‘The Rehearsal’ Season 2 Premiere Review

The hardest part of taking action and creating change is starting. Whether that be in personal relationships, life goals, or even doing something for the greater good, it’s far too easy to get stuck in your head and never take the first step toward what needs to be done. But what socially awkward comedian Nathan Fielder suggests with The Rehearsal is, if you had the resources to rehearse what making a change looks like — if you could conjure it physically, rather than have it be an uncertain construct of anxious imagination — could you enact that change confidently, prepared to adapt to any variable?

The first season of The Rehearsal tackled this concept to a hilarious and sometimes terrifying degree, expanding upon Fielder’s penchant for outside-the-box thinking from Comedy Central’s Nathan For You. From helping a man reveal the truth to a friend, to letting a bachelorette experience the highs and lows of parenthood, he gave those who yearn for more a chance… while making quite a few unethical decisions along the way. The unholy concoction of big-budget wish fulfillment, moral dilemmas, and Fielder injecting himself into the plot, created one of the most insanely unique TV experiences of the decade… so where can Season 2 possibly go from there?

The Sky’s The Limit in ‘The Rehearsal’ Season 2

With the premiere of Season 2, The Rehearsal no longer bears the burden of having to introduce its premise. Nathan Fielder is able to kick things off by going full throttle and setting his sights even higher this time around. When looking for subjects in desperate need of change, where better to go than public infrastructure? More specifically, Fielder delves into the world of commercial aviation, and comes to the realization that the rate of plane crashes could be reduced if pilots had better training in communication. He brings these concerns to a former National Transportation Safety Board member, with a proposition that just may be the fix our country needs: a rehearsal.

It’s just serious enough for the former NTSB member to consider, as he himself once proposed roleplay simulation training to congress. But it’s ridiculous enough to build an HBO comedy around. And it’s big enough to fuel a more insane spectacle than even the first season could offer. Fielder’s scheming for this project includes constructing a cockpit surrounded by what appears to be The Volume — the massive curved screen famously used in movies and series such as The Batman and The Mandalorian. But somehow even more wild is the 1:1 airport terminal he recreates, and its patrons. Dozens of actors trained in the “Fielder Method” (See Season 1) fill the space as passengers, pilots, TSA agents, and even Panda Express employees. The scale is absolutely staggering for being just the first episode, and if its anything to judge by, we’re in for a massive, complex season ahead.

Nathan For You, Nathan For Everyone, Nathan For Himself

While Nathan Fielder scaling up his antics is the most enticing part of the season at first glance, where he always shines the most is ironically his ability to adapt to new variables, and make his own changes to the quasi-narrative of the series for the sake of entertainment. While he’s always working towards a bigger goal — in this case, flight safety — he has an innate skill for noticing details or vulnerabilities in the lives of those around him, and weaving them into the plot. In this episode, it comes in the form of Moody, a first officer he’s using as a guinea pig to rehearse communication with a pilot. In getting to know Moody, Fielder gets a glimpse into the relatably human struggles of his personal life, and rather than appropriately leave it at that, he works it into his scheme. This, of course, all comes to a head in a cringe-inducing, painful, yet hilarious moment that proves Fielder is the best (and worst, in a moral sense) at what he does.

His motives are pure and selfless: creating more safety in airline travel — and of course “helping” those he meets along the way. But are they really that pure and selfless? This is a comedy after all. Well, that’s where we get into Fielder as a character of the show. He plays some version of his true self, but it’s always difficult to know where Nathan Fielder the human being ends, and where Nathan Fielder the entertainer begins. His own emotions coming into play was one of the more fascinating dimensions in Season 1, and its clear he’s bringing that to the forefront straight out the gate this season — wearing his newfound altruistic heart on his sleeve and suggesting that he wants to swim upstream against the current of his comedic reputation to actually effect change for the public. It’s a bold claim for him to stake, and it’s bound to unravel throughout the season in ways that can’t possibly be predicted.

‘The Rehearsal’ – Final Thoughts

The Rehearsal’s reputation precedes itself, as Season 1 remains one of the most inventive, yet convoluted series of the decade. If Season 2 has any chance of not only replicating the comedic magic, but expanding on it, it’s certainly started off on the right foot with a spectacularly scaled-up premiere. Nathan Fielder continues to meddle in human affairs like a trickster god, treating real human beings as if they were Sims, all for the supposed purpose of the greater good. The Season 2 premiere proves The Rehearsal remains hysterical, twisted, and even a bit emotional, and we can’t wait to see where this flight takes us.

The Rehearsal Season 2 Episode 1 is now streaming on Max. New Episodes air weekly on HBO at 10:30 pm ET and can be streamed on Max at the same time. Check out the trailer below: