Main cast: Karen Black (Kay Mason), Fernando Allende (Victor), Louis Di Bianco (Luis), Ali Giron (Maria), Fernanda Tavares (Rosa), Donnelly Rhodes (Herb Mason), and Page Fletcher (The Hitchhiker)
Director: Mai Zetterling

I have nothing but fondness for genre legend Karen Black, but really, just how high is she while filming this episode?

Ms Black plays Kay Mason, a ruthless garment factory owner in Hired Help, and my goodness, she displays such exaggerated facial tics and movements that I don’t think she’s sober even once during the filming of this episode. Yes, this is the obligatory capitalist bad episode, a PSA from Hollywood, where capitalism is never a thing. Kay is so mean that she has injured workers thrown out instead of taking them to a doctor. Hence, when she meets the hot Victor, who acts so suspiciously off that he’s clearly not entirely human, she decides to indulge in a little nookie on the side, which only means, of course, that Victor is going to be her punishment for her misdeeds.

I don’t know what to make of this one because it is impossible to take it seriously. Sure, Ms Black is camping it up so much that I suspect it’s not intentional as much as chemically-induced, but the rest of the episode is devoid of campy charm. This is mostly because of really bad acting on everyone’s part, If IMDB hadn’t told me otherwise, I’d have suspected that the wealthy white people behind this episode dragooned their hired help to play the roles of the factory workers here without extra pay.

There is also a ludicrous “sex scene” that sees silhouettes of Victor slapping the back of Kay’s silhouette like it’s a BDSM scene written and choreographed by people that have never seen such a scene in their lives, and an ending so over the top that I find myself cringing instead of laughing hysterically.

I don’t know how much alcohol and happy powders are being distributed around the set, but I do know that maybe I’d need some of that to enjoy this, er, very “special” episode. It’s just so bizarre, absurd, nonsensical, and bad, with only Karen Black acting like she’s happy to be in this movie, and even then, she’s probably happy because of happiness yum-yums. In a lovely parallel to the script, every other actor, especially those of color, look like they’re only here for the money, and a part of them wish they’re dead instead.