Season 3, Episode 8: ‘Valerie Cherish’
“The Comeback” did not change radically in approach from season to season. Seasons 1 and 2 were about the state of the television industry in their respective eras, and also about a woman trying to stay relevant in an often cruel business. Season 3 followed a similar path, tackling how the dual threats of A.I. and audience fragmentation have been hollowing out Hollywood.
All three seasons, though, have differed in how they have framed Valerie’s choices. Over its final few episodes, “The Comeback” has been pushing hard to make Valerie into a symbol of perseverance and professionalism — an inspiration to all. The show’s cogent social commentary has faded considerably, to the point that in the finale’s final scene, Valerie herself proposes that the ultimate meaning of her life and career may not be what we think. She looks straight into Jane’s rattly old camera and says, “You’ve been telling the wrong story.”
It’s hard to fault the show’s creators, Michael Patrick King and Lisa Kudrow, for sins of omission (or, as Valerie would put it, “sins of commission”), especially when they suggest that anything we might think is missing from Season 3 — like a more vicious skewering of modern showbiz — was never meant to be there in the first place. But because this is the finale, their choices about what has been left in and kept out demand scrutiny. So let’s scrutinize, starting with the story that takes up the bulk of this 45-minute episode.
Despite all the online vitriol after the “How’s That?!” premiere, NuNet is so happy with how the show performed that Brandon schedules a quick, celebratory news conference to announce the show’s renewal for a second season. He wants Valerie by his side. Simple, right?
The problem arises when Jack Stevens (Bradley Whitford) — TV’s most respected writer/producer — calls Valerie in for a meeting, joined by two other acclaimed television auteurs, Ben Morrow (Justin Theroux) and Matt Wright (Adam Scott). The three men — known as the Big 3 — have no beef with Valerie. They just want her to use the Season 2 announcement to take a stand on behalf of humanity.
This is a rich premise, worthy of a “Comeback” episode. It puts Valerie in conflict with her own nature. She prefers to be a team player when it comes to the TV business. As she explains to the Big 3, her little show is responsible for employing a lot of actual humans, and she does not want to risk their jobs. But Valerie also hates to disappoint people — especially industry legends.
The drama plays out across a few scenes that are among this season’s strongest. That meeting between Valerie and the Big 3 is sharply written and played. The way Ben and Matt constantly rip on each other and crack dumb jokes makes the point that TV writers will always be TV writers — juvenile, competitive and insecure — whether they are cranking out lowbrow sitcoms or aiming for prestige.
The other key scenes involve Brandon, who has a breakdown in the NuNet “open concept working environment” after Valerie tells him what the Big 3 said. Brandon too dislikes being held in contempt by online tastemakers and Emmy winners.
After a Valerie pep talk — in which she tells him, “You can feel like this for 30 more seconds then back to you” — Brandon pulls himself together to meet the news media, where he somewhat defensively says he wants NuNet to be a place where great writers can make culture-defining TV and also a place for shows that “don’t need genius.” (“A.I.’s got the sitcoms,” he says. “Easy-peasy.”)
Then a mildly miffed Valerie tells the reporters a story about how the A.I. program hit a paywall during a “How’s That?!” taping and couldn’t generate any jokes. Brandon’s mood darkens. After the news conference, he pulls Valerie into his office for a scolding, making it clear that NuNet will not provide the necessary resources — like a real showrunner or a writing staff — to make her series great. It needs to be only “good enough.” And if Valerie wants out? They have an A.I. version of her locked and loaded.
As I said, this is all good material for an episode of “The Comeback.” But as a season finale — and possible series finale — it does not quite live up to the more intense and emotional endings of Seasons 1 and 2. It is nice — which is fine. But settling for nice instead of surprising or clarifying does makes this season’s dead ends and missed opportunities more obvious.
The running subplot about Billy’s desire to become a celebrity without doing any actual work? That got old quick. Meanwhile, we barely learned anything about Valerie’s younger castmate Gabrielle, who could have brought a lot to this season. It might have been useful to see more of how Gabrielle’s Hollywood experiences have differed from Valerie’s (or from Juna’s in Season 1).
At the end of this episode, to the sounds of the Association’s “Cherish” (an excellent needle-drop), we get some “what happened next” text that tells us that “How’s That?!” has continued for multiple seasons with an all-A.I. cast. This is an important, ominous detail to include. But did Jane ever finish her documentary? If so, it didn’t merit an update, I guess.
As for Valerie, she gets a very soft landing. During the taping of the “How’s That?!” Season 1 finale, Jack Stevens drops by to watch, and he gets such a nostalgic rush recalling his early days as a sitcom writer that he creates a new show just for Valerie. It’s called “Judge’s Table.” (The lead character is Eleanor Judge, a federal court judge who becomes a chef.)
For anyone concerned about what A.I. will do to entertainment, “The Comeback” finale is neither reassuring nor wholly damning. It offers a vision of a future where A.I. slop is commonplace but where the human touch endures in higher-end productions. This take does not read as stinging satire. It’s more weary resignation.
This does however set up the episode’s genuinely lovely final scene. As the image from Jane’s old camera fades slowly from grainy black-and-white to vivid color, Jane praises Valerie for how she fights for herself now, after having been a doormat for much of the past 20 years. But Valerie rejects that reading. She has always seen every painful moment as a step forward. “You have to agree to be humiliated,” Valerie says. “And I never signed up.”
That is the message sent at the end of these three seasons: that Hollywood is constantly in flux, and the people who last in the industry are the ones who can take their lumps with a smile and keep finding a new path through all the mess. Jack thinks A.I. is an “extinction event,” unlike any past cultural revolution, but Valerie sees it as something else to adjust to, as she always does.
As she has shown repeatedly in this series — and especially in this season — Valerie tends to shrug off any fears or hurt feelings in order to move forward because the work matters. Making people laugh matters. “All’s well that ends well,” she explains to Mark. “Heard Diane say that to Sam on ‘Cheers.’”
To be real
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We get a glimpse of the A.I. Valerie when she pops up at the end of the “How’s That?!” premiere to tell Mark about NuNet’s sports package. Mark asks if she got paid extra for her likeness. “Don’t know,” Valerie shrugs. “Docusigned it.”
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Mark’s subplot also ends happily. He reconnects with Greg, his old boss and best buddy, who is starting a new firm. Greg thinks Mark got a raw deal. It sure feels as if King and Kudrow do as well. Intentionally or not, this final “The Comeback” season frames the “Me Too” crisis as just another shake-up that the persistent people have had to survive. Kind of a frustrating take, honestly.
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When Tommy pops by for the taping of the “How’s That?!” finale, he is stunned by Billy’s avant-garde fashion ensemble. “In my day, men couldn’t even wear chap stick,” he sighs. Some things do change for the better in Hollywood.
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Here’s a thought to close things out: Maybe this ending isn’t so happy after all. Valerie warns Brandon that if TV writers and actors can be replaced, then executives will be the next to go. Judging by what happens with “How’s That?!,” this does seem to be the direction NuNet is heading. Valerie is going to be fine. She has money, and as she keeps proving, she can always find work. But for television, the prognosis is not so rosy.
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