By: Mariah Thomas
Valerie (Lisa Kudrow) is recording a new episode of her podcast “Cherish the Time.” The character of Tommy (Jack O’Brien) is clearly meant to fill the gap of Mickey. When Tommy makes a witty comeback to Jane (Laura Silverman), Valerie says “Mickey, don’t” before quickly correcting herself.
At home while filming the reality show, Mark (Damian Young) is snappy with Valerie. This prompts Jane to be concerned and worrisome for the reason. Valerie swiftly jokes through her concerns. At the studio lot, Valerie points out the iconic films that have filmed in the same studio while the camera quickly flashes to the shows that filmed there as well. This stage was also home to Friends. This witty moment of course draws attention to a role Lisa Kudrow is beloved for. Valerie points out Stage 24 was also home to a favorite movie of Mickey’s as she lightly fights back emotion. After the refusal last episode, it seems like Valerie has since convinced Jimmy Burrows (playing himself) to direct the pilot of her new show. He jokes about rewrites being needed and that R2-D2 is sure to roll in any moment to collect their souls.
Valerie meets her new cast and there is some awkwardness in all dynamics. She forgot she previously worked with her show’s love interest, Frank Flynn (Tim Bagley). She accidentally calls Gabrielle (Brittany O’Grady) a bitch when she meant to refer to her character on the show. To top it all off, she discovered she worked with Peter’s (Matt Cook) twin, only to be told he died 8 years ago. Peter has an emotional moment about his brother that the cast bonds over. This moment is interrupted when Billy (Dan Bucatinsky) struts in, upset he missed the table read because he couldn’t find parking. In a funny, gentle parenting-like moment, Valerie is quick to inform of what he just walked in on. She swiftly introduces him to ease the tension.
The clashing moments don’t end with the table read. Valerie soon meets with the wardrobe supervisor of her new show, Carter (Benito Skinner). When he reveals his look inspirations, it is clear to Valerie that they both have a different understanding of “a woman of a certain age.” Carter is determined to put her in very timely outfits. Carter grows frantic and offended by Valerie’s notes claiming he doesn’t want to hear an actor’s thoughts on wardrobe. Valerie is quick to remind him of her new ranking as an executive producer before storming out.
After the chaos of the table read and wardrobe fitting, Valerie is looking forward to a moment to unwind and debrief with Tommy. Specifically over salads, the way she and Mickey used to. To her dismay, she finds out Tommy doesn’t like to eat in public. Throughout the episode, there have been these big reminders of Mickey’s absence in Valerie’s life. Tommy doesn’t have Valerie’s wigs immediately handy in the way Mickey would have. In an understanding moment, Tommy tells her, “I’m not Mickey. I’ll never be Mickey. Mickey isn’t here.” A painful yet needed moment for Valerie to continue to process this loss in her life. This is met with apologies from both.
Valerie wakes up in the middle of the night concerned about the whereabouts of Mickey’s ashes. By the next morning, she realizes she doesn’t know where he is after her move. She tries to cover up her emotion with humor to the crew as she continues to film her reality show. However, it is very clear that Valerie misses Mickey. Before she can find him, she is whisked away to a dress rehearsal for her show. Chaos erupts on set. The only good comes from Tommy finding Mickey’s ashes, tucked in with Valerie’s good wig. Valerie is able to sneak off with Jane and the documentary crew to spread Mickey’s ashes off of the top of stage 24.