Room 104 – Star Time

In this week’s episode we trade guitars for stars—and the result is quite sobering in more ways than one. A young woman named Sam (Jillian Bell) is first seen eating a bag of chips on a bed in the room, mindlessly watching television until she is interrupted by a hamster with glasses (Jon Bass). From the beginning it’s clear that Sam has no interest in really engaging the hamster, even as he starts inquiring if she’s ready for “star time.” The hamster soon disappears (but not for long) and Sam then looks down, a mosquito hanging out on her inner arm. As the mood of the room changes, Sam stands up and starts to dance—”star time” has arrived and her hamster friend joins in on the fun.

But everything is not as rosy as it seems when the reality of star time is shown to the audience: Sam is still on the bed seemingly unconscious, the mosquito actually a needle in her arm. Standing over her drugged form, an upset Sam begins to remember the journey that resulted in this dark turn. And, of course, the hamster comes along for the ride.

From early on in her life Sam had an interest in achieving that high. It started out when she was young (Josie M. Parker), sharing with her class (the hamster now her elementary school teacher) during “show and share” the bottle of cough syrup that her parents both administered one too many doses of one night. This resulted in Sam’s first experience with that high, stars popping up on screen as an indication. In later years Sam tries to achieve that same high in rigorous exercise with a coach hamster trying to push her forward. The stars also appearing while Sam tries to increase the speed on her treadmill to achieve that high effect.

In the next montage Sam and the hamster are both involved in a car collision, mainly due to Sam enjoying “star time” while driving. As the hamster attempts to explain Sam’s faults she provokes a fight, resulting in being beaten up by the hamster in the process. Yet it isn’t until Sam’s foray into love where we get a scene without said hamster immediately there: when her and her best friend Justin (Bernard David Jones) are exchanging gifts at Christmas, coincidentally both of them getting the other vape pens. While Justin’s gift is “Serenity,” Sam’s gift to Justin is “Pain.” In a moment of impulse of their exchange Sam kisses Justin, who immediately rebuffs the advance and tries to lighten the mood. As those stars appear this time, they’re more melancholy.

This brings us back to the original scene of Sam on the bed, the needle still in her arm. The flashbacks served their purpose: to make Sam begin questioning what is the right path forward. As the hamster appears this time Sam has had enough and starts to question the hamster for answers. It turns out the hamster is merely an extension of Sam, giving her the option of life or death—either push the needle in or pull it out. If she gets clean, there’s no more “Star Time” for her, but is death work risking everything? Exhausted and ready to sober up, Sam ultimately chooses to pull the needle out of her arm.