Nine Perfect Strangers Recap: Brian’s Puppet Haunts Him

Murray Bartlett’s Brian becomes the first guest to experience a psychedelic trip during season 2 of Nine Perfect Strangers — and what a strange trip it is.

Warning: Spoilers below from Nine Perfect Strangers season 2, episode 2.

During the Wednesday, May 21, episode, Brian receives two mysterious chocolates in his room with a message that simply reads, “Have courage.” Shortly after eating one treat, which is dosed with mushrooms or another psychedelic drug, wellness guru Masha (Nicole Kidman) shows up at his door.

Masha brings Brian his missing suitcase, which she purposely hid, and reveals its contents: a bear puppet named Jesse. Masha confesses that both she and her late daughter were fans of Brian’s TV show, Crabapple Clubhouse, but not everyone at the Austrian Alps retreat feels the same.

During the group’s first foraging trip, Brian is appointed as the leader, which irks Imogen (Annie Murphy) for an unknown reason. Brian, however, takes the lead and while out in the woods his puppet pops up like a mirage.

“Everyone deserves a best friend. And maybe your best friend is you,” Brian screams while wandering the woods as the puppet peeks out from behind a tree. “Afterall, there’s only one you and isn’t that wonderful.”

While the group of eight strangers wait for the ninth guest to arrive — David (Mark Strong) didn’t show up on day one — they are tasked with making a meal from everything they foraged.

Brian, who has now eaten two chocolates, gets into a fight with Imogen, who blames him for ruining a childhood memory when his show got cancelled. “She’s making fun of you, she thinks you’re ruining everything. Let’s get her!” his puppet taunts as Brian’s hallucinations continue.

Brian then confesses that his show got cancelled after he screamed at a cameraman on set. When Imogen claims he was “abusive” and “ruined” her childhood with his cancellation, he goes off.

“I failed and people like you are the proof. I f***ing failed because all I tried to do was teach people to have a little tolerance, a little compassion for people when they weren’t perfect,” Brian says. “But somehow, we wound up with a generation of whiny, judgmental, sanctimonious little tattletales.”

After he storms off, Tina (King Princess) follows and shares her own connection to the series. She explains that during her piano prodigy days, Tina was a guest on Crabapple Clubhouse and Brian and the puppet were the only ones who truly listened to her hopes and dreams.

Imogen, for her part, tells Peter (Henry Golding) that she was obsessed with the kids’ show after her dad died and felt lost when it ended. (Imogen and Peter sleep together on night one and have since become close despite their inner demons.)

Elsewhere during the episode, Imogen’s mom, Victoria (Christine Baranski), rummages through papers that reveal she has several unpaid bills. Her files also show that she is working on “end of life” planning, which Imogen seemingly knows nothing about.

During the final few moments of the episode, Masha finally meets up with David upon his arrival at Zauberwald. After hinting that the pair have a deeper connection, Masha has a passionate kiss with him.

“Nice to see you again,” Masha teases as she and David continue to make out. “Nice. Well, from now on, arms’ length only.”

Nine Perfect Strangers airs on Hulu Wednesdays.