Physical season 1, episode 8 recap – “Let’s Not and Say We Did”

This recap of Physical season 1, episode 8, “Let’s Not and Say We Did”, contains spoilers.

What’s up with John Breem? For a man who seemingly has everything, he seems pretty eager to drown himself in his own swimming pool. As he later explains to his wife, he’s feeling unhappy, and perhaps a bit godless, but “Let’s Not and Say We Did” doesn’t give us many concrete reasons as to why. This isn’t to say it doesn’t explain some other things, though, including the root cause of Sheila’s self-loathing internal monologue and eating disorder. It also suggests a lot more to come thanks to developments in Greta’s storyline and Jerry’s discovery right at the end. What started as a mixed bag is rapidly becoming one of Apple TV+’s sturdier offerings, and there are still two episodes left.

Remember how last week, Sheila made the big decision to visit her parents? Well, that opens a real can of worms. In Physical episode 8, she’s able to secure a cheque for five grand on the proviso that her parents get to meet Maya, but Danny is appalled by the idea for reasons that quickly come to make sense. As it turns out, when she was a teenager, Sheila was sexually abused by one of her father’s friends, and neither of her parents believed her. All these years later, they still refuse to acknowledge it even happened. While this is something that at first Sheila is willing to overlook to make ends meet, perhaps out of habit, it’s Danny, finally proving himself worthwhile, who insists she doesn’t. He’s even there to cheer her on when she smashes her parents’ place up and tells them they’ll never get to meet their granddaughter. It’s a welcome moment of catharsis for Sheila, and while it can’t salve the wounds she has been nursing all these years, it’s certainly better than giving her parents their own way.

Physical episode 8 allows Greta a similar moment. Finally confronting Ernie about the videos of women having their heads shaved that he secretly kept on his camera, she reveals her own new hairdo, and the spice immediately re-enters their marriage. On some level, this is worrying, since he kept his fetish a secret from her for a long time. But Greta, who deeply wants to be wanted, finds tremendous value in her husband suddenly finding her very sexy, and we immediately see their home life improve alongside their sex life. She’ll take that as a win, even if her husband’s opinion of her seems tied explicitly to her hair – or lack of it, as the case may be.

But it isn’t all good, and “Let’s Not and Say We Did” pulls the rug from under Danny and Sheila just when it seems like they’re finally reconnecting. When they return home, they discover that Jerry has unearthed both of Sheila’s diaries, one of which contains their real budget, which Sheila has been dipping into for the sake of her aerobics ambitions. Finally, Sheila has been caught out, and she doesn’t have an easy explanation for this. We’ll find out what goes with next week.

What were your thoughts on Physical season 1, episode 8? Let us know in the comments.