Blockbuster – Season 1 Episode 4 “The Itsy Bizzies” Recap & Review

The Itsy Bizzies

The gang congratulates Timmy after getting nominated for an Itsy Bizzie award at the start of Blockbuster episode 4. It is a prestigious title for local small business owners, and the winning cash prize will also cover rent.

Instantly, there is a divide as to how Timmy should present himself for the awards. While Connie suggests a more extravagant, out-there look, Eliza asks Timmy to be himself and win the organizers over with his natural charm. The boss is upset with Eliza as she almost tells the group about the eviction notice. Timmy says he will tell them in their own time and does not want them to get worried.

Percy apologizes to Timmy about the notice. Although Timmy is his best friend, Percy still needs to run a business and pay for utilities. Timmy half-heartedly accepts Percy’s apologies but not before Kayla comes to the spot and he disperses. Eliza encourages Timmy to put effort into winning the award. She feels he has a great chance and also deserves recognition for his hard work. Connie informs him that the Chamber of Commerce is sending a camera crew for interviewing Timmy and see the store.

He is confronted with making a choice and eventually goes with Connie, i.e., choosing to have a makeover and present a different version of Timmy for the camera. This involves getting a haircut from Rene, the local hairdresser, who is also romantically interested in Timmy. Carlos is studying to become an accountant and Hannah confronts him about it. She feels Carlos is letting his talent go to waste. But Carlos is more concerned about how frugal Hannah is. She literally fills up a peanut butter pack with water to apply to the bread in the fridge for lunch. Carlos calls her out on this.

She explains that this is a childhood habit. She is saving for the future but Carlos is unconvinced. “People don’t want their hearts warm but their minds were blown”, Connie says to Timmy and he tries to put on a show for the cameras. Carlos and Hannah go to a store to shop as the former insists that the latter do something rewarding for herself. It seems like she is making good progress but it turns out that she had coupons for the entire store to Carlos’ surprise.

Timmy decides to throw a party for the people at the store to woo them. It is again encouraged by Connie but not by Eliza. They dress up the store nicely and install candles for panache instead of the normal lights. Hannah gets annoyed with Carlos’ constant bickering about her spending habits and they have a small fight. Carlos feels Hannah will regret her decisions when she gets older in hindsight but she is stout. Timmy’s plan goes awry as one of the candles starts a fire in the store and the fire department has to be called in to help.

The fire opens up Hannah’s eyes to the volatility of life and she finally feels it is time to let go of her frugality a little bit. She has nachos with shrimp on them with Carlos at the bar to celebrate this new realization. Carlos also admits that he hates accounting, something Hannah had said earlier and he had resented her for it. Timmy apologizes to Eliza for not listening to her and being a jerk all night. To cover rent, he decides to sell his car as he values the store and the people more than it.

They are about to have drinks when Aaron calls and Eliza talks about moving back in with him. Timmy overhears it and makes an excuse for something else. He apologizes to Percy and they go for drinks, with Timmy trying to forget about her lonely life.

The Episode Review

Unfortunately, the sitcom has failed to offer us anything meaningful thus far. Everything feels derivative and tacky with the least amount of effort being put to make the dialogue or the story interesting. This episode’s storyline was perhaps not that bad.

On paper, the event with the archaic settings and candles had the potential for jokes. But like always, there was a need to rush everything. All the subplots were handled with a commercial, robot-like empathy that really took any heart away from it. Percy’s character has fared the worst. Writers have portrayed him as a cartoonish, reckless man-child with zero ethics and compassion. It is almost as if they were going for Leon with the same actor but somehow worse.

Hannah and Carlos have no sense of warmth or mystery between them. Even in emotional moments in the episode like in the bar, there is a distance between them. It might be the actors as well but the writers should shoulder most of the blame. Blockbuster is turning out to be drab but on we march!