'Blunt Talk' Recap: 'A Cell Doesn't Have to Be a Closet'

Written by John Edward Betancourt

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

The beauty of a television show when it enters its second season, is that the people behind the scenes are no longer shackled by the need to build a world and establish who and what the characters are all about. They can finally explore brave new frontiers storytelling wise, and take the people that inhabit this world to new and exciting places and that's something that Blunt Talk has embraced throughout its stellar second season. Every single week, this show has not only managed to leave us in stitches, but it continually examines the human condition, looking at the little things that make us special.

Last night's episode, 'A Cell Doesn't Have to Be a Closet​', was of course no exception, but rather than stay on the current examination of love and what it does to us...the show decided to explore something far more primal...fear and the dangers and benefits that come with it. Yes, you read that right, and while that's an ominous description of this episode, have no fear, the laughs came fast and furious last night and this particular concept was explored by way of two characters, Walter and Shelly. But what made the storytelling so extremely special for this episode, was that this episode took the time to examine fear in both subtle and direct fashion.

The direct approach came by way of Shelly, since with Walter in jail, someone had to fill in as host and rather than go with Jim, Gardner made the decision to put Shelly on the air. This led to quite the power trip from Miss Tinkle, as her ego spun out of control, allowing her to make incredible demands of the team and threaten their jobs when she was displeased with their performance, and this unexpected  fire and zest came from a simple place...fear. She was terrified of failing on the air, and confessed to Martin that she truly believed that she has never deserved success and her fear of it, has forced her to self sabotage on a regular basis. But Martin being the gentle soul that he is, pressed her to move forward and seize this opportunity and she was able to embrace her fear in order to overcome it.

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While the UBS team scrambled to keep the show going, Walter, Harry and Rafe adjusted to life on the inside and well, that's when the show really delved into some hilarious territory. Because prison in this world, is not quite what you would expect it to be. There was no despair or excessive violence to be found here. Just a bunch of dudes enjoying their meals, their theater readings and tons of consensual sex to the point where Duncan Adler referred to the joint as 'one big happy orgy.' 

It was a safe place for Rafe to discover his love of acting and without the threat of violence hanging over their head every minute of the day, Walter was able to reflect upon what brought him to this moment in his life and well...this is where fear was examined in subtle fashion. Because in these precious moments, Walter's fear of having wasted his career away slowly bubbled to the surface, driving him to desperation, to the point where he agreed to have Rosalie use the nuclear option in getting him out of jail, all in the hopes of making it back to the station in time for his broadcast to spread the word about the evil of Rudolph Global and to hopefully sway minds for the upcoming vote. The nuclear option turned out to be Ronnie and he did get Walter out in time to make it back to UBS for the show...only for Walter to see his world quickly turned upside down since he received the news that he's suspended until the charges are cleared up, meaning he was forced to watch Shelly Tinkle do her thing...and do it well...

Which means that Walter's drive and ambition to expose Rudolph Global is now costing him dearly. It's given Shelly a chance at the big chair and left Walter out in the cold and well, where we go from here is anyone's guess, and all of this stems from Walter's fear and belief that he has been wasting his career away and by not picking and choosing his battles, by forging ahead without giving it any thought...he now has to deal with some ugly consequences. Clearly the only way for Walter to redeem himself at this point is to find a way to crack his investigation wide open or find some kind of smoking gun but either way, this was a fascinating episode to say the least, one that balanced the comedy and the drama to perfection and once again I'm dying to know where the story is going to take us next. Until next time.

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