‘Room 104’ Review: ‘Pizza Boy’ Delivers Steaming Hot Weirdness (And What’s Up With The Bathroom?)
By Kristin Hunt/Aug. 7, 2017 11:00 am EST
(Each week, we’ll kick off discussion about Room 104 by answering one simple question: what’s the strangest thing in Room 104?)Last week, HBO introduced us to Room 104 with one especially creepy kid. (Or was it kids?) But in the second episode, there are no children to be found. Just a really horny couple and their pizza delivery man.Naturally, there’s more to it than that. “Pizza Boy” follows the familiar beats of a cliched story only to completely turn it on its head in the final five minutes. There’s betrayals, lies, and a menacing James Van Der Beek dance. But first, we need to discuss the strangest thing in the motel room this week.
What’s the Strangest Thing in Room 104? The Pizza Boy
For the second week in a row, the episode title reveals the strangest thing in Room 104. But this was a close one. When the episode begins, it seems like Jen (Davie-Blue) is going to walk away with the title. As her husband Scott (James Van Der Beek) frantically searches for cash for the pizza, she stands stoically in the bathroom, bathed in red light and staring straight ahead. Jared (Clark Duke), the titular pizza boy, notices her and watches as she almost magically strips from a slip to just her thong, then back to a dress. Once Scott leaves in search of an ATM, she confronts Jared about watching her. It turns into a sexy discussion about pizza, that actually has nothing to do with pizza. Her husband, she insists, “hasn’t been hungry in a long time.“But just as Jared is anxiously sitting down on the bed next to Jen (and now, the pizza), Scott returns with the money. Jen storms out of the room, complaining that he took forever, which leaves Scott and Jared alone. It’s now Scott’s turn to make his play for the strangest person in Room 104. Initially, he offers Jared a drink and counts out cash to finally pay him. But a text from Jen changes all that. He’s soon asking the pizza boy just what kind of tip he expected. “How many times did you fuck my wife?” Scott asks him point blank. The situation turns even more serious once Scott wraps Jared’s ankles and wrists with a phone cord. Cue the country music and Scott’s own version of the Mr. Blonde dance from Reservoir Dogs.Thankfully, no one loses an ear, because Jen returns right that second. She and Scott get into an argument that quickly turns sexual, and the whole ruse is finally revealed. Jared is no pizza boy. He’s actually some sort of smut tycoon who stages elaborate scenes for his voyeur clients. A new “pizza boy,” he tells the couple, will be there any minute. Before he heads out, he leaves them a generous cash tip.
What’s in the Bathroom?
We’re just two episodes into Room 104, but something is clearly up with the bathroom. In the series premiere, the bathroom is the domain of the evil Ralphie. In “Pizza Boy,” it’s where Jen kicks off her seduction in incredibly eerie fashion. Both episodes refuse to reveal what’s actually inside the space. Jen is filmed in tight shots so we never see more than a glimpse of the wall or ceiling, while Ralphie always appears outside the bathroom door.The premiere implied there might be some kind of mystical element to the bathroom, since a sinister (and seemingly inhuman) being lived there. “Pizza Boy” doesn’t really further that theory, but it doesn’t necessarily negate it, either. There’s nothing supernatural happening in the bathroom this week, but it’s also covered in red light, which doesn’t often signal a safe space.The bathroom isn’t the only thing that’s proving to be significant on Room 104. So far, the episode titles have been incredibly important. “Ralphie” tipped us off to the twin boys, one good and one bad. “Pizza Boy” also refers to a dual identity. Jared is seemingly the pizza boy, only that’s a false identity and a misdirect. The real “pizza boy” (who isn’t actually a pizza boy, either, but a voyeuristic client) doesn’t arrive until the last scene. Expect dual identities, as well as those episode titles, to remain key to the stories on Room 104. Just please don’t ask me what next week’s title, “The Knockadoo,” is supposed to mean.
‘Room 104’ Review: ‘Pizza Boy’ Delivers Steaming Hot Weirdness (And What’s Up With The Bathroom?)
By Kristin Hunt/Aug. 7, 2017 11:00 am EST
(Each week, we’ll kick off discussion about Room 104 by answering one simple question: what’s the strangest thing in Room 104?)Last week, HBO introduced us to Room 104 with one especially creepy kid. (Or was it kids?) But in the second episode, there are no children to be found. Just a really horny couple and their pizza delivery man.Naturally, there’s more to it than that. “Pizza Boy” follows the familiar beats of a cliched story only to completely turn it on its head in the final five minutes. There’s betrayals, lies, and a menacing James Van Der Beek dance. But first, we need to discuss the strangest thing in the motel room this week.
What’s the Strangest Thing in Room 104? The Pizza Boy
For the second week in a row, the episode title reveals the strangest thing in Room 104. But this was a close one. When the episode begins, it seems like Jen (Davie-Blue) is going to walk away with the title. As her husband Scott (James Van Der Beek) frantically searches for cash for the pizza, she stands stoically in the bathroom, bathed in red light and staring straight ahead. Jared (Clark Duke), the titular pizza boy, notices her and watches as she almost magically strips from a slip to just her thong, then back to a dress. Once Scott leaves in search of an ATM, she confronts Jared about watching her. It turns into a sexy discussion about pizza, that actually has nothing to do with pizza. Her husband, she insists, “hasn’t been hungry in a long time.“But just as Jared is anxiously sitting down on the bed next to Jen (and now, the pizza), Scott returns with the money. Jen storms out of the room, complaining that he took forever, which leaves Scott and Jared alone. It’s now Scott’s turn to make his play for the strangest person in Room 104. Initially, he offers Jared a drink and counts out cash to finally pay him. But a text from Jen changes all that. He’s soon asking the pizza boy just what kind of tip he expected. “How many times did you fuck my wife?” Scott asks him point blank. The situation turns even more serious once Scott wraps Jared’s ankles and wrists with a phone cord. Cue the country music and Scott’s own version of the Mr. Blonde dance from Reservoir Dogs.Thankfully, no one loses an ear, because Jen returns right that second. She and Scott get into an argument that quickly turns sexual, and the whole ruse is finally revealed. Jared is no pizza boy. He’s actually some sort of smut tycoon who stages elaborate scenes for his voyeur clients. A new “pizza boy,” he tells the couple, will be there any minute. Before he heads out, he leaves them a generous cash tip.
A Comic Couple
What’s in the Bathroom?
We’re just two episodes into Room 104, but something is clearly up with the bathroom. In the series premiere, the bathroom is the domain of the evil Ralphie. In “Pizza Boy,” it’s where Jen kicks off her seduction in incredibly eerie fashion. Both episodes refuse to reveal what’s actually inside the space. Jen is filmed in tight shots so we never see more than a glimpse of the wall or ceiling, while Ralphie always appears outside the bathroom door.The premiere implied there might be some kind of mystical element to the bathroom, since a sinister (and seemingly inhuman) being lived there. “Pizza Boy” doesn’t really further that theory, but it doesn’t necessarily negate it, either. There’s nothing supernatural happening in the bathroom this week, but it’s also covered in red light, which doesn’t often signal a safe space.The bathroom isn’t the only thing that’s proving to be significant on Room 104. So far, the episode titles have been incredibly important. “Ralphie” tipped us off to the twin boys, one good and one bad. “Pizza Boy” also refers to a dual identity. Jared is seemingly the pizza boy, only that’s a false identity and a misdirect. The real “pizza boy” (who isn’t actually a pizza boy, either, but a voyeuristic client) doesn’t arrive until the last scene. Expect dual identities, as well as those episode titles, to remain key to the stories on Room 104. Just please don’t ask me what next week’s title, “The Knockadoo,” is supposed to mean.
