The fourth episode of Somebody Somewhere begins with Joel (Jeff Hiller) speaking at the First Presbyterian Church’s animal relief event. He blesses one animal before Brice walks up with his deceased animal who passed away last night. He says a prayer for Ding-a-ling and Brice while Pastor Deb (Ora Jones) watches. He deals with Tony Curtis the hamster next. Sam (Bridget Everett) joins her father, Ed Miller (Mike Hagerty), who is eating at the dinner table and working too. She explains that she was talking to Tricia (Mary Catherine Garrison) and they figured out that they don’t have enough money to hire the guys this year. Ed reminds her she and her sister don’t run things. Tricia suggested using a custom combine company. Ed argues that Tricia isn’t a farmer before saying the Kinley clowns call him every year. He can’t pay for that with the cost of her mother’s place.

Ed believes he can figure something out. When Joe finishes blessing animals, Deb asks him to stop by her office later today. At work, he tells Michael (Jon Hudson Odom) he is worried Deb might know about choir practice. Since she is new, Michael suggests saying the old pastor okayed it. Joel isn’t sure about that so he changes the subject to his terrible sunburn. Michael is glad they’re going to have an actual date night without Sam who shows up seconds later. She checks to make sure she didn’t interrupt anything, but Joel says they were just talking about going to Bull and Beer which she calls gross. She quickly invites herself leading to Michael saying it is a date then. When Michael leaves, Sam asks what is up with him. Joel says nothing and asks the same about herself. She tells him about her father needing help with the corn harvest.

Joel wonders if Fred (Murray Hill) could help since he works up at the agricultural college. While Tricia works, Charity (Heidi Johanningmeier) tells her she needs to go to Wax World and see Mindy. Tricia sees Mindy at church so she doesn’t want her seeing her privates. Charity tells her to stop and that she doesn’t do it for Coop. When Tricia finishes, she learns it took five and a half minutes to complete the little project she is working on. As a result, she’ll have to continue working on them at home tonight. Tricia is on her own because Charity has so many errands to run. Sam goes to the college to speak to Fred who might be able to help her father. Sam walks with him to the next class while asking if there is a program where he could send the kids to the farm and they work for free. Fred says field studies would be possible, but Professor Jankowski might be a problem. After Sam asks what his deal is, Fred is surprised she just assumed it was a man.

He admits Sam is right since women are underrepresented in the agricultural sciences. Fred jokes about that before saying Professor Jankowski is a prick, but he might have a workaround for it. It could be an extra credit program for his grad students. While they work the harvest, Fred will teach them about the real-world conditions facing independent farmers. He thinks they can make it happen. Sam goes to the fast-food place where Randy (Joe Dempsey) asks about Shannon applying to colleges. She learns that Rick (Danny McCarthy) was ahead of her so she quickly pulls out to follow him. Soon, Rick stops and gets out to confront Sam since he knows she has been following him. Sam says that is right and she knows everything. Rick pleads with her not to tell Tricia. Sam asks if she is supposed to not tell her sister about Rick being a drug dealer. Rick doesn’t deny it while calling it stupid. He says money is really tight right now and he has to pay for Shannon to go to college.

He swears on Shannon’s life that he will never sell drugs again. Sam warns him not to slip because she is going to be watching him. At the Bull and Beer, Sam throws an ax while telling Joel that Rick looked like he was going to crap his pants. She argues that she just saved her sister’s marriage although she’ll never know. Michael interrupts to ask Joel to come sit with him at the table because he is getting lonely. Joel tells him to take his turn while he goes to the bathroom. While Joel is away, Sam tries to figure out what is going on since she believes there is some tension between her and Michael. She admits she is socially out of practice and wants to make sure she hasn’t done anything to step on his toes.

Michael throws his ax and hits the center without saying anything. Joel returns to say he is going to hold it because there are no paper towels. Sam says she is beat so she is going to take off, but Michael asks her to stay for another drink. She doublechecks with him and he says yes. They agree to get screwed up. They head to the table, get some food, and share some drinks. A man Michael knows named Craig shows up and is invited to join them. He is introduced to Joel and Craig before they learn he just went through a breakup. They joke about him getting back in the saddle. Later, Rick finds Tricia sewing before telling her he is heading to bed. He seems hesitant to ask her something and instead asks for the Tums. Michael and Joel throw axes while Sam hangs out with Craig at the table. When Sam asks how he knows Michael, Craig reveals he saved his life.

He was choking on a lozenge so Michael just popped it right out of his mouth. While they do Tae Kwon Do, Sam admits she has never knowingly done any martial arts. He says it is good for flexibility. Sam says she isn’t flexible, but she is a really good spot. Craig compliments her by saying Michael didn’t tell him she was this funny although she blames it on being drunk. Sam agrees she wants another beer before Craig tells her she has great tits. Then, she asks if he likes soft skin. When she wakes up on the couch in the morning, Craig is there to tell her good morning. He asks where the coffee filters are and dances back to the kitchen without pants on. After she deals with him, she decides to visit her father. She offers to help, but Ed is eager to do it himself. Sam reveals she is going to be working at Tricia’s store for that Crazy Dayz thing. She offers to swing by and pick him up so they can go together although Ed says he isn’t going.

Sam reminds him it is important to Tricia, but he doesn’t seem to care. When Ed learns they’re going to serve meatballs and cheese, he contemplates changing his mind and going. Michael helps Joel create a homemade remedy of sorts for his neck. Although it wasn’t scientifically tested, it was something his mom always did for his neck thing and they went through a lot of milk in middle school. He reveals that the other kids used to call him homo Skeletor. Michael urges him to talk to Pastor Deb because he thinks everything will be okay. He offers to go with him, but Joel says he doesn’t want to talk about it. Sam helps her father around the farm as Tim arrives to return Ed’s post driver. Ed tells him that MJ isn’t there because she went to do some camping with girls from her reading group. There is no cell reception there so they can’t call her. Once Tim leaves, Sam tries to find out why her father was telling that story. Ed admits it got away from him.

She questions whether he is embarrassed about their mother being at rehab. Ed says it isn’t anyone’s business what happens here since he and MJ are private people. He asks what he’d say to someone if they ask where she is. Sam suggests telling a much better lie. He doesn’t want her to be embarrassed when and if she comes home. Sam asks where she would go. Ed says MJ has always been a catch and he has heard stories about people falling madly in love with each other at rehabs. He is also worried she’ll come home, stop drinking, and find someone better although Sam doesn’t think that’ll happen. When he says he let himself go a bit, Sam insists there is nobody better than him. She gives him encouragement. Meanwhile, we see that Tricia has fallen asleep while working. When she gets up, she realizes she is late and hasn’t finished. She asks Rick before looking over and seeing that he must’ve finished them for her.

Later, Sam goes to their store Tender Moments and laughs at the window decoration. Sam goes inside and says hello to Shannon (Kailey Albus). Then, she asks Tricia about the gay rainbow display, but Charity quickly says it isn’t a gay rainbow. They scramble to fix the problem by telling Shannon to grab anything they have resembling the Wizard of Oz. While they rush around and Sam jokes about them, Joel approaches Pastor Deb and admits he didn’t come to the food pantry. Deb reveals she wanted to talk to him about being a lay minister for the church. When she watched how he talked to Brice yesterday, she found out that he has a real gift. She goes on to say he was the first person to welcome her here and she has come to rely on him and trust him. She says there is no pressure, but he should think about it. He admits it might be a calling. However, he can’t do it because he lied to her.

He gives her the keys back and says he has been lying to her for a while. Sam is surprised when Ed arrives at Tricia’s shop. Ed has made up a new story about Mary Joe. He is going to tell people she is visiting her sister. Joel walks through the dark mall and finds a puppy in a store window. Soon, he finds himself sitting in a massage chair while petting the dog sitting on his lap. Ed hangs out with Rick and the others while Sam hands out little pillows to the guests as they enter. Charity and Tricia rush over to greet Reshma with the Chamber of Commerce once she arrives. Reshma admits the stain on her shirt is bad and blames it on Poppy’s being so crowded. Sam comes over and says white wine can help remove red wine as crazy as that sounds. Once it works, Sam reveals it was a trick she learned from her bartending days. She walks away before Reshma tells Tricia and Charity that she loves their Oz rainbow.

After the party ends, Tricia and Charity celebrate their successful party. Sam tells them she is going to take a candle and learns Ed took cheese. Although it is difficult for Tricia, she thanks Sam for helping them. Rick is asked to do something with the leftover food. When Sam walks outside, she sees Charity and Rick holding hands outside near the trashcans. Charity kisses his hand. Sam doesn’t like what she sees and says no over and over.

 

Somebody Somewhere Review

Somebody Somewhere is an interesting drama with a unique setting and it is easy to watch. While the comedy doesn’t always hit home, each episode has drama and emotion. Since it is slow-paced and has its own unique charm, it likely isn’t going to be for everyone. Viewers may not fall in love with the series after the first episode, but it can draw you in after a few.

The 4th episode had plenty of drama. First, Michael is starting to get jealous of Joel spending so much time with Sam while Joel decided to tell Pastor Deb the truth about choir practice. Mary Jo has gone to rehab and that has been difficult for Ed. At the end of the episode, Sam might’ve uncovered a romantic relationship between Charity and Rick that could devastate Tricia.

The episode was good as it showed how everyone is coping with everything they’re going through while trying to keep it hidden from others. I genuinely enjoy watching Somebody Somewhere despite not being a fan of most of the comedy scenes. The episode scores a 7 out of 10. Recaps of Somebody Somewhere can be found on Reel Mockery here. Learn how to support the Reel Mockery project by following this link.