I saw myself in the crotch of this fig tree starving to death because I couldn’t figure out which fig to choose […] choosing one meant losing all the rest
The above quote, taken from Sylvia Plath’s The Bell Jar, played a pivotal role in the first season finale of Aziz Ansari and Alan Yang’s Master of None. Ansari’s Dev, the titular ‘Jack of all trades, master of none’, reads the quote on the advice of his father who tells him that he has to stop treading water at this crucial point in his life, lest he wants the potential lives that he can live to wither away and perish like the unpicked figs from the tree. The wisdom dictates that it is no good to sit in the crotch of the fig tree admiring the sight of all the possibilities open to you if you never choose to pursue one of them. With this in mind at the end of season one, Dev’s relationship with girlfriend Rachel ends with her moving to Tokyo and he choosing to travel to Italy and join a pasta making school.
The second season opens on Dev celebrating his birthday in Italy, having been there for three months now. Much of the feel of Master of None remains unchanged in this opening episode, despite the show’s new location. This episode, a clear pastiche of Italian Neorealist films, is as playful and joyful as anything from the first season and Ansari’s filmmaking touch is exquisite, with beautiful vistas and tableaus throughout the episode, shot in a gorgeous black-and-white.
Similarly, despite Dev’s new temporary home, he is still the same excitable character from season one. The clues that we get about what Dev has learned in the past 3 months indicate that he will not be outgrowing his title as a ‘Master of None’ anytime soon. Dev has made his choice to go to Italy, but he’s not going to spend the rest of his life (or even the entire season) there. He has learned how to cook, but only a little. He has learned Italian, but only to the point where quick, in-depth conversation flummoxes him. He has picked up many skills but he hasn’t mastered them. He is still the same guy that we met in season one and it is to the show’s credit that the writers recognise that Dev would not suddenly become a fully realised person just because he made a bold decision at the end of the previous season.
Dev has made some adjustments to his personality in Italy though. The Dev of season one was constantly tied up in outlandish ideas for apps or looking for how his phone can improve his life by making decisions for him. However, there is very little reference to this type of technology in this episode. For instance, the only time listening to a podcast is mentioned is as a jokey threat from Dev’s date Sara as a way to put him off bad behaviour. Whilst the theft of a cell phone is a major plot point in the episode, it is Dev’s disappointment at losing his only connection to Sara that drives his desire to regain the device, not the materialistic disappointment of losing a phone. When Dev searches the internet later in the episode, he isn’t looking for new phone deals; he is trying to find some way to be able to locate Sara now that her number is gone.
So, what does this episode tell us about what to expect for the rest of the season? It is hard to tell with Master of None as this show puts an emphasis on the singularity and uniqueness of an episode quite unlike perhaps any other program on television right now. This episode features Dev taking part in his own Italian Neorealist saga but I am almost certain that there will not be another episode this season with the same tone as this one. The first season of the show proved that this creative team were able to create singular narratives in each episode focused around ever changing topics (such as gender, first and second generation immigrants, a year in the life of a relationship) whilst keeping the tone of the show feeling consistent and focused throughout. Several television critics have written recently on how the modern phenomenon of binge watching has led to a move away from the traditional concept of an episode being its own singular entity within the context of a series. Judd Apatow, the co-creator of Love, another Netflix sitcom, has openly acknowledged the fact that they are creating their program in order to be binge watched a few episodes at a time rather than one-by-one. This means that an episode of Love can potentially feel somewhat unsatisfying when watched in isolation. Master of None has so far proven to be immune from this issue. Each episode is crafted to work as a standalone story with a clearly defined beginning, middle and ending. I like forward to the unique surprise awaiting me with each episode.
Unconnected Thoughts
I didn’t speak too much about the Italian Neorealist structure and look of this episode (mainly because my knowledge of Italian Neorealism is pretty amateur!) but this was just a beautiful looking episode of television and a great way to open the new season.
