A Boarding From Nathan Fielder’s ‘Miracle Over the Mojave’ Raises More Questions for ‘The Rehearsal’ Fans
Even though it’s been well over a week since Season Two of The Rehearsal wrapped up, a number of fans are still obsessing over the finale, possibly with the aid of a cork board and string.
As anyone who watched all of The Rehearsal (or caught Nathan Fielder on Wolf Blitzer’s CNN show) is already aware, “My Controls” ended with Fielder obtaining his pilot’s license and seemingly taking a 737 full of actors for a brief plane ride. The comedian later dubbed this momentous flight the “Miracle Over the Mojave,” purely to stick it to Captain Sully.
But after the episode aired, suspicious fans decided to dig a little deeper, and uncovered data indicating that there were multiple flights, not just one as the show suggested. As a result, some folks theorized that Fielder only ever piloted empty 737s for the cameras, and ceded the captain’s chair to a more experienced pilot when engers were on board.
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Well, now these same online sleuths have yet another piece of evidence to examine.
Over on Reddit, a Rehearsal fan shared a photo of what appears to be an “actual boarding ” for Fielder’s private flight. “A co-worker of mine was one of the actors on Nathan’s flight,” the post reads. “He said he got a normal text from his booking service the day before, then a follow-up text asking if he was okay with flying. He had no idea that a first time pilot/comedian would be piloting the plane until others on the flight figured out what was happening.”
While many sympathized with the actor’s brutal seat downgrade (“Probably an attractive person was allowed to steal the original ticket holder’s seat,” someone speculated), others were surprised to learn that not everyone on the plane was aware of the true nature of the flight. “Wait, what about the opening scene of the episode where he’s making it clear to individual actors that he will be the one piloting the flight?” one questioned. “Did he only tell some of the actors and not everyone?”
It’s true that the episode began with Fielder sitting down with many of the actors who we had already met over the course of the show, inviting them to take another job playing engers on a “real Boeing 737” that he himself would be piloting.
Fielder acknowledged that this would be “unconventional for an acting role,” telling one actress, “if any part of you feels even the slightest bit hesitant or uncomfortable with this, I just want you to know (it’s) totally fine if you want to opt out or not participate, I would not be offended in any way.”
Obviously Fielder couldn’t personally speak with all 150 engers in front of cameras, but the show certainly implied that the participants were all aware that Fielder would be flying the plane, and that he didn’t want anyone to feel “unsafe,” which is a far cry from getting a mass text that only made sure actors were “okay with flying.”
The episode also made a big deal of the fact that the plane was full of actors because Fielder hadn’t accrued enough hours to work for an airline, but found a “loophole” that would legally allow him to fly paid professionals, rather than paying customers.
All of which is to say that if Fielder really was piloting the enger plane, and not all of the people on board were informed that their pilot was a former Comedy Central star who didn’t have the same level of experience as a typical commercial pilot, that seems like a potential legal nightmare. One that HBO very likely wouldn’t approve.
But a number of Fielder devotees seem fed up with these efforts to debunk the comedian’s apparent achievement. “He’s a fully licensed pilot, that’s all I need to know. I’m okay with the rest of it still being a little mysterious,” one fan noted.
Maybe we’ll find out more in the eventual Nathan Fielder biopic starring Tom Hanks.
