Everyone’s got a plan. They start with good intentions. And sometimes they are spurred by desperation. On American Classic Season 1 Episode 3, it’s the secret ones that make the most noise.
Say what you will about Richard Bean, but he isn’t one to hide his intentions. He declares that he will stage the greatest production of Our Town ever seen one day (at his mother’s funeral) and begins working on it the next day.
Meanwhile, Kirsten’s been making losing plays on the down-low for so long that she’s forgotten where she even started to go wrong. And it’s landed her, the town, and the MFT right in the lap of Connor Boyle, the ultimate Man With a Plan.
Dreams and plans are two separate but related concepts. One without the other exists just fine, but without the other, either will destroy the soul.
A dream without a plan stagnates on the shelf. A plan without a dream is ultimately parasitic, draining a person of energy and never giving back.
Jon’s delicious pie-in-the-sky, mostly unspoken — but, come on, a blind man could discern it — dream of a restaurant of his own has no traction because he’s grown used to the supporting role.
For him to dream of starring as a chef would risk a disappointment he couldn’t handle.
Meanwhile, Kristen has been grasping at plan after more futile plan to preserve the town and save the MFT. But maintaining is her goal, and that’s not a dream. It weighs on her until she shatters.
Taking Care of Beans
If I were to posit a guess, Kristen probably gave up dreaming when Richard’s selfishness sucked up all the air in their New York City adventure. The only acting she does these days is presenting her public, mayoral façade to the world, while she’s falling apart inside.
Even as she’s primed to explode at Jon at the dinner table, she tries to preserve her professional veneer for the sake of Boyle and Nadia. It’s an intense portrayal of a woman pulled so tight by her responsibilities that she’s ready to snap.
When Jon confronts her about refinancing with Boyle, she tries to explain why she didn’t tell him, and she blurts out, “It was when we were putting in the kitchen…” twice, but Jon doesn’t seem to realize the significance of that.
The kitchen would’ve been for him, a place for him to properly showcase his skills. Kristen refinanced with Boyle to make Jon’s dream come true. And apparently, he can be just as obtuse as Richard.
Poor Kristen. She goes from taking care of Richard in New York to taking care of Jon, Miranda, and Jon and Richard’s parents in Millersburg. And the MFT. Then the entire town. And now, Richard again.
Keeping It In The Family
For a show ostensibly about putting on a play to save a theater, American Classic Season 1 Episode 3 manages to fit its theatricality into the most unusual spaces.
Of course, the Bean trio takes to the stage in the first act, with Jon coaxing Richard into singing “The Impossible Dream (The Quest)” from Man of La Mancha after Richard falters on the title song.
Once again, the play referenced is chosen with extreme precision. Man of La Mancha puts the protagonist on trial for his idealism and bad poetry. He pleads guilty but puts on a play as his defense. (Oh, the parallels are delicious.)
When Miranda summons him to the stage, Richard attempts to sing “Man of La Mancha [I, Don Quixote],” the introductory opening number where Don Quixote declares his intention to travel the world as a noble knight, righting all the wrongs.
But he can’t sustain the volume and dynamic of the number and makes a move to leave, only to be transfixed when Jon begins singing the best-known song from the show, a song reprised no less than three times.
Together, they sing, brothers reunited, performing as a duo for the first time in decades. It’s a beautiful moment, only slightly marred by Richard’s awareness of the lines, “…my heart will lie peaceful and calm/When I’m laid to my rest.”
Was he remembering their mother’s casket was on that stage only a day ago? Maybe he was trying to imagine what a peaceful and calm heart would feel like.
Miranda joins in on the last verse, sealing the performance as a true Bean Family number. In that moment of applause and unity, Jon joins in with Richard’s whimsy and Miranda’s optimism. “You have got to stay!” he shouts in his brother’s face.
The World Is A Stage For Richard Bean
The next stop is the bank to plead for financing for the play. To win hearts and minds (and maybe a line of credit), Richard breaks out a Hamlet monologue, as one does.
The Trek soul of me loves that he chooses the “What a piece of work is man!” speech over “To be or not to be.” Of course, the question of depression versus suicidal ideation for a man addicted to procrastination is kind of splitting hairs on the nose, to mix adages.
And although it moves bank manager J. Jeffrey Jeffers (not even making that up) to tears, it does nothing for their bottom line because no godly stare or intoned verse can squeeze money out of a loan the bank doesn’t hold.
And that brings us full circle to the stage of domesticity, the dinner party table. Like most social soirees, this one had multiple layers of obligations contrived to set the scene.
Boyle extorted the invitation for himself and Nadia because his girlfriend is obsessed with Richard. Kristen put the onus on Richard to be “normal” for the guests’ sake. Jon willingly steps into the role of haute cuisine curator/chef.
And then there’s Nadia. Major props to Elise Kibler for leaning in so completely on the role and giving it 110% without a blush or a blink.
“What’s it like kissing a man in a play when you are not gay? Because I see you in The Normal Heart, and I know you are not a gay man because I read everything. I read EVERYTHING. But then I see him kissing… and I think, ‘He is being gay SO WELL. How is he doing that?’ How do you do that?” — Nadia
Even after the hostess has left the table in an embarrassed rage and the chef exits in pursuit, Nadia is laser-focused on gleaning every bit of information from Richard she can. That’s dedication.
Miranda’s face says the quiet part loud for all of us.
Daily Life, Love and Marriage
With Richard’s second-hand cinema seats being the only progress made on Our Town on American Classic Season 1 Episode 3, it’s hard to see the forest for the trees at this point with regard to Richard’s endgame.
What is very clear is that the trees are toppling at an alarming speed. Kristen’s breakdown, Jon’s concern, and Miranda’s desperation feel like a tinderbox of crises.
Richard remains somewhat calm in this storm, quite possibly because he still hasn’t fully accepted that he is now a part of this world.
American Classic Season 1 Episode 3 successfully stokes the spark of hope Richard impulsively lit on American Classic Season 1 Episode 2 into a firebrand carried by Jon, Miranda, and the people of Millersburg.
The unfortunate side effect of this new torchlight is that it reveals the deals Kristen had to make to keep the literal lights on.
What’s the next move? Can Richard move forward with his dream without sabotaging all of Kristen’s precariously balanced plans? Will Miranda find her voice and a dream to plan for? Can the future carry the weight of this past?
Chime in with your thoughts and theories about the next episode of this MGM+ gem, TV Fanatics! Comments and musings are always welcome!
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