Avenue 5 Review: Wait A Minute, Then Who Was That On The Ladder? (Season 1 Episode 4)
When the sewage pipe breaks on your now three-year voyage, there’s not much else to do but wallow. But for Captain Clark, it means having to live up to his fake reputation on Avenue 5 Season 1 Episode 4, “Wait A Minute, Then Who Was That On The Ladder?”
Captain Clark becomes the unsung hero of the episode, and the least qualified to become the hero. The fact that he needs to appear calm under pressure turns out to be his ultimate downfall, where his charming facade hides a permanent drunkenness and large level of fear.
At least he gets to have a nice, relaxing time with the real crew, who genuinely like him. It’s certainly a start, since his fake crew up top are becoming less and less professional as the cracks of their limits, and performances, start to show. The quick scene of the lower-deck crew having a great time with Clark turns out to be the most entertaining scene on the episode, as everyone loosens up for the first time and can have fun.
Plus, Hugh Laurie is infinitely charming with his self-deprecation, which doesn’t hurt.
Judd’s collection of absurdity provides a lot of the humor this time, with the introduction of his own line of products (including Judd Light instead of Bud Light), little visual gags that help punctuate the increasing madness.
The Beatles skull gag is especially strange, with the question of who the fourth skull is since Lennon is cremated. It continues the trend of showing how much Judd is the man behind the curtain, powerful on paper but not much in practice.
Photo: Alex Bailey/HBO.
The side stories, of Matt creating a toxic word cloud for Mia and Doug, and Frank wishing to create a new persona for himself, are quick and don’t really add up to much. But they do add some fun quirks to characters that have been mostly existing at the edges, and so it does give them a larger presence.
Frank’s story does clash into the ceremonial pressing of the fake red button and the blame being passed onto him, which is at least a fun punchline to his need to be important in some form.
The episode all comes down to optics, everyone trying their best to keep their personal optics at the highest positivity possible. But now that unforeseen consequences are starting to rear their head, like the pipe busting and radiation, optics are pretty much entirely out the window and human survival is paramount.
Sending Clark on what’s essentially a suicide mission may be their only shot. But at the same time, it’s like sending a cat in to disarm a bomb. There’s no way this can go well, but it’s the only play they have. Hopefully the next episode doesn’t become an extended poop joke and has some fun with the under-qualified angle more.
Avenue 5 Season 1 Episode 4, “Wait A Minute, Then Who Was That On The Ladder?” may not be as laugh-out-loud as Avenue 5 Season 1 Episode 3, “I’m A Hand Model,” but it makes up for that by delivering on character. Captain Clark, as a lead, is a fascinating look at keeping up appearances while we, as the audience, see the disintegration of truth and safety before our eyes.
It’s all for the sake of keeping composure, but every single episode does a fantastic job to remind everyone that none of these people know what they’re doing. That’s where the richness of Avenue 5 really is, in the bumbling chaos that these people simply cannot control. At least chaos is fun this time.
What did you think of this episode of Avenue 5? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Avenue 5 airs Sundays at 10/9c on HBO.
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Kevin Lever
Kevin Lever has been following television closely for most of his life, but in starting to cover it, he has grown a further appreciation. He strives to give the blockbusters their due, and give the lesser known shows a spotlight to find more fans.