Nathan Fielder’s Cringefest ‘The Rehearsal’ Is More Bonkers Than Ever, but Season 2 Loses Some Edge: TV Review

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In the debut season of Nathan Fielder’s “The Rehearsal” on HBO, the comedian tested the idea that carefully reenacting real-life scenarios helps prepare one for the real deal. The first episode showcased this concept by staging a trivia night in Brooklyn, which unfortunately turned out to be Fielder’s final victory. As the series progressed, Fielder’s approach began to unravel, initially affecting his participants and later himself. A poignant moment came when Fielder encountered a child actor who mistook him for his real father, causing emotional distress. This incident made Fielder realize that sometimes, life benefits from the element of surprise.

The clean spiral of this unfolding plotline, combined with Fielder’s profound commentary on the futility of control, makes the possibility of a Season 2 just as unnerving as watching Fielder’s work itself. Given that Fielder has continued to invest in the rehearsal project despite its known flaws, what boundaries might his on-screen character breach? How deep into psychological turmoil could he plunge? And how will the real Fielder, working clandestinely with a team of writers including Carrie Kemper, Eric Notarnicola, and Adam Locke-Norton, further develop a storyline that already seems so conclusively resolved?

Approximately three years after its initial release, Season 2 of “The Rehearsal” debuts on April 20. In the first episode, Fielder does not provide a grand reintroduction or recap of last season’s events. There is no explanation for why the rehearsal process continues to be relevant, nor any explicit argument in its defense. Instead, Fielder immediately delves into his latest model’s application, a project that marks a departure from the show’s traditional format as it remains focused on this single six-episode season goal: enhancing communication between airline pilots to prevent plane crashes.

Fielder never shares his reasons for developing such a keen interest in aviation. Given the frequent air crashes reported recently, one might assume this sudden passion is some form of prescience. However, as the creator, director, producer and co-writer of “The Rehearsal” and previously “Nathan for You”, Fielder clearly steers his own course. Thus, his analysis of pilot interactions – suggesting that accidents often occur because pilots feel uncomfortable voicing their concerns when something seems wrong – may simply reflect the self-expression struggles faced by an introverted outsider like himself.

Season 2 of “The Rehearsal” delves deeply into the topic of diagnosis, building upon long-standing themes such as social performance, isolation, and the blurred line between reality and illusion that characterize the Fielderverse. From a thematic standpoint, while it provides some fresh material, it doesn’t quite surpass the unsettling climax of Season 1 – a notable achievement in television storytelling this decade, according to many critics. In terms of execution, however, Season 2 pushes Fielder’s approach to unprecedented levels, taking viewers from our country’s highest offices to frightening simulations and across the world. Despite a less organic blend between cinematic feats and psychological exploration, Fielder and his team continue to strive for excellence.

In Season 2, The Fielder skillfully blends rehearsals into his regular activities, making it often difficult to discern reality from fiction: for example, when The Fielder contacts United Airlines’ public relations department to inquire about showcasing employees, the employee appears unusually suspicious until we recognize she is an actress hired by The Fielder to simulate real-world scenarios. Once this foundation is set, The Fielder begins to experiment with his distinctive methodology. Questions like: Can animals rehearse? Could multiple versions of the same experiment be run concurrently, similar to a scientist controlling variables? Does having a group of identical individuals speaking in unison help reduce anxiety in subjects? In Season 2, as viewers may grow accustomed to The Fielder recreating entire airport terminals, complete with food options, he sets out to explore these questions.

Nathan Fielder’s approach to Season 2 of his show incorporates feedback from Season 1 and his career since its premiere. The character Nathan Fielder, portrayed by the same man, Nathan Fielder, has always had a self-reflexive quality, using real people in his stories under deceitful pretenses. In Season 2, this method is used more extensively with varied success.

For instance, when Fielder, playing a safety advocate, complains about comedians struggling to gain credibility (“It can be difficult to overcome the deficit of credibility you’ve created for yourself”), he does so on an HBO show that routinely inspires intellectual discussions in prestigious publications like the New York Review of Books. In reality, few comedians have ever faced such a challenge as Fielder, which makes his later claim that “a part of you starts to believe that [humor]’s all you have to offer” somewhat ironic.

Fielder’s intrigue with actors as illusionists who can convincingly portray emotions he himself cannot express is momentarily disrupted by clips from his work in Showtime’s “The Curse”. These clips, along with his unwavering poker face, serve as a reminder that Fielder is not only an excellent actor but also capable of expressing genuine emotions.

Instead of Fielder, the author uses terms that viewers share when evaluating him, such as distance, presumption, and limited information, to describe how Fielder views pilots himself. While fans identify with Fielder’s awkward stiffness (“Talking to other people is never easy, no matter how close you get to them,” his voiceover explains with a sense of shared experience), Fielder begins to question if they might be seeing something he isn’t, and starts using his extensive resources to find out if they could be right.

In this thread, I found myself at the heart of Season 2’s narrative, even though it wasn’t fully apparent until Fielder’s closing voiceover. If Season 1 mirrored the sensation of spiraling into self-absorption, then Season 2 seemed to encapsulate expressing an idea only to perceive others looking at me differently. Fielder skillfully uncovered unique characters more than willing to display their eccentricities on camera, but “The Rehearsal” essentially revolves around his own voyage. For instance, he asked some pilots to judge a singing competition to reflect his early career on “Canadian Idol.” This might be why the Season 2 plotline, while undeniably breathtaking, can occasionally feel like a side story — much like a spinoff with an incredibly specific transportation theme. “The Rehearsal” has propelled the Nathan Fielder character to a significant turning point. As my new coworkers understand, cruising at a high altitude is not nearly as thrilling as taking off or landing.

Here’s my take as a movie reviewer: “Mark your calendars, folks! The second season of ‘The Rehearsal’ is set to debut at 10:30 PM Eastern Time this Sunday, April 20th. Catch it on HBO, and don’t forget to tune in every subsequent Sunday for more episodes!

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2025-04-15 17:23