The Thing About Pam Review: She’s Not Who You Think She Is (Season 1 Episode 5)

On The Thing About Pam Season 1 Episode 5, “She’s Not Who You Think She Is,” the story finally kicks it up a notch and stops allowing Pam to live in a state of victimhood.

In its first four episodes, the show tries to give Pam the benefit of the doubt, whether unintentional or not. 

So, it is refreshing to have “She’s Not Who You Think She Is” embrace what viewers have known since day one: Pam Hupp is not a good person. 

Liar, Liar

This episode marks a turn in how the show portrays her. Pam spends this episode running person to person, asking how they can help her and how she can get out of the eyes of the public. Every person, though, is at their wit’s end with Pam.

Minnie finally realizes that Pam killed her squirrel. Leah Askey is about to lose her job for Pam. Even Pam’s husband and son are seemingly done with her — trying to avoid talking around her and staying silent while she rants. 

Even though it has taken a while to get here, it is understandable. When you know someone for years, befriend them or marry them, your mind is clouded with the former judgment of who they are.

The Thing About Pam does a fantastic job showing the contrasts between people who know and trust her, such as Minnie, and people on the outside of it all, like Dateline reporter Cathy Singer. 

Evil, Thy Name Is Pamela

“She’s Not Who You Think She Is,” also gives us more insight into Betsy Faria’s daughters, who really should be the center of the story of Betsy Faria.

On a show that prefaces itself with “this is a true story, but we may have stretched the truth,” it’s difficult to know what is real and what is made up for television’s sake.

Unfortunately, the letter from “Russ” that Mariah received — something I had hoped wasn’t true — did happen. The girls look back on it here and note that it was probably Pam who wrote it.

Pam asserts her dominance both physically and mentally, which is unsettling to the town. The small-town life forces Pam to walk around on eggshells, no matter how aggressively she stomps her feet. 

However, small-town life is proving to be much more detrimental to Leah Askey.

You Made Your Bed…

Something The Thing About Pam gets right is the many different intricacies that needed to fall into place for Pam to be looked over so often.

The show (thankfully) doesn’t pull away from the drastic mistakes that the police make or the blatant disregard Leah Askey and the judge had for Russ and Betsy Faria.

As a result, Leah Askey practically begs Pam to stay away from her as her opponent running for DA has launched his campaign. Once again, Judy Greer can flip from being entirely confident and comfortable in her actions to questioning everything she does. 

With Dateline still looming around Troy, Askey and Pam are beginning to realize that they may not be able to escape from their previous mistakes.

Stray Thoughts

• “[I lied to] anybody that would bug me and bug me and bug me and bug me,” is the full direct quote from Pamela Hupp, and it feels integral that this is something to be pointed out as authentic. 
• Give Gideon Adlon more roles immediately.
• Pam being kicked out of a Zumba class is the funniest thing to happen on this show thus far.
• It’s 2022. Get rid of fat suits.

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

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