REVIEW: ‘Rooster’ Episode 3 — “White Whale”

Everyone has their metaphorical white whale to conquer. In Rooster Episode 3, “White Whale,” Greg Russo (Steve Carell) confronts his white whale of teaching with mixed, mostly cringe results due to generational sensitivities and classroom mishaps that lead him straight into disciplinary fashion. Others, too, face their own white whales, and we see how they rise to the occasion and who is in their corner and who isn’t as they take on these hurdles.

For Greg, teaching is something he never imagined himself doing, nor did he ever think he’d be navigating the complicated modern politics that have taken over college campuses. In a moment of vulnerability with his students, there’s an understanding as to why. He never went to college, yet he has published ten best-sellers. Here is a man who has achieved what authors dream of, yet he can’t seem to see himself as worthy of greatness.

He admits as much by saying he views his Rooster character as a conduit. He can live vicariously through what he writes, a relatable truth that some authors share with their work. Rooster Episode 3 is proving what we’ve come to know about Greg.

Yes, he is a successful author, but he’s someone who struggles just as much as anyone else. And even when the script calls for incredibly cringy moments involving groping in the episode (an unnecessary moment given the first disciplinary meeting), Steve Carell humanizes a role that could honestly be played one-note if left to someone else.

Greg and Dylan are thrown into positions they aren’t prepared for in Rooster Episode 3.

Dylan Shepherd (Danielle Deadwyler) gets her own white whale in Rooster Episode 3 when she has to step into Dean Riggs’ (Alan Ruck) position after he ends up in the hospital. It’s a position that she hasn’t necessarily been coveting, but, with no choice but to take it, she now gets to see things from an administrative perspective, and quickly, she finds out how disruptive it is. In this case, the white whale is more of a hurdle she has to survive until Dean Riggs comes back, but the character growth already showing is promising.

Because, for the most part, Dylan has not been taking any of Dean Walter Mann’s (John C. McGinley) decisions well since the show’s start. From the cuts made to the literary journal to her friend losing the writer’s residency position to Greg, she has made it known that she’s not happy. But when you’re the Dean of any college, the people who come through your doors want something from you, and many will walk away disappointed and angry at you. The disappointment has yet to be directed at Dylan, but she’s just getting started.

As one of those people who want something, Sunny (Lauren Tsai) struggles to ask Dean Mann for help with her internship. Yet, she faces a race against the clock to find and complete one before her pregnancy kicks into gear. Archie (Phil Dunster) is none too helpful, prioritizing his own comfort over her actual needs when giving advice, pointing out that Mann is a notorious gossip. A reminder that if you hate a character, that character is doing a good job, and Phil Dunster is killing it here. Mann ultimately agrees to help Sunny, with both getting something out of the deal. 

A fascinating gendered divide shows itself in Rooster Episode 3.

While all of these characters are tackling their challenges head-on in Rooster Episode 3, a fascinating gendered divide is becoming more prominent, particularly among the school staff behind the scenes. As an outsider, Greg is very much a fish out of water in this dramatic academic space. Yet, he is also part of the boy’s club in a way, with both Dean Riggs and Dean Mann finding a sense of camaraderie with him almost instantly.

This is evident in the handling of the “white whale” incident and the groping incident later in Rooster Episode 3. Riggs is dismissive, while the women seem wary. This carries over into the groping incident, where Cristle (Annie Mumolo, who is a real MPV this episode) makes her disapproval of Greg known. This divide carries over into Greg’s classroom, where both disciplinatory incidents occur with femme-presenting students over misunderstandings (seriously, what lit student doesn’t know that white whale is Moby Dick-connected).

Annie Mumolo steals each scene she’s in, and this episode is no exception.

Of course, there is more nuance to what’s going on in the writing here in Rooster Episode 3, but the divide slowly becoming apparent as Greg gets deeper into academia is undeniable (and sadly, relatable). While it’s played more for laughs than not, there’s no denying that campus landscapes have changed with the times. It’ll be interesting to see how this component of campus life continues to be explored, and whether it ultimately lands more comedically or in that cringe space (again, that groping incident seemed rather unnecessary, comedically). 

As Greg enters this new stage of his career and life, Rooster Episode 3 demonstrates how awkward the transition will be for him. His first couple of classes offer moments of vulnerability and mistimed comedic beats, proving further that he has far to go on his journey. Hopefully, unlike the white whale of literature fame, he can overcome this particular transition, and, similarly, Dylan and others can overcome their own white whales in coming episodes.

Rooster Episode 3 is now streaming on HBO Max with new episodes weekly on Sundays.

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