Summary
Episode three strikes an odd tone, with Sheila spiraling out of control and a return to her childhood home, bringing back haunting memories from her past. It’s an uneven if entertaining installment.
This recap of the Apple TV+ series Physical season 2, episode 3, “Don’t You Go Far,” contains spoilers.
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After last episode’s somber news of her father’s passing, Sheila spends “Don’t You Go Far” reverting back to old habits and taking a haunting stroll down memory lane at her parent’s house. The funeral provokes terrible flashbacks, opening up old wounds for Sheila and her horrid relationship with her manipulative mother. In episode three Sheila’s mental state spirals out of control in an uneven entry.
Physical season 2, episode 3 recap
Sheila’s muscle cramps continue at her father’s wake, which only intensify as the episode progresses. It’s possible that the pain is anxiety induced, with the stress of returning home and reliving these painful memories from her past. Husband Danny says that he is here for her and implies that her father wasn’t a nice man. It would appear that her mother is no better either, with the duo locking horns over the slightest discrepancy. Sheila’s mother mentions the fitness tapes, which she refers to as ‘dance’ tapes and this alone sets them off, bickering with one another. The daughter decides to battle back and boasts about the videotape’s success, handing her mother a fat cheque as payment for a loan she once gave her. This low blow is extremely poorly timed.
With the stomach pains tearing at her insides and still reeling from her latest argument with her mother, Sheila decides to ditch the funeral. In her time of need, Sheila relies on exercise to sooth the soul. She drives to the nearest workout class and joins a group hosted by Vincent Green, sneaking in at the back. She needs to sweat out some of this anger and the class definitely helps. But it is an odd sequence, with Vincent portrayed as this strange messiah, who the women worship. His workout style is dance-orientated and upbeat, yet his interactions with the participants are just plain bizarre. A mixture of hippy slogans and toxic masculinity. He even asks Sheila to spank him at one point and she nervously obliges.
Sheila returns to the funeral dripping in sweat and wide-eyed. Here she begins her mental breakdown, panicking that she can’t find her daughter and screaming at her mother. She has a vision of her Uncle sitting besides her and worries that Maya is the victim this time around. This hints at an upbringing that involved some rather awful events, was Sheila sexually abused as a child? The scene ends with Sheila fainting, surrounded by the stunned guests.
The secondary characters and their narratives are intersected with the funeral storyline. Bunny realizes that she’s hit rock bottom and tries to escape her dreary life with Tyler. Whilst John allows his son to date a girl in secret, but then throws him under the bus when John’s wife starts to probe John about his changed behavior. Bunny attempts to return to her ex Gary, but Tyler fights to keep her.
This messed up relationship is nothing compared with Sheila and her mother’s. Sheila wakes in the hospital and Danny explains how one of her ovaries had twisted, causing the excruciating pain. He adds that she needs rest and red meat, they’re going to have to fatten her up. To Sheila this is probably worse than the pain. Then she spends time alone with her mother, who feeds her ice cream. It’s a great, little sequence that highlights their complex relationship. The mother tries to apologize, but Sheila stops her. Then they sit in silence, Sheila being fed like a child again.
The show continues to display these engrossing character studies peppered throughout its thirty minute run time. “Don’t You Go Far” gives Sheila some much needed back story and allows her to sample new workout styles.
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