The comedy continues with the series Better Things in a second season. The story begins with Sam, feeling disrespectful, and encourages her children and their closest friends to pretend to be dead and talk at her funeral to demonstrate how she really feels around her. Sam runs a mission with Jeff and unfortunately runs into Robin along the way. Sam says to Jeff yes or no.
Adlon's whole gestalt, her black clothes and her raspy voice, her tough love and her exasperation, make the sweet beats feel like treats instead of a bellyache, like the largess of life, not the brainstorms of a clever writers' room.
Adlon is very good at depicting Sam in mid-mixed emotions; she has become a better actor, relying on more than just the poker-faced sarcasm that she does so well.
It's hard to break down why this season of Better Things is so fantastic... It's about those quicksilver moments, and the show's ability to create an emotional impact without ever being even slightly manipulative.
Sam Fox is an absolute badass, talking the talk and walking the walk. We've never seen a character like her before, and her worldview has never been realized this clearly.
There's only so much pity one can muster for a successful woman who owns two houses, has the means to hire housekeepers, and nevertheless sees herself as a beleaguered, unappreciated underdog.
