Nothing goes right for Greg Russo in “White Whale.” To be fair, that seems to be the case since Rooster started, or technically before it did, because he’s been wallowing in the heartbreak of his divorce for five years. He ran off to Florida and lived in isolation (and likely rewatched Cheers) after that shakeup. Now that he’s moved to the Northeast and teaches at Ludlow College, he has to readjust to being around people again—and not just any people but outspoken Gen Zers who don’t mind filing complaints about him on day one. Plus, he’s got Pres. Walter Mann (John C. McGinley) as his office neighbor, and that can’t be an easy pill to swallow. And that’s not to mention his back-and-forth with Dylan (Danielle Deadwyler) or the fact that his daughter understandably doesn’t want to get caught up in his drama.
So episode three is about establishing Greg’s new normal, where he inadvertently makes a mess despite his best intentions. Rooster wants us to empathize with his messes, though. It helps that Greg has the endearing face and acting skills of Steve Carell. (This was also the case with his character in last year’s The Four Seasons on Netflix. Heck, it’s part of what made Michael Scott a lovable goof.) In this case, too, Carell plays Greg with an equal mix of charming and slightly pathetic. He believably sells Greg’s desperation to reconnect with Katie (Charly Clive), for whom he took this new gig so she wouldn’t get fired (although she doesn’t know it yet). Carell also conveys that underneath Greg’s self-loathing is a desire to find companionship. That’s why it’s fun to watch him awkwardly banter with Dylan, try hard to bond with students, and experience a short-lived burst of joy when Dean Riggs (Alan Ruck) invites him over for porch whiskey.
Unfortunately for Greg (or should I say Grg?), he’s inexperienced at teaching and an Older White Guy, which makes him prone to getting caught up in a generational divide with those attending his class. That’s the focus of “White Whale.” It’s also what he calls one of his students without fully realizing what it means in Moby-Dick. And Ronni (Sophia Macy)—the same girl who called him out for sexism in his books in episode one—doesn’t respond well, so Greg is sent to the board for the first but not the last time for how he conducts himself.
The thing is, Greg is trying. He gets vulnerable with the kids, asking them about why they want to write in the first place. He opens up about why he pursued this career and landed on action-packed beach reads where the main character goes around kicking ass, hooking up with women, and winning. “Honestly, I write because sometimes I wish I were someone else,” he says. It gets a few students to finally warm up to him, which is lovely. I wish Rooster had let that dynamic develop in this moment to give him some growth and help flesh out the one-dimensional characterization of the Gen Zers in attendance.
Instead, the show once again opts for an attempt at physical comedy, with Greg slipping in class while walking around in excitement and falling in a way that his hands grab onto a poor young woman’s boobs. Off to the principal’s office, a.k.a. the board, he goes again, where he explains his actions and is given a pass. As a bonus, the one deciding his fate isn’t Dean Riggs but Dylan. She becomes the interim dean because Riggs suffers a heart attack in this episode. “You can show me how to do it all with grace and sensitivity,” Walt taunts Dylan while giving her the gig. Doesn’t he have to get a pass from the board before granting her a promotion? He just does whatever he wants, including blackmailing Greg to be the writer-in-residence after someone else was already offered the job.
Dylan isn’t the only one who has her hands full. Katie and Archie (Phil Dunster) are still pining for one another. She spends her time secretly smoking and spying on him before Dylan lifts her suspension so that she can stop moping. Meanwhile, Archie tries to be a good boyfriend to Sunny (Lauren Tsai) by connecting with Walter so he can mentor her as she seeks internship opportunities. If nothing else, this highlights the opportunities that lie ahead of someone as smart as Sunny, raising the question once again of why in the world she’s choosing to be with Archie. The scene-stealer here is Robby Hoffman, who plays Sunny’s roommate. Mo doesn’t just hate that Archie lives with them now, but she voices all of our feelings every time he pops up when she says things like “Break up!” and “Go home!” in frustration. I get her, and I can’t wait to see the type of comedy she infuses into the show.
At the end, “White Whale” circles back to Greg’s problems, specifically that even in this new world, he’s still alone. Katie decides not to attend a hockey game with him so she can hang out with friends to maintain her independence. Greg can’t really hang out with Riggs anymore because he’s in the hospital, and I don’t think he’s built for Walter’s hot sauna/cold plunge combo. That leaves only Dylan, who pops up at the game only to lecture Greg about his behavior in class. She has some sage advice for him: Get your shit together and stop offending people. How tough can that be?
Stray observations
- • What a pleasant surprise to see Nancy Carell join the cast as Dean Riggs’ wife. And the only scenes she has are with Steve, when their characters are in the hospital for the whole night.
- • Robby Hoffman’s Mo, after Sunny forces her to go to the gym: “Why are you making me do this? It’s like a labor camp. This is hell.”
- • I don’t know what Rooster is trying to say about the two young women in Archie’s class who keep drooling over him, but I’m not sure I like it.
- • Scott MacArthur briefly makes his debut as Ludlow’s new hockey coach (correction, new drunk at work hockey coach).
- • Charly Clive is emerging as the low-key scene-stealer, so I was bummed that she didn’t have as much to do in this half hour.
- • Greg name-drops the authors who inspire him, including Gregory McDonald, Sue Grafton, and Carl Hiaasen. Fun fact: Series co-creator Bill Lawrence’s Bad Monkey (on Apple TV) is adapted from a Hiaasen novel. Also, Greg’s students have no idea who these people are. Similarly, Greg has never heard of Zadie Smith.
- • Phil Dunster’s confused delivery of “I’m not a doctor, but it doesn’t look great” when Archie calls 911 to help Dean Riggs got a chuckle out of me, as did the way in which he swiped the alcohol bottle back.
Saloni Gajjar is The A.V. Club‘s TV critic.
Keep scrolling for more great stories.