The Prestige TV Podcast - ‘Your Friends and Neighbors’ Episodes 6-7: Is Coop Losing His Cool?

Episode Date: May 16, 2025

Jo and Rob decide if Coop is losing it as they recap the sixth and seventh episodes of ‘Your Friends and Neighbors.' (0:00) Intro (6:01) The bender (7:33) Is Coop losing his cool? (16:23) Art henchmen (19:43) Hunter and Tori (23:23) Likable characters (40:35) Coop voiceovers Email us! [e-mail] Subscribe to the Ringer TV YouTube channel here for full episodes of ‘The Prestige TV Podcast’ and so much more! Hosts: Joanna Robinson and Rob Mahoney Producer: Kevin Pooler Additional Production Support: Justin Sayles Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

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Discover the craftmanship behind every bite. Borershead committed to craft since 1905. Hello and welcome to the Prestige TV podcast. I am Rob Mahoney. I'm Joanna Robinson. And we are here to talk about episode six and episode seven of your friends and neighbors, a show that I would say, Joe, is becoming presumed innocent before our very eyes. How are you feeling about that?

Wow, I hadn't thought of it that way. I made excellent piece with this television show in the last two weeks. We didn't record last week because you were undergoing minor surgery. Yes. as excuses go. A casual trip to the hospital, you know, no big. As excuses go, it's a pretty good one. So we're doing a double header this week.

And I've kind of just settled into this like, it's your friends are assholes. Like everyone's an asshole and I've just kind of learned to let it go. And I basically have two characters I'm rooting for. I happy to share with you who they are. And everyone else, I'm giddily watching them careen towards disaster. So, you know. Let's put a pin in that conversation. I do want to prompt you for those favorites, those people you're actually cheering for,

but really under the guise of a broader likeability power rankings of the very limited group of people who actually do seem kind of likable on the show at this point. Okay, great. I have honestly some admiration for the fact that your friends and neighbors is dedicated to making all of these people feel like assholes at various points in the show, to undermining them at every turn to like the fits and starts of maybe some kind of progress or revelation, but then also they do this other shape. thing on the side. It's like, who can you really trust in this world? I honestly don't know.

It's a great question. How are you feeling about returning to the presumed innocent waters? You know what? I'm feeling good about the murder mystery of it all. You know, of turning our little petty theft dromedy into a murder mystery dramedy, I'm enjoying the contours of that. I don't know where it's going to go. I don't know if they're going to land the plane. Maybe we get into a courtroom and everything goes to absolute shit from an execution standpoint. I don't know. But I, but I love this area. So who might be mad about it? Is Peter Sarsgaard available for a potential crossover? If so,

let's go. What is the crab rang good budget? That's what I want to know on this show. Bring the bolo tie and I'm ready to go. Absolutely. But we did get an email I wanted to address up top in light of that, Joe, from a different Joe, Joseph, who emailed us wondering if we would be interested in a version of this show in which

there's no crime, if it's just kind of the interpersonal conceit of your friends and neighbors, but maybe instead of the petty theft, there's some other means to make money, maybe instead of the now dead body, there's just some like other big thing that the neighborhood has to deal with. Would you be interested in a show like that based on this group of characters, but not the bigger existential threats? I don't know. I genuinely don't know how to answer that because there's, I have so many questions about decisions made in the making of the show. The way that the story keeps oozing out into various corners of people's lives in a way that like I feel like I can. can't track everything very well. And so would that feel better without the framework of

the smash and grab or the murder mystery? I don't think so. I think we need that gimmick in order to sort of contain it as best possible into this neighborhood, except we're off to Princeton or we're here there and we're doing other things also at the same time. What do you think, Rob? I'm with you. I think it would feel too much like that ooze you're describing. just a little bit of everything going in every direction at once. There's so many characters, there's so many plots, having something to tether us. And honestly, something for these characters to talk about that's really dramatic, I think serves a lot of these different angles pretty well, just even everyone being able

like sit around and wonder, like, who do you think killed Paul? Do you think Sam did this? Like, just talking amongst themselves about the events in their neighborhood feels like very true in a gossipy way, but very convenient in a structural way. Yeah. P.S. Sam definitely did it. We're going to come back to that too. I would say the general structure of these first two episodes, which is convenient, not just because it's two episodes, but first establishing really firmly what Coop still has to lose, even at a time in

his life where he's sort of in this tailspin. You know, him going off on this field trip with Mel and his family really brings a lot home for him and I think for us watching him. And then the second part of this is like turning up the heat on the wrong place, wrong time elements of this story, specifically with Coop, you know, bumping into a dead body and then having to clean up after himself. And I think making the stakes feel so much urgent for all these characters. But for all of that to matter, like, we have to buy the first part. Like, we have to buy the time warp, the time machine. If you'll, if you'll borrow, you know, the other John Hammism. Yeah.

I mean, look, it takes us to a place we ache to go again, Joe. I don't know what to tell you. I did think that, like, getting to spend time with a different version of Mel and Coop was very instructive. I enjoyed that quality time. But I'm curious how it hit you. seeing them in a different element and getting to explore their relationship or what's left of it in a totally different way. It was so funny, watching that episode, the College of Two Princeton, where both kids are there because Hunter is suspended, so he has to come along to. And they conveniently shuffle the kids off, you know, very quickly. Very quickly. And so then it just becomes, let's relive our glory days in Princeton. Really interesting tour of all these sort of like Princeton.

I was like, who in the writers room went to Princeton, who was like, well, we got to have. I looked it up. I was like, it's not John, it's not John Hamm. It's not a man of penis. I haven't figured it out yet who went, but they're like, we got to have a fat sandwich. Oh, we got to go to Thomas sweets, you know, blah. I was annoyed. This is actually the episode that really, like, allow me to let go of liking, trying to like anyone.

Because Malincoup tearing through New Jersey on a drunken bender, on a Jaeger bender, on a Yeager Bender, as adults, like, in their 40s, late 40s, early 50s, you don't recover from that. Like, you don't recover from a day drink, Yeager binge in a way that doesn't involve, like, vomiting or a serious nap. So, like, they are ostensibly responsible for their kids, but, like, go do this. Commit a petty crime. Chew out of small business owner. when he's just trying to like, you know, regain his merchandise.

Break into a church. I don't really care, but like break into a church. You know, and so they're acting like kids. And in a different show and a different movie, there's a way, we got an interesting email from our listener, Michael about this idea of the midlife crisis. There's like a different version of this story where I'm just sort of like, I understand the compulsion to try to reclaim your youth, try to revisit who you were when you went to Princeton together, when you fell in love together.

There's that great line from the opening montage of the first episode. when Coop is like, you know, basically the sex he had with Mel when they were young and in love is like the best sex you'll ever have in your entire life, right? Like, so trying to like get back to that makes sense to me, but I was just like, these guys are assholes. They're not great. I was just like, I don't like them. And that's okay.

All right. I'm not supposed to. So that's sort of where I sat at the end of the day with a Princeton trip. And I hated the speech that Coop gave in the car and the way. way there. I'm happy to talk about that an hour later if you want to. Yeah, I mean, Coop is going on quite a journey in a lot of respects. I think especially with Tori, who he really like chews out in the car. Like he loses his cool on her in a way that's just like very hard to come back from. And I think the show tries to sort of land the plane. Yeah. In the sense of like,

okay, they have their reconciliation moment at the end of this trip where they're kind of coming together and she gives him the sage advice about how, you know, like things aren't always broken and can be undone. It's a long way to go for those two in a couple of days after, like, I think he's pretty, like pretty much of a jackass to her. Can I, okay, I wrote down the speech, so I would like to share it with you. You want to orate it? This is just, I'm, I'm not going to deliver it the way that John Hand did, which is like with all the energy of someone, a man who was about to punch a hole in a wall. Yeah. Like, I was just like, this was, the tone of this was so violent. I was so confused. And then the speech goes like this.

I know what it feels like to have about, what do you know about love, dad, right? I know what it feels like to have it. I know how it tears you apart when you lose it. This may sound stupid to you, but sometimes you learn more about love by losing it than by having it in the first place. I know what it's like to see the little girl

who used to hold my hand every day, grow up and roll her eyes at me and speak to me with such contempt that it makes it hard for me to breathe. This was just, you know, we were talking earlier the season about the idea of like, is the, are the speeches in the show or is the dialogue in the show?

sorken or bad sorkin and like this is such bad sarkin because the thing that sorkin does is he gives his characters i mean i'm not i'm not telling you anything you don't already know you're a better sorkan scholar than i am but like he gives his character speeches that no actual human would ever be capable of speaking right it's hyper unrealistic sort of way of or rating and when it comes out of the the mouth of a president or when it comes out of like someone who writes a speech like josh lyman You know, like, that makes sense to me. And then it can come when it comes out of the mouth of a dad in a car who's just chewing out his daughter, I'm like, this is, what is this?

And the tone was so startling to me. Like, this sentiment that any parent has probably felt, this idea of like my teenager is pulling away and I feel frustrated and heartbroken and where is this little, little kid that once loved me unconditionally. Why are there conditions now in this love? Like, all that's interesting to me. But, like, again, I'm just like, okay, Coops, an asshole, bad dad, a violent-seeming man. Like, I just, I felt undone by this particular exchange.

I think especially because Tori's complaints to me are pretty valid. Right. Like, from her perspective, this idea that her dad, like, walked out on their family has not been showing up since because he literally hasn't. He's been off, like, stealing shit around town. Like, it's understandable that she would feel a little, like, put out by this entire experience emotionally and otherwise. And the Coop's response to that is, oh, wait, let me tell you about me. Let me tell you about my anguish in this moment.

It's like, it's not, like, there are no glowing marks for Coop in any of this, really. Like these are, as we said, like two episodes that I think are showcasing some of these characters lesser qualities or more annoying qualities or more childish qualities. And those are all fair game as far as characterization goes. Once we get to the Coop and Mel portion of the program, I do find myself, just as you describe like I'm actively like disliking both of these people individually but I do kind of like who they are to each other in a way like they they have undeniable chemistry oh yes right john ham and Amanda pete have great chemistry these two characters like the the baked in intimacy that they have

together feels like real and earned and I think has been justified by the script like has been sold to us by the show I also think like as you know the closer we get to the the spiciness and the George Washington suite like this is a show that I think think wants to take a moment to revel in its sexuality in a way that some other like especially domestic sorts of dromedies don't and maybe this is another area where uh it shares a lot in common with presumed innocent like am i crazy joe or is apple tv getting like a little racier overall like they're kind of chasing after these sorts of moments i really agree we had this conversation about presumed innocent and i was thinking the exact same thing actually uh later in the sort of

Ali Bruce sex scene where I was just sort of like, I think either previous Apple shows or some of the other shows we watch would cut away. And we understand what happens in the George Washington suite. Or we understand what happened with Ali and Bruce. We don't need to see it. But this show and presumed innocent were like, we're going to show

it to you. Presumed innocent, even to an even like a greater degree. But yeah, I was really intrigued by that. Can I ask you a we broke into a church base? question. Please. Okay. I watched this episode, coincidentally, the same day I saw an Instagram

reel from a woman who was Catholic and was talking about the new Pope. And she was talking about her favorite dinner party bit was asking people if, and again, this is from a Catholic. I'm not a Catholic, but this is from a Catholic. If you're, if Jesus's communion is bread and wine, what would you want your communion to be? Like, how would people celebrate you? Wow. With a Bev and a little snack. Um, you know, this, and then I watched Coop and Mel dip communion wafers in like a per loin jam. Yeah, exactly. Um, for me, uh, it's a Parmesan goldfish cracker and a shot of tequila. That's like, that's my communion pairing. That's quite a chaser. I got Do you have one that comes to mine or should I come back to you, Rob?

What do you think? There's zero question on the blood of Rob and it's Diet Coke. And that's just anatomically true. Like, I am just more Diet Coke than man at this point. So that's my reality. Yeah. You know, food-wise, I think we could get into difficult territory. I'm torn between one of two.

Two of my greatest vices personally, greatest snack vices. One, buttered popcorn. Very, very, like, I walk into a movie theater. I'm a fucking goner, Joe. You've witnessed this. It's a tough scene. The other is any sort of like tortilla chip and dip situation. So I think, you know, depending on the sect of which way you would like to worship me after my death, I think we can, you know, reasonable people can disagree.

I kind of feel like this is a pop culture rob, like TV movie rob is the buttered popcorn sect and then and then maybe basketball rob is the chip and dip. Scranging out of the pantry. Yeah, if I have to go for a non-alcoholic version, it's a topochiko for sure. Are you straight? Are you lime? Are you grapefruit? What's your preference? Straight. Just straight up, Topochico. Please sponsor this podcast. Oh, yeah, yeah. No, no forget. No, this is one I'm willing to give for free. It was, you know, a revelation to me as elapsed Catholic, the communion wafer individually wrapped. It just had never occurred to me that

in a, you know, more germ conscious or post-COVID world that that would be a thing. but I guess it makes sense that it would be a thing. Seems wasteful, but sure. It does seem quite wasteful, quite inconvenient. But look, we're here for the sacrament. We're here for, you know, to dip these communion wafers into jam. We're also there for like some honest to goodness reconciliation between Mel and Kup. He finally has the chance to tell her another human being that he lost his job by reasons that were not his own.

They become a little closer in the process. They make out a bit in the process. I want to give us like a special. to Amanda Pete's confused hand as she extends it as they start making out, trying to do the mental gymnastics of like, am I doing this? Are we doing this? Yes, we're doing this. Great physical performance from both of them, I thought. No, and that like slide over and beginning of the makeouts, like the whole thing, to your point, they have chemistry. Again, I assert that they would be napping at this point after all the Yeager that they had, but like, listen, in a world

where they're still going, you know, this is some very smooth stuff. stuff from Coop and, you know, his sexual proclivities are about to bite him in the ass in the next episode. So here we go. They're just biting him everywhere, it seems. You know, like, really the pains of having four women interested in you throughout this season are really coming home to Roos, Joe. You know, like everything is really coming for Coop. At the end of this episode, as you said, realistically, Mel should be more in Tori State vomiting on the side of the road, but she seems totally fine. The family goes out to dinner.

Ultimately, Coup gets jumped by, I would say the most terrifying people of all, which are art world henchmen. If I'm getting this correct, is that who we should believe these guys to be? Oh, a million percent. Absolutely.

I have no words. I'm going to be honest with you. This part of the plot is really going off the rails. I also have no idea if we're expected to see Christian Thomason again after this point? Is this like the business is closed? Koop got his ass kicked. We're moving on? Or do you expect like the art world element of the story to sort of linger on your friends and neighbors? Well, we see him in the next episode in the dream sequence doing unspeel things. I mean, licking some pancakes. But I guess that would be a hint that he's in the real world. Yeah. I think it's not done. That's what I would guess.

Also, and I'm going to say this as a lover of suspense and cliffhangers and surprise and all of that. I need, after Daredevil earlier this year and this episode that ends with Barney going over a car onto the concrete, I need characters who stop landing on their necks at a cracking sound and then surviving and being fine. Totally fine. When he hit the ground on his neck and I heard the crack, I was like, well, Barney's dead, I guess. I was like, that's weird. That guy's an executive producer.

I don't think that character's done, right? And then I was like, no, he's probably fine. But really, please stop, like, stunt people of the world. Please insist on doing a shoulder roll of some kind and not, like, going down on your neck. Because it's very confusing to me. But yeah, Barney takes a header into the concrete. He does. And also writers of the world.

If you're going to include a line about how Barney is picking his teeth out of the pavement, that guy's got to be missing some teeth. I don't know what to tell you. Like we got to see him with missing teeth. We got to see him more with a couple of bruises being fed soup. I actually do like the Coop and Barney's scenes, the few of them that we get in these episodes. Like Barney finally calling Coop out on his bullshit. And the fact that he has been trying to extend invitations as many characters have,

tell me what the fuck is going on. Be honest with me about what is going on. And Coop just keeps bearing it and lying about it and hiding his big sack of money and pretending that it's no one else's concern. But I'm glad Barney gets at least to tell him off a little bit. have stand up for himself within that relationship. Very satisfying. And for Coup to be like, where is this coming for?

You know, like just, yeah, the reckoning. The chicken's coming home to Roost for Coupe this early in the season. I mean, I know we only have actually a few more episodes left, but it still feels earlier. I thought, you know, the earliest that they would come to arrest Coupe is the finale. So the fact that, again, like, I will give this to the show. It keeps surprising me. I thought we were going to get to the dead body in the finale. I thought we would get to an arrest maybe in the finale, but we were arresting

Ku. How else Koop going to get out of this one is like, you know, where we find ourselves? All of that is true, but also the show is cutesy enough that as you were just talking about the chickens coming home to Roost, I had the thought, is this why he's named Koop? Kooke. Was this all a long reindeer games-esque con to seed like a cutesy name idea in the middle of this whole thing?

I wouldn't put it past your friends and neighbors to do that while also. surprising us along the way. Can I ask you a question about how Hunter and Torre were used in last week's episode? Yeah. So this is an excuse to get Coop and Mel to Princeton so they can relive their courtship and their, you know, early 20s and all of that sort of stuff. So I understand that like premise-wise, we're taking our daughter to go look at Princeton is, but like Tori has this, I guess, adventure at a frat party where she vomits on some guys

like dick or whatever and then I did laugh at that I got to say I'm not better than that I did not no no quite a bit I laughed I laughed I left that the um that the Acapella group had changed the problematic lyrics of Shibuam to like consent can be so nice I did laugh at that um but like she has that adventure and then Hunter goes to ultraviolet studios which is a real place and like lays down some sick beats or something like that eats a sandwich neither of those stories seem like they actually have much to do with those kids. Like, they're not really interested in giving them an actual storyline in those episodes. Like, Tori ends the episode being like, maybe I'll break up with my boyfriend and then oops, he's there, you know, back together with her when Coops in the hospital by the next week's episode.

Hunter, the most of the thing that happens to Hunter is like the text exchange she gets on the car on the way back at the end. The whole studio thing is like an absolute zero story. So it's almost like your friends and neighbors keeps finding itself in the space of like not enough. Like, you know, there's like, why bothered giving Hunter something to do at all? Like, I would just have him sit in the room or something like that. If you want him out of the, out of the picture, but you have nothing to give him storywise. Why are we even dealing with him at all? Do you know what I mean?

So like, it's a, I find, I find in the show's desire to keep oozing out and introducing new characters, and getting us into the corners of like what's happening in Elena's family and what's happening with Detective Lynn and all this sort of stuff like that. I'm just sort of like you have too much and then not enough at the same time is where I keep finding ourselves here. I think the whole point of Hunter's story is to have Kup doing something nice for his son where he's like put in the forethought to make this booking to ask for this favor for something that his son would genuinely like.

Other than that, I agree with you. There's nothing there. I'm almost more frustrated by the Tory part of the story just because like we're actually spending time there, right? Like we are diverting. We're stepping out of our little time machine and we're spending time with Tori at this party with this Acapela guy. Like, again, there's some decent laughs in there. But I almost would have preferred it if it was the like pure time capsule element of Kupin Mell. Like we are in this bubble together.

We're not talking about real life. The kids are doing their things. Maybe they're getting calls and text, but like keep us anchored with those characters if that's the kind of episode you want to have. I really agree. Just don't cut away to the kids at all. Just like, find, give me a thinly veiled excuse why they're left to their own devices and then don't go back to the kids at all. Or if you're going to go back to them, give them a story that feeds back into their characters or feedbacks into larger themes of the show or something like that. But by the end of the episode, it's clear that they want Coup and Tori to have this heart-to-heart conversation to come together a little bit after fighting earlier in the episode. They want Hunter to take off the headphones and engage with his family. And maybe the reason he's doing that is because he's had this like fulfilling. musical experience at the studio, you know, behind the dials. Because you do want to set up getting them to the restaurant at the end and Koot being able to look down the table and say like, this is a thing I actually want.

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Green favorites you've already read twice. Off campus, L, every year after, the love hypothesis, Sterling Point, and more. Slow burns, second chances, chemistry you can feel through the screen. Your next obsession is waiting. Watch only on Prime. This episode is brought to by Whole Foods Market. Spring is here, so celebrate it with fresh, juicy, seasonal produce

and some very tasty, limited time flavors. New Whole Foods, Market Peach, Apricot, Roe, Italian soda. Perfect for a picnic or brunch, as is their trending mango, Yuzu, chantilly cake. But if you're on the go, new 365 strawberry pretzels make a great sweet snack. That sounds delicious. Get savings with yellow sale signs storewide and everyday low prices on 365 brand items. Enjoy the fresh flavors of spring. Save at Whole Foods Market. But now we're in investigation mojo. Like, it is fully underway. And this is where I would like to get into our likeability power rankings, because we're really getting to spend some honest to goodness time with Detective Rebecca Lynn, who is just one of the toughest hangs on the show. Really tough. Just like, however.

adversarial with every single person in her life. And I would say, however, her investigation brings me my most likable character, which is Officer Ryan Hernandez. If this, if I have anything to close. to is Officer Ryan Hernandez crouched behind a garbage can while Allie gives Bruce who sucks a handy in the car. Like that is, that is what I am living for on this show at this point. One of the only chill and normal and well-adjusted people on the show that we've met so far. Plus, secure enough in himself to try out a new scent. Yeah. Just trying new things. He's just trying to, trying to reinvent himself in a casual, small, incremental way. Officer Hernandez is absolutely on my list for my likeability power rankings. I think he has to be. Who is your number two, Joe? The guy who signed Paul's memorial book RIP big guy. I don't know that guy's name.

That guy was good. There were some really good memorial book signings. My favorite was, I think, you rocked with E.D. in parentheses. Like, you rock, but also past tense. And the woman who rolled up and wrote, today we mourn. Tomorrow we find justice. Like that lady is out for blood, you know? That book is a cherished item, and I hope that Sam treasures it. There's a lot happening there. As far as other likable characters, I think my number one is still Barney, who I've enjoyed basically every plot line we've gotten on this show.

And again, like limited stuff to do. I love him there. I'm going to put Sam on the list. Is she a recognizable human person? I would say generally no. Is she likable? I think likable enough by your friends and neighbors standards. On the one hand, yes, and I will say that the thing about Olivia Munn is that she's tremendously good at throwing away a joke.

Like, she's really, really good at that. In the bar scene with Mel, well, she's talking about all the paperwork and all that sort of stuff like that. Like, she's really quite good at that. Her chewing out the Sephora employee who was like, Keeley at Sephora need to back the fuck off. And we all agree with that. But again, this was like another self-referral. righteous sort of sorky monologue where I'm just sort of like well keely I know you know and I was just like God Jesus Christ you know so like again Sam I think is an asshole and Sam I think murdered her

husband and is trying to frame coot for it so Sam also does this really interesting thing when the affirmation abrasive detective and by the way I love an abrasive detective uh I love an abrasive woman, there's something about this that is just like, I don't know what it is. I don't know if it's the like accent. I don't know. I don't know what it is. She's coming in real hot. Again, with literally everybody. And then I think that's, this is what does it for me. When she comes back to Coop and it's like, I'm throwing you a lifeline. I'm giving you this opportunity. It's like, woman, you have been, you've been such a jerk to every single person you've met on this show. Like, I don't, I don't know what to tell you. Like, I just don't buy any of that sort of sincerity from

her in that moment. When she offers Sam the Kleenex and then Sam pulls like a hanky or like finally mills Kleenex out of her tissue out of her bag instead, that was like, I think a top tier. That is only rivaled by, what was it? It was crushed oyster shell for the Patent court. Like in terms of like rich people shit. Patent is perfect too. Like as something you could do at any income level, but you must do on oyster shell,

perfect rich people activity. Great shit. But yeah. Okay. So Sam's on your likeability list. She's not on mine, but I support you. What's next? Well, let's stick with Sam for a second.

Because I do think this is a good opportunity to talk about the fact that she almost certainly committed this murder. There's a lack of viable alternatives in the case at this point. The question of like, who could have realistically planted a gun in Coop's car is a smaller list. And is this the payoff of Chekhov's trunk? Like all of that for this? The fact that Chekhov's trunk had a Chekhov's gun in it is just very disappointing. I gotta say.

We were dreaming so much bigger. It's Anton all the way down. Like it's just a way too much. Here's the thing with saying, like my only hesitation on Sam is Olivia Mung's performance is so broad in that interrogation room. When she is confronted with the idea of like, oh, don't you have a $20 million life insurance policy for what you were the sole beneficiary? Like it's so clear in that moment that it's probably her. They do muddle the picture a little bit. And I will give the show credit in this way.

Like as we go on, I think for the writing of Sam and with Olivia Munn, like they're showing us these conflicted emotions where she obviously does not like Paul. But she has this responsibility to host his funeral. She is not sad that he's gone, but her kids will be. And like all this stuff is threaded again in conversations like the one with Keeley that should not have happened in the way that they did. and a ridiculous scene in and of itself. But you can see how they are trying to create doubt in what seems to be like just the most plausible explanation on the board. Yes.

Here's the issue. In terms of like who could have possibly killed Paul that would be interesting to us this late in the game with how little we know about Paul. Right? Like if it's just a rando, that's deeply uninterested. And we know nothing else about Paul's life other than there's Sam. There's the new girlfriend. and there's the fight he had with Coop. And that's like basically the sum total of our options here.

And then the fact that Sam finds out from the cops that they know about Coop and she doesn't tell him. And then conveniently right after that the gun is in the trunk of his car, like how is it not? You know, I don't know that she set out to frame him in the first place necessarily. But he was a convenient way to pin it for sure. But I think once the cops were like, hey, we know you're fucking him. She's like, okay, nanny cam. got it, I'll put the gun in the trunk of his car, which I know is unlatched at all times that I can get into it. And again, the list of people who know that about the trunk.

It's not that short because like a lot of characters have seen it, but in terms of the overlap between people who know they can get into the trunk and people who might have killed Paul, it's really just Sam, right? It's not Allie. I wouldn't think Alie would do it. Yeah. I mean, like, yeah, Sam has experienced it. Like, I would be curious to go back and rewatch that scene if she kind of like clocks that moment with the trunk. Yeah. A thing to store away for later. I think if it does try it to be Sam figuring out the when she decided to pin it on

coop will be an interesting conversation to have it. I mean, I'm sure we'll have it. If we're just watching Presumed Innocent again, then maybe it's Tori. You're not wrong. Maybe Hunter. Look, Hunter knows one girl. Like, our guy is still trying to like find his way into the social world. He's been suspended.

He's had a lot of time. on his hands. I don't know, you know? It's very tough all around. But yeah, like, I think the Sam stuff, I am enjoying our time spent with that character, but it definitely seems like she murdered her husband. She's still on my likability power makings nonetheless.

I think because of that delicate dance. My number four with a bullet, Detective Lynn's dad. Oh, yeah. He comes in. He made eggs. You know? Just a caring dad who made you breakfast.

Breakfast is important. And he didn't just make breakfast or her. He made it for her, like, he's not, officer's not her partner, but like kind of her partner. Functionally. Yeah. Yeah.

Yeah. Oh, I agree. I agree. Detective Lin's dad. He's on my list too. Love it. He's got to be on the list. I do think as far as the investigation goes, the number of characters in this story,

and this is, I think, another bullet point, data point on the Sam definitely did this conversation. The number of characters who come out of a police interrogation or a police questioning or a police warrant search and immediately called the most incriminating party possible or text the most incriminating party possible. some of these characters are clearly not career criminals and that's fine. Like we've seen them kind of blunder about. Sam's communications maybe feel a little more pointed of like it's going to say something if they subpoena my call logs and I called Koop directly after this.

Right. I think the only question with Kup is like, can Sam herself keep her hands clean if she does point the finger at Kup as the potential murderer? Like would she not be an accomplice in some way looped into that for culpability? That's a great question. And I don't know that Sam's thinking that far, that, like that much through. But again, I'm open. Like, your friends and neighbors, they could just introduce a whole other side plot about Paul that we've not heard about in the next two episodes.

And then all of a sudden, I'm like, well, clearly it was Paul's, like pool guy who he has this, like, thing, you know, something like that. I don't know. Look, there were a lot of guys at guys night. It could have been anyone who was gawking the luxury toilet who killed Paul. I don't know. It's true. We do have a lot of those side plots even still. We've talked through a lot of them, Joe, and there are more still.

Elena has a whole story going on. And I say that in somewhat in air quotes, because I would say a huge part of her story is calling Koop and him not picking up. We get many, many scenes of her trying to get in contact with him and failing. But now she has this financial urgency in that Chivo, who I believe is her cousin, if I'm not mistaken. I think that's her brother. That's her brother.

Hector is the cousin. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So her brother owes $150,000 to a drug dealer by. next week and you know he's a drug dealer because he can walk in and eat half of your fries and there's nothing you can do about it. This is a dangerous man. I love, okay, so I love this. The scenes where they're speaking, uh, Spanish and specific like regional Spanish was really fun. The subtitles, every time that this drug dealer called her brother, Chivo is her brother. Every time he called him Billy Goat, Cabron. He called him Cabron and I was just like, Billy Goat is not

really like that's not really capturing the essence of what you're calling him there when you call him cabron um but yeah so elena's in a elena who we found out used to you know work in this uh drug world but yeah it was like a very like sort of um breaking bad side plot like we might as well be at the poyos armanos like sort of side plot for elena it's not uninteresting to me um but it is again just like more of that ooze where I'm like, okay, so now I'm tracking, tracking her brother, Hector, this drug dealer, you know, and then the drug dealer mentions some other people in his organization. So how far is that ooze going to go? I have questions about it. I have no answers for you. But, um, do the art henchman work overtime for the drug dealers? Oh, you know, I bet Art Hensch is a part-time

job. I bet that's contract work only and there's no 401k. So there's no question. I mean, look, working at art is always a little suspect on those grounds. Like, it's just hard to get your feet under you. And then when you're henching on top of it, it's just especially precarious. But yeah, we do have that side plot that's oozing out. We also have one that unfortunately, I think we have to talk about, which is everything that's going on with Ali and Bruce. I knew this motherfucker was going to do this. I knew he's going to show. I knew. You called this like three pods ago, I got to say. I knew it. Well, I mean, like, so the actor who plays Bruce is, is like a musical Broadway actor who I really really like. He's very, very talented. So it was

like slight casting spoiler. I was like, I don't think you cast him to not use him. I was surprised when he showed up at the beginning just to like look concerned and get her off my lawn. I was like, why did they cast her a mean for that? That's very odd. And then when, yeah, when they ran into each other gym, I was like, of course this motherfucker's going to come to her open mic night.

And of course he's going to be like, my wife doesn't understand me, but you do. I did not know that he was going to bring over his fucking football jersey for her to wear. And then just like scoot out the door without a lot. even his shoes on, I think, when the cops show up. I know. Did he have him in hand? Did he at least take him with? No, he had like his belt and like, I think his, I didn't see his shoes. I was like, where are you? I really think he got into his car in his socks and was like, I'll figure it out

later. But yeah, fuck you, Bruce. This woman is mentally unwell and you are the worst. And he knows this, right? It's not like this is a person he just met. Like they have an incredible amount of history together. And that's why they're able to accelerate so quickly into the where your ex-fiancee's football jersey while you're knocking boots to St. Vincent, like, phase of their relationship. Like, they are fast-tracked all the way there. Knock and boots, literally leave the boots on. I love that. Love it. Yeah. He had very specific asks for that moment. Before we get to Bruce, though, we have to talk about the one thing that I texted you about watching last week's episode. Allie has a new job. And it's playing it,

I would say the world's most attentive and respectful bar that I've ever seen a, like, a musical performer do their thing at. Like, does not make sense. Everyone is locked in. They make them different in New Haven. What can I say? She simply must. I can only attribute that to the fact that she's just playing songs straight off the Magnolia soundtrack,

Joe. I lost my mind. I genuinely gasped and texted you while it was happening. Yeah, she's singing wise up. the Amy Man classic from the Magnolia soundtrack and I was like you can't you simply can't This is the thing

You simply can't I don't want to be precious But it's like are you kidding The Thompson Twins is one thing Like a couple weeks ago But Amy Man wise up Why is it like maybe a deeper cut From the Magnolia soundtrack

But like Plenty of Amy Man tracks to choose from For this moment Or like give me some super tramp For the Magnolia soundtrack Like I'm here for it But Wise Up is off the list you can't use it.

And they were like, sure, we can. We're your friends and neighbors. We do what we want. I was stunned by this. The audacity. I'm not even saying it to be precious about it. Like, there are some songs you shouldn't use, period. This isn't like a deference thing to me so much, although I do feel a bit of that.

It's more like, it's done. Like, PTA did it. It was a huge sing-along moment within the context of that movie that is like etched into its DNA. Yeah. If you're revisiting it, like, you better. a very good reason in order to sell it. And I don't think this show does anything to sell it. And it just makes it super weird if you're at all familiar with that movie.

That's what I would say is like you can't. It's not, yeah, it's not a deference thing. It's like, it was used so powerfully that to use it in this like rather unpowerful moment because like, yes, she's caught Bruce's eye and she's like delighted to see that he's there. But in, but then he's just about to fuck her over like literally and then like, you know, emotionally, uh, in the next episode. And so I'm like, this isn't some big turning point for Allie as far as I know. And in fact, I would say that like, I mean, it's all connected. But the trauma of her just standing there with a warrant in her hand, unsure what to do while the cops rip the house down around her seemed like a more emotionally resonant moment to me than like anything that happened with Bruce, even though her paralysis there is connected to Bruce, like abandoning her. But yeah, it's just like it does, it actually does that scene a disservice to make us think.

of magnolia and this sort of bigger, much more earned collective on Wii that is expressed by that song in that film. I was absolutely stunned by this. This is where I get a little frustrated with it. That song and that invocation is so much about the power of that collective enwee and the way that it sort of unites us as humans. And clearly your friends and neighbors is going for a version of that by the end of episode seven. We have a lot of characters in dire straights in really tough spots. You didn't earn it that well, I'm going to say.

Like you didn't get that payoff yet. And yes, like the stuff with Allie, I do find very affecting for a character that I thought is, I think it's like kind of gone off the rails since the early episodes for the most part. But here, like, you really do feel the sense building over these two episodes of she's got one person in her life and it's coop. And to the extent that he, even if he murdered Paul, she's like, whatever. Like, you're my guy.

You're, I rely on you. Like, I'm with you regardless of what. happened. She tries to like grab on to Bruce as she lightly stalks him and then he walks back into her life. And that goes very poorly. And so like I feel for her desperation in that moment. I feel for like Mel has been wanting to talk to Kup and have an honest conversation about his feelings now for weeks on end and he refuses to do it. Like they're clearly, and then Kube himself is like in a, you know, in a jail cell by the end of this, he seems as peaceful as anybody. Oh God. And then yeah, and he won't take Elena's calls like, you know, all, all, all. All, all.

the different side plots are trying to get in touch with Coop and he's just sort of like, well, I'm living out my fantasy of having my family back or whatever it is. But like, yeah, Coop's voiceovers that he does at the end of the episodes, we've been talking about the coop voiceovers this whole time. He has the like, ah, my family, back together voiceover at the end of, you know, the previous episode. And then the, you know, the first honest moment, I actually got a good night's sleep in this jail cell moment at the end of this week's episode. And then we get, we didn't get a home shopping network moment in the Princeton episode, but we get this, like, fake dream one in this episode. How did you feel about the dream sequence part of this?

I think the hardest diamonds to steal are the diamonds of the mine, Joe. Okay. All right. I thought, like, I love a dream sequence traditionally historically. Yeah, do you? Okay. This one did not work for me. What about ones that involved like butterflies, CGI butterflies and like, uh, Mark Tallman's naked ass in an apron? Is that, is that what you're looking for in a dream sequence? This was a good, like, to your point about the bad sorkan elements, like, this was just like a hodgepodge parody of those like crazy lynchian sorts of dream sequences. Like, oh, this guy's naked.

Oh, this person's saying something doesn't make sense. Oh, these two characters that would never be in the same place or having breakfast together. Yeah. Spare me, I would say. Is my merciful request as far as those things go? It did not work for me. But thankfully, we move on pretty quickly. That's true.

I think you just nailed something that I feel about this show. it often feels like a parody. It feels like a parody of like adult drama. It feels like a parody of crime drama. And I am not convinced it's trying to be. I was compelled. We got an email from a listener. I didn't write down their name.

I apologize. But like I was compelled by their argument that we were not, we were not on the same page of the show. In fact, in that the show is making fun of Coup more often than we were giving it credit for. And I'm like, I'm compelled by that. I think you're probably right. I think that's true. And that's, again,

part of my whole learning to embrace the fact that everyone, except for Officer Ryan Hernandez, is an asshole on this show. I also want to say on that front, like, it's clear that this is a show that Apple is investing in. It's already been renewed for a season two. You can tell by the breadth of the ensemble that there are, like,

plans here to continue having many, many different irons in the fire. With that and with shows like this, we often see a first season, tonally speaking, is a little off-kilter, that it takes a little time to kind of find its footing.

It would not surprise me at all for us to have this experience with season one. And they come back with season two and it's like, okay, they've, their finger on the pulse of a little bit closer of like, this is the exact sort of tonality we're trying to hit. This is what we're trying to write. This is how these actors are trying to pitch it and perform it. I think that's totally within play. It's just right now we're just like rocky week to week because we don't know what to make it. I think honing in on what works and streamlining what works and elevating the characters and

the performances that work and sort of shunting to the side. one that don't is a is a it's why season two of shows are often the best seasons of shows um i feel you know like justified one of the best uh seasons of television all time is the second season because the first season they were doing a case of the week uh boyd crowder was like barely a blip on the radar sort of character you know and so um breaking bad parks of recreation like there's so many shows where it's like the first season um, Baffir the Vampire Slayer. Like the first season and you're sort of like, and then, you know, people are like, oh, but you got to wait until you get into the second season. And I almost, like those shows historically have a better longevity than like there are other shows that come in so

hot in the first season. Like something like Empire is an example I always think of. But there's shows that come in so hot, throw everything at the wall in the first season and then they just have nothing left in the tank. Um, you know, and it's just. sort of downhill from there. And so I agree with you that that there is, I mean, like, everyone here is a really capable performer. Without a doubt. The visual style is really good. There are some themes that are interesting. So I can definitely, I could definitely see a second season. We were talking about this with Bad Monkey, too. Like, we were just sort of like, bad monkey, the ingredients are there. You just diluted it with a bunch of extra stuff. And if you just sort of,

you know, condense it down. This could be a really excellent second season of television. And that, so that might be like an Apple TV sort of question for some of these shows. Yeah. And I think that could be a really rewarding experience as a viewer, too, right? To have something in the first season where it's like, okay, I like some of the elements of this, but it's a little bit imperfect in its way. It's a little unpolished.

Yeah. And then you get to feel the charge of the clarifying nature of the show kind of coming together over time. I think, look, to bring the Sorkin home, like, you got to send your Mandis to Mandyville. Like you got to excise some characters. You got to really nail down what it is about your show that's working, as you said. And I think we're kind of getting closer to that point, or at least we're getting, we're putting these characters into an interesting dramatic space with this murder plot where we're seeing some new sides of them. We're seeing some elements be pulled out of these relationships that I really like.

Joe, are there any other threads, any other notes you want to hit? Is there anything else you want to reflect on? Well, I just want to, yeah, I want to dip one toe back into that second season conversation and say two things. One is that like, it's also possible that like the highest level of copium ever is maybe the second season will be great. This is very true. We're talking ourselves into it in real time, but you're absolutely right. You have to be really careful when you put a murder plot out there because like let's say Sam did do it. Yeah.

And again, I would be, I love a murder mystery and I would love some more suspects. I love to theorize. I would love literally any other suspects on the board. But let's say Sam does do it. Does that mean like Olivia Munn's off the board in season two? That would be a real hardship for the show, you know? Yeah. So like, or does she do it and get away with it?

Is that an interesting thing to think about? I don't know. But I like talking to you about it, Rob. I like texting you incredulously about it. Sean Fentasy was texting me about it was really cracking me up. So like, you know, there is, and talking to Bill about it actually really crack me up. So there's like a way to enjoy this. I think not in my usual, let me parse every single detail kind of way,

but just sort of like learn how to relax and love the bomb that is your friends and neighbors, which is what I am endeavoring to do. So, yeah. I had that moment when I was Google translating the messages from the housekeeper's group chat. And I'm like, I want to know what these ladies are talking about. And I'm like, what am I doing? This is not the experience of the show. This is not what this is about.

Yeah. I have one final question for you, Joe, get us out of here. At Paul's funeral. We get all of these bros huddled around talking about the market rate, the going rate for a murder house and the markdown that would come with it. Would you personally, Joanna Robinson, buy or live in a murder house? So quickly. So quickly. If I could get a house on a discount.

Oh, you're in there. Oh, yeah. That's a hard. I thought that was going hard. No, but you're hard. Yes, 25% under market. Absolutely. Yes.

See, this is somewhat surprising to me as somebody who is like, I'm going to say witch inclined. Oh, wow. That you would not also be ghosted. Oh, thank you so much for, uh, you know, enjoying my, uh, the full scope of my identity. Um, I am witch inclined. I think you can cleanse the space. There's such a thing is smudging. Um, I, I did, friends of, friends of mine bought a house a couple years ago. And when they moved in, we were all like, we are very certain someone was murdered here. Just the vibe and the build thing was off. It was just like so clear to us and like all the carpets came out and we like painted. You know,

there's just like ways of which you can cleanse it out. And get a house for a deal. And in today's market, you got to do what you got to do. Now, if it's the murder house from American Horror Story season one, that's a no for me. If gimp outfits are involved, you're out. If there's vinyl or pleather or whatever that outfit was made of, if Dylan McDermott is there, if Ghost Evan Peters is there, I'm out. But otherwise, I meant, how about you, Rob? Are you buying a haunted house?

A murder house. I think I probably will. I'm not too superstitious about these things. I don't really believe in the supernatural in that way. I think it would be the kind of thing where you have to be careful about who in your life you tell about it. Because there would be some people who just like don't want to come over to the murder house. For me personally, I think I'm okay. I think I get along just fine.

But if you're out there and you got murder houses for sale at well below market, I guess get at us at prestige TV at Spotify.com. Let us know about your listings. Let us know how you're feeling about your friends and neighbors. Tune in with us on the prestige TV feed as we go through. the last of us, Joe. We're doing poker face this week. We've got a lot going on. It's true. I'm really excited. Thanks so much for running the podcast today, Rob. It's such a delay when you host. Is it? I guess we'll find out over time. I feel like I'm going to be a your friends and neighbors season two type experience. We're getting the kinks out now and the hopes that they might eventually

pay off later. But thank you to Kevin Pooler for producing for us today. Thank you to Justin Sales, as always, for his production work on this feed. We will see you next time. Bye. Bye. A bouquet from 1-800 Flowers says, You're my everything. Heartfelt moments belong in the real world, not just your phone. For 50 years, 1-800 Flowers has helped

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