Summary
DMV remains funny in Episode 3, but it’s lingering on the early days of Colette and Noa’s “romance” too long and neglecting other, funnier characters.
DMV can get away with a lot because it’s genuinely funny more often than it isn’t. But in Episode 3, “Easy Pass”, I found it to be lingering too long on Colette and Noa, who are, by design, the least funny characters. Noa’s the classic straight man to Colette’s exaggerated simping idiocy; it’s the exact same dynamic that the premiere revolved around, and that the second episode made more direct. Something has to happen in this relationship that knocks it out of will-they-won’t-they — or, perhaps more accurately, is-he-isn’t-he — stasis, especially when literally everyone else in this show is much more entertaining to spend time with.
Naturally, then, Colette occupies the bulk of “Easy Pass”. The episode’s title refers to her office nickname, earned for passing almost everyone who takes a driving exam with her. This is an outgrowth of her fear of disappointing people; she’s so wildly conflict-averse that she’ll allow anyone out on the roads to spare herself the five-second difficulty of telling them they didn’t pass. What’s one more bad driver in California, after all?
This is the logic Colette applies to Noa, since he’s her next exam. He’s going for his California driver’s license so he can stop bumming lifts from people and so that he and Mary… well, we don’t know, since Colette cuts him off before he can explain. She’s already tired of hearing about his potential relationship with a cool, hot surfer. Perhaps if she refuses to acknowledge reality, it will cease to exist. (For what it’s worth, I don’t think anything is going on with Noa and Mary, but it wouldn’t surprise me if DMV dragged out this “reveal” for several more weeks).
It turns out Noa is a deeply terrible driver — he has three accidents during the test. But, naturally, Colette passes him anyway. In celebration, he clears out his bank account to buy his friend’s van, and then plans an excursion so dangerous that Colette, Vince, and Gregg break into that van to try and sabotage it. This leads to a stretch where DMV Episode 3 really strains its TV-PG rating, since Noa and Mary trying to wedge a folding table into the back creates the illusion that they’re up to something else. Gregg, in the front seat with a visibly defeated Colette, drops the best line of the episode when he finally checks out what’s going on: “They’re doing it like me and my wife — with their clothes on. And they’re not doing it”.
Gregg remains brilliant and neglected. Vince gets into extreme hydration in “Easy Pass”, and Gregg keeps filling his water bottle up when he isn’t looking, and it’s such a dumb gag that it made me laugh every time. But the better subplot belongs to Ceci and Barb. The latter has passed her probationary period and is officially the manager, which means her portrait is going up on the wall. She wants Ceci, whose job is to take the photos for the licenses, to handle the portrait, which leads to a temporary glow-up and a stretch of very funny physical comedy from Molly Kearney. You can feel the anxiety rippling through the screen. I wish DMV spent more time with these supporting characters.
But, alas, “Easy Pass” ends with Colette finally telling Noa the truth about his test, which has the knock-on effect of him suggesting that he takes some lessons — with her. That should ensure that we have more of this strained dynamic for the next couple of weeks at least. Hopefully, something meaningful comes up for the other characters in the meantime. I’m still holding out hope that we’ll eventually get to meet Gregg’s wife.
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