmington, North Carolina. She is editor-in-chief of Tell-Tale TV as well as Eulalie Magazine. Ashley has also written for outlets such as Rolling Stone, Paste Magazine, and Insider. Ashley has been a member of the Critics Choice Association since 2017 and is a Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic. In addition to her work as an editor and critic, Ashley teaches Entertainment Journalism, Composition, and Literature at the University of North Carolina Wilmington.