Before we get started, I’d like to apologize for my lack of a review of last week’s How to Make It in America episode (sometimes you just can’t fight the Academy Awards). However, I’m back this week with a review of How to Make It in America‘s fifth episode, “Big in Japan.”
It was definitely my favorite episode of the season, mostly because of the happy ending that it had. Ever since it had been mentioned that Ben designed t-shirts back in high school, I knew that this skill would come into play somehow. But you simply can’t beat the way it was done, with the Japanese designer rejecting their “Crisp” jeans but commenting on Ben’s t-shirt, making a split-second decision to commission three hundred of the New York-themed t-shirts. Ben and Cam agreed, walking out of the office staring at each other in shock. However, as soon as the door was closed, whoops of laughter echoed.
On a not-so-cheery note, the Rachel storyline was bland as ever. After his insensitive treatment of Ben’s birthday gift to Rachel, her boyfriend decided that he’d make it up to her by having the bright idea for them both to take ecstasy that night. At a club. Of course, that ended badly, with the boyfriend suddenly feeling amorous with another woman — and another man. I’m getting sick of the storyline, because it has an inevitable end — Rachel ending back up with Ben. Why even put so much focus on Rachel if this weren’t the case?
The story that was most fun to watch, however, was that of Cam’s cousin Rene, who inadvertently stepped into the middle of a domestic dispute while trying to regain his $100,ooo, which he’d left with a cousin. Instead, it turns out that a contractor who redesigned the cousin’s basement ended up taking the hundred grand and making away with it. To top that off, the contractor has an old feud going with Rene, and speeds away in his new yellow car as soon as he sees Rene at his doorstep. Expect trouble to ensue.
All in all, “Hot in Japan” was the best episode thus far of How to Make It in America. With only three episodes left in the first season, the show is really starting to find its feet, and this episode steadied it just a little bit more. A
Follow Us
