This article contains spoilers for The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins Season 2 Episode 2.
The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins got off to a promising start in Season 1, even if its biggest weakness lay in how it handled its ensemble. The series has a comparatively small cast for a network sitcom, particularly one of NBC’s stature. Yet it often sidelined characters, seemingly unsure of how to use them effectively within the Dinkins family dynamic. Season 2 has already made better use of its cast, despite being only two episodes in. Last week’s instalment brought Carmelo (Jalyn Hall) into focus, while this week’s episode, ‘The Spaghetti Loop,’ gives Bobby Moynihan some of his finest material yet as Rusty. Much of the episode centres on Rusty and Arthur (Daniel Radcliffe) as they attempt to gain financial independence from the Dinkins family, though Reggie (Tracy Morgan) has other ideas.
‘The Spaghetti Loop’ explores Rusty’s reliance on Reggie (and vice versa) through a missing jar of jam. Brina (Precious Way) discovers that Rusty has been helping himself to the strawberry jam her aunt sent her, along with her lotion, even though he contributes nothing toward the household bills. She questions what he would do if he had never met Reggie, prompting him to prove that he can support himself. Unfortunately for him, but luckily for viewers, his attempts to find employment prove disastrous. Grape stomping is now automated, the Rockettes have a height requirement, and every NFL team he contacts laughs at the prospect of his return. He even considers reviving his career as a foot model, leading to one of the episode’s funniest cutaway gags. Moynihan commits to the absurdity of Rusty’s situation, producing some of the series’ biggest laughs. The episode gives him plenty of room to demonstrate why he remains one of the sitcom’s greatest assets.
Radcliffe has famously acted since childhood, but The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins has brought out a different side of him as a performer, suggesting sitcoms might have been his calling all along. Arthur is insufferable but lovable, plagued by an obsessive nature that hints at something darker beneath the surface. As Season 1 highlighted, he shares qualities with executive producer Tina Fey’s Liz Lemon, revealed as the childhood bully in 30 Rock, and with Ben Wyatt, whose depression manifests in a claymation project in Parks and Recreation. Season 2 Episode 2 returns to this, as Arthur believes that great art requires suffering, a philosophy he inherited from his mentor, Vernon Bellow. He regards Bellow as his guiding light, which makes their virtual call all the more disastrous. When Arthur explains that he is making a documentary about a wealthy former athlete and his family, Bellow reminds him that accepting money from his subjects would violate the most basic principles of documentary ethics. Arthur assures him that he has secured independent funding, although audiences know he is lying through his teeth.
His lie doesn’t take long to backfire. Monica (Erica Alexander) interrupts the conversation and asks Arthur to remove footage of her eating spaghetti after an unfortunate incident in which the food travels through her nose and back into her mouth. Reggie then barges in, reminding Arthur that the family is paying for the documentary and that he must honour Monica’s request. Bellow, horrified, brands Arthur a “Judas” and an utter disgrace, arguing that a documentary funded by its subjects is worthless. Desperate to regain his mentor’s respect and preserve his artistic integrity, Arthur resolves to secure outside funding.
Both storylines may grow increasingly silly, something The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins creators Robert Carlock and Sam Means revel in, but they also reveal something surprisingly touching about Reggie. When Monica questions why he refuses to let Arthur support himself, Reggie recalls growing up so poor that this family ate cereal with forks to save milk for the next person. After working tirelessly to provide for his loved ones, he now regards paying for everything as his way of expressing love. Arthur and Rusty’s attempts at becoming financially independent therefore feel like a rejection of his affection rather than an opportunity to save money, as Monica sees it. It’s also a side of Morgan that audiences rarely see. He’s a boisterous performer and a comedian at his core, yet here he’s so sincere that it makes you wonder why this side of him hasn’t been used more throughout his career.
Crucially, the episode trusts its core cast. Without guest appearances or secondary storylines that further the Basmati-Dinkins feud, ‘The Spaghetti Loop’ lets its characters and their developing relationships drive the comedy. While the wider conflict underpins the second season of The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins, a network sitcom must build its world around its main continuing storyline or its 18+ episodes risk becoming boring. Season 2 Episode 2 therefore resolves Arthur’s financial predicament through Monica and Reggie, who arrange for him to direct the pilot episode of the outdated Baby Daddy. It’s a real sitcom with little chance of being picked up, and it instead serves as art for Arthur to make. Arthur finally earns enough to pay Reggie for his food, rent, and utilities, only for the audience to discover that Reggie secretly funded his directing fee, meaning both win their financial debate.
Rusty’s storyline, however, delivers a touching resolution. Brina finds him preparing to injure his foot and apologises for making him feel worthless, now recognising that he contributes to the household in ways that have nothing to do with money. Carmelo and Reggie spend much of the episode bothering her with “Reggie stuff,” be it Godzilla or Catan. Whether he’s keeping Reggie entertained, spending time with Carmelo and his ‘nerd’ friends, or helping Monica edit her sexts, Rusty has become an indispensable member of the family. Brina affectionately describes him as a giant, skin-covered Paddington, a compliment that feels fitting for Moynihan, who injects life into the series few could. Similarly, Way and Moynihan prove themselves an underrated pairing, working well together comedically.
Two episodes into its second season, The Fall and Rise of Reggie Dinkins appears to have found a better balance between its ensemble. ‘The Spaghetti Loop’ is consistently funny and occasionally touching, with Radcliffe continuing to excel at portraying Arthur’s narcissism while Moynihan finally gets the attention his character deserves. If it maintains this momentum, Season 2 could easily surpass its promising but uneven start.
