‘Avenue 5’ Recap: ‘I’m a Hand Model’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM. YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

​Over the course of its first couple of episodes, the HBO series Avenue 5 has done a phenomenal job of exploring the nature of a disaster and how important it is to have competent leadership at the helm when a crisis strikes. Because things have been messy thus far on this series, thanks to the fact that senior leadership aboard this vessel is as clueless as they come. And that’s led to some wildly hilarious and quirky moments as everyone tries and fails to keep things orderly on this semi-doomed stellar pleasure cruise. But now that the dust is starting to settle, and everyone is starting to hunker down for the long haul, the next episode in this series felt it was high time to allow for the audience to get to know some of the characters aboard this vessel.
 
Which is a brilliant idea. Simply because, it’s going to be a long journey back to Earth for both the audience and the folks aboard this ship, so why not take a little time to get to know everyone, and what we learned about the captain specifically in this tale was fascinating to say the least. For we came to discover that Captain Ryan Clark is a family man. Since he just so happens to have a husband and a wife back home, both of whom believe the time has come for Ryan to stop galivanting about the galaxy and settle down for a change. Something that just may happen after this particular cruise comes to an end since it’s already been brutal. Plus, we also came to learn in this tale that while Clark may not be a skilled captain in the slightest, he’s damn good at reading a room and people for that matter as well and using what he learns to his benefit.
 
Because he finally came to the conclusion that perhaps the time had come to stop keeping Karen at a distance and make her an ally. After all, she is quite adept at and getting people to agree with whatever is at the top of her mind and giving her a sense of power and belonging could go a long way. Especially after Ryan discovers that the Cyrus’ data is all wrong and the voyage home will take even longer than originally anticipated. And all of these things motivate Captain Clark to butter Karen up to take a new liaison officer position, wherein she can enjoy the finest amenities that the ship has to offer, and feel as though she’s in charge, all while doing the captain’s bidding and this was quite the savvy idea. Because it worked, and she went along with every single second of It and thank the stars that she did.
 
For there were more unpleasant discoveries to be made in this tale. Such as the fact that there are far less leaders aboard this ship than originally thought. Because once Ryan realized that he could actually make a difference and lead people after all, he felt the need to try and inspire his intrepid bridge crew and well, that’s going to be easier said than done. Because every manned station on the bridge, is automated, and every single person at their station, is there to look pretty and pretend they actually know what the hell they’re doing. Which is terrifying for certain because it seems as though the only people really in charge of the ship are the small staff of engineers below deck, and thus far, they haven’t shown they want to do much more but stay in the shadows. 
 
Which has merit. Because that way they can do their work without any interruption or wild orders from Judd. But knowing this series, there is a solid chance they are going to be thrust into the spotlight sooner rather than later. Because Captain Clark simply cannot keep a secret, and he’s desperate to find a way home quickly, and it should be interesting to see what comes next for the engineering crew, since they are clearly this ship’s last hope. All (possible) future plot points aside however, this really was quite the delightful episode when all is said and done. Because the jokes were still on point, and the dark humor brought forth more uncomfortable laughs and, in the end, this show just continues to impress. Because every single episode straight up understands how to offer the perfect balance of storytelling and comedy. Until next time.

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