The Comeback Recap: Not the End of the World

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After five episodes of season three of The Comeback, Valerie Cherish is still a complex character. Previously, it seemed like she was making progress and being held back by others. However, the latest episodes reveal that Valerie still struggles with self-sabotage. While she’s not perfect – she did agree to star in a sitcom written by AI – the episode “Valerie Lights a Candle” really shows just how much she continues to get in her own way.

Val is right to be concerned – there are serious issues happening behind the scenes. After accidentally sending a voice note to the studio, Brandon Wollack appears on the set of How’s That?! to tell Valerie that Josh and Mary have been fired. His explanation – that the studio owns the actors’ names and their silence, so everything is fine – isn’t very comforting, and it’s even worse to learn that the showrunner position has been given to the clearly unqualified Marco. Brandon claims they don’t need a head writer because AI can simply copy the work of others, which feels like a step backward. He’s a disturbing figure, as you’d expect from a studio executive, and he expertly manipulates Val to keep her compliant. He appeals to her ego and desire for approval by praising the pilot’s test scores and thanking her for keeping the show from becoming a bigger problem for NuNet. (It’s almost like he’s studied past seasons of The Comeback.) However, Brandon offers Val no advice on how to tell the actors about the changes, especially since she’s not allowed to reveal that the show is being written by AI.

Val is trying to connect with her fellow cast members – she’s even given them all personalized inspirational candles – but she’s also dealing with a lot of drama. She has to break the news that Josh and Mary have been fired and then manage everyone’s reactions. She explains that the previous showrunners didn’t like the actors, and that a mysterious writer named Al (with an ‘L’) did most of the writing. Walter, who seems to be the most perceptive of the group, points out that it’s odd a writer’s assistant like Marco was suddenly promoted to showrunner, but Val just tells everyone not to worry. Later, Val updates Billy on the situation, giving him a not-so-subtle “Focus” candle. When he gets defensive, she quickly offers a “Relax” candle instead. Frankly, the creative partnership between Val and Billy is already strained, and I’m hoping it comes to an end soon. If Billy keeps making snide remarks about Val’s husband, like his recent jab about needing a “Charisma” candle, Val might finally lose her cool.

Val is currently dealing with more pressing issues. During rehearsal for the next episode of How’s That?!, the actors playing upset bed-and-breakfast guests are strangely whispering their lines – hearing a line like “Listen lady, I don’t know how much louder I can say this” delivered as ASMR was particularly amusing, and Val was clearly confused. The director, Bryan, keeps telling them to speak up, but they just respond with “thank you.” It turns out these actors, Phillip and Kewpie, were cast because they’re Marco’s roommates, which is why he’s reluctant to fire them. Val complains to Frank that Marco believes he can handle the situation, and the actors think they have it covered – a generational dynamic that reminds her of similar moments in the And Just Like That… finale with Ella Stiller. Meanwhile, Marco asked Al to rewrite every joke in the script, resulting in 39 pages of mostly unusable material. Val pointed out to the showrunner that no one could write that quickly, and she suspects something is off. Since they won’t have time to try all the new jokes anyway, most of them will likely be cut. Marco, who seems insecure, is also refusing to let the tech crew highlight the best jokes.

Val is worried about the guest stars, but Sharon explains she didn’t hire them and can’t do anything directly. However, Sharon can fire them if Val gets approval from executive producer Valerie Cherish, as long as Val can guarantee Sharon’s job is safe. This season of The Comeback feels particularly realistic in its portrayal of the struggles within the entertainment industry—it’s a genuinely bleak picture, especially for women like Sharon and Valerie who are facing ageism, though everyone is feeling the pressure. We see this play out when P.D.P. confronts Val, believing she asked Marco to cut his jokes out of jealousy, not because the alternate takes were poorly written by AI. He desperately wants this role to launch his career, as he’s approaching 40. Meanwhile, Sharon is bluntly firing Marco’s roommates, telling them they aren’t funny and that the show revolves around the star. It’s ironic that Val is being seen as difficult when she’s simply trying to save the show. She tries to explain to P.D.P. that they share the same concerns, but now she needs to find someone to lead the way.

I understand a lot of Val’s decisions, but bringing Paulie G. on as the new captain is a mistake. He shows up confused about why Val even called him, and tries to cover it up with bad jokes. The fact that Paulie is even willing to work with Val shows how desperate things are in the industry, but that doesn’t make it a good idea. Jane, who’s become Val’s most reliable advisor and the voice of reason on the show, bluntly tells her it’s the worst possible choice. Val tries to lighten the mood with a gift, but Jane is right: Paulie will be a disaster and will ruin everything.

Val, undeterred, invites Paulie to watch a new episode being filmed. He quickly realizes the show is being written by artificial intelligence and understands why a scene where Beth is scolded by two loud guests isn’t landing with the audience. Paulie suggests swapping the male actor for a woman, pointing out that audiences don’t like seeing a man being unkind to a woman they root for – a surprisingly self-aware observation. This highlights why Paulie G’s return is so unsettling, given his history of treating Valerie poorly. It also explains why viewers are having trouble with Billy and Mark, who seem increasingly unpleasant. Mark, with Fernando, casually mentions he and the doorman are going to Burning Man and excluding Val. Val warns him it’s a bad idea, and he retorts by gesturing to Paulie, implying Val is surrounded by questionable characters. While he has a point, his delivery is unnecessarily rude. Val believes she’s improving the show, and Paulie is proving helpful, offering on-set rewrites that the AI can’t manage, with some help from Evan, who switched from writing to coding, anticipating the industry’s shift. However, any hope that Paulie has reformed vanishes when he dismissively tells Val to “make yourself useful.”

Okay, putting Frank’s awful behavior aside for a minute, this episode definitely felt stronger with a real writer guiding things. But honestly, I keep wondering if Val is just needlessly putting herself through all this drama. It’s funny, Frank—who, despite himself, actually feels bad for Josh and Mary even though they despise actors—drops this really insightful line: “Why am I always defending people who don’t have my best interest?” It’s exactly what Val needs to hear! Instead, she gives him a “Self-Love” candle. Then, she promises Paulie she’ll go to bat for him with the studio. And, predictably, he apologizes again for how he acted on Room and Bored. But here’s a new angle: he’s now blaming his behavior on the reality show she was filming at the time! He says, “You weren’t responsible for reality TV any more than you’re responsible for AI,” and then adds, “I thought reality TV was coming for us, but AI, fucking scary.” It’s a weirdly astute observation, honestly.

After Paulie leaves, Jane realizes he was unusually open about his feelings. Val points out that people act most defensively when they’re afraid, comparing it to a cornered animal. While Paulie’s fear likely fueled his dislike of Val, it’s important to remember his clear dislike of women, which is already becoming apparent again. Paulie isn’t the only one acting out of fear, though. Marco confronts Val, worried he’ll be fired, and subtly threatens to reveal the secret about the AI if he is. Val explains she doesn’t have the authority to fire him and emphasizes they’re all working together for the show’s success. It’s doubtful that will ease his concerns – and a candle she gives him certainly won’t turn him into a leader.

Give Her Another Take:

What’s the latest on episode two of How’s That?! Did they actually film the Uncharted crossover while Beth was in jail, or did Marco convince Al to create something more reasonable?

Since we’re clarifying things, I’m still curious about Josh and Mary’s relationship. Billy referring to the writing team as “Mary and Mary” suggests I’m not the only one who suspects their marriage isn’t what it seems.

Okay, so this episode wasn’t packed with huge laughs, but there was one bit that really got me. Paulie G asks Valerie what his last name is, and her pause before simply replying ‘G’ was brilliant. Seriously, Lisa Kudrow nails that delivery every time – she’s just perfect.

I forgot to mention last week that the actor who plays Evan, Julian Stern, is actually Lisa Kudrow’s son. They share a strong family resemblance, but it’s often hidden by his beard and mustache.

Okay, so I have to say, Ella Stiller is hilarious! There’s this moment where Walter’s ordering a muffin, and her reaction is just perfect. He’s telling Patience he’ll take anything… but then launches into this super specific list of what he won’t eat – no banana, blueberry, or bran! It’s such a small thing, but it totally cracked me up. It felt so real and relatable, you know?

I’m not enjoying the running gag about Valerie misstating things. While it’s a consistent part of The Comeback, it’s starting to feel overly ridiculous. For example, her claim that she can’t inquire about someone’s health due to “HIPPO rules” feels like a cheap joke for such a well-made show.

Mark and Billy can be really difficult, so I’m really enjoying getting to know Jane. I was especially moved by how she responded when Val said Paulie G helped her win an Emmy. Jane gently corrected her, saying, “You won the Emmy.”

• Do I ship Val and Jane? Not really, but … watch this space.

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2026-04-20 06:58