The Comeback Season 3 Turns Valerie Cherish Into A Villain

The Comeback season 3 brought Valerie Cherish (Lisa Kudrow) back into the spotlight in a whole new way, and the decision to quietly turn her into the villain of her own story should prove to be poignant. Throughout the first two seasons of The Comeback, viewers see several sides of Valerie, but in its third, a whole new world is opened up to Valerie.

As she meets with NuNet executives, including a wonderfully apathetic The Comeback season 3 guest star Andrew Scott, and finds out that her new show will be written with an assist from AI, Valerie makes an interesting choice. Quickly, it becomes clear that she’ll have to take on a secret that makes her more of a villain than she’s ever been on The Comeback before.

The Comeback Season 3 Sees Valerie Welding Secret Power

Although Valerie has spent two full seasons of the show feeling like she’s in charge when it comes to Jane (Laura Silverman) and her reality TV crew, The Comeback season 3 episode 2, “Valerie Has A Secret” is the first time we actually see her with power. After meeting with NuNet and deciding to move forward with her AI-assisted sitcom, How’s That?!, Valerie is tasked with keeping things quiet.

In this second episode of the season, we find Valerie in an interesting spot. She’s taken on the secret of How’s That?! being assisted by AI, and in doing so, she’s made herself look like a person who’s championing it. To an extent, despite being oblivious, she is championing it. Valerie, who’s long been a proponent of being part of a team of Hollywood talent, becomes darker.

Valerie being oblivious to the point of no return isn’t a new part of her personality, but The Comeback season 3 is showing a more dangerous side of things than they have in the past. The series also shows, once again, that Valerie can be more selfish than she realizes. When she runs into Jane at Trader Joe’s, Valerie’s genuine care for her old producer is kindhearted.

As their interaction becomes a bit more difficult to stomach, however, Valerie’s decision to tell Jane about How’s That?! and its AI inclusion makes it clear that she’s still fishing for Jane’s expertise. While Jane has been upfront about her life being better after getting out of the cycle of producing, Valerie’s ego pulls her back into something by sheer force of will.

Valerie’s Villain Role Exposes A New Side Of Her Character

To be entirely clear: Valerie isn’t aware she’s being the villain of anyone’s story, most certainly her own. The charm of Valerie Cherish has always been about her lack of self-awareness, and that’s still entirely at play on The Comeback. It’s interesting, however, to see Valerie moving in a way we’ve come to know, but with higher stakes, in a changing, somewhat more sinister world .

When asked not to share that the sitcom is being assisted by an AI writer, Valerie isn’t entirely conflicted. By taking on the role of being an Executive Producer, Valerie feels ownership over the show in a different way than she has in the past. At the same time, she’s been told that the show is operating within the guidelines of the Writer’s Guild.

Working with the information she has, it’s clear that despite the moral dilemma she felt over the idea of the show being an AI-generated project, she’s excited to be jumping into something new. As we’ve come to know Valerie over the course of The Comeback, we’ve all learned that she’s someone who wants to be included and liked more than anything, which often paints her into a corner.

Now, both unfortunately and interestingly, it appears Valerie is painting herself into the wrong corner – one she may not be able to find her way out of as easily as she has in past seasons of The Comeback.