Directed by Lake Bell
Written by Matthew Bass & Theodore B. Bressman
Starring Lily James, Sebastian Stan, Seth Rogen
New episodes airing Wednesdays on Hulu

by Kristian Cortez, Staff Writer

We are at the half-way point in the Hulu limited series Pam & Tommy, and the ball is finally rolling in the story of how Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee’s honeymoon sex tape was stolen and distributed by Rand Gauthier. Episode four improves upon its previous episodes by leaving behind the glittery façade used to depict Pam and Tommy and, at last, showing us the two under a more natural light.

The episode begins with men all over the United States stumbling upon the website created by Gauthier and ordering copies for themselves. As the tape begins to spread, Pam and Tommy have their first ultrasound where they see and hear their baby for the first time (the first of many tender scenes between the two in this episode). A few scenes later Tommy takes the ultrasound photo of their baby from the fridge with the intention of putting it in the safest location—his safe in the garage. Finally, Tommy has discovered that the safe has been stolen.

Police are called and as Tommy lists off all the contents within the safe, Pam reminds him of the private tape they made. And so the worriment begins—at least on Pam’s part—as she relays to Tommy how violated she feels now that the tape is in someone else’s hands. Tommy is more angry than worried, and at one-point Pam remarks how “chill” he seems about the whole thing. The two hire a private investigator and soon discover that it was their former employee who robbed them. Gauthier, on the other hand, has not one but two problems staring him in the face at the moment. Obviously, the first is Tommy hiring bikers to come after him for the tape, and the second is how distribution of the tape is already falling through his fingers. Gauthier discovers a man selling the tape outside of a Tower Records and has the gall to tell him he has no right to sell it. The remaining scenes with Gauthier follow him as he continuously succeeds in avoiding the bikers and private investigator.

An improvement of this episode, from the previous three, is how many more scenes we get with Pam and Tommy. In one scene, when Pam is at work walking to set, she discovers camera men on the Baywatch crew watching their private tape. Promptly, she removes the tape and takes it to Tommy, later leading the two to discover the website. In an explosive scene at home, Pam, now stressing over the knowledge that the video is being circulated, expresses to Tommy how this tape being out is extremely bad for her, especially because she is a woman and the whole world is going to think poorly of her. The continued stress leads to a miscarriage and a closing scene of Pam unleashing her anger on the car of a paparazzi following them from the hospital.

Lily James and Sebastian Stan continue to impress in their performances as Pamela Anderson and Tommy Lee, respectively. In episode four they have more opportunities to let their chemistry shine through than in the previous three episodes. As I mentioned in my last review, where I cover episodes 1-3, the show is at its best when the camera is on Pam and Tommy. Watching James and Stan impersonate these two characters is great fun to watch and it’s in this episode that their great love story finally starts to feel real. Here we are given several scenes where their love is being shown to us instead of just hinted at. Like witnessing their excitement in the ultrasound or Tommy making Pam a Mickey Mouse shaped pancake for breakfast. But the best moment comes in the episode’s final minute. After Pam bashes in the front windshield of a pap’s car she stands in the street, exhaling heavily. Tommy comes over, kisses her, and then proceeds to carry her back to the car. It is a powerful gesture that displays the strength of their bond; of Tommy literally carrying Pam through this painful moment in their marriage, offering his strength not through words, but through action.

Although it is understandable why we have to follow Gauthier—since he is the one who stole the tape—his scenes that delve deeper into his personal life are still confusing to watch. Thankfully, there are less in this episode than in the ones that came before, but it is still a storytelling choice that feels difficult to grasp. Mainly because of how it translates as a contributing factor into his motivations regarding the tape, when, in fact, the two have nothing to do with the other. Gauthier had already decided to steal from Lee and sell the tape before his wife and troubled marriage was ever introduced in the story. His motivation was clear—it was based solely on revenge. But now that his failed relationship continues to be explored, it is communicating that his sole purpose to succeed in his crime is so he can save his marriage.

Which would be great, I guess, if Gauthier was the important person of this story, but as I’ve mentioned before, he is not. So, again, I am left wondering why it was so necessary to depict his perspective with such care and attention to detail. There is still that lingering feeling when watching his scenes where you almost want things to turn out well for him, until you remember who he is and how he doesn’t deserve it. As I said above, Gauthier’s motivation was already clearly stipulated from the beginning and would have worked just fine without the personal insight into his life. So why is the show trying to make us feel this way? I have no answers but it will be interesting (and maddening) to see if it continues just as strongly into the remaining episodes.