Review: The Other Two, "Cary Becomes Somewhat of a Name" | Season 3, Episode 3
Cary and Brooke face down the toxic quicksand of the industry, but only one escapes
Although The Other Two is a show that is willing to push the boundaries of its format, it nonetheless does rely on a fairly typical story structure. In any given episode, as in “Cary Becomes Somewhat of a Name,” our characters will dive deep into an increasingly absurd industry situation, only to emerge out the other end with a surprisingly poignant point about these lives, their relationship to each other, and said industry. In fact, at this point it’s hardly a surprise when a story like Brooke being literally invisible after leaving the industry lands on her meaningfully understanding why she wanted to leave in the first place, and a shockingly earnest admission from Shulie that her relationship with Brooke meant something to her.
And yet, there’s something about The Other Two’s commitment to its bits that even if we’re no longer surprised when a gutpunch comes at the end of a story, it still feels like a surprise, and lands differently as a result. If we take Cary’s story as an example, it’s a story that’s set up as a very typical Other Two satire: after getting pulled down a rabbit hole of increasingly elaborate self-tapes only to lose the role to Dylan O’Brien, Cary ends up on a Zoom call where O’Brien keeps the call on during a shower. It’s a fun story about how Cary’s new position as a “working actor” puts him into a liminal space where he’s got enough credibility to be on a Wes Anderson Zoom call with Dylan O’Brien, but not enough to win the role, and with too little chill not to bring Curtis on to play voyeur with him (which, fair).