‘Hello Tomorrow!’ Recap: ‘Forms, Appropriately Filled and Filed’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Four of ‘Hello Tomorrow!’ To revisit the previous episodes, including the series premiere, click here.
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One particular habit that each of us take part in when life is coming at us in a fast and furious manner, is that we all lower our heads and bury ourselves in work and tasks. Because in that moment… we simply cannot handle dealing with our problems, and/or we need to sort through them in a manner that is nontraditional and keeping busy in that manner… helps us slowly sort it out or it girds our constitution to prepare us for the fight ahead. Which we do indeed take part in when the time is right in some form or fashion. But while this is a tried-and-true method to handling our business from time to time, it does harbor some unsettling drawbacks. After all, some people bury their head in other tasks and their work for so long, that they actually learn to ignore the issue at hand and just soldier on, as though nothing is wrong. 
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Which… usually ends badly for the person taking part in such an act. Since we cannot outrun the past or our problems and somehow or another… they will catch up to us, and demand that we pay attention to them, or else, and they started to do just that in this week’s episode of Hello Tomorrow! on Apple TV+. For the Brightside crew was genuinely settling into Vistaville in ‘Forms, Appropriately Filled and Filed’, and that brought about some unique storylines for certain. Such as the fact that the business basically had to shut down. For the shady and false operation that Jack has set up, finally dealt with the man regarding licenses and bonding and the like, and that meant quiet time for the team. Wherein some of them were forced to face a long-awaited wake-up call to deal with their problems and their past, and that brought about some interesting moments.

For instance, this quiet time taught Eddie… that he really doesn’t have a life plan. He just moves from moment to moment with hope, despite the trouble it has caused him. Courtesy of incredible debts and the threat of physical harm looming over his head. But he has been at it for so long, what else does he know? Hence why he once again placed the bet of a lifetime in a desperate attempt to not have to think about what comes next in life for, he and Shirley and well… that oddly brought out a fascinating wake-up call for Eddie. Because this time around, he won… and won big. Wiping away those horrible debts and putting him in quite the unique place. Because now, the money he promised his love was here, as was the future they wanted so badly, and that will leave him with no choice but to think upon how to leave those problems and bad habits behind and focus upon what tomorrow is finally going to look like.  

However, while Eddie had something of a happy wake-up call, Jack’s was a touch darker in nature. Because Joey was in need of some serious romantic help in this story since he finally found the courage to ask the girl, he’s had a crush on for forever, out. But her father wanted to meet Joey’s parents and Joey asked Jack to step in and play dad. Which Jack was happy to do and eventually made magic happen in playing the role he already had. A move that led to the discovery that Jack was his son and incredible pain for Jack. Because now he knows what a fool, he’s been for running from his true calling, and how much he now wants this and is scared of it all at once, and well… this was a fine wake-up call for Jack. That if he doesn’t step up and be a father and confront his mistake and the truth… that conflict and the regret such ignorance will engender… will be with him for the rest of his life.

All of which led to another powerful episode of this series. One that was as subtle and as quirky as the previous three and of course… still found a way to keep things light. Through Herb’s storyline in this tale for instance. Wherein his wife came all this way to seek vengeance when there was none, and even through Costopoulous and Myrtle. Since his straight arrow approach to everything was wonderfully counterbalanced by Myrtle’s need to make Brightside pay. Which served to remind us of the brilliance of this series and how it does a wonderful job of using humor to hammer points home, since there was comedy to be found in Jack and Eddie’s big moments as well and well, in the end, the critical epiphanies that Jack and Eddie went through here, only leave us eager for more. Because we have to know if they are going to answer the call and find the happiness and hope and peace they seek, or if old habits will resume and the hard work they use to hide from the world, will become their focus once again. Until next time.

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