The Comeback
Valerie Cherish
Season 3
Episode 8
Editor’s Rating
Photo: Erin Simkin/HBO
Much like Valerie Cherish, I spend way too much time reading the comments. However unwise that may be, it’s been fascinating seeing the wildly divergent responses to these recaps. Half of you think I’m being overly critical of a season that’s on par with the two that came before it, while the other half have regrettably concluded that The Comeback should never have come back. I imagine the season (presumably series) finale will be equally divisive, and I’m sympathetic to positive and negative perspectives here. Personally, I don’t think the show successfully landed this plane, even though there were certainly moments in “Valerie Cherish” that worked for me. Regardless, I’ll never be upset that we got to spend more time with one of TV’s greatest characters.
The fictional sitcom How’s That?! is earning similarly mixed responses from viewers, at least based on the scrolling Val does on the night of the premiere. She seems more concerned by the negative feedback than by the alarming use of an AI Valerie, who pops up at the end of the episode to advertise NuNet, a clear harbinger of what’s to come. On set the next day, however, Val is the voice of reason, using “Shake It Off” lyrics to calm the cast down about any bad reviews. I very much related to her experience of seeing a mean comment (“she can’t act”) and then being forced to scroll until you find a good one (“yeah, she’s old, but I’d still do her”). Ultimately, it doesn’t really matter if people online are tearing the show apart — it’s a hit for NuNet. On a video call, Brandon Wollack reveals that they aired the first two episodes back-to-back, and 72 percent of the audience stayed put. (Not to quibble with minor details, but this is… not how streaming works?) That’s enough to earn How’s That?! an early season-two renewal, with Brandon asking Val to join him for a “victory lap” press conference at the end of the week to announce the pickup.
After getting torn apart by the internet, it looks like Val’s fortunes have turned around. She’s even summoned to see TV legend Jack Stevens (Bradley Whitford). When she arrives at his office, she’s also greeted by Ben Morrow (Justin Theroux) and Matt Wright (Adam Scott) — together, these are the “Mount Rushmore of television writers,” also known as the big three. Naturally, they’ve called Valerie in for a reason: They’ve heard about the press conference, and they want her to use this opportunity to speak out on behalf of writers. If she doesn’t, the success of How’s That?! will inspire more and more shows to opt for AI scripts. Like Val, I’m dubious that her making a statement would affect any real change here, even if that’s the kind of redemptive act I want to see from her. It’s also understandable, with stakes as high as they are, that the big three would concoct this last-ditch effort to save their careers. “This is not the normal TV evolution — network to cable, cable to streaming, streaming to AI,” Jack says. “This is an extinction event.” Matt puts even more pressure on Val when he tells her, “The future of television depends on what you do.” Back at home, Valerie vents to Mark about the tough position she’s been put in. Never one to sympathize with writers, he points out that none of these men have bothered putting Val in one of their shows. If Jack had cast her in something, she wouldn’t have had to do The Comeback. Still proud of her pioneer status, Val bristles at this. “Say what you will about The Comeback, but that was the beginning of reality TV, and I was there first, just like I’m first with an AI show,” she notes. Mark fires back, “That’s like saying I was the first one to eat an arm in the Donner Party.”
Backstage at the How’s That?! season finale taping, Billy tells Val that he can’t make the press conference because he’s been offered the Marc Jacobs show in New York. She’s proud of him for getting to walk in a fashion show, until he reveals that he’s actually going to be in the audience. “They promised second row!” he gushes. Billy has no idea where this exciting opportunity will lead him next — there could be fashion shows all over the world interested in letting him pay to attend. He’s quitting as her manager, a job I was not aware he still had, and the two of them share an emotional exchange that does not feel remotely earned, given the state of their relationship all season. “This is our last show,” they tearfully say to each other, and while I recognize that the subtext here is that it’s also their last episode of The Comeback, I’m not sure how we’re meant to take this. We’ve spent so much time this season focused on Billy’s rapidly increasing ego and uselessness, and we’re ending his storyline with a tender moment between him and Val. Perhaps Valerie standing up for herself and making the choice to end their partnership was too much to hope for.
Either way, she’s better off without him, and it’s not like she hasn’t been putting out fires without Billy this whole time. There’s another one to deal with at the finale taping — the line “I found the smell, it was in the lost and found” completely bombs. (Quibbling again! That’s not even a joke? I have to believe Val or the director would have noticed the problem at the table read.) Backstage, they scramble for alts, only to discover that the AI system is down. Evan explains that they’ve hit the paywall because the studio is using the same budget for all their AI projects. Val implores him to step up and write some jokes himself, but Evan has given up on his dreams of being a writer because he doesn’t see a future in it. She’s forced to deliver a stirring speech to convince him. “What if there’s a space war, and someone shoots the satellites out of the sky, in space? Who’s gonna write the sitcoms then?” Val demands. “Well, I’ll tell you who. You. You are. You’re gonna give those people laughs when they need them the most during troubled times.” She even repurposes Matt’s “the future of television depends on what you do right now” line, and that seems to do the trick. The Evan-scripted line they end up using isn’t funny either (“I thought that smell was me”), but the studio audience laughs, so what do I know? At the end of the taping, Val tells a visibly jazzed Evan that he wrote on a real show tonight and now gets to join the WGA. I love how supportive she is to this baby writer, especially with the extratextual knowledge that he’s being played by her real-life son. It’s sweet!
Ahead of the press conference, Val meets with Brandon, where she foolishly lets slip that the big three want her to make a statement on behalf of writers. Andrew Scott is brilliant in this scene, as the eerily restrained Brandon has his own version of a meltdown. “These writers and their fucking feelings. This isn’t about emotions, it’s about business,” he whines. “I didn’t invent technology, you know? I didn’t invent AI. It’s not my fault, big three.” I appreciate this depiction of a tech CEO as someone who obviously considers himself to be a genius, but can’t take any criticism. Many such cases! Of course, this guy reads every single online comment while complaining about the consequences of his actions. When he says the whole town wants to paint him as a villain, Val assures him that he’s not, words that she’ll surely come to regret. “Just could really use a hug,” Brandon continues, in full baby mode. “But this is an open concept working environment, so I can’t get a hug.” Val gives him a verbal hug instead, and I’m left wondering what to make of The Comeback’s relationship to Me Too this season. Between this, Tommy’s abrupt exit, Val’s aside about her past relationship with a writer, and Mark’s revelation last week, this is clearly an issue on the show’s mind, but I’m not sure it has any point to make beyond that times have changed. And this episode sees Mark getting an apology from the man who fired him, along with a new job offer, so I guess we’re moving on!
It’s time for the press conference, where Brandon insists that How’s That?! is not an AI sitcom. They have a real crew and real actors, and while the scripts are AI, NuNet is not done with writers. The network needs humans to produce “the great work, the culture-defining work.” Brandon says, “We can only afford these important artistic endeavors because the more lucrative, cost-efficient shows like How’s That?! don’t need genius,” and you can see Val’s face fall. When she’s asked a question about her experience working with an AI writer, she goes off-script and mentions that they hit a paywall at the finale taping and had to rely on a real person for jokes. “So go humans!” she concludes. Is it wrong that I wanted her to take a stronger stand here? I expected the press conference to be the climax of the episode, the moment of dramatic self-sacrifice — like leaving the Emmy Awards before her category — that would show how much Val has grown. Instead, we get a very mild rebuke. If the AI system hadn’t crapped out at the taping, would she have said anything at all?
Brandon is pissed anyway, calling Val into his office after the press conference to tell her he felt ambushed by the way she undermined the expensive technology Comspot has spent years developing. She is firmer here when she reiterates that they need an actual showrunner for a second season, and that the “good enough” quality Brandon is settling for isn’t enough for her. Great sitcoms can be just as culture-defining as “serious” shows. “You felt ambushed?” Val says. “I feel betrayed.” It’s easy enough to guess what happens next: Brandon explains that if Valerie doesn’t want to come back for a second season, she’s free to leave. They can just replace her with the AI version they’ve created from her full-body scan. Val points out that AI still has bad branding, but Brandon counters that the ratings tell a different story. It’s a depressing stand-off, made all the bleaker by how it ends. “I take it back, you are a villain,” she tells Brandon. “My job is to move television forward,” he answers. “I’ve got to look after myself. I’m only human.” You want her to storm out, and she does — while also saying she’ll call tomorrow to let Brandon know her decision.
I’ve spent a lot of time wondering how this season would end, and if Val would learn something from the mistake of doing How’s That?! in the first place. As I’ve said, I don’t need my characters to be perfect, but after the stunning way that season two concluded, I expected a resolution that would cap a three-season arc of character development. That’s not really what we get. As Val and Mark discuss her options at home, he points out that she can just walk away. They don’t need the money, and she shouldn’t do something that won’t make her happy. The problem is, she’d be bored not working. “I just hate that they win,” she says, defeated. “No other options. What am I gonna do, cut off my nose to fight my face?” Just then, she gets a text from Jack — he has a new project featuring a woman of a certain gravitas (not age!), and he wants Val to be the lead. Suddenly, Valerie doesn’t care about doing another season of the sitcom. They can just replace her with her digital double. “AI’s here, Mark, can’t deny it,” she reasons. “Gotta move forward.” I don’t mind the Deus ex machina of the job offer, but it’s a pretty deflating ending. Even if she chooses to walk away, it’s only because something better came along at the last minute. What was all this for?
And look, it’s 2026. Everything is on fire, including the entertainment industry. Perhaps a less-than-inspiring ending like this is the only thing that makes sense for The Comeback. What’s frustrating is that the show doesn’t seem to realize that it’s not as simple as “all’s well that ends well,” a line Val quotes from Cheers instead of Shakespeare. When she sits down for a final interview with Jane, it’s clear we’re meant to take her ending as a triumph. “Finally, it all worked out. What an evolution you’ve had,” Jane reflects. “The way you stood up for yourself with NuNet, the way you took this new job and didn’t look back.” Again, the show is insistent on proclaiming Val’s greatness without putting in the work. She was all set to come crawling back to Brandon! And she’s now letting NuNet use her likeness indefinitely!
Did I still find the last interview poignant? Of course. Like Brandon, I’m only human. Jane says she’s watched Val for 20 years in an industry that has given her nothing but humiliation. “I think you have to agree to be humiliated, and I never signed up,” Val replies. “Just did the best, you know, with what I was given, right? And isn’t that what being a human being is, though?” This is what I will miss most about Valerie Cherish — the way she never allowed herself to be the butt of the joke, no matter how hard everyone was trying to make her one. Even if I don’t love where this season ended, I’m still moved by the idea that Val is, at her core, a survivor. “You have to adapt,” she says. “Keep going. Anyway, that’s what I tried to do.”
• The season as a whole felt light on jokes, but the finale did have some great lines. Of the social media critics, Val says, “When I did Seeing Red, that was around the time when regular people online started thinking their opinions mattered.”
• I also appreciated her loose interpretation of Martin Niemöller’s famous words: “When they came for the writers, you said, ‘Okay.’ When they came for the actors, you said, ‘Sure.’ And when they come for you, there won’t be anybody left to say, ‘Okay, sure.’”
• And then there was Tommy, back for the finale taping, and reflecting on Billy’s gender-bending ensemble with, “In my day, men couldn’t even wear chapstick.”
• It was nice to end on a callback to The Comeback’s most iconic moment. After Jane says, “I got it,” Val tells her, “I’m gonna need you to sound more excited.”
• And yes, it’s made all the better by her announcing it as a “Comeback callback” and then explaining, “A ‘callback’ is a sitcom writing term.”
• Of course, the real ending is a postscript revealing that How’s That?! is in its third season and now has an entirely digital cast, and that Val’s show, The Judge’s Table, has been nominated for multiple Emmys, including for her.
• “No A.I. was used in the writing of this series.” Let’s be grateful for that.
