Review: Party Down, "KSGY-96 Prizewinner's Luau" | Season 3, Episode 4
Roman finally takes center stage as the whole team—well, almost the whole team—goes on a trip
As I’ve noted in my reviews to this point in Party Down’s third season, Roman is the returning character who has been backgrounded. While the very essence of the show ties into Ron’s struggles, the first episode explicitly foregrounded Kyle’s career, and Henry’s relationship with Evie is our strongest serialized component, Roman’s still part of this team but not necessarily finding a place within the “story” of the show. It’s all just been quips and exposition, confirming he’s running a science fiction vlog to pay his bills and afford his certified pre-owned Hyundai Sonata, and he’s perfectly content with that.
“KSGY-96 Prizewinner’s Luau” is the point this changes. With Ken Marino taking a step back to direct, Roman takes center stage as the team peer pressures him into doing some of Evie’s shrooms. Drugs, you may recall, were responsible for the beginnings of his “opus” science fiction script back at the end of the second season, and so it’s only fitting that the shrooms …