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Television

Detroiters S2E4, “Trevor”

Oh, man, this might have been the most fun of the year so far. At long last, we finally get a look at the rest of Tim’s family beyond the “bonkers” Big Hank. Mom Sue is played by Nora Dunn, and she’s remarried to a guy named Jerry who Tim’s brother has no respect for whatsoever. Tim’s brother Trevor (Conner O’Malley) is both the focus of the episode and the real highlight among the bunch. (As far as I can tell, there’s no Little Hank.)

The episode starts at a family dinner at the Cramblins– which of course includes Tim’s wife Chrissy, Sam’s sister, and thus also Sam himself– where we quickly learn just how much Sue has been babying Trevor, who’s still living at home. (Tim asks Sue about the house he’d moved into: “It didn’t work out, they turned out all to be backstabbers and liars. All fifteen of them.”) Trevor doesn’t have a job, instead spending his time on detailed erotic fantasy art. In the first screamingly funny moment of the episode, Jerry describes what happened when he asked Trevor to draw a picture of him and Sue: They were naked, and Jerry was drawn with a “huge, incredibly detailed hog.”

Sue: “You should see the details on that hog: It’s as if he’s seen it. Down. To. The. Veins.”

After howling at that punchline to the cold open, we get a scene where Sue begs Tim to give Trevor a job at Cramblin-Duvet and to let him move in with them for a while. Sam and Chrissy are not on board with either respective part of this idea, but Tim agrees anyway. Cue Tim going to Trevor’s room to offer him the job, then getting into a screaming match, kicked off by Trevor asking “What happened, did Sam get chronic diarrhea and die?” Tim does not like to joke about Sam’s death.

Trevor showing up to the office results in a few amazing reveals. Sheila loves him, it turns out. Tim introduces Trevor to Tommy; Trevor tells him “What’s up,” and Tommy acts like he’s never heard this phrase before, instantly fascinated by it. Tim and Sam have a pitch meeting with a jeweler, and they let Trevor sit in on it.

And that’s where we get the most amazing reveal of all: Trevor is an absolute natural at advertising, more like Big Hank than Tim could ever hope to be. After Tim and Sam’s comic pitch about engagement rings falls flat, Trevor tells them “He doesn’t want funny ideas, idiots,” and comes up with a serious pitch off the top of his head that absolutely kills. Even Sam recognizes: “You know who he reminds me of? Your dad.” Tim: “No, I remind you of your dad.”

Meanwhile, Trevor living with Tim and Chrissy is a nightmare– he plays video games at an absurd volume in his room; he and Tim constantly get into screaming matches; he pranks Tim in preposterous fashion– so Chrissy decides to head next door to spend some time with Sam. (Sam: “Not on your [bleeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeep] life!”) They end up watching The New Dance Show; again, an element based on something from the real Detroit, although

When it’s time to film the commercial, Trevor doesn’t show up. Tim heads back to his mother’s house to find out why, and eventually they have a conversation where Trevor reveals that he doesn’t want to step on Tim’s thing, and that he just isn’t passionate about advertising the way Tim is. This happens in the middle of a pretty funny dinner segment, which I’ll get to in the stray observations.

This episode was a blast; season 2 seems so far to put Tim’s ability to look ridiculous screaming to good use, with Trevor making a highlight pair for this, as the two just continually escalate with one another. Trevor being an advertising savant was also a terrific character touch, and getting some Sam and Chrissy time together was nice; they’ve managed to build this relationship in a way that feels like real siblings.

Too damn many funny lines and moments for the writeup. I’ll cover a few of them in the notes, but this was an episode jam-packed with comedy, which is why it’s the highlight of the season so far.

TAGLINES

  • Tim helping Trevor pack for the move: “Pack your deodorant. …Pack your deodorant I bought you for Christmas.”
  • Trevor insists on bringing his Slipknot mask. Tim doesn’t want him to. The mask will come up again.
  • Sam still tries to fit comedy in the jewelry pitch: “And maybe the baby craps itself.”
  • The jewelry store proprietor starts spontaneously bleeding out of his mouth during the initial meeting. “You’ve cut the shit out of your lip, sir.”
  • Sam with more bad ideas: “We cast a real-life husband and wife in the commercial, so when they kiss, they can really go at it.” “I don’t want them to go at it.”
  • Sam and Chrissy debate who’s the best dancer on The New Dance Show. “General Getdown. He’s a general. He’s the best.”
  • “Say what you will, I’ve never hit you with a stick.” “Yeah, you have.” “Oh. Yeah.”
  • Trevor dresses in Chrissy’s robes and his Slipknot mask to ambush Tim in bed.
  • When Tim goes to wake Trevor for the commercial shoot, he finds he’s not there, only the mask left behind. Well, not only the mask. “Jizz! Fuck!”
  • Jerry rolling up the car window when the black guy walks by was a highlight. Later, over dinner, Sue and Jerry continue down the suburban-racism road: “The city’s gotten okay… in certain parts.” “We got asked for change. But the guy was funny, actually!”
  • Sam hires his cousin David in response to Tim hiring Trevor. Eventually this leads to David making this phone call: “Hey, Joy. It’s not a real job. It’s a prank on Tim.”
  • “Sneak back to Mom’s in the middle of the night, leave rope on the bed?”
  • Tim crying in the Slipknot mask was another hilarious moment.
  • Sam and Trevor talk about Trevor’s commercial. “It could have been a little funny, people remember the funny ones, in my experience.” “Yeah, so that’s why they did yours, right?” “You piece of shit.”
  • Jerry finally has had enough of Trevor wearing his hat to the dinner table and knocks it off his head. This leads to Trevor piledriving Jerry. “I AM THE NEW DAD!”
  • The tag has Chrissy and Sam appearing on The New Dance Show, as “Rosie the Boogier” and “Emperor… King Gold… the Midas Man.” It goes about as well as two siblings competing for attention always goes.