REVIEW: ‘Rooster’ Episode 4 — “Angry, Like An Angry Person”

You would think, based on the title of Rooster Episode 4, “Angry, Like An Angry Person,” that the latest episode might tread the depths of rage its character might be holding onto. In the case of Katie (Charly Clive), that rage is hardly restrained in key moments throughout the episode.

However, the episode’s overriding theme proves to be its most heartwarming: authenticity. What does it mean to be authentic when you’re struggling to know where to start? Sometimes that answer is found through a night out with students (though that isn’t advised).

For Greg Russo (Steve Carell), his path to authenticity lies within a character of his own creation, the titular Rooster. This isn’t entirely clear in the opening moments of Rooster Episode 4, as Carell narrates a standoff between Greg and Walter Mann (John C. McGinley). A work of fiction twists itself into a real-life scenario, bringing us one step closer to seeing how Rooster is an extension of Greg, even if Greg doesn’t quite see it yet.

This segues into Greg’s class lecture, where he reveals a pocket of wisdom to his students: “You can’t write it [i.e. emotions] if it’s not in you.” His student, Tommy (Maximo Salas), responds to this, parroting the line back to Greg towards the end of Rooster Episode 4 after the two spend a night partying with the boys. The relationship between this teacher and student has been developing naturally over the course of the season, but it is here that Greg’s authentic approach and honesty resonate and ultimately help both student and teacher. 

The relationship between Greg and Tommy reaches a new level as both learn from one another.

Both Tommy and Greg struggle with their confidence, leaving them unsure of how to move about in the world. Transitioning from high school to college, Tommy is left feeling like an outsider. Like any college guy, he tries to find ways to fit in (usually, with the help of alcohol and weed), but he admits to Greg how out of his element he feels. Similarly, in a moment of vulnerability, Greg tells Tommy how he’s been stuck and unable to move on since his divorce. He wishes he could be more like Rooster, but, as Tommy rightfully points out, he IS Rooster.

In the writing process, it’s difficult not to put a little of oneself in your characters. Rooster is a projection of Greg’s wants and desires; he’s like an alter ego in a sense. It isn’t until Tommy drops the truth bomb in Rooster Episode 4 that Greg couldn’t have written Rooster if the character wasn’t already in him that Greg, in his mostly inebriated state, puts two and two together. It is then that his “Rooster” self awakens. 

When you’re struggling with self-confidence or a life transition, it can be difficult to see a more confident version of yourself as “real” or even authentic. “This can’t actually be me” is easy enough to say when confronted with that possibility.

And sometimes, it isn’t until we hear the truth from someone else, usually from a stranger or an acquaintance, that we can even start to embrace that. This is the case here, and shows a great deal of character growth for both Greg and Tommy while reinforcing the theme of Rooster Episode 4.

Katie tries to get herself back in the ring in Rooster Episode 4 and is delightfully awkward.

A character who faces the opposite issue is Greg’s daughter, Katie, who finds herself back working on campus in Rooster Episode 4 and is encouraged by her TA and another student to get back into the dating game. Katie hasn’t been at her best this entire season. She’s nowhere near close to reconciling over her husband Archie’s (Phil Dunster) affair, and with Sunny’s (Lauren Tsai) incredibly public pregnancy announcement, that wound won’t be healing anytime soon. 

Yet, she takes the push to get back out there to heart. One thing, though, is that flirting in public means adopting a persona of sorts, and Katie has been out of the dating scene for some time. Charly Clive leans into the awkward comedy that makes public flirting cringe to behold, especially when it’s just badly executed. Still, this awkwardness IS what makes Katie authentic. At her most raw, she can’t help but be adorably pathetic (said with endearment here as a fellow adorably pathetic bean). 

It’s why, when Rooster Episode 4 ends with her in bed with her husband, whose authentic self is generally narcissistic, smug, and just not good overall, you can’t help but feel a bit bad for her. Katie is in the stage of her marriage that her father found himself in not long ago, and sometimes being authentic in the moment, especially when wounded, means crawling back to the source. We might not like it (and may even actively root against it in the case of Katie), but the path to embracing authenticity isn’t always pleasant. Sometimes it will hurt you.

Being authentic means embracing all aspects of self, the good, the bad, and the godawful cringe parts.

The latter applies to a brief exchange between Walter and Sunny in Rooster Episode 4, while in his sauna mentoring session. He reminds her that it’s always better to be authentic when approaching interviews. For a man who could best be described as living his truth, this advice makes sense and is on-brand for him. However, this does lead to Sunny taking back a compliment she made and lowkey insulting the necklace he’s wearing. Ouch. 

How this theme arises in Rooster Episode 4 is fascinating because there’s no easy way to approach it without questions popping up. Is authenticity just being honest? In that case, where is the line between honest and too honest?

What if behaving authentically to one’s character is seen as problematic, as is the case when Greg gets reprimanded for doing the ‘Walk like an Egyptian’ dance? There aren’t any easy answers. What better way to dissect it, though, than on a college campus with Greg? 

Rooster Episode 4 surprisingly offers plenty of food for thought. Making great use of its short episodic runtime, the dissection of authenticity, whether in one’s personal life, writing, or teaching approach, is one that is timeless in a world that struggles sometimes with the very concept. With Greg’s awakening, what changes will follow? It’ll be fun to see what happens on his journey next. 

Rooster Episode 4 is now streaming on HBO Max with new episodes weekly on Sundays.

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