Catastrophe Season 4, Episode 1 recap: Rob and Sharon continue to get personal

Catastrophe returns for its final season with Rob, after the accident, under Sharon’s watchful eye in a great Season 4 opener.

The thing about Catastrophe is how devastatingly personal the show can get. There’s something about the lengths it goes to delve deep into both Rob and Sharon’s souls, to who they really are. This episode does that spectacularly.

The relationship between Sharon and Rob is still as shaky as ever. The barbed jabs are growing in intensity but never lasting, their anger or frustration always subsiding back to being on the same team when it counts. The way both dispense guilt onto the other, like Rob in court and Sharon when caught swapping price tags at the clothes store, is telling of how similar they are deep down.

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With Rob’s drinking problem causing him to be a danger to society, it’s now left him to question the consequences of his actions. The interaction with the woman at the AA meeting, and how she had been at the accident, is a major reminder that someone did get hurt from his accident, even if it did not appear so at the time.

The woman actually being an obsessive is something the show handles incredibly well. Rob’s personable and friendly attitude draws people in, the woman using it to her advantage to insert herself into his life at every turn.

The writing in the episode is still incredibly strong from Delaney and Horgan, with quick wit, hilarious exchanges and, when the show is at its best, very dark and raw conversation like whose death would impact the children more. It always comes inside the comedy, however, which makes it all the more entertaining.

Two small notes on the episode:

• The image of Rob Delaney going around in a neck brace is easy humor, the brace drawing even more attention to his more exaggerated expressions.
• A quick mention of Rob’s recurring love of Burger King, as he left a bag with a Fanta and socks at the community service charity. It’s a fun little gag that makes me laugh every time.

What did you think of the premiere of Season 4? Let us know in the comments below!

Catastrophe is available for streaming on Amazon Prime Video.