'Atypical' Season 3 Episode 3 review: Sam may not need 'Cocaine Pills and Pony Meats' to get him through college, but he learns to ask for help
Sam (Keir Gilchrist) is officially Denton Bee but being that busy is not working out all that great for him. With Paige (Jenna Boyd ) away at college, he has to put in the effort to nurture their long-distance relationship, meanwhile, his Ethics professor portrayed by Sara Gilbert isn't making things easy for him — at all. However, Sam is convinced that he has to, and can manage it all, despite struggling with time management.
Even though Elsa (Jennifer Jason Leigh ) has been trying to convince Sam that asking for help is a very natural, human thing to do, his father and others around him encourage him to persevere, and despite his best efforts he still comes short. However, in the end, he learns that no one is above asking for help, and he chooses to finally go to the Disabilities Center and equip himself with the resources he needs as well. In this one episode, we see a growth in Sam that becomes the foundation for the episodes that are to come.
Meanwhile, at home, Elsa struggles with standing back and letting the cookie crumble where they may. She obviously still feels guilty about cheating on Doug (Michael Rapaport) but is also jealous of his relationship with Megan (Angel Laketa Moore). She definitely loses her cool a couple of times but eases up when she realizes that she is crossing a line.
The most interesting storyline of the episode is that of Evan (Graham Rogers), who interestingly proves to not share the same level of ambition as Cassie (Brigette Lundy-Paine ). He does not dream of moving out of the neighborhood any time soon, nor does he want to move to Los Angeles when Cassie potentially moves there. He also more or less makes it clear that he doesn't aspire to go to college, nor does he have everything figured out, and that is okay.
Just because Evan doesn't fit society's standards of a success story doesn't mean he needs to put his head down and aspire for that. It is an approach we rarely see explored on screen and it was interesting to watch it.
As an episode, 'Cocaine Pills and Pony Meats' is graded at a C+ for us, but the moderateness of the overall episode is spiked by moments in Sam's, Elsa's and Evan's storylines. Go on ahead and watch Season3 of 'Atypical' which will be added to Netflix in November.