Originally published March 31, 2017. Updated April 16, 2018.
Rachel Bellwoar reviews the sixth episode of Powerless…
It’s been a few weeks since we’ve had a new episode of Powerless but while the break appears related to scheduling, and not a planned hiatus, “I’ma Friend You” marks an adjustment in character communication that’s got the show back to the promise of where it started. Nobody is suddenly acting differently but there’s a restraint to their established, abrasive personalities that’s similar to Jackie telling Emily to turn her voice down to a lower pitch. Her brutal honesty makes Emily unprepared to know when she’s lying but Emily’s willingness to listen to feedback, and Jackie’s corresponding self-awareness, means a healthy relationship could be nigh.
Emily’s pursuit of Jackie’s friendship has been ongoing, this time with Emily signing them both up for self-defense classes. Crimson Fox has announced she is moving to Metropolis and, without her, Jack O’Lantern’s fire bombs are racing unhindered through Charm City. Petty crime’s going up and no hero has offered to take Crimson Fox’s place. Female citizens need to be able to defend themselves from pervy hot dog vendors without needing a man to walk them to their car. Teddy himself has admitted (if with the hope that somebody would argue against him) that he doesn’t cut the most intimidating of figures.
Teddy’s struggle to do the right thing during all of this is a better use of Danny Pudi’s range than last time’s spotlight episode. He listens to the sexist comments his friends have to go through and can’t ignore them, but that doesn’t mean he sometimes wouldn’t want to. It’s not about condoning pervy hot dog vendor, Tony’s, behavior at all but what it means to not condone him: giving up eating his hot dogs. Uncomfortable morality could be the show’s sweet spot and I hope they explore it more. Danny loves these hot dogs and, when unable to bring himself to act too strongly, he stuffs the food into his mouth so matters can’t escalate, or stop him from eating.
There’s simply more group camaraderie in “I’ma Friend You,” with Van’s obnoxiousness providing cause to unite against his witch hunt for an employee who used his personal bathroom. This conflict shows the team to be more committed to each other than I would have thought but not so much Van. His bathroom humor puns are a required taste, or not funny, and sometimes you’re left with the harshness of his comments, instead of the humor intended. For example, Emily’s t-shirt gag is pretty likable, where she buys matching t-shirts to wear with Jackie that say “Bitch I’ma End You” but apart “Bitch I’ma,” or “I’m a bitch.” When her coworkers point this out you have the humor. When Van says it, and starts calling Emily “bitch,” no more humor registering.
On the page, Powerless isn’t doing all that much different, or going in a fresh direction, but the characters are getting fleshed out, and other than Van’s ukulele remaining un-smashed, that’s a good thing.
Rachel Bellwoar
