The Thing About Pam Review: She’s a Helper (Season 1 Episode 2)

On The Thing About Pam Season 1 Episode 2, “She’s a Helper,” Pam starts getting messy, and an unrecognizable Josh Duhamel is introduced. 

This latest installment is an objectively good episode of television. However, considering what the show is trying to be, it doesn’t quite land. 

The script is fine, the acting is good, and the directing is there. The story itself, however, doesn’t go anywhere. 

Lincoln County Clown Department

Given that this occurred in 2010-2013, it’s not a shock that the policing on The Thing About Pam is terrible. However, because this show has been branded a comedy, and since it’s now 2022, the subject matter is more worrisome than funny. 

As the case happened in the age of the internet, a lot of Faria’s story has been regurgitated in news articles, think pieces, blogs, and even Wikipedia pages. 

It also occurred in a small town — the population of 10,000 in 2011 growing less than 1,000 by 2013 — ensuring that everyone knows everything almost as soon as it happens. 

So how was the police department getting away with questioning a suspect for 24 hours, disrespecting and ignoring his daughters? How was all of this life insurance business happening without anyone knowing?

It seems nearly everyone in this story kept their cards close to their chest, but it’s upsetting to watch nonetheless. 

More to the Story

Heading into questioning in the middle of the season, and with a young Pam Hupp cast, it’s become more of a possibility that The Thing About Pam will dive into the other two murders surrounding her. 

Sorry, spoiler alert?

With Pam Hupp’s story, it’d be curious not to include the other two situations. Still, considering the cases were updated as recently as July 2021, there’s also a good chance that they won’t mention them. 

Not that I think this show should be trusted with anyone else’s story, given what it has already done to Betsey Faria and her family, but still. 

The Thing About… Everyone Else

It’s only the second episode, and the person I am least interested in is Pam. Perhaps this is the point; to show how deeply Pam was inserted into the background, how often she went unnoticed. 

Josh Duhamel, who plays Joel Schwartz, finally brings the show to an interesting point. As Russell Faria’s lawyer, he starts digging (as much as he can) into Pam and putting pieces together that nobody has bothered to until now. 

Often, Duhamel fights against Judy Greer’s Leah Askey, the prosecutor in the middle of everything. 

The two are electric when facing off, using quick-witted and personal jabs against each other as though they’re bickering over dinner and not a dead woman. 

Despite having an Oscar winner as the lead, if it weren’t for Judy Greer and her delivery of Askey, the show wouldn’t be worth watching for anyone, much less an NBC audience. 

Stray Thoughts:

• Despite the infuriating and frankly insulting use of fat suits, Renée Zellweger still manages to not look like Pamela Hupp. 
• Judy Greer’s line delivery of “Thank you, Tina, who is not a detective,” made this episode worth finishing. 
• Why is Pam always slurping her drink? Just fill it up. 
• I couldn’t find any information on whether or not this is true, but if Pam Hupp really wore white to her daughter’s wedding, everything occurring now can easily be seen as karma. 

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What did you think of this episode of The Thing About Pam? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Thing About Pam airs Tuesdays at 10/9c on NBC.

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