Checking into ‘Room 104’ season 2
A look back at what made this season great, and what didn’t
Few shows on television are like HBO’s Room 104, which finished its second season in last Friday. The anthology series, produced by brothers Mark and Jay Duplass, can range from horror to comedy to utter sadness, often bending time and physics for its own contentment. The only thing every episode has in common is the setting: a hotel room where anything can happen.
I thought I would look back at the twelve episodes that aired this season, building up to my favorite. I will try to keep these reviews as spoiler-free as possible, but I can’t guarantee these won’t ruin your experience with the show if you haven’t seen them yet.
The “Didn’t Resonate With Me”
“Shark” (Episode 11)
The episode I struggled watching the most was the next to last episode about two pool hustlers (one played by Mahershala Ali who is starring in the upcoming season of True Detective) who begin to have differing opinions on how to run things, as well as develop a mistrust for each other over splitting the winnings. The acting in the episode was great; there just wasn’t much of a story to keep me interested.
The “Disturbing”
“Hungry” (Episode 4)
The winner for most disturbing episode of the entire season (and maybe series) goes to the episode in which two men meet in a hotel room to enjoy an odd fetish. I won’t go into detail about the fetish but it involves drugs and a George Foreman grill. This was a hard one to watch and left me thinking just “Why?”
“The Man and the Baby and the Man” (Episode 7)
In the cringiest episode of the season, a married couple decide to film the conception of their first child in great detail. In the process, they begin to uncover each other’s insecurities and apprehension about the whole idea of parenthood.
The “Too Real”
“FOMO” (Episode 1)
Another cringe-filled episode started the season off as a young woman celebrating her birthday with two friends until her uninvited sister gets wind of it, showing up and making things incredibly awkward. The episode ends the only way an episode of Room 104 can properly end. Overall, a decent episode to start things off.
“Josie & Me” (Episode 12)
One of the darker and possibly more divisive episodes of the season involves a woman having a real-life conversation with her younger self about the goings-on of a college party. The episode hits on the gray areas of how an act can be perceived, even by the individuals involved, both in the present and years later. Definitely a good episode, but might be hard to watch for some.
The “Tearjerkers”
“The Return” (Episode 9)
This season of Room 104 stepped it up on the “all-the-feels” type of episodes. One of those episodes was “The Return” about a widow who brings her young daughter back to the hotel room where her father passed away. You may want to have the tissues nearby.
“Arnold” (Episode 6)
The other sad episode of the season was “Arnold.” Presented as a musical, a man tries to piece together the events of the previous night when he met the woman of his dreams. Without giving away too much, the night did end in a tragic twist.
The “Fun Ones”
“Swipe Right” (Episode 3)
But season two of Room 104 wasn’t all doom and gloom. There were some fun ones: like the third episode starring Michael Shannon and Judy Greer about an eccentric Russian politician/tech person who goes on a blind date with a veterinary nurse. It’s just an odd, fun episode and Shannon’s accent alone is worth watching.
“Artificial” (Episode 10)
Another fun episode starred Katie Aselton, whom Mark Duplass starred with on The League. Aselton is an apparent android and is being interviewed by a reporter trying to determine if she’s a first-of-her-kind technological marvel or an elaborate hoax. The episode’s ending rivals many Black Mirror episodes.
The “Terrifying, in a Good Way”
“The Woman in the Wall” (Episode 5)
An area I wish Room 104 would explore more is horror and supernatural. Clearly there’s something cosmic about this room for 24 different strange stories to have occurred over the course of several decades; let’s explore that. I mean the best episode of the entire series, in my opinion, was the very first episode of season one “Ralphie.” It was creepy and suspenseful, exactly the way a late Friday night HBO should be.
End of rant. Back to reviews.
“The Woman in the Wall” was one of these type of supernatural episodes. A woman who is battling an illness checks into the eponymous hotel room and begins to hear someone talking behind the wall. Turns out she’s actually hearing and talking to a woman inside the wall. The woman makes a couple return trips, trying to determine whether it’s all in her head. The ending is reminiscent of 80s horror movies. Much like The Shining it’s a slow burn, but I think the pay-off is worth it.
“A Nightmare” (Episode 8)
In a tour de force by Natalie Morales (Parks and Recreation) who directed and starred in the episode, “A Nightmare” truly lives up to its name. Morales plays a woman who keeps waking up from a nightmare only to have something terrifying happen and then wake up from that nightmare. This happens over and over, sometimes involving a strange figure, sometimes her mother, and sometimes an image of herself. Every horror movie trope is used and used well, creating a great deal of anxiety. The episode may even be a representation of anxiety itself. I put this episode as the third best of all Room 104 episodes behind “Ralphie” and the episode you’re about to read.
The Best
“Mr. Mulvahill” (Episode 2)
My favorite episode of the new season of Room 104 and an episode I feel many enjoyed as well was “Mr. Mulvahill” starring Rainn Wilson. As a warning, I will go into greater detail on this episode than any of the others, stopping just short of the ending. If you have not seen this episode, for the love of all the television gods past and present, go watch it now and then read this review.
Rainn Wilson plays a man named Jim, which creates this image of Dwight pretending to be Halpert in an episode of The Office:
When we first see Jim, he is playing Beethoven’s Ode to Joy on the trumpet in the hotel room, just as he did for his third-grade music teacher Mr. Mulvahill.
Jim has invited his former teacher to this room, allegedly to thank him for the day that changed his life. All the other kids wanted to play music from Star Wars but Mr. Mulvahill chose Beethoven.
But it wasn’t the musical selection that changed Jim’s life. It’s what Mulvahill did after that. This is when the mood turns dark.
Mulvahill, who has struggled to remember Jim or any of the events he’s describing to this point, becomes tense and tries to leave. But Jim knocks him out with his trumpet case.
Mr. Mulvahill wakes up, tied to a chair. Jim explains to Mr. Mulvahill that many years ago he saw his former teacher teleport across the room. To prove he’s not crazy, Jim threatens to hit Mr. Mulvahill in the head with a bat and the only way he can save himself is to teleport again.
The episode is intense and features great acting from both stars. You’ll of course have to watch the episode to see how it ends.
Conclusion
Not every episode of Room 104 is a home run, but the ones that are go deep. And while the show is not for everyone, I think anyone can find something to like in one of the episodes. The great thing about an anthology series is the episodes are completely independent of each other. If you watch an episode you don’t like, you can have renewed hope for the next one. Room 104 is a wild ride that will continue into season three next year.
