Nothing goes right for Greg Russo in \u201cWhite Whale.\u201d To be fair, that seems to be the case since Rooster started, or technically before it did, because he\u2019s been wallowing in the heartbreak of his divorce for five years. He ran off to Florida and lived in isolation (and likely rewatched Cheers) after that shakeup. Now that he\u2019s moved to the Northeast and teaches at Ludlow College, he has to readjust to being around people again\u2014and not just any people but outspoken Gen Zers who don\u2019t mind filing complaints about him on day one. Plus, he\u2019s got Pres. Walter Mann (John C. McGinley) as his office neighbor, and that can\u2019t be an easy pill to swallow. And that\u2019s not to mention his back-and-forth with Dylan (Danielle Deadwyler) or the fact that his daughter understandably doesn\u2019t want to get caught up in his drama.\u00a0<\/p>\n
So episode three is about establishing Greg\u2019s new normal, where he inadvertently makes a mess despite his best intentions. Rooster wants us to empathize with his messes, though. It helps that Greg has the endearing face and acting skills of Steve Carell. (This was also the case with his character in last year\u2019s The Four Seasons<\/a> on Netflix. Heck, it\u2019s part of what made Michael Scott a lovable goof.) In this case, too, Carell plays Greg with an equal mix of charming and slightly pathetic. He believably sells Greg\u2019s desperation to reconnect with Katie (Charly Clive), for whom he took this new gig so she wouldn\u2019t get fired (although she doesn\u2019t know it yet). Carell also conveys that underneath Greg\u2019s self-loathing is a desire to find companionship. That\u2019s why it\u2019s fun to watch him awkwardly banter with Dylan, try hard to bond with students, and experience a short-lived burst of joy when Dean Riggs (Alan Ruck) invites him over for porch whiskey.\u00a0<\/p>\n Unfortunately for Greg (or should I say Grg?), he\u2019s inexperienced at teaching and an Older White Guy, which makes him prone to getting caught up in a generational divide with those attending his class. That\u2019s the focus of \u201cWhite Whale.\u201d It\u2019s also what he calls one of his students without fully realizing what it means in Moby-Dick. And Ronni (Sophia Macy)\u2014the same girl who called him out for sexism in his books in episode one<\/a>\u2014doesn\u2019t respond well, so Greg is sent to the board for the first but not the last time for how he conducts himself.<\/p>\n The thing is, Greg is trying. He gets vulnerable with the kids, asking them about why they want to write in the first place. He opens up about why he pursued this career and landed on action-packed beach reads where the main character goes around kicking ass, hooking up with women, and winning. \u201cHonestly, I write because sometimes I wish I were someone else,\u201d he says. It gets a few students to finally warm up to him, which is lovely. I wish Rooster had let that dynamic develop in this moment to give him some growth and help flesh out the one-dimensional characterization of the Gen Zers in attendance.<\/p>\n