PREMISE
Dave’s “Looking for Love” tour stops through Wisconsin, joined by a newly single Ally, who is on her own looking for a love tour of sorts.
EPISODE MVP
Taylor misiak
Usually, when two people break up, they go their separate ways and don’t see each other again. But yes, Ally is here again, and Misiak gives her usual earnest performance. Ally seems to be at the 5-yard line of having a mental breakdown, and well…she’s on tour with Dave watching everybody have fun and trying to start her own “Hot Girl Summer.”
Her storyline is definitely the strongest here and, in some ways, kind of brutal. Misiak is always a welcome addition to the cast, given that she’s clearly one of the better actors on the show as a whole.
EPISODE HIGHLIGHTS
CONFIDENT DAVE
Quite possibly for the first time ever in the history of this show… We see the confidence that Dave can have within himself (and with life in general) once he is with somebody he’s happy with. In this episode, he is effortlessly charming and seems like an actual good person to be a boyfriend with. Of course, he must find something to be wrong with every lady he comes in contact with, it seems.
The concept of a long-distance relationship should be something that Dave is thinking about all the time, given his profession… But he really isn’t. In this episode, more than any other episode, you get the full breadth of his unrealistic expectations. But it was nice to see him win a round when it came to his love life for the time being.
JUXTAPOSITIONS
There are very thoughtful juxtapositions going on in this episode, not only with Ally and Dave but with the objects of both of their desires, Robyn (played by Chloe Bennett) and Roy (Played by Matt Angel). Robyn is experiencing a whirlwind romance, and Roy (like Ally) is looking for a confidence booster after what seems to be a harsh breakup. Robyn and Roy are not just two characters that serve as plot devices. The episode explains very well that these are also people who will more than likely experience some level of hurt from these experiences as well.
QUOTE OF THE WEEK
“GaTa showed up late again with a whole bunch of different women. It’s like he’s trying to get catfished AND murdered all at the same time.”
-Mike-
Accurate. Of course, as an audience, we realize that this is the kind of lifestyle that GaTa has been craving for quite some time.
THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE
Thunderous D–bagginess
Speaking of Mike, what the hell is his deal? I get that life on tour can be kind of chaotic for a man in his position. But he was wildly rude to Robyn upon first meeting her. Passive progressive insults and genuine dismissiveness of her time and efforts look real messy on Mike’s end.
I can only assume that Mike is a character that consistently gets undermined by Dave when it comes to trying to make things organized, and maybe that will come to a head relatively soon in this season. At least, I can only hope it comes to a head. Mike, at this point, is becoming more and more unlikable for the little screen time he ends up having on an episode-to-episode basis. I hope they explain why soon.
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The reason why I’ve often said that Dave is one of the two or three best shows on television, regardless of genre, is because of episodes like this. This is an incredibly nuanced and thoughtful take on the state of current relationships from multiple different angles. Whenever Ally shows up, this show tends to get deep in this regard.
This is a show that covers so much in 30 minutes that significant guest stars/lesser supporting characters only get one episode per season to truly shine. If this was Ally’s turn, then it was made all the well for it.
DAVE airs on FX and is streaming on Hulu now.
