Standing Up – Season 1 Episode 3 “Black Goes With Everything” Recap & Review

Black Goes With Everything

Episode 3 of Standing Up (Drôle) begins with Nezir performing at the Drôle. He talks about his experience bringing Apolline’s bracelet back to her, not noticing until later that Apolline is in the audience.

A woman named Agathe from the Talk Tonight show visits the club that night. She congratulates Bling on his performance and invites him to write for a segment on the show where comedians come up with jokes about guests. If it goes well, he could have his own segment.

Nezir initially tells him he can’t help; that kind of show isn’t his thing. He eventually gives in when Bling offers him 50 percent of his earnings.

Nezir ignores Apolline when he leaves the club, but she chases after him. She apologizes for slamming the door on him the other day. He then admits he was being intrusive. She confesses that her mother doesn’t know she does stand-up or goes to the club. He encourages her to keep trying at comedy.

Aïssa video chats with her mother, mentioning how her show is sold out for weeks. It turns out that her parents aren’t so enthused about the racy nature of her act. They’re embarrassed.

She talks to her sister about it. Together, they pick out outfits for Aïssa to wear for her shows. As they leave the store, a couple of cops stop them, believing they have stolen the clothes. 

A crisis is averted when one of them sees Aïssa’s ID. She gushes over her comedy, and they take a selfie together.

Aïssa reprimands her sister for how aggressive she was toward them. Her sister just says she should talk about the encounter on Twitter; people would listen to her. But Aïssa says her Twitter is about her show.

Later, Apolline texts Nezir to ask him to help her with her stand-up. On his way, Bling calls him about his upcoming gig. 

Bling goes into a meeting with show producers. He pitches jokes about their guest that Nezir gave him, and the producers love it. Just then, they get news that the expected guest isn’t going to make it, so they arrange for a replacement.

There are three hours before the show, so Bling has that long to prepare jokes about the new quest. He texts and calls Nezir in a panic. But his friend is at Apolline’s and doesn’t answer. 

After taking drugs in the bathroom, Bling pitches his own material in a meeting, but his sexist jokes don’t impress the producer.

Meanwhile, Apolline practices her act in front of Nezir. He’s slow to give her feedback, so she thinks it’s terrible. He tells her it’s good, just too specific and weird. People have to be able to relate to her. She gets angry, thinking he accused her of imitating someone else.

In the kitchen, she drops a wine glass. The shock of it diffuses her anger. He puts oven mitts on her feet to protect them, and they almost kiss–but her friends suddenly arrive. She invites them in, but asks Nezir not to tell them she wants to do stand-up.

Nezir stays over as the friends start to party and get high–except for Nezir. Apolline tells him she loves him, but he shrugs this off as her being under the influence.

He tells her to have fun with her friends and leaves. Later, he meets with Aïssa and Vlad. He describes Apolline’s house, how the party felt like “too much.”

Bling leaves him a voice message to tell him he’s let him down, and he won’t be paying him. Aïssa tries to convince Nezir he could make a living showcasing his own talent.

That night, Vlad asks Aïssa if it’s time to make a baby. She tells Vlad she’s not sure any more about having a second child. So much is happening in her life. Vlad just responds, “okay.”

Bling parties that night, getting high and hitting on a lot of women–until he’s eventually left alone to dance by himself.

The next day at the Drôle, when a customer complains several times about his wine, Bling takes it back to urinate in it. Two people see this, but don’t do anything.

The next day, Apolline leaves a voice message for Nezir. She starts it off by joking that she doesn’t want to see him any more, but then says she is kidding. She would love to talk with him soon.

His father plays the message while Nezir is in the kitchen. He only hears the first part before accidentally deleting it. He tells Nezir there was a message from a woman, but it just disappeared. So, he relays that it wasn’t very nice; she doesn’t want to see him again.

In her next bit at the Drôle, Aïssa talks about her experience being stopped by the police the other day. She gets a good response, but Laurent appears uncomfortable. He says her show shouldn’t be a political rally; people should be able to listen and unwind. It would be “idiotic” for her to risk losing her audience so early in her success.

Later at Drôle, the employee who saw Bling complains to his sister Corinne. She says if Corinne does nothing about it, she will do something. She also tells her that Laurent fired Bling, which Corinne didn’t know.

Aïssa prepares to perform in front of a full house at the Palais des Glaces.  Despite Laurent’s advice, she does her act about the police anyway, closing it with the statement “Black goes with everything.” She receives roaring applause.

Apolline confesses to her mother she’s not sure what she wants to do. She has done so much school, but thinks she’d like to try something else. Her mom thinks she’s rejecting adversity.

Later, Apolline takes an exam, and the teacher catches her cheating. He says she will have to show for a disciplinary meeting, and her exam will be considered void. She’ll also be banned from exams for five years.

She lies to her parents, telling them the exam went well. Thinking about what the incident means for her future, she smiles to herself.

The episode ends with Nezir calling Agathe from Talk Tonight. He tells her he wants to become a writer for the show.

The Episode Review

Standing Up continues to deliver consistently entertaining fare, if nothing overly impressive story-wise. This episode promises bright beginnings and new challenges for three out of four in the cast of comedians.

Aïssa, Nezir, and Apolline have all taken brave and exciting steps forward. I look forward to seeing how they continue to deal with racism, poverty, and overbearing familial expectations, respectively.

Bling remains a character we love to hate. If he doesn’t learn to control himself, his downward spiral could affect not only his future in comedy, but also Aïssa’s and Nezir’s.