Pivoting Review: Hell on Wheels (Season 1 Episode 4)
Thus far, Amy, Sarah, and Jodie have all made it clear they’re working to better themselves. Pivoting Season 1 Episode 4, “Hell on Wheels,” both shows us where there’s room for improvement and gives us reason to think positively.
Amy, having learned that Luke isn’t exactly the most popular kid in his class, immediately decides the best course of action is defer him away from a nerdy interest in nature and toward things that will make him look cool. Like, you know, going roller skating with his mom.
It’s a familiar trope, right down to Amy seeing the error of her ways when some older girls mock Luke and facing them down, telling him to be his own free spirit. It’s also a trope that works for Amy as a mother who barely understands how children function.
Her insistence that Luke act cooler is indeed off-putting, but it leads the most direct self-reflection we’ve seen yet; the kind that wins the approval of her husband, AKA “perfect dad”. It also gets her into an altercation with a mother of one of the girls that somehow winds up in a conga line.
I have to pause here and highlight the devotion to accuracy in this rink that seems not to have been updated since the 1990s. Having attended more than a few grade school field trips in that time, I’m nearly as nostalgic as our heroines.
In terms of self-improvement, Sarah still has a way to go, at least when it comes to not looking down her nose at others. In fairness, the pretty staff member she flirts with does wind up losing all their shoes, though only after a condescending comment or two.
Between this and the arguable laziness of Sarah’s new grocery store co-workers, I’m mildly concerned the show is enabling her superiority complex. She’s earned some of that as a doctor, but she’s put people down in two of four episodes, and it’s not a great sign.
And then there’s Jodie. Kind, somewhat oblivious Jodie, who makes it clear to us that she was the “Luke” of the friend group back in the day. She sticks up for her friends regardless and handles her husband’s incompetence with as much grace as anyone can expect.
She also continues her awkward patterns with Matt, this time seemingly misinterpreting his interest in her offering business advice. I say “seemingly” because that all gets turned upside-down in the last scene, where he tells her he’s attracted to her and they kiss in her car.
Yes, it’s officially a cheating storyline, and one that’s bound to create mixed feelings. If ever we can root for someone in such a situation, it’s Jodie, who should probably have left Dan long ago. It helps too that Matt is just the kind of sweet, charming guy to be the better option.
Still, it is a cheating storyline, and these are always doomed to blow up, even on a sitcom. We’ll likely see the results of this play out over the season, and it promises to be a rocky road in Jodie doesn’t eventually go home to see Dan has burned down their house.
What did you think of this episode of Pivoting? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Pivoting airs Thursdays at 9:30/8:30c on Fox.
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Caitlin Wyneken
Caitlin is an elder millennial with an only slightly unhealthy dedication to a random selection of TV shows, from PBS Masterpiece dramas to some of the less popular series on popular networks. Outside of screen time, she's dedicated to the public sector and worthy nonprofits, working to make a difference in the world outside of media.