‘The Rehearsal’ Season 2, Episode 4: Nathan Fielder, Dating Coach

Summary

The Prestige TV Podcast Summary

Episode: ‘The Rehearsal’ Season 2, Episode 4: Nathan Fielder, Dating Coach
Release Date: May 12, 2025
Host/Authors: Charles Omes, Jodie Walker, Rob Mahoney, Mallory Rubin, Van Lathan, and more from The Ringer team

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Introduction

In this episode of The Prestige TV Podcast, the rotating cast dives deep into the fourth episode of The Rehearsal Season 2, titled "Kiss Me." This episode features comedian and mastermind Nathan Fielder as a dating coach attempting to assist a young pilot named Colin in navigating the complexities of dating. The hosts provide instant reactions, comprehensive breakdowns, and thoughtful analyses of the show's latest developments.

Plot Summary

The Rehearsal Season 2 continues to explore Nathan Fielder's elaborate experiments aimed at improving aviation safety through unconventional methods. In Episode 4, "Kiss Me," Nathan shifts his focus to Colin, a pilot struggling with dating.

Key Plot Points:

• Wings of Voice: The episode begins with a return to Wings of Voice, a singing competition show within Nathan's larger reality show. Nathan expresses his growing boredom with this segment.

• Introducing the Pack: Nathan introduces "the Pack," a group of actors hired to follow Colin on simulated dates. The objective is to boost Colin's confidence by providing him with controlled social interactions.

• Complicated Dynamics: As Nathan orchestrates elaborate scenarios, Colin ends up on a date with Emma, an actress part of the Pack. Nathan further manipulates the situation by hiring multiple pairs of actors and a sex coordinator to facilitate a staged kiss between Colin and Emma.

• Congressional Endeavor: Despite the intricate setups, Colin appears no closer to genuine love. Meanwhile, Nathan declares his readiness to take his findings to Congress, aiming to influence aviation safety protocols based on his behavioral experiments.

Key Discussions and Analyses

The podcast hosts engage in a multifaceted discussion, dissecting the ethical and psychological implications of Nathan's methods.

Manipulation vs. Genuine Connection:

• Ethical Concerns: The hosts debate whether Nathan's manipulative tactics undermine the authenticity of Colin's interactions. They question if engineered scenarios can truly foster genuine connections or if they merely create superficial relationships.

  "Nathan is both being manipulative and allowing us to see him being manipulative, which engages the question of is he always being this manipulative?"
  — Unnamed Guest [07:21]

• Impact on Colin: There is a consensus that while Nathan's intentions might be to help Colin, the methods employed may inadvertently cause more harm by forcing unnatural interactions.

  "I do not want Nathan to mess with Colin. I want him to leave Colin alone."
  — Unnamed Guest [10:59]

Nathan’s Obsession with Sincerity and Acting:

• Sincerity vs. Performance: The hosts explore Nathan's fixation on sincerity and acting, suggesting that his inability to act genuinely hampers his efforts to create meaningful change.

  "His inability to be himself at all times is not because he's acting. It's because he's incapable of acting when he is incapable of being himself."
  — Unnamed Guest [20:22]

• Layered Manipulation: Nathan's approach is seen as a complex layering of manipulation where he not only controls the environment but also the participants' behaviors, blurring the lines between reality and performance.

  "These people want to be here for the most part. And usually the ones who have a bad reaction to it are the people who want to be there the most."
  — Unnamed Guest [Unhandled Segment]

Real-World Parallels and Reality TV Critique:

• Reality TV Influences: The hosts draw parallels between The Rehearsal and classic reality TV shows, critiquing the ethical boundaries and manipulative nature inherent in such formats.

  "He keeps referring to, as we're seeing on screen, Emma Stone, like one of the most famous A-list actresses we have. And he just keeps calling her an actor."
  — Unnamed Guest [32:07]

• Ethical Boundaries: Discussions highlight how Nathan's experiments push the ethical limits of reality TV, questioning the moral implications of manipulating individuals for perceived greater goods.

Notable Quotes with Timestamps

• Charles Omes:

  "I'm Rob Harvilla, host of the podcast 60 songs that explain the 90s."
  [00:00]

• Unnamed Guest:

  "Nathan Fielder has constructed a world that is so insane and unreliable and unpredictable that then I'm like, well, he's getting it wrong on purpose."
  [08:00]

• Jodie Walker:

  "He was explaining that she's been turning on his respect for achievements while she has Albert Einstein in her system."
  [30:23]

• Charles Omes:

  "This could just be a Bravo Real Housewife."
  [25:31]

• Unnamed Guest:

  "He says, HBO is paying for all of this. They basically gave me a blank check. As long as I don't go over budget."
  [36:34]

Insights and Conclusions

The episode's discussion reveals a deep dive into the ethical and psychological layers of Nathan Fielder's The Rehearsal. The hosts collectively express discomfort with the manipulative techniques used, questioning the balance between entertainment and ethical responsibility. They highlight how Nathan's methods, while innovative, may compromise genuine human connections in favor of experimental outcomes.

Key Takeaways:

• Blurred Lines: Nathan's approach blurs the lines between reality and performance, raising questions about authenticity in reality TV.

• Ethical Implications: The ethical boundaries of manipulating individuals for experimental purposes are scrutinized, suggesting a need for more responsible practices.

• Impact on Participants: The psychological impact on participants like Colin is a central concern, emphasizing the potential harm in forced social engineering.

• Reality TV's Evolution: The discussion underscores a critical view of reality TV's evolution towards more complex and ethically ambiguous experiments.

Final Thoughts: The hosts conclude that while The Rehearsal remains one of the most intriguing shows on television, its direction raises significant ethical and psychological questions. They anticipate further complexities and ethical dilemmas as the series progresses, especially with Nathan's growing entanglement with real-world implications like Congressional pursuits.

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Transcript

[Rob Harvilla]

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[Sponsor]

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[Rob Harvilla]

And now the show is called 60 songs that explain the nineties. Colon, the 2000s. Wow. That's too long a title for me to say. Anything else right now, Just trust me. That's 60 songs that explain the 90s. Cole in the 2000s preference, preferably on Spotify.

[Sponsor]

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[Charles Omes]

Welcome to the Prestige TV podcast where we love to dream about Einstein.

[Jodie Walker]

I'm Charles Omes of the Midnight Boys. She's Jodie Walker of We're Obsessed.

[Charles Omes]

And we're back to discuss not Pilot's code. Oh, I didn't. I didn't update this. I didn't update this in the in old doc we're here to talk about Kiss Me, the fourth episode of Rehearsal Season 2. Jody, I see that you're repping. You're repping your ringer merch.

[Jodie Walker]

Why?

[Charles Omes]

Why, why so much spirit today?

[Unnamed Guest]

Just because I needed to cover up the top of my head, mostly. But also we were just talking offline about. About the rehearsal being kind of a boyfriend coded show. And I feel that this is like a ringer dad hat when I wear it.

[Jodie Walker]

It is.

[Unnamed Guest]

I really get into the mix. They're going to let me on the watch.

[Charles Omes]

That is a very watch coded hat. I'm wearing a hat today as well because I have a haircut right after this. Okay. So, you know, it's a hat day for the rehearsal crew.

[Unnamed Guest]

Hopefully. We're bringing you our best commentary. We're not bringing you our best looks.

[Jodie Walker]

We are not bringing you the hairlines.

[Unnamed Guest]

Also, Charles, how dare you bring up Einstein this early in the podcast? You know, that might get a few people going. It's a little early for that kind of talk. Okay, let's just get to it.

[Jodie Walker]

I do have to ask, is this.

[Charles Omes]

The second week in a row where we've seen Nathan Fielder break character?

[Unnamed Guest]

We'll get into it. I almost feel like he was more broken by Colin than by Mrs. Einstein. Colin broke something deep inside of him and the sort of science he is attempting to create. But yes, I mean, he is stumbling upon some real, real characters. That woman didn't even have a name.

[Charles Omes]

I was like, I can't call her Ms. Einstein, but I guess that's. She was like, I want to go to dinner with that woman. I want her to be my friend.

[Jodie Walker]

She was the best. I.

[Charles Omes]

To your point, I don't know what it is, but Nathan Fielder's superpower is finding the most interesting people in the.

[Jodie Walker]

World and just letting them rip. Just letting them go.

[Unnamed Guest]

Charles, first of all, that woman would eat you alive. Second of all, I know I didn't know her name because I kept wanting to scream it. I kept wanting to be like Monica. No, I didn't know what her name was.

[Jodie Walker]

I thought she was more so of a Deborah. She looked like a Deborah to be Debbie.

[Unnamed Guest]

She could have. Debbie, you're being wild. But she meant it. Boy, did she mean it.

[Jodie Walker]

Well, before we get into my questions.

[Charles Omes]

That I have for this episode, let's.

[Jodie Walker]

Talk about the plot, which is, like.

[Charles Omes]

Most of these episodes, very twisty and very turny. This episode is called Kiss Me. Directed by Fielder, written by Fielder, Carrie Kemper, Adam Loch Norton, and Eric Nordena Cola. We briefly return to Wings of Voice, the singing competition show within Nathan's larger reality show, which he seems to be getting bored of. It's during taping for Wings of Voice that Nathan takes interest in a young pilot named Colin. Colin is having Trouble dating. And in typical Nathan Fielder fashion, the comedian introduces us to a ridiculous new concept called the Pack, in which Nathan hires a group of actors to follow Colin around while he goes on simulated dates to boost his confidence. Through a series of complicated and entertaining twist, Colin ends up going out with Emma, an actress previously hired to be part of the Pack. In an effort to get Colin and Emma to kiss, Nathan hires five pairs of actors and then to play the budding couple, along with a sex coordinator who is watching it all in what I would say is awe and a little bit of shock. By episodes, and Colin seems no closer to finding true love, but he is. Well, by episodes end, Colin seems no closer to finding true love, but Nathan is now ready to go to Congress. My first question for you, Jody, after what I can only describe as a very explosive episode of TV last week, Pilot's Code, this one I think you could call a breather episode. But emotionally, it was almost more cringy to me than episode three.

[Jodie Walker]

I was almost like I was laughing, but I was almost like I was like, I, this is a pivot. I'm like, oh, my gosh.

[Unnamed Guest]

You know, last week I said that I, like, found ways to laugh that I didn't know existed inside of me. And this week I noticed I was back to kind of. I mean, I was laughing, but, like, my jaw kept dropping. I think, like, at the point at which he revealed the Pack as the method he would be using and I. It was the first time the Pack all said Colin. Like, it was the first time they all repeated him. My jaw went. Because I was just like, what is going to happen? I think, yeah, it did not feel like a breather. In some ways, it felt like return to form. But I also think in this episode in particular, the experiments are very flawed. What Nathan is doing is very far from aviation safety in a couple of different ways.

[Jodie Walker]

Is it? I don't know. By the end, he goes to Congress and our. And our man. What's his name? Gulia?

[Unnamed Guest]

John G. As I like to call it.

[Jodie Walker]

John G. John G. Is just like.

[Charles Omes]

This is some interesting stuff.

[Jodie Walker]

So I don't know, it seems pretty connected.

[Unnamed Guest]

But, Charles, what is he about to say to Congress? If you could. If you could guess, what is he about to say to Congress about what he's learned?

[Charles Omes]

I really want Nathan Fielder to go to Congress and be like, all right, so have you guys heard of cloning?

[Jodie Walker]

Well, let me tell you the entire story.

[Unnamed Guest]

I mean, at the end of this episode, it basically seems like he's about to be like, have you guys heard of acting? Maybe you could do it at your job and it would save lives. And, of course, that's the whole premise of this show, of all the shows, is you're so far, far, far away. And then generally he brings us back in some way. I did find a lot of holes kind of in how Nathan was experimenting in this episode. For example, very early on, Colin says, I've tried acting like someone I've not. I fell on my face and it just didn't work. And then by the end of the episode, Nathan is saying, have you considered acting? And that's all, like, that's all fine, basically. Because Nathan Fielder has also constructed a world that is so insane and unreliable and unpredictable that then I'm like, well, he's getting it wrong on purpose. Like, he's creating flawed experiments because he's getting bored with Wings of voice. He's spiraling out of control. He can't figure it out. He's obsessed with acting and sincerity there. Because there's always the aspect of Nathan as the experimenter experiencing the experiment. And how is he handling it? Not that well right now.

[Jodie Walker]

I think what I learned in this.

[Charles Omes]

Episode, and I think we've been talking about it a lot this season, is when. And I love this actress, whoever they got, she was perfect. When the actress who plays Emma is.

[Jodie Walker]

Talking about, like, her sign that she gives to guy that she's on date. The, like, the eyes to lip to eyes, right? It's a. It reminded me of the Meredith.

[Charles Omes]

Fantastic.

[Jodie Walker]

Fantastic.

[Charles Omes]

Where the funniest shit to me in the rehearsal is when Nathan is trying to be like, okay, so if I.

[Jodie Walker]

Do this one thing, it will work for me 100% of the time. This is a repeatable because, like, there's this moment where Nathan is like, all.

[Charles Omes]

Right, do it to me again.

[Jodie Walker]

And he's like, I don't know if it works. And then she does it one more.

[Charles Omes]

Time, he's like, oh.

[Unnamed Guest]

And she's looking, like, great. You know, I get it when she's doing it, I'm like, oh, yeah, that work on me. But for him, he's so confused because not only would it not work on him, he couldn't repeat it. And I do think that's a lot of what's simmering on the surface in this episode is Nathan's sort of aversion to being able to act out sincerity, being able to do a trick, being able to play with someone. And that's so strange because that's what Nathan does. But when he's doing it, there's a whole other layer of prodding and pushing and acting. I mean, I think I found this episode particularly uncomfortable because Colin is such a special case. And I do not want him to. I do not want Nathan to mess with Colin. I want him to leave Colin alone.

[Jodie Walker]

So I do have to ask.

[Charles Omes]

I. I laughed out loud when the pack separate from Colin, they all go.

[Jodie Walker]

Into this second room. And then Nathan just goes, all right, so who's into Colin? And everybody's like, uh. He's like, no. Like, who was here is attracted to Colin? And I was like, that almost was the moment where I was like, oh, this is Nathan, the producer. This is Nathan. Cause I think what I noticed too.

[Charles Omes]

In this episode is I'm starting to realize with every episode of the rehearsal this season, it almost seems like he's poking at another element of reality tv.

[Jodie Walker]

Where it's like we've seen him do.

[Charles Omes]

The Sully episode, which is all about.

[Jodie Walker]

Those TLC recreations or those true crime recreations where it's just so over the top.

[Charles Omes]

You're like, this is not like real life.

[Jodie Walker]

You have Wings of a voice of.

[Unnamed Guest]

Voice, which is very much Wings of Love, which actually was what this episode was.

[Charles Omes]

It was Wings of Love this episode.

[Jodie Walker]

But he's doing a reality competition show. And in this I was like, oh, is.

[Charles Omes]

Is this Nathan Fielders rehearsal episode on.

[Jodie Walker]

How ludicrous dating, reality dating shows are? And what is the difference between reality and then a producer pushing these people closer and closer? That was. What made me uncomfortable is like Nathan's.

[Charles Omes]

Kind of being an asshole in this episode.

[Unnamed Guest]

Exactly. Yes. No, it's a great point. I think that he is. He is both being manipulative and allowing us to see him being manipulative, which engages the question of is he always being this manipulative? And we don't know, is he doing this at. As a play at, you know, a bachelor style show? And then of course, the question that comes with any show like this is, does being sort of pushed or manipulated into doing something make it any less real? If Colin is pushed towards Emma and he likes Emma, if Colin wants to kiss Emma but can't find the bravery or the means or the social constructs to do so, and Nathan gives him those means, however ludicrous they may be, does that make it any less real? I don't know. We're always fighting that good fight over on Ringer Reality, but we're watching it at play here. And that exact scene that you quote that you. That you pointed out where he says to all of the. All of the pack. So who hears into Colin? I had the exact same or a similar observation where I was like, he looks like the devil. I know he said he looked like the devil when he was, like, in the flames of the. Of the fire in the first episode. But he was acting like a. Like a mischievous little fairy. Like, he was acting like Puck in Midsummer's Night's Dream in this episode. He's like. He's smiling much more than we've ever seen him. It's very disconcerting. Like, he's very literally playing with people, and he's also letting us see that. I think, to me, that was the part that was, like, way more off the beaten path of a somewhat direct line to aviation safety, which I would even say. I would say that last week had the. Almost the most direct line to aviation safety.

[Jodie Walker]

This is. This was a departure where I kept being like, what does this have to. And that is obviously part of the joke. What does this have to do with aviation safety? But there were also moments where I.

[Charles Omes]

Thought Nathan looked even more devilish when.

[Jodie Walker]

They were all at the. When the three women were at the. It's Emma, Ms. Einstein in the other one. And he's basically like, I'm not. Legally. I can't say that you guys should give it a shot, but wink, wink. And there was this moment. I was like, ew. I was like, because he's putting on.

[Charles Omes]

This to your point. I was like, why is he being charming?

[Jodie Walker]

Why is he being. Why is he kidding around with them? Why is he not doing the normal Nathan Fielder thing? He's doing the. You've probably been around it when, you.

[Charles Omes]

Know, like, a producer in any creative field who's trying to get what they want, or they're talking to talent.

[Jodie Walker]

They have this voice that they do in this way of moving around the world where they're laughing at jokes that maybe aren't funny. They're complimenting you.

[Charles Omes]

They're just like, hey, I shouldn't tell you this, but if you want, no one's gonna say no.

[Jodie Walker]

And that was when I was like.

[Charles Omes]

This could just be a Bravo Real Housewife.

[Jodie Walker]

Like, this is just. This seems like the producer poking at the bear, being like, they said some shit about you. You want to see it?

[Unnamed Guest]

Well, and he's like. He's exposing ethical themes, you know? And that's. That's what everyone's always talking about with Nathan Fielder. Like, is this ethical to be kind of tricking people? Like this manipulating people into acting certain ways. And I think I always land on, like, these people want to be here for the most part. And usually the ones who have a bad reaction to it are the people who want to be there the most, but also want to have more control over the way that they're portrayed. Most likely because they usually have more control over the way they're portrayed in their own lives. They are capable of that sort of acting that. That. That Nathan talks about a lot and also seems to kind of hate, like, he's very confused by charming people or who. People who navigate the world with that kind of skill. Whereas someone like moody kind of doesn't always have a ton of control over how he comes across and is probably just fine with being like, yeah, I seem kind of awkward on screen. I am kind of awkward. Colin's hitting new levels of he was Moody 2.0. Do you want to be. Why are you here? Do you want to be here? And at the point at which he sort of like, hit Nathan with sheer silence, Nathan is asking him about kissing and dating. And while they're observing all of the Nathan, all of the. Colin and Emma's acting out the scenes in the five studio apartments in a row. And he just doesn't answer Nathan's question. And I was like, oh, Nathan's met his match.

[Charles Omes]

Did you end up feeling bad for Colin?

[Jodie Walker]

Because there was a moment watching this.

[Charles Omes]

Part of my cringe factor was either Colin is a super, super great actor who's not breaking when there's a literal pack behind him repeating every word he says, or this is a guy who is either doesn't get the joke, doesn't get the humor, or is taking this very sincerely.

[Jodie Walker]

And there's just like this devil in.

[Charles Omes]

The corner in Nathan Fielder just like.

[Jodie Walker]

Poking at him a little bit.

[Charles Omes]

And I was like, this is difficult to. I feel bad.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah. I mean, I think I went back and forth because the times at which I felt bad were that I did not want Colin to have to talk to Nathan because Nathan is who makes him most uncomfortable when you. But when I was excited for Colin was like when he was playing putt putt with Emma and he seemed really, like, embodied in himself. He seemed. Other than the very final walk away where maybe he should have kissed her and he didn't. He seemed like he was having a good time. Like, he's saying, are you saying that.

[Charles Omes]

Colin has a reserved sexual sexuality?

[Jodie Walker]

As I think Ms. Einstein says something to that effect.

[Unnamed Guest]

I'm saying he reminds me of Einstein. That's what I'm saying, I don't know if he knows this, but he's got a little Einstein about it.

[Jodie Walker]

But even Emma was a perfect example of, like, Nathan being able to find a woman who is almost.

[Charles Omes]

Who is uncomfortable to watch in a different way, in that she's also so nice and she's also so sincere and she's nervous. And I was like, nathan, stop talking to this woman. Stop talking to both of them.

[Jodie Walker]

Get out of the way. Because every single time, even when Nathan is bringing Colin to see the five couples that are playing each of them, and he's just like, isn't this so interesting? Isn't this so great?

[Charles Omes]

And Colin's just like, yeah, like they're.

[Unnamed Guest]

Like actively inside of each other and Colin is having to, like, watch that. I mean, it's. It's so. It is so wild what is happening on those sets with Emma. Nathan gets in my head of like, well, how sincere can actors really be? Because I'm like, this woman seems so nice and I don't know, maybe there really is a connection happening between Emma and Colin. But then I'm like, but she also came on this set as an actor and she knows there are cameras and she knows this is a TV show and she's getting pulled aside to say, hey, if you want to spend a little more time with who is clearly the main narrative, feel free. And she chooses to do it. So then, and this gets back to the Bachelor of like, are you here for the right reasons? Is. Is Colin the reason? Or is more screen time or acting.

[Charles Omes]

The reason you're saying that Emma, this might have not been true love. This might have been a scream time play. Don't.

[Jodie Walker]

You're so jaded.

[Charles Omes]

Jaded.

[Jodie Walker]

Jodie over here doesn't believe in fucking true love between my two favorite people.

[Charles Omes]

Now what.

[Unnamed Guest]

But what I do believe is that it could have started for the wrong reasons. Screen time, classic wrong reason. And turned in to real love. And that's the other thing about, you know, the waffling back and forth on Do I feel bad for Colin? I don't want Colin to have to talk to Nathan, who clearly makes him very uncomfortable. I do feel like something good for Colin is happening with Emma. He is coming out of his shell some. And what do I know? Nathan created that scenario. Like, Nathan did bring them together. He did manipulate him into something that might be good for him. I still maintain my reservations about if it actually has any bearing on aviation safety.

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[Charles Omes]

I'm going to put you on the spot right now, Jody, as our resident expert on everything reality TV show related, how would you help Colin in this reality show context?

[Jodie Walker]

Do you think that the pack is the. Is the. Are you giving him the pack to make him more confident? Like, what would you, in this reality show setting, give our boy to up?

[Charles Omes]

Like, just make him feel himself a little bit more?

[Unnamed Guest]

I'm gonna tell you the last thing I do first, and that's the pack. Uh, the fact that that sweet young man even, like, made it through that process, that would be driving me crazy if 15. Also, he's already uncomfortable with the things that come out of his mouth and now he has to hear them repeated to him by like 15 seagulls. I would not go with the pack.

[Jodie Walker]

The pack would be.

[Charles Omes]

It would work.

[Jodie Walker]

Here's the thing.

[Charles Omes]

The only thing the world needs more of is me.

[Unnamed Guest]

That's right. All right, 15 more.

[Jodie Walker]

I'm just.

[Unnamed Guest]

We've got you on one mike, let's get 15 more behind it. Totally agree.

[Charles Omes]

I think people were sleeping on Colin a little bit. He was a sweetheart. I. I like.

[Unnamed Guest]

Oh, my. Of course, that's the whole thing is that he's. He's darling. I mean, he literally looks like a precious moment stall and Nathan looks like the devil, like, messing with him. And it's very concerning, sort of. But I would say what I would actually do as a watcher of reality tv, but not a producer or manipulator of reality TV and as a lover of talking to people at the point at which Colin. I mean, this is the thing. There were just like, we were in a turducken of experiments in this show. Just like shapes and squares and triangles. At the point at which Colin was in a recreation of his house with an actress playing Emma. Nope. With. With Emma, but in her actress form.

[Charles Omes]

Yes.

[Unnamed Guest]

Emma is playing Miss Kiss Me Lots or whatever. He is playing a character whose only character trait, as assigned by Nathan, is that he's comfortable with kissing on any date and that he always gets it right.

[Jodie Walker]

Don't tell me you didn't laugh at that part. That was hilarious.

[Unnamed Guest]

Of course it's all funny. I thought, what if we just asked Colin why he hasn't kissed Emma and what might make him more comfortable? What if we just asked.

[Charles Omes]

To be clear, I feel as if the eye to the lip to the eye move I was sold on and the fact that Colin kept missing out on it.

[Jodie Walker]

I think Nathan didn't want to embarrass.

[Charles Omes]

The actress and wanted to give that move more time to breathe, to be like, hey, he might just be impervious to this move, but it's still a great move.

[Unnamed Guest]

Oh, it's a great move. I think we've all either used it or been on the receiving end of it. It works. When you see her doing. Works and generally, no, it was interesting to hear her be like, I've talked about it with the girls. Works every time. Because I would say that typically when you're doing it. Eye, lips. I. You're doing it because you want to kiss someone, not because you want to manipulate a situation where someone wants to kiss you or to be kissed.

[Jodie Walker]

I'll be honest how you use all the manipulation. You know what I'm saying? Once. Once you got to pull out the move. Nathan Fielder might be right. It's all a manipulation.

[Charles Omes]

We're all actors, you know?

[Unnamed Guest]

I know. I, He. I mean, that. That is. This. This episode is. It gets you thinking. I think it. I think it had me in my feelings a little bit for Colin and for what was happening.

[Jodie Walker]

I. Did you feel for the. The whatchamacallit, for the people that he.

[Charles Omes]

Brought in to watch their spouses and partners kiss other people very, very aggressively.

[Unnamed Guest]

I didn't because they all seemed so fine with it. This is acting.

[Charles Omes]

Well, that's la.

[Unnamed Guest]

It's la.

[Jodie Walker]

There was one guy there where I'm.

[Charles Omes]

Like, I've seen you in Echo Park.

[Jodie Walker]

He doesn't give a fuck. He's like. He's like, I don't care.

[Unnamed Guest]

He's also like, we've been dating for two weeks. This is fine. No, I did not feel bad for them, but I do think that this. And I know I quote it every week, but it's like, really what the season is always coming back about to me is that line that he says, I think in the first episode of this season. I've always felt that sincerity is overrated. It just ends up punishing those who can't perform it as well as others.

[Charles Omes]

Yeah.

[Unnamed Guest]

And I think he sees that in. He's just. He's always thinking about it and he's always ruminating on it and always trying to figure out how sincerity and the realness of relationship applies in the cockpit so that it can improve aviation safety. And I just keep wondering if all this work might be better served elsewhere.

[Jodie Walker]

I mean, there is to your point.

[Charles Omes]

About this being about sincerity and how you perform it and his inability to do it. This might be a stretch, but I noticed that he kind of picked up something that Meredith did where he had. In this episode.

[Jodie Walker]

He has a catchphrase. He keeps going where he ends. Every. Anytime he's pitching someone on this crazy rehearsal type thing, he goes, let's let the games begin. And I'm like, is this your Fanta? Are you trying to make this your fantastic?

[Unnamed Guest]

I kept thinking that was going to come up because it is so manipulative. It puts people in competition. And the first time he says it is when he's sitting with the three. The three women. I know that we've touched on her, but it's actually just like, never enough to talk about. Let's talk about the woman who's obsessed with Einstein sexually.

[Jodie Walker]

Let's clear out. You need to start us off. I. I love this woman. Like, I. This was.

[Charles Omes]

I will protect this woman to the end.

[Sponsor]

There.

[Unnamed Guest]

She gave Nathan. I. I've actually, like. It was such a. A wild ride of hearing her do this monologue about her sexual attraction to Einstein that has existed since she was. And I Quote a girl. It was like it truly rivaled Nathan in the twists and turns that it took of. Like I could not possibly have expected one sentence after the next. First, she says, I was turned on to him about Einstein. And then she says that that happened in a wet dream. And Nathan says, what's a wet dream for a woman? And she says, well, women can get wet, too. Yes, ma' am. Yes, ma' am. How about we call this man out on his gendered ideas of arousal?

[Jodie Walker]

But that was when I was just like, all right, that's too good. I was like. That was a moment where I was just like, this is the exact thing that the Nathan Fielder character would say in this moment.

[Unnamed Guest]

That's what gets the Redditors going. Like, this woman possibly say this perfect thing. And Charles, my answer is yes. That woman is a sexual dynamo. She was locked and loaded with that answer. What is. What is a wet dream for a woman while women get wet, too? And then she proceeds to give a monologue about Albert Einstein. She does exclusively call him Einstein. And how she. Then she explains that her wet dream was actually a waking dream. She was fully awake reading a. An Einstein biography and thought he was so sexy. She said, and I read his story, and I was like, this is the kind of man I would have loved. And he had a baby when he was really young. Did you know that she just keeps revealing one more thing about Einstein that she's attracted to.

[Jodie Walker]

Did she at one point go, yeah.

[Charles Omes]

When I got to E equals MC squared.

[Unnamed Guest]

Ooh, that's right. She's explaining the wet dream the way.

[Charles Omes]

She went to go see Oppenheimer just.

[Jodie Walker]

For the Einstein scene. She's just like, there's my boy.

[Unnamed Guest]

I think she got kicked out of the theater at Oppenheimer is what I think.

[Charles Omes]

But then the joke gets so much.

[Jodie Walker]

Funnier when Emma, Nathan is manipulating them both, is basically like, hey, you know.

[Charles Omes]

There'S going to be a lot of downtime if any of you want to shoot your shot, feel free. So Emma and our boy Colin are.

[Unnamed Guest]

Having a very cute conversation, wonderful little conversation about travel.

[Jodie Walker]

And our old girl just comes and immediately. What did she say?

[Charles Omes]

You remind me of Einstein.

[Jodie Walker]

And he's like, okay.

[Unnamed Guest]

She's like, I don't want to interrupt. But you, you know, you remind me of Einstein. And that's when she says, you have a certain reserved sexuality about you. Emma basically moonwalks out of the scene. She's so uncomfortable. And Colin gives a classic colonism, which is. Hmm. And this is when I thought, like, Nathan, this is the chaos you create. And this episode, it reminded me a lot of when in season one, when the structure of the family and the kids switching out and Nathan getting emotionally involved and trying to figure out if they were going to raise their fake rehearsal child as Christian and Jewish, et cetera, it kind of starts to spin out. That's how I felt a lot in this episode. It starts deep in the Wings of Love competition. Then we're doing the pack. We've. We've got Colin. We're doing the pack to try to help him on dating. That's not happening. Then we're doing recreate five recreations in a row so that Nathan can do like. Like human AI, so that he can do, like, predictive behaviors to help Colin. And then sort of disregards that pretty quickly to move on to the concept of acting. Like, we're just watching him iterate and iterate and iterate to try to figure out what is going to change pilot behavior.

[Charles Omes]

I mean, that is something that. That I'm still struggling with in terms of. I thought the Wings of a Voice section in the beginning was just one step too far.

[Jodie Walker]

Even like, by the time Nathan is just kind of like, yeah, I'm over this. I'm like, I'm kind of over it too. And it is this. I like the episode.

[Charles Omes]

I think this is still one of the best shows that is out on TV right now. But I am starting to, like, wonder.

[Jodie Walker]

Like, what's the through line? Like, what. What actually is? And I'm getting it in. And I could intellectualize it and I could tell you about all the themes, but this was once again an episode.

[Charles Omes]

Where even once we get to the sex coordinator and he's like, essentially being like, acting is bullshit.

[Jodie Walker]

I'm like, does Nathan even care about acting to this? Like, Nathan doesn't care about acting. This is just like something super funny that's happening on screen.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah. I think that he's spinning out and taking us far away from the construct and using these absurdist things on purpose. We're supposed to feel unmoored. Like, we're supposed to feel uncomfortable. I think that that's what the first season was about a lot, too. And the reason that I think he's doing it on purpose. And I wonder if I'm getting a little redditory here, especially after saying, like, guys, these aren't actors when they are their disclosed lean in. But it was pretty clear to me that the opening Wings of Voice thing was a skit. Yeah, that's written into the Script for Nathan precisely to say, I'm getting bored by this. You know, it's part of the story construct. Nathan's maybe not actually getting bored by it. He's using it as a. As a beat between how we connect these. These stories, between how we get to Colin, who is an interesting character, and of course, how we get to Mrs. Einstein, who is the most interesting character. But that's why I. That makes me really feel like this episode is supposed to feel like Nathan's pretty lost in the plot of his own mission to create change in aviation safety.

[Jodie Walker]

I mean, and it's also.

[Charles Omes]

What I do think was really smart about them ending on the Congress note is that he says when he's walking.

[Jodie Walker]

John G. Through the fake airport, he basically, he re. Because he keeps restating it, he's just.

[Charles Omes]

Like, yeah, you know, I can. As long as I don't go over budget, I can.

[Jodie Walker]

I. What does he say? I can.

[Unnamed Guest]

He says, HBO is paying for all of this. They basically gave me a blank check. As long as I don't go over budget. The only requirement is that everything I do related to aviation safety has to be somewhat entertaining. John G. No questions. He says, well, yeah, that's how the world turns. You know, he's. He's done it himself a time or two.

[Jodie Walker]

I mean, if I'm John G. I.

[Charles Omes]

Would say Nathan is making some points.

[Jodie Walker]

If Nathan. Nathan's point, like you already kind of said it earlier, is what if we.

[Charles Omes]

All just acted like we were actors.

[Jodie Walker]

And I'm just like, oh, that. That's a very armchair philosophical sort of.

[Unnamed Guest]

But, like, we're not all actors is. You know, and his sort of obsession with, like, well, we could all just be acting, I think, is like an insecurity or an anger that. Not that some people act out sincerity better than others, but that some people cannot act it out, can't act anything out, can't be anything but who they are. And that creates this real transparency. If you can't be any more charming than you are, and then what actually creates charm, if you can sort of pretend, then you're charming, does that actually just make you charming? If you can pretend it forever with someone like Colin, who I think Nathan or the character of Nathan sees himself in, there is a depth there that is not rising to the surface. His inability to be himself at all times is not because he's acting. It's because he's incapable of acting when he is incapable of being himself, when he is in uncomfortable positions that push his true self further and further down and creating all these scenarios that might help him act it out. I don't. It's not making him any more of an actor. That's not behavior you can change. And as stated by Nathan, he is not a therapist, nor are any of the actors he's brought onto the wings of voice stage to talk to pilots. Legally, they are not therapists and cannot report to the faa.

[Jodie Walker]

That was hilarious.

[Charles Omes]

But one thing you just said, if we're looking at the show through the darkest lens possible, is there a level of like.

[Jodie Walker]

Sometimes I, I don't want to call.

[Charles Omes]

It anger, but like with Nathan, the thing that I feel like so much of his work is about is like, can you actually change behavior or yourself? And especially with Nathan, I think Nathan is probably naturally a very off putting person or a very awkward person or the type of.

[Jodie Walker]

The type of person that would benefit.

[Charles Omes]

From there being rules to society where.

[Jodie Walker]

It'S just like, I don't have to infer when a woman is looking from.

[Charles Omes]

My eyes to lips to eyes.

[Jodie Walker]

If we all were just like agreed that that was the. It was funny.

[Unnamed Guest]

What?

[Jodie Walker]

Like one of my little homies was like asking me, he was like showing.

[Charles Omes]

Me his hinge profile or whatever and.

[Jodie Walker]

He'S like, yeah, can you give me your thoughts? And it was just like he had something on there, what he was like looking for. And I was just like, oh, that's.

[Charles Omes]

Code word for your fuck boy.

[Jodie Walker]

And he's like, what? And I'm just like, yeah, you gotta turn that, you gotta change that to like long term relationship, open to short.

[Unnamed Guest]

What was it? Oh, does he have it he's looking for?

[Jodie Walker]

I think it was like short term, open to long. And he was like, he looked at.

[Charles Omes]

Me, he's like, wait, he's like, women.

[Jodie Walker]

Think that I'm a fuck. I was just like, no, no, no, that's like. I'm like, yeah, but you didn't do anything wrong. It's just.

[Unnamed Guest]

But be honest, be honest about what you're open to. If you're not open to a long term relationship, don't put it on there.

[Jodie Walker]

But that was a moment where I was watching this episode and I was going back and I was like, oh, for Nathan, that is something that bothers him. The fact that you're just like, oh, there's not like there's this rule that maybe 60 to 70% of society understands. Like, if you do this, you're a.

[Charles Omes]

Fuckboy if you do this.

[Jodie Walker]

That means someone wants to K. And then there's a certain subset who are.

[Charles Omes]

Just like, I don't get, like no one gave me this memo.

[Jodie Walker]

Like I. There's a nuance.

[Unnamed Guest]

The thing about social rules like that is that that rule which, yeah like probably 70% of people understand that as a sign that someone wants to be kissed only applies to people who are capable of making good eye contact. And that's a real thing. Like some people don't make eye contact very often. It is part of who they are, it is part of their behavior. And it is fine. All social rules can't apply to all people.

[Charles Omes]

But do you think Nathan wants it.

[Jodie Walker]

To be that case that he wants?

[Unnamed Guest]

Of course, yes. He wants so badly to crack the human behavioral code. And I understand, I mean he's talk, I think it's when he's talking to John G. And he says that kind of the conclusion he's come to and I guess what he's going to tell Congress is that it's less about in, in the cockpit in these like high tension times. It's less about the critical moment when you may need to take over the controls and assert yourself and more about trying to establish a relationship from the very start when an emergency actually happens. And as a reminder, the reason that he's come to that conclusion is because he has been trying very hard to make a very shy young man kiss an actress.

[Charles Omes]

Yes.

[Unnamed Guest]

That's what's brought him to this conclusion. And when he says early on when he's talking about that he's observed all the pilots standing in silence and he's kind of like that's not normal. That's not normal like new colleague behavior. I'm kind of like, could it be, is it, is it more about changing pilots behavior or is it more about screening for this kind of behavior early on? If it's someone who can't assert themselves when they are in a Beta position, should they be a co captain? I don't know. Guess we'll find out in Congress.

[Charles Omes]

I honestly, I'm gonna call up hbo. Jody. I'm going to, I'm going to get you and Colin in a room. And you, you are the new Nathan. You are. You are. I feel like you could help Colin way more than Nathan because I feel like you actually would want to help him. Nathan, he's playing with Nathan, wants to.

[Unnamed Guest]

Learn something from him. And sometimes that can mirror help. I do take great joy in bringing a shy person out of their shell. And it's a careful process. It rarely involves actors or immediate kissing. So that's a difference in mine and Nathan's approach.

[Jodie Walker]

Whoa, whoa. We don't know if this was immediate kissing. I wish they would have given us a timeline of, like, how, like, how long were these dates? Like, how long was this process? Was this like a week? Was this two weeks? Was this three weeks?

[Unnamed Guest]

To me, it seemed to move pretty quick. But interestingly, we were not on the first date. We weren't. Nathan was not invited to the first date. He wasn't invited to the second date either. But there were seemingly cameras following them around stealthily.

[Jodie Walker]

I will also say on that second date, I don't know if my girl.

[Charles Omes]

The signs were as obvious as she had made them seem. I was just like, I don't think.

[Jodie Walker]

Colin fumbled that too badly. Well.

[Unnamed Guest]

And yeah, no, he didn't. And the thing is, if you subscribe to these social rules, if you are Nathan and you come to believe that all kisses on early dates come about because the woman or the man does the eye, lip, eye movement, then what's the inverse of that? That someone doesn't want to kiss if they don't do the move. He's dealing in pretty tricky, very gray areas that he is often trying to make black and white. And that's what I feel like we're pretty deep in. In this episode is like attempting to. To force. I mean, even he talks about it several times. Like, he uses the word force a lot. Like, I can't force these people to do this ethically, I can't do such and such much. Though he may like to.

[Jodie Walker]

I mean, you. You already brought it up.

[Charles Omes]

It.

[Jodie Walker]

I think I start getting uncomfortable and.

[Charles Omes]

Nathan Fielder is doing it on purpose. Where in the first season, when the. The family shit starts getting too real.

[Jodie Walker]

When you realize there's a bunch of kids, there's a woman on the other end of this who will want a family. And you're like, ethically, where are we going? And this was another episode where I was like, all right, there is a.

[Charles Omes]

Line here, Nathan, and I feel like you are pissing on it with every single successive minute of Just like, these are real people.

[Jodie Walker]

I get that one of them is an actor and would love some screen time. But there does seem like we are up against even my ability to be.

[Charles Omes]

Like, dog, stop being mean to poor Cot.

[Jodie Walker]

Like, just let this boy b. Oh, Charles.

[Unnamed Guest]

When he kisses her on the cheek, when kisses on. As an actor. Well, that's why, like, you asked, what would I do? I would ask him if he wants to kiss her. I. That's what I. That was what made me uncomfortable is I was just never totally clear on how into this Colin was. And I think that the likelihood is that Colin is also doing it for growth. That Colin knows that he's in a somewhat socially precarious position, and he taught. He says that he doesn't have much of a social life. Being a pilot makes that even harder. Being a pilot makes it hard to date. There's clearly a story there because Meredith said the same thing. And worth some exploration, I think. Like, if I'm treating this as an actual experiment, I would have wanted this episode to be following the train of what I would have wanted it to be a little more serialized, of following what Nathan figured out in the last episode when he cosplayed Sully for a whole lifetime.

[Charles Omes]

You wanted a little bit more Sully?

[Unnamed Guest]

I. Of course I wanted more Sully. I always want more Sully. And I personally felt like he was onto something with. But where he picks up the tale is finding out that pilots could be at risk of losing their license if they go to therapy, which I think is a bit of a jump. And maybe. I don't know, maybe if we're going to fix aviation safety, maybe we start there with. Maybe that's what we go to Congress about. Could we figure out a way that pilots can freely express their mental health struggles in a therapist's office? If that. If that is the issue.

[Charles Omes]

Or. Or should we make a dating app for pilots and people who understand how tough their job is?

[Unnamed Guest]

Nathan. I just called you Nathan because it felt so. Nathan Fielder.

[Charles Omes]

Like.

[Unnamed Guest]

That'S a great idea. You know what we should call it? On the Wings of Love.

[Jodie Walker]

Hell, yes, we are. We're going into business, Jody. But guess what? I'm changing our seg.

[Charles Omes]

Our email segment. Okay. I have a new name for you.

[Unnamed Guest]

You got to be iterating. You got to be Iterating.

[Jodie Walker]

I'm iterating. We are building. We are building this rehearsal space. So I want to call this Wings of Podcasting now.

[Unnamed Guest]

Okay? That's gorgeous. Gorgeous name for a baby girl. Yes. I love it.

[Jodie Walker]

So we have two emails. Would you.

[Charles Omes]

Would you mind reading them today? And if people are interested in emailing us, let me get this email. Prestige tvotify.com prestige tvotify.com and what I have to tell you is, not only do we love getting your emails, we do read them. We can't. Everybody can't get on the show. We're so sorry for that. But it warms my heart that you guys are sending us crazy, insightful, emotionally complex written, written just like Messages from your heart. Do you have anything to say to these emailers?

[Unnamed Guest]

Well, I was wondering, Charles, if you have anything that you want the people to be emailing us about, because these do really spark our curiosity, inspire our conversation.

[Jodie Walker]

You want to know what I do.

[Charles Omes]

Want to hear more about? I. I need to own up when I'm wrong. On this podcast, I was given false information. There were people in my life, stewardesses and pilots, who were. Who. Who maybe just were super charming. Maybe they were like the actress. They're doing the eye to the lip to the eye move. Their dating life is very adventurous. So I was basically like, yo, I heard that it's popping to be a pilot or a stewardess. It's really easy to date a lot of people. That no longer seems to be a case. I apologize. I this time would actually like to know if there are any pilots out there, stewardesses or anybody with a similar.

[Unnamed Guest]

Charles, you gotta say flight attendant.

[Jodie Walker]

Wait, is it. Wait, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa.

[Charles Omes]

Is stewardess problematic now?

[Unnamed Guest]

It's just not the name.

[Charles Omes]

Wait, they're not called Stewardesses is the.

[Unnamed Guest]

Last time you flew on Pan Am.

[Charles Omes]

Whoa. I'm sorry.

[Jodie Walker]

I'm not as woke as I thought. My bad, my bad. Flight attendant.

[Unnamed Guest]

Getting in there. I'm just getting in there quick.

[Jodie Walker]

No, you know what?

[Charles Omes]

Here's the thing.

[Jodie Walker]

You are. You are my merit. That's what I would like to know from our listeners.

[Charles Omes]

If you struggle, if you're honestly driving subways, trains or whatever, and you struggle to date, let me know.

[Jodie Walker]

If you're like, I'm. I'm really interested and maybe we can.

[Charles Omes]

Like, we can be the Nathan Fielder here and, like, get your message out there. What would you like to know?

[Unnamed Guest]

Well, I also really love when people point out. This is sort of hard to explain, but when people point out things that, like, I meant to say the week before and just kind of were on here for an hour and I missed it. And an example of that is that several people messaged me and emailed us about the. And I noticed this when I watched the episode and we didn't talk about it. That kind of a flaw in one of Nathan's. And again, the. One of the people who emailed about it said, like, could be a flaw on purpose. That is always an option. Nathan Fielder could be trying to make himself look dumb and not like a trained behavioral scientist. But when they were doing the experiment, experiment with the clone dogs, and they're trying to see if the cloned dog will react to a diabetic seizure? Very. We know that when dogs react to things like that, it is usually like scent based or pheromone based or something like that. So those women pretending to have a diabetic seizure is not going to trigger the same biological response in a dog as it actually happening, much as those dog owners might have liked to imagine.

[Charles Omes]

So are you basically saying that Nathan Fielder should have had people who are actually going through a diabetic seizure if he wanted the. If he wanted his experiment to actually be true?

[Unnamed Guest]

Yes, because that is so within the realm of something Nathan Fielder would do.

[Jodie Walker]

It's like absolutely within the.

[Unnamed Guest]

This is where we're drawing the line. You, you know, made an entire Panda Express in a recreation of the Houston airport as a skit. As like a. As a little vignette. I loved the Wings of Love singing competition thing where they broke out into the genres and were still singing Amazing Grace.

[Jodie Walker]

I was so pissed what it was like, what it was country, techno, hip.

[Unnamed Guest]

Hop, electronic, and R and B. Or I guess maybe techno electronic were the same one.

[Jodie Walker]

Anyway, I love these emails.

[Unnamed Guest]

Okay, okay, back to Wings of Podcasting. Email us, please. Ryan hit us with a Nathan Fielder encounter. And something you said earlier reminded me of this, of. Of Nathan being sort of off putting. And he was telling us how Nathan lived in Toronto a few years ago and was honing his skills doing college comedy. And he had this daily comedy show that he did. He said, for a laugh, look up Nathan on your side on YouTube and you'll see some great early bits with an unfortunate laugh track. But when Nathan for you launched, Ryan says, I was walking downtown and saw him and said, hey, I love your new show. Just had dinner with some friends and told them to watch. He looked me dead in the eye, paused for a few seconds and said, keep doing that, and then continued on. I'm not sure which version of Nathan I was speaking to there, but it always stuck with me. I bet it did.

[Charles Omes]

Hell yeah. That's player shit. Hell yeah.

[Unnamed Guest]

Keep doing that.

[Charles Omes]

My, my, my question for you then, Jody, as someone who I've realized is the reality show whisperer, how would you have rehearsed with Nathan in that interaction?

[Jodie Walker]

What.

[Charles Omes]

What could he have said better that was a little bit more cheery, a little bit more, may I say sincere?

[Unnamed Guest]

I would say, knowing Nathan like I do now, from the show, imagine that you are trying to manipulate this man into doing something for you, because that is seemingly the only thing that brings a smile to his face. And I'm gonna hit him with the ol smile. More last.

[Charles Omes]

Last email for the day.

[Unnamed Guest]

Email from. Steven would be fascinated to hear your thoughts about Nathan's influences. I see an awful lot of Charlie Kaufman here. Eternal Sunshine, where Jim Carrey as a toddler hides under his mom's kitchen table. Synecdoche, New York, where a director hires actors to play actors to play actors playing different versions of himself. Charles. I mean, I'm gonna be honest. Steven hit the big ones.

[Jodie Walker]

No, I would say this is.

[Charles Omes]

I was gonna bring up Schenectady actually in this episode, but when we got this email, I'm like, I'll wait for. I'll wait to talk about it. Now. What I think reminds me the rehearsal of Schenectady the most is I'm learning that the rehearsal is a show about scale. And it is about building upon not only sets, but building upon the bits. And basically Nathan Fielder creating a world and a family and a language. And I'm almost positive we're probably gonna get maybe a third season at the least.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah.

[Charles Omes]

What is.

[Jodie Walker]

Now we have the Lizard Lounge next.

[Charles Omes]

To a Panda Express that's inside of an airport.

[Jodie Walker]

Where does the airport go? Like, the airport's not disappearing.

[Unnamed Guest]

You know what I would love for people to email us [e-mail] is like your favorite pieces of, like, world building happening in the rehearsal. Like your favorite pieces of lore. The Alligator Lounge, the returning people. I just. I don't know what I mean. Wings of Love seems here to stay.

[Charles Omes]

That seems.

[Jodie Walker]

Or even the fact that the curse now is a recurring. He keeps it like he has. He's like, I'm going to get one more shot in this episode.

[Unnamed Guest]

What did he say? Oh, what did he say about Paramount? I'm trying to like, search for the exact he says about acting. This is confusing to me. I recently acted in a dramatic series, the Curse on Paramount. Plus a network with some questionable viewpoints. Get them, Nathan. Get your licks in, babe. Also, that he kept referring to, as we're seeing on screen, Emma Stone, like one of the most famous A list actresses we have. And he just keeps calling her an actor. Like, I had to pretend like I was in love with the actor on screen, but I wasn't. And I didn't feel anything was such a great extra layer.

[Charles Omes]

I thought Emma Stone was about to.

[Jodie Walker]

Pop up on the rehearsal like that.

[Unnamed Guest]

I did too, because she always will. She'll do anything for Nathan. She popped up at the Alligator Lounge.

[Charles Omes]

The Lizard Lounge, Schenectady.

[Jodie Walker]

So that is the Kaufman. You are absolutely right.

[Charles Omes]

The. The listener Kaufman. Schenectady, this is the rehearsal, is a show that I'm kind of interested in in terms of depending upon how long he does this. How big do you think the rehearsal can get?

[Unnamed Guest]

How big is HBO's budget?

[Jodie Walker]

I'm.

[Charles Omes]

I'm at a point where I'm just like, are we going to end up getting a making of the rehearsal show where, like, the next season is him.

[Jodie Walker]

Just actually being next to Casey Bloys in the HBO offices, being like, this is the show?

[Unnamed Guest]

I mean, I think if it keeps going, if it keeps iterating at some point, because this was kind of the. The crazy thing about the premise of this season. And then kind of the. The joke of. Or the just like wild, absurdist thing of. Of when the trailer came out and receiving it is like, I think at some point we get to Nathan touching the real world. You know, it was kind of like when we found out what this season was about, it was like, his Nathan Fielder been affecting air travel? Like, is that why this happened? And in fact, it's sort of the opposite. He's out in front of, trying to figure out how to make it safer. But then I saw people making jokes this week about, like, was Nathan in the conclave? Like, did Nathan get us a Chicago Pope? Etc, like, what is. What are the limitations of Nathan's power? Seemingly nothing, at least in his ability to get people to play along, I think is, like, the most heartwarming way to put it. And so I think at some point, if he keeps iterating, keeps figuring out different ways to do rehearsals, inside rehearsals, inside rehearsals. I mean, at the point at the end of this episode at which we. He was beginning to focus on the chemistry of the actors who were representing the real couple so that he could use it as a predictive tool to evaluate how Colin would act on a date so that Colin could better connect with other pilots, so that Nathan could learn about pilot behavior just in case there's a potential crash and they could do better in the cockpit. If he keeps iterating like that, I think at some point he's gonna, like, touch something real, you know, like, touch a story that we already know about. And then we see it in season seven of the rehearsal, and it's like, oh, Nathan Fielder did that.

[Charles Omes]

Outside of movies and tv, are there any reality shows that you feel like were an inspiration? Because to me, this is like, Nate.

[Jodie Walker]

There is like, a line of, like.

[Charles Omes]

2000S, 2010s, like, TLC shows, home makeover shows, like, the type of, like, I'm.

[Jodie Walker]

Going to, like, build, like part of the show is like, I'm going to build this set and then I'm going to put people in the set. And like, there's like, I can tell. And there's just like his love of a certain type of 2000s singing competition shows. Obviously he worked on one where it's like. I think a lot of the influences, like even in camera work, in the jokes, in the setups is sometimes this feels like a love letter to reality.

[Charles Omes]

TV that we don't get anymore. That was a little bit more.

[Jodie Walker]

Less produced and a little bit more rough around the edges. Where, like, does that make any sense? You watch way more reality TV than me, but this reminds me of reality TV that I grew up with as a child.

[Unnamed Guest]

Yeah. Because that reality TV was like, a lot less ethical. I know that reality TV is still crazy, but there was a lot more you're getting tricked going on. You know, I mean, there's the classic, like, Joe Millionaire. The women think they're dating a millionaire. He has revealed. Revealed to be a regular Joe. Like, that was a season that didn't get a show, that didn't get a second season, because that is unethical. You cannot lie to people. And I think that is like the line that Nathan is often treading is like, you think this is unethical, but it's actually fine because I'm doing this or I'm doing that. But interestingly, and this doesn't exactly answer your question, but when I was watching this season, I or this episode, I was like, very acutely reminded of something that is currently happening on the Bravo television show Summer House, which we cover over on Morally Corrupt on the Ring of Reality feed. Because Nathan said about the dating scenarios, I had a theory that at the start of a relationship is a great parallel for two pilots. And then he goes on to talk about kind of like the pressure of. Of how you behave in that time. He says, but the pressure of trying to show the best version of yourself can prevent you from sharing what you actually feel. And it. This is literally what is happening on Summer House right now between these two house share House members who started dating and this guy Jesse, who I'm sure could use your help on a hinge profile now because he's definitely single now is. We talked about this on the episode this week is having. He's messing everything up with this girl because he wants to seem so cool and secure that he's not allowing her to know him. And this is my quibble with Nathan experimenting like this with the love life of Colin and wanting to relay it over to the professional life is that, like, let's say Colin kicks off a relationship with Emma in a situation where he's been acting that might get you a kiss, but it's not going to get you love. To be loved is to be known. He's got to let him be known.

[Charles Omes]

Well, it's 2020.

[Jodie Walker]

I could, like, I could not disagree more. This is 2025.

[Charles Omes]

There's no such thing as love anymore. Okay, like, come on.

[Unnamed Guest]

Jaded Charles.

[Charles Omes]

Like, no, no, no, no, no.

[Unnamed Guest]

Cynical, critical Charles.

[Jodie Walker]

Yes, I'm back. Okay.

[Unnamed Guest]

Let them know you, Charles. Let the people know you.

[Charles Omes]

I'm just.

[Jodie Walker]

All I'm saying is, is that if.

[Charles Omes]

You want to win, pull up the walls. Don't let anybody know the real you. Everything, like, be an actor.

[Jodie Walker]

Nathan is right. Who cares?

[Charles Omes]

Marry for money.

[Jodie Walker]

Okay?

[Charles Omes]

Mary for comfort. It is the end times.

[Jodie Walker]

That love shit is out of the door.

[Unnamed Guest]

Hey, Charles, as a bit of an intellectual man yourself, I got a lady you should meet. As a man with a reserved, academic sexuality, I know a woman who I could set you up with. So I'll give you a number. And it doesn't have to be love. It just has to be a connection.

[Jodie Walker]

But with that. Yo, that has been our episode of the Prestige TV thank you to the.

[Charles Omes]

Best head captain that a co pilot could ever ask for, Jody Walker. Shout out, everybody who makes this podcast possible. I'm talking about ct. I'm talking about Kai Grady. I'm talking about Justin Sales. We will be back next week to talk about the rehearsal. Send in all your questions. Thank y' all for listening, and, you know, have a nice stream about Einstein.