Naomi Review: I Am Not a Used Car Salesman (Season 1 Episode 7)
Naomi Season 1 Episode 7, “I Am Not a Used Car Salesman,” brings a heaping helping of much-needed answers for Naomi as misunderstanding morphs into mutual respect. It’s the show’s best, most cohesive episode thus far.
Naomi flourishes when it hones in on a primary plotline instead of branching into multiple threads. The lack of high school drama catapults “I Am Not a Used Car Salesman” into the stratosphere. No offense to Nathan or Anthony, but this show’s intrigue lies with the titular character’s identity and the mystery surrounding that.
NAOMI: All this time, I thought you didn’t want anything to do with me. I thought you were my enemy.
Cranston Johnson proves he’s the strongest, most consistently nuanced performer on Naomi. The tonal shift between Zumbado on Earth-29 versus present-day Zumbado showcases Johnson’s versatility. He imbues Zumbado with layers and conveys a lot without uttering a word.
While there’s not as much action in “I Am Not a Used Car Salesman,” the story still arrests our attention, keeping our eyes glued to the screen as we piece together Naomi and Zumbado’s shared history alongside our heroine. This episode unleashes the floodgates, and we get an avalanche of answers.
ZUMBADO: Don’t believe everything you think, Naomi.
The special effects aren’t anything to write home about, so here’s hoping The CW boosts the show’s budget for Season 2. That said, we get the picture, and it’s fun to point out the minor discrepancies between our world and Earth-29.
The performances feel more grounded, although the occasionally corny dialogue can distract from said performances. But Johnson manages to triumph over The CW cheesiness for some brilliant character beats.
“I Am Not a Used Car Salesman” focuses on developing character dynamics between Naomi and Zumbado and Dee and Annabelle. Neither of these pairings gets a significant amount of screentime together. Naomi and Zumbado are effortlessly more captivating and enthralling, but it’s nice to see Naomi try Dee and Annabelle on for size.
Now, the humor doesn’t always resonate, nor do the jokes between Annabelle and Dee always land. However, there’s room for growth. Sometimes, the comedy feels forced in this series, so these scenes stand out like a sore thumb.
AKIRA: The only mistake I ever made was trusting you.
Overall, “I Am Not a Used Car Salesman” keeps audiences invested with a surge of information that never becomes tedious or reeks of that dreaded exposition. Cranston Johnson steals the show as a mesmerizing performer, while the new alliance between Zumbado and Naomi broadens the realm of possibility, story-wise. Introducing Brutus as the Big Bad also gives the series room for fun comic book exploration.
Stray Observations:
- Finally, more Stephanie March! The Naomi Powers That Be answered our collective prayers!
- You know Greg McDuffie isn’t who he seems if you’ve read the comics. There are no mega-spoilers here, but hopefully, the show pulls back the veil on his story sooner rather than later.
- Petition to change the color of fire on this Earth to purple. It’s so pretty!
- “I Am Not a Used Car Salesman” is bereft of teeny bopper drama, and for that, we’re grateful.
- Did anyone get real Karate Kid vibes when Naomi helped Zumbado wax that car?
What did you think of this episode of Naomi? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Naomi airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on The CW.
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Melody McCune
Melody loves TV. Maybe too much. Besides being a Senior Writer for Tell-Tale TV, she's the Managing Editor for Geek Girl Authority, an Independent Contractor for Sideshow Collectibles, and a Senior Writer for Eulalie Magazine. Additionally, she has bylines in Culturess, Widget, and inkMend on Medium. To top it all off, she's a critic for Rotten Tomatoes and CherryPicks.