The Rehearsal Recap: A Legend, Right?

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A recurring gag in the show The Rehearsal is Nathan Fielder’s tendency to use HBO’s substantial production funds on intricate details of insignificant matters, aiming for heightened realism within each situation. For instance, instead of rehearsing a captain and co-pilot interaction in an empty stage with folding chairs, they might opt for a soundstage that meticulously resembles the Houston airport, complete with its own Panda Express. As the show’s humor has grown increasingly offbeat through social experiments this season, so too has Fielder in his pursuit of increasing levels of absurd realism.

Without you first wondering, “Why on earth does the behavior of a cloned puppy relate to enhancing communication between pilots?”, Fielder is preoccupied with figuring out how to replicate Los Angeles’s exteriors as they were in 2011, which is quite distinct from the high-altitude settings of the dog’s Colorado suburban home. The atmosphere could differ slightly. According to Fielder, this discrepancy was easily addressed by regularly collecting San Jose air using a compressor and transporting it 350 miles to L.A., then trucked over. During his daily walks, the dog would breathe in this air along with conversations typical of tech moguls strolling through San Jose in the morning, such as “I’m so sorry about Steve Jobs.” “He was a legend, wasn’t he?” The dog may not understand or care about an old Subway ad featuring Jared Fogle, but it’s surprising what details can prove significant.

Let’s take a step back for a moment. The series “The Rehearsal” initially delved deeply into the struggles of co-pilots who felt the need to assert themselves more in situations where the captain’s judgment might be compromised during the first few episodes. As Fielder frequently points out, co-pilots are often hesitant to voice their concerns when the captain has established an environment with potential negative repercussions for doing so. “Pilot’s Code” explores Fielder’s unconventional strategies to tackle the captain’s part of the issue, beginning with an experiment to mirror the behavior of a cloned dog named Zeus with its genetic counterpart, Achilles. This experiment aims to test the nature versus nurture debate: since Zeus shares the same genes as Achilles, any differences between them can only be attributed to environmental influences. In essence, if Fielder and his team can recreate the conditions under which Achilles was raised, then the dog should exhibit the affectionate behavior its owners desire.

they live in a spacious house in Colorado instead of a small apartment in San Jose, and Bogdan is no longer home as much due to work while Monique spends more time at home with the dogs. To help the clones develop more like Achilles, Fielder’s acting clones employ “the Fielder Method” on Bogdan and Monique, using three actors per person on different shifts at a Los Angeles studio. As Zeus, one of the clones, grows up, he receives care that resembles how Achilles was raised in an attempt to create a dog that might react more empathetically during Monique’s occasional diabetic episodes. Despite the passage of time and no apparent changes, Fielder and his actors introduce domestic tension into the scenario by staging arguments between fake Bogdan and fake Monique, with fake Bogdan shouting at fake Monique about microprocessors and leaving her to watch “The Hangover Part II” with friends.

A small advancement, such as Zeus imitating house cats similar to how Achilles did before, isn’t sufficient for Fielder, who then makes an even more significant change in his approach to behavior modeling. Perhaps instead of being like Jeff, the captain who was kicked off every dating app, flight pilots could emulate Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger, the renowned aviator known for saving the lives of everyone on US Airways Flight 1549 in early 2009 after a bird strike disabled the engines following takeoff and he made an emergency landing on the Hudson River. The flight transcript shows that Sully consulted his co-pilot before making such a drastic decision, which is precisely what Fielder aimed to accomplish. He’s so committed to this task that he’s prepared to transform himself into a giant baby version of Sully, consuming vast amounts of milk from a puppet representation of Sully’s mother’s nipples.

In my summary of the debut episode, I mentioned that Charlie Kaufman’s film “Synecdoche, New York” could potentially have impacted Fielder’s series, particularly his inclination to continually expand an ever-growing project. However, the puppetry in “Pilot’s Code” is reminiscent of another Kaufman production, “Being John Malkovich,” which centers around a puppeteer as its protagonist and features a towering 60-foot Emily Dickinson at one point. Fielder humorously comments on the unusual nature of what’s to come as he shaves his entire body with an electric razor, stating, “This might seem strange, which is why I’m doing it first before inviting any pilots to participate.” If he can transform into Sully, in a way similar to how Zeus transformed into Achilles, then perhaps this method could work for other pilots as well. Perhaps if Jeff has to wear a diaper and drink mother’s milk, he will not only improve as a pilot but also become a better romantic partner.

In the TV show “Pilot’s Code,” the parts featuring Fielder portraying moments from Sully’s memoir stand out as particularly creative. One such scene is a childhood incident where young Sully feeds stones to his grotesque little sister, while another is a somewhat embarrassing romantic memory involving teenage Sully taking a girl on a flight and experiencing some physical sensations. Fielder hypothesizes that this scene depicts young Sully being aroused, which required him to control his hormones in order to navigate the plane skillfully. If this means Fielder needs to swap the actress playing Sully’s companion with a robot, clear the set of crew members, and perform in front of cameras, these actions are deemed acceptable for the sake of scientific and artistic exploration.

It appears Fielder acknowledges that some behaviors are more enigmatic and evasive than his study can grasp. Could it be that the 23-second chorus of the 2003 Evanescence song “Bring Me to Life” played a role in preparing Sully mentally for landing that aircraft? That’s an interesting perspective to ponder.

Scene Work

• “No matter how many times she pretended to die, Zeus didn’t care at all.”

The action where a tiny canine imitates a feline’s habit of walking along the back of a sofa is certainly not exclusive to Achilles. In fact, my previous pug was quite fond of doing exactly that frequently.

Fielder’s surprised look when Jeff, the pilot, mentioned the women on dating apps who tricked him multiple times is something many people can easily understand.

As a cinema enthusiast, stepping into the shoes of an infant was initially challenging. With my extensive knowledge compared to theirs, it’s easy to get bogged down by all that information. Yet, I made a conscious effort to leave my adult self behind and focus on the now. And so, here I am, immersed in the simple beauty of the moment – even if it meant breastfeeding, a task quite alien to me as a 41-year-old man.

• The assortment of period-specific references within the episode is delightful, such as Monique and Bogdan starting off with clips of the royal wedding and Obama’s announcement about Osama bin Laden, or the representation of 2002 through a 24-style beeping clock and an iPod ad.

Towards the end of the episode, they delve into strategies for dealing with tough situations, which is where Evanescence becomes relevant. However, it subtly conveys that even a strict pilot like Sully isn’t invincible and it’s alright to acknowledge when you can’t handle everything. It seems pilots might also benefit from some counseling.

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2025-05-05 07:57