Carole & Tuesday – 08

「All the Young Dudes」

So one thing this episode did manage to do properly was be exactly like American Idol, or The X Factor, or America’s Got Talent. That’s not necessarily a good thing.

Right now my investment still relies heavily on the fact that the series has two cours and what I think is a pretty solid staff. Perhaps slowly brushing over topics just isn’t cutting it for me. Seventeen year olds aren’t as innocent and level headed as Carole and Tuesday are. I remember when I was seventeen. My dreams and hopes were high and anything inching me closer or farther away would disrupt by day entirely. These girls both seem aloof and nonchalant. They get on stage and play a Taylor Swift (the early years) equivalent song and I’m pulling my hair wanting to yell: “You’re on national television! Do something amazing.” Even Tuesday’s stalker seems more like a teenager than her peers.

To be fair, they’re just picking up their instruments and doing the best they know without any schooling in music (as far as I can tell). I’m not saying they need to rely on AI to develop their music. With the exception of Crystal’s song in episode six, most of the songs ‘developed by AI’ sound like they’ve been recorded in an alleyway using forks and knives while a car backfired. But Carole and Tuesday really do need to get their heads in the game. Their sound is pure and refreshing, yes, but it’s still young. They’re slowly climbing the ranks and their songs will have to evolve to keep up. They’re no longer on an amateur stage and rivals have emerged acknowledging them (and their sound) as equals.

In reality, the stage they’re on includes professionals like Angela. Unfortunately, we don’t get to see her perform in this episode but we do get a pretty good roster of competitors. The 99 year-old duo and ‘operapic’ gangster were less than impressive. Rather than being entertained by their mediocrity, I was sorely annoyed. They could have made the competitors seem a little more…realistic? But hey. Who am I to know what realistic actually is on Mars?

On the other hand, Pyotr stole the show for me, and no, not because of his Justin Bieber meets K-Pop performance. To put it simply, he’s a satire of the hyper-connected millennial generation here on Earth: too concerned with followers, addicted to instant gratification, and living in a bubble of ‘Me, myself, and I.’

I’m not too sure where this competition will lead but it has set the stage for opposing managers and talents to finally cross paths. At this point though, I’m craving some real music.

And I can’t believe it but I’m hoping Angela – the character I once said I was least invested in – will save the day.