Julia Review: Breads (Season 1 Episode 6)
As the saying goes, “you got to crack a few eggs to make an omelet.”
Julia Season 1 Episode 6, “Breads,” is all about the sacrifices and messy steps it takes to find success, especially for Julia Child (Sarah Lancashire) and her team. The episode starts with a wrinkle in an episode tape and then more new disasters begin to emerge.
Despite the episodes growing list of problems, it keeps its fun spirit…until it throws viewers a curveball with the death of Julia’s father (James Cromwell). This development helps emphasize the unpredictability of life, and its inability to run smoothly.
It also showcases Julia’s dedication to the show and her team — her found family.
Sometimes actors are only praised when they make big and bold acting choices. Lancashire plays Child outstandingly, and it’s because of those small moments that she brings to the screen.
On “Breads,” Lancashire gives a speech while dedicating the sweetbreads episode of The French Chef to her father. The speech subtly summarizes her complicated relationship with him.
She mentions that because of and in spite of him, she is who she is today. She doesn’t have to break down and have this big emotional scene. She doesn’t have to give this big speech about his many flaws.
It’s all there in these few but simple words and her deliverance of them.
Like with Alice (Brittany Bradford) and Avis (Bebe Neuwirth) on Julia Season 1 Episode 5, “Crepes Suzette,” this episode finds another unlikely pairing: Paul (David Hyde Pierce) and Judith (Fiona Glascott) team up to make bread.
This journey provides for some fun moments between the characters. It also helps give Paul a lightheartedness that viewers haven’t seen as much in recent episodes.
The bread-making adventure bonds Paul and Judith and gives viewers some of the best scenes from “Breads,” because of their jovial nature.
Alice, who is always in a constant state of stress, finally gets a win in this episode. Julia demands that she gets producer credit. This moment confirms what I have hoped, that Alice’s story in Julia is also one about a rising star, but this time behind the scenes.
Other Thoughts
- The use of My Fair Lady music in the episode makes me giddy. it works perfectly and makes the Paul and Judith bread scenes even more fun to watch.
- Simca (Isabella Rossellini) is becoming the best recurring guest. Her levels of shade are unmatched.
- A highlight from the episode is Hunter (Robert Joy) telling Russ (Fran Kranz) that they need to make more programming for women because he finally sees the potential in that audience. He also finally sees them as important. This emphasizes the revolution that Julia has started in the television world.
- Hunter asking Julia about season 2 is hopefully a foreshadowing of the future of Julia.
- I want a season 2 renewal and I want it now.
What did you think of this episode of Julia? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Julia streams Thursdays on HBO Max.
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Jerrica Tisdale
Jerrica Tisdale is your favorite neighborhood pop culture junkie. She will annoy you with random TV and film facts, while complaining about whatever is the hottest new book. She has been a TV fan all her life but writing about it for over a decade. You may find her work all over the internet especially reality TV rants. She is a senior writer at Tell-Tale TV.