HBO’s Room 104
Season 1, Episode 2: “Pizza Boy”
Directed by Patrick Brice
Written by Mark Duplass

* For a recap & review of the previous episode, “Ralphie” – click here
* For a recap & review of the next episode, “The Knockandoo” – click here
At a hotel, Room 104, a delivery boy from Pizza Palace named Jared (Clark Duke) arrives with an order for a couple. Scott (James Van Der Beek) opens the door, joking, being a little charming. He invites the kid inside from the cold. In the bathroom is his wife Jennifer (Davie-Blue), she takes off her clothes and stands naked in front of the mirror before Scott pays for the pizza.
Except when he finds his wallet there’s no money in it. Scott says he’ll run down to the ATM while Jared waits with his wife. Then Jennifer calls the pizza boy in further. He’s nervous, as she asks him what dress looks best. There’s a current of sexual tension running through the air, you best believe Jared’s feeling it. Jennifer knows the kid isn’t focused “on the dress,” so to speak. Other things on his mind.
The woman says she’ll put on another dress. But “no peeking” this time. There’s something… strange, about her demeanour. She encourages him, chastising him a moment later. Afterwards, she says they’re not even going to eat the pizza. So why order it in the first place? Especially when she loves pizza. She uses food as an innuendo, for extramarital affairs, the forbidden fruit. All that sexy jazz.
Jennifer: “So here we are… so hungry.”
When she calls Jared over to the bed with his pizza, it’s about to get steamy.
Then Scott gets back with the money, a nice tip for the delivery boy. But then his wife walks out in a huff. The husband mopes, wishing Jared would have a drink with him, talking about women. Everything feels so innocent. It’s naive to think there’s not something eerie behind it all.
Suddenly, Scott receives a text from Jennifer. His whole demeanour changes. He asks about what “services [were] performed” while he went out to get the money. The tension quickly rises. Our pizza guy’s nervous, wanting to get out of there fast. Scott starts believing the kid fucked his wife. Then he twists the deliver boy’s words, over and over, making him look crazy.
Scott: “Did you deliver the Meat Lover‘s to my wife on that bed?”
Jared: “Sorta”
Scott jumps on Jared, pinning him to the bed. Tying him in the phone’s cords. A frenzied, psychotic moment. The husband throws on a few tunes, getting himself dressed again. Laying out what’ll happen if Jared doesn’t admit to what went on between him and his wife. Yikes. This night shift at Pizza Palace is getting worse by the second.
When Jennifer gets back, Scott gets even more darkly excited. Yelling at them both, accusing, saying some mental shit. He’s about to pull down the kid’s pants to smell his dick to check if he smells his wife before Jennifer starts acting to her husband like they actually did have sex. So insane! The married couple scream each other down.
This leads to them smacking each other around. Then to them fucking wildly in the bed next to Jared, forcing him to watch. “Here‘s your Meat Lover‘s,” Scott taunts, as does Jennifer in her own way. Horrifying.
A little later we switch to the couple sitting on the edge of their bed, cleaned up. As is Jared dressed nicely in a suit. They’ve been role playing, apparently. Jared is teaching these two how to work over a client, giving pointers about when to take the tits out, the “characterisation” and all sorts of stuff. It’s an audition for a role playing-escort company of some kind.
Not long after Jared leaves, their first official client comes to the door. It starts over once more with Scott answering the door, Jennifer hiding in the bathroom. The never ending loop of kink.
This episode was good. Although I didn’t like the ending, sort of lost impact. Not sure if it’s how it was written, or how it was filmed and edited. I just didn’t dig this one as much as the first. Still enjoyable! But isn’t what I was hoping for as a follow-up on “Ralphie” – that was a damn good start.
“The Knockadoo” is next week.