Lou Wilson keeps doing it.
He keeps making a character I like but isn't my favorite of the season, and he plays them so well and so, like, consistently for many episodes, and then suddenly introduces a new element to their character that totally reframes them. But without invalidating anything that came before. And then suddenly they're my favorite of the season.
Like, LaVonte gets sent to Purpee and is immediately so gung ho about it. He is all about that small town and the people who live there. There's no reluctance. And like yeah, he wants to turn it into Rome, but he cares.
And then this episode, he's going insane. He's miserable. He's climbing the walls. All of his ambition has returned with a vengeance. We get to see that he has two sides: the one that cares about this town, and not just for it's potential, and the one that wants to get the fuck out.
I think part of it is HJ slowing down. When he and HJ were both vibrating on the same wavelength, Purpee was easier to take. But HJ getting comfortable, maybe even accepting that Purpee won't ever be Rome but not hating what it is, that means LaVonte has to actually face what he can do with Purpee. And not just that, but what he actually wants. Because he seems a lot more fulfilled hanging out with farmers than he did hanging out with tech guys. But that kind of radical change in how you view yourself and where your life is going is awful.
