Physical Season 3 Episode 8 Review: Like a Mouse
This piece was written during the 2023 WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. Without the labor of the writers and actors currently on strike, the series being covered here wouldn’t exist.
As individual installments of television go, Physical Season 3 Episode 8, “Like a Mouse,” is fairly entertaining. As a piece of whatever this larger final season of the show is doing, though, it may leave you feeling like you’ve missed a step.
Yes, a bunch of things happen. Several of them make for great dramatic moments. But it’s not entirely clear the show has earned most of this episode’s big developments, and some of them make no sense at all in the context of what we’ve seen before.
Greta and Sheila’s friendship — and business partnership — seems to be back on track, and they seem more united than ever in terms of their overall professional goals. Sheila wants her studio to be more than just exercise classes, and the pair floats ideas like adding yoga sessions or meditation workshops, the sort of whole wellness approach that’s popular today.
How they got to this point is a mystery, given that Physical essentially fast forwards through the pair’s reconciliation. The past few episodes certainly made it seem as though the break between the two was serious and potentially permanent. But beyond one (1) vaguely hysterical seeming apology from Sheila, the pair don’t even talk about what happened between them.
What was the point of it all then? Technically, Sheila and Greta seem to be on something of a more equal footing — or at least the show is behaving as though they are. But have either of them changed or grown? If so…how? Shouldn’t Physical at least pretend to address something that seemed to be such a major plot point?
But, it doesn’t. Instead, we’re treated to a sort of montage of misogyny, as the pair visit various banks in the hopes of securing a business loan to expand the studio and lament the fact that none of the men in charge of those institutions are willing to take them or their ideas seriously.
And, to be fair, it’s infuriating, the way they’re treated. But while it’s satisfying to see what a united front Sheila and Greta present to these awful men, it’s frustrating that we weren’t given the chance to see how they got back to that. (And that we are, apparently, supposed to just assume everything’s fine between them.)
In other things that don’t make sense, Sheila suddenly decides that what they really need is a woman to understand the value of what they’re proposing. But this is the 1980s and there aren’t that many banks with female loan officers working in them yet.
So she decides — insanely, honestly — that what she needs to do is go see Maria Breem. Sheila is sure that if she can just convince the wife of the man she had an affair with of the value of community-focused women’s health and fitness spaces, Maria will talk to her husband and convince him to help fund their venture.
I have a lot of questions. One, why Sheila thought Maria would want to talk to her, literally ever. Two, why she just didn’t go directly to John Breem herself, given that they’ve shared several private scenes already this season — she drunk-dialed him like two episodes ago for goodness’ sake! — and he’s already backed her financially before.
What was the point of involving Maria at all, beyond serving as a (clearly fake) catalyst to encourage Breem to leave?
Paul Sparks and Erin Pineda in “Physical” Season 3 Episode 8 (Photo: Apple TV+)
Some viewers (read: me) have been worried for weeks that Physical’s decision to keep John Breem around this season — despite the fact that he’s had no real narrative purpose to speak of — was because he was going to be some sort of endgame romantic option for Sheila and unfortunately it looks like that’s what’s happening.
Not that that makes any more sense than anything else this week. Sheila’s sudden heartbreak — she literally cries!! — over the idea that she’ll never see Breem again if he moves to the compound he apparently owns in Mexico feels as though it comes out of nowhere, given that most of the season has theoretically been about her trying to move on.
In many ways, it feels almost like the show wants us to be rooting for this moment, but it’s super unclear why. Breem and Sheila have barely even shared any scenes this season. Were we supposed to assume they were pining for one another the whole time? And if so….why? Make it make sense!
Stray Thoughts and Observations:
- Other things we’ve skipped a beat on: The collapse of Sheila and Carlos’s relationship, even just in the context of this episode is kind of wild. It feels as though Physical needed to reestablish Sheila’s apparent attraction to ambition to facilitate her kiss with Breem, but, whew.
- Why on earth do we care about whether or not Danny is sleeping with Sheila’s assistant?
- On the whole, I actually feel like I’m completely missing something with Danny’s arc. From his near-accident with Maya and the emotional reaction that followed to his decision to get back together with his ex’s assistant, I just have no idea what’s going on with this character right now.
- This episode is the first time I’ve actually thought Maria Breem was interesting, so that’s something, I guess.
What did you think of this episode of Physical? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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New episodes of Physical stream Wednesdays on Apple TV+.
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Lacy Baugher
Lacy is a pop culture enthusiast and television critic who loves period dramas, epic fantasy, space adventures, and the female characters everyone says you're supposed to hate. Ninth Doctor enthusiast, Aziraphale girlie, and cat lady, she's a member of the Television Critics Association and Rotten Tomatoes-approved. Find her at LacyMB on all platforms.