Main cast: Bryan Brown (Jack and The Host), Josephine Byrnes (Julia), Steve Bastoni (Constable Paul Bell), Aaron Blabey (Nick), and Mark Lee (Frank)
Director: Gregor Jordan

Bryan Brown chews the scenery like a hungry cow in The Confident Man, and the result can be both charming and hilarious. In this episode, he plays Jack, who can talk his way out of anything as well as talk other people into doing whatever he wants them to do. His girlfriend Julia is on to him, though, alternatively teasing and resisting him as he attempts to get her to marry him. It’s hard to decide whether he really loves her, as Jack oozes smarmy vibes like nobody’s business, or he wants her father’s money.

Well, he finally gets Julia to agree to marry him in a wine store… shortly before a jumpy man armed with a knife shows up to rob the store. Can Jack talk his way out of this fix?

The first half of The Confident Man is just setting Jack up to show what a charming sleazebag he is, and it is only in the second half or so when the fun escalates. There isn’t much else to this episode, as it’s just an opportunity for Mr Brown to let loose and have fun. Indeed, the twist at the end is both absurd and logical, as by that point, the episode has escalated to such an over the top degree that it kind of makes sense that the smooth talker is so good at serving bull crap out of habit that he ends up believing his own crap.

In fact, by letting loose to such a degree, this episode is one of the closest things to a Tales from the Crypt show in terms of absurdist humor and ghoulish twists. Sure, there isn’t much to this episode in terms of story and plot, but the titular character and the twist at the end are both pretty fun. Hence, this episode is alright.