Nathan Fielder has always had a fascination not only with trying to make connections with others but also trying to make connections flourish within others.
On Nathan for You, one episode had him pick a random guy who was sort of coasting through life aimlessly and chose to live his life as a means of giving him an exciting new start. This consisted of him taking up tight rope walking lessons so he could stage a charity event walking between two buildings 80ft above street level. It also involved him posing as the guy on dates and netting him a girlfriend. A very interesting concept that also proved later to be awkward when the guy, named Corey, revealed he couldn't maintain the relationship with that girl considering the false pretenses.
Even when it came to himself, we would see Fielder awkwardly placing himself in romantic positions that never truly paid off. Referring to middle-aged realtor Sue as beautiful and then painting a sultry portrait of her as a gift; creating a fictional romance reality show a la The Bachelor called The Stud, with him as the titular prize; and him having an actress tell him "I love you" over and over again to make it believe it is truly for him.
After the previous episode became a mini-epic Sully biopic that stands among some of the finest work Fielder has ever done, we return to an episode that feels a lot more grounded with "Kissme", where Fielder zeroes in on a young 27-year-old pilot named Colin who finds dating to be very difficult. It seems to be stemmed from his own anxieties while also based somewhat in reality due to the chaotic nature of a pilot's schedule.
Going off nature documentaries, Fielder has Colin participate in a mock date with an actress but having flocked by what he calls "The Pack", about 15 or so actors who mimic all of Colin's mannerisms and comments. Since animals often hunt in packs, he calls out how it can give each individual animal confidence and therefore, maybe it would work for Colin. In typical Fielder fashion, he wants to try to meddle even more and asks if anyone among the group would have a genuine interest in trying to go on a date with Colin.
Three women raise their hand, including a middle-aged black woman who thinks Colin has a "sexy Einstein quality". This woman steals the episode in a lot of ways; she is so bold and forthcoming, especially when one of the younger women, Emma, decides to try to make a move on Colin, she steps in a flat-out tells him about his Einstein vibe which, I'll admit, I am not sure where she was coming from but it did make for an entertaining bit, nevertheless.
Colin and Emma do go on a couple of dates, but in the meantime, Fielder utilizes the other actors to stage mock dates in a replica of Colin's studio apartment after they observed both Colin and Emma. This way, it allows Fielder to suspect how an actual date between the two of them would go.
As is to be expected, the actors are far more forthcoming in the intimacy than the real Colin, who cannot build up the courage to give Emma a kiss; she even confesses to Nathan that she is open to it.
The episode is bookended with two key bits from the previous episode, beginning with the continuation of the "Wings of Voice" competition which Fielder had trapped himself into and ending with him getting closer to his ultimate goal: preparing to rehearse what would be a congressional hearing to propose the benefits of behavioral flight simulations among pilots.
While you could argue this episode had less of a throughline compared to the previous ones, it comes off a solid steppingstone episode where all of Fielder's paths and concoctions collide. For a moment, I had forgotten that the season was only going to last 6 episodes but at the end, when we see Fielder sitting before a fake congressional hearing, I felt strangely sad but sort of proud of him.
I am still not wholly convinced yet about how I will feel about the season as a whole. I think that what he achieved with the first season was so stellar that it would be difficult to measure up, but there are so many fascinating parts to this season that still make far more interesting than most things on TV.
Sometimes I wonder if I sound too negative about this season, but I think it's just because Nathan Fielder has set his own bar so high that it can be hard for certain things to measure up even if they are very compelling and intriguing in their own right.
With only two episodes left, I still do think Fielder has the potential to truly wow me and I am looking forward to having that happen.
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