Good Sam Review: Attachments (Season 1 Episode 4)

Good Sam heats up (and cools down) its central love triangle while deepening the complications of the familial one at its core on Season 1 Episode 4, “Attachments.”

The downside of the show giving Malcolm and Caleb equal appeal (at least to us) for who could be the right one for Sam is that both of them are leaning on one-note factors in the process. 

The show is only starting to reveal layers to both Malcolm and Caleb. Good Sam Season 1 Episode 3, “Butt of the Joke,” takes small steps to give Malcolm a personal arc. The past two episodes try to do the same for Caleb.

Nevertheless, Sam’s relationship with Malcolm moves so quickly that it’s as though Good Sam skips over beats the audience needs to grasp the depth of their affection.

Both men’s connections to Sam are superficial at the moment, making it feel as though Good Sam doesn’t want to lean heavily on Malcolm or Caleb.

Sam and Malcolm only connect through their ever-present and similar strifes with their respective fathers. Alternatively, Sam and Caleb share a history that lets Caleb understand her past.

That lack of distinction is intriguing, considering Sam continually voices her enthusiasm to be with Malcolm. However, the show needs to give us a few more reasons to believe her beyond Sophia Bush and Edwin Hodge’s endearing chemistry. 

Both men are good, kind, and can make Sam happy, but there isn’t a reason to root for one over the other. There’s also not an overwhelming reason to root for either of them in general.

The one factor in Malcolm’s favor is that Sam chooses him again and again, and everyone should respect her choices. However, the storytelling could do a better job of explaining why she likes Malcolm so much.

Caleb may continue to pine for Sam while she’s with Malcolm, but Good Sam needs to detach that couple from Lakeshore and its professional drama so that their relationship can be something more than it is right now.

Just like Good Sam needs more moving parts to liven up the dynamic between Sam and Griff, it needs to add more definition to its love triangle if it intends to have any longevity.

That’s why it’s a welcome shift that the grey in Griff and Sam’s decision-making processes draws more thin similarities between the father and daughter.

It’ll make their eventual reckoning with that hit even harder. Though, Good Sam can put that off as it leans into Griff and Vivian’s suspicious alliance to guard a secret.

With Griff’s track record, it’s hard to believe that secret will benefit Sam in the end. We were rooting for you, Vivian!

That said, the show could benefit from letting that tension bubble under the surface because Good Sam is speeding through storylines. 

Sam’s alliance with Rhonda Glass could’ve been one that spanned multiple episodes, but it seems as though it will come crashing to an end when Rhonda shows her hand and how it affects Vivian.

So, hopefully, Good Sam defies predictably and lets Vivan’s secret differ from the one Rhonda knows. That would allow Sam and Vivian’s scenes to hold more weight until someone reveals the truth.

Alternatively, this show does not need to let Lex and Griff’s “will they/won’t they” linger like it is now. Skye P. Marshall and Jason Isaacs have great chemistry, but their characters’ relationship doesn’t need to go anywhere, especially not right now.

Thankfully, even though Lex still has some feelings for Griff (phantom limb and all), she knows their relationship can’t go anywhere. After all, the repairment of her friendship with Sam holds a much more of an emotional pull.

It is fascinating that, so far, the most we see of Griff’s vulnerability is through private moments with Lex — or longing glances in crowded rooms. It’s nice to watch him cheer her (or anyone) on, but it’s also telling that Lex doesn’t need that be great.

Skye P. Marshall is excellent in this episode as she navigates Lex’s empathy as a way to connect with patients and do her job efficiently.

It’s heartwarming to watch and makes us lean in to catch Marshall’s subtle facial expressions that Lex tries to mask from Adrianna.

But it raises the question of if Lex and Griff spend even less time together and the rift between him and Sam grows, who or what will budge Griff’s demeanor enough so Good Sam can explore the character more?

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Good Sam airs Wednesdays at 10/9c on CBS.

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