In the fourth episode of DMV, things are haphazardly progressing. The secret to maintaining a semblance of balance lies in keeping Colette away from Noa for a while, as their dynamic had already begun to fizzle. This frees Noa to interact with other characters, notably Gregg, which is welcome news as Gregg stands as the standout character by a mile and is rapidly becoming the sole reason to watch the show. But that might be a bit harsh for such an early episode.
The problem arises when Noa is replaced by Amber (guest-starring Chelsea Frei, recently seen in Peacock's The Paper), an old friend of Colette's who is now a famous actress in a frivolous network procedural and has no idea that Colette actually works at the DMV. Colette perpetuates the illusion, pretending to be the veterinarian—not a veteran, a distinction that does arise—that she originally intended to be when she moved to Hollywood.
Comically, this involves Colette doing her frenetic fake-it-until-you-make-it routine, which is essentially her only mode of operation. There's really no functional distinction between Amber and Noa in terms of how Colette interacts with them. Whether she's trying to charm Noa into a relationship or pretend to an old friend that she isn't really a loser, the outcome is mostly the same. The only real novelty here is that Barb and Vic quickly get involved to play along. Barb's efforts at dramatic acting and Vic's constantly changing outfits he has collected from the lost and found—in a funny detail, the DMV regularly auctions off unclaimed personal items—provide a few laughs but don't significantly alter the dynamic.
Yet, it has a satisfying payoff. Of course, Colette eventually ends up confessing, but in the process, she actually has to confess that she is happy, which is a first for her, and Amber readily accepts it. It works because Amber is essentially a caricature of a stuck-up semi-famous actor for most of the runtime; thus, the little bit of sincerity is unexpected.
Elsewhere in DMV Episode 4, Gregg is alarmed to discover that Noa is working through his break, which is a big no-no in the DMV since everything is about making use of every state-approved benefit and slowing the process down. Gregg is a brilliant character who embodies the underlying ideas that the sitcom is trying to convey about how a despised state-run institution becomes so loathsome in the first place. We also get a little backstory for both of them here, with Gregg alluding to a past as a teacher—while smoking a fake cigarette, since he still takes his smoke breaks despite having quit years prior—and Noa revealing that he's the scion of an oil conglomerate back in New Zealand and joined the DMV as a way to help the most people possible after coming from what he believes to be an unethical background.
All in all, it's just fine, but it needs to be better—and that starts with giving Colette anything else to do—if CBS intends to stick with this show for the long haul.
