TV Recap: "Nine Perfect Strangers" - Season 2, Episode 3 ‘The Field Trip’
Recap:
Martin (Lucas Englander) is telling Helena (Lena Olin) that he does not think he can work with Masha (Nicole Kidman). In the bathroom Helena is coughing and acting extremely sick. (Oh no, is Helena dying too.) She does cough up some blood but tells Martin that everything is fine. (Clearly it is not fine.)
Agnes (Dolly de Leon) is lying on the floor thinking about her past when Masha comes in. She lays on the floor with the former nun wondering why Agnes came to Zauberwald. Agnes says it’s to learn to deal with her sin, while Masha asks her if Agnes will ever forgive herself, and she tells Masha that it won’t make a difference for what she did.
Victoria (Christine Baranski) tries to start a conversation with Agnes, only to be told by Imogen (Annie Murphy) to leave her alone. Protesting that all she was trying to do was get to know the people at the retreat, Victoria wonders where David (Mark Strong) is. Martin informs the group that they will be leaving on a field trip today, and they will start the protocol of treatments.
David is trying to conduct business on a Zoom call when he is interrupted by construction work outside. When he returns to the meeting, he sees that his internet connection has failed. The billionaire is not happy and storms out of his room.
On the bridge while the group is assembling, Peter (Henry Golding) is talking about how excited he is, that it reminds him of school. When David makes his way to the main building, he encounters Masha and wants her to remove the signal jammer so he can finish his meeting. Masha asks the billionaire if he saw his son today. David had not. He threatens to leave, and Masha does not care. She then tells him that if he can’t live without his electronic devices for a few days then what’s the point of living. David acquiesces and asks to join the group, but Masha says no, and tells him that he can join her for the day.
In the elevator, Wolfie (Masie King-Sellers) asks if they are waiting on Masha, and Martin says no. (Oh Martin is going rogue.) Boarding the car to descend the mountain, Martin holds the door while Agnes and Brian (Murray Bartlett) are the last to join. Brian is pushed in and bangs into Imogen. Conscious of their argument the previous night, Brian apologizes, and Imogen opens up with humor and the two start to talk. She apologizes for how she acted, and Brian forgives her.
The group enters the town at the foot of the mountain (and they look like the oddest bunch of kids being led by a very stressed out teacher) and walk the village streets. Martin moves the group along, while Masha takes David on a walk in the wilderness shoeless. (I get it, it’s keeping in touch with the wilderness, but that’s ridiculous.)
Martin brings the group into a museum (with some really creepy stuffed animal exhibits). In a room with some more dioramas. Martin tells them their first dosage is in the thermos, and that today is meant to be a study of the past. The smell of the drink is awful, but the group starts to drink their ‘medication’. Tina (King Princess) tells Wolfie that this better to be worth it. They lay down on their mats and wait for the medication to take effect.
David and Masha are still traipsing around in the snow in their bare feet. They arrive at an opening in the lake, and Masha states that she does this every day. She strips and jumps into the water. (Oh god, not another plug for cold water immersion.) She asks David to join her, and he agrees. (David, I am losing respect for you.) In the freezing water, Masha asks how often David sees Peter. David lies about his parenting skills because he doesn’t see Peter that much. The cold gets to David and Masha pulls him out of the water.
Agnes wakes up to the sound of church bells tolling, and Martin wants to know how she feels hearing them. Agnes has nothing inside of her, and Martin encourages her to explore that nothingness. Imogen walks into an exhibit, and Peter joins her. They manifest their own role in the book Heidi, and Victoria awakens to see her daughter tripping out on the drugs.
While Agnes watches a statue crack and bleed, Tina screams in pain and almost vomits. Agnes comes to her side trying to help, stating she is a nurse as well as a nun, and Martin sends her away, telling her it’s a common reaction with the medication.
Victoria walks the streets of the town. Finding a seat at a café, she orders champagne and drinks. Noticing her right hand goes numb, Victoria must drink with one hand and wonder about what will happen to her. Agnes has made her way to the town and pursues the church bells. (I really like the Agnes narrative.) She makes her way to a church and Agnes seeks confession. Agnes reflects on her time as a nun/nurse dealing with a pregnant patient. Telling Mother Irene the patient needs help and could die, Mother Irene is less that kind, and not helpful. (Mother Irene is a monster. Frightening with little dialogue, but a devious look.) Agnes sobs about the death of the patient and the child. She begs for forgiveness but there is no priest to absolve her.
In Imogen and Peter’s ‘Heidi’ delusion, Victoria talks to Matteo (Aras Aydin) about how she can never win with her daughter. The mother laments about all her terrible ex-husbands, stating that she only married them to give Imogen the world, and apparently that wasn’t enough.
Martin gathers his drugged-up group to come to the mats and realizes that Agnes is not there. When a priest walks into the confessional to find Agnes bashing her head on the confessional begging for forgiveness. (The priest gets the line of the night for the episode. It is at the 35.31 mark in the episode.)
Back at Zauberwald, Masha watches as David wakes up, and tells him about his experience, and has him laying in a guest room in her place. He describes how little Masha has not changed in twenty years. When Masha tells him if he needs anything else to call reception, David mentions that it’s a nice necklace that she is wearing. (He gave it to her a long time ago.)
Martin finds Agnes in the police station, charged with destroying church property. Telling Martin that she just wanted to go to confession, he asks what she was trying to confess. Agnes says that it doesn’t matter because there was no one there. Martin apologizes because he should not have run the exercise alone. He’s upset that Masha wasn’t there to help make the event run smoothly. While Martin tries to shift the blame about what happened to Agnes, she refuses and states that it was her alone who was responsible and not one else.
Back at the hotel, Peter and Imogen start kissing in the hallway, and she asks if he really likes her, and Peter agrees. Before they can get undressed, Imogen realizes there is someone in Peter’s bed, and when the lights go on, it’s David. Peter is shocked to see his father, and David realizes that Masha set this up to force him to talk to his son. Peter introduces him to Imogen.
Back in her room, Agnes prepares for bed and lays down in the bed. (There is hope for absolution.) David walks to the bar and makes himself a drink. Masha calls him on his phone and asks how it felt to see his son. Just as David is about to get upset, Masha cuts the signal and the call ends. He toasts her facing the camera and finishes his drink, then gives her the finger.
Review:
Three episodes in and I care about the characters. I like the duality of roles in the show with Masha being the mysterious maestro of the drugs, and Martin the pharmacologists that wants to stick to the rules for the benefit of the patients. This is a huge difference from the first season because Martin is on equal footing with Masha.
Having the episode focus on Agnes was great. I think Dolly de Leon is perfect in the role and the emotion she brings to the former nun is nuanced with an incredible level of depth that we wouldn’t get in a lesser talented actor.
I love Annie Murphy, and I am happy to see the ice break between her and Murray Bartlett’s character. I see them building a strong friendship throughout the show.
Henry Golding just oozes innocence in his performance. His Peter is a man who appears to be kind, smart, and appreciative. I can’t wait to see how his relationship with Mark Strong’s David expands.
Mark Strong once again proves that he is a tidal wave of power in performance. He has more screen time and makes for a convincing father figure who has often ignored his son. His growth will be the most fun to see.
A good episode that keeps the season moving at a brisk pace, and allows the viewers to enjoy the show.