While Wonder Man has been short on superhero action so far, it has been pretty accurate about the life of an actor. Simon is struggling to get noticed, and his friend/informant Trevor seems to be in the same boat, more or less. If you do well at an audition, but not well enough to get cast immediately, they have you return for a callback. It’s a good sign, but just as nerve wracking as the initial audition. Now, we see how Trevor and Simon do with their chance to impress the rather eccentric director in an episode called, appropriately enough, “Callback.”

The episode opens with a flashback to several years ago, as Trevor botches a commercial tryout. Instead, he gets offered something very different, and so we see him begin down the path of the Mandarin. Back in the present, the pair are on the way to director Von Kovac’s home for the next step in the casting process for the Wonder Man movie. How much of this is real I’m not sure, since we did see Trevor plotting with Agent Cleary a while back about something to lure Simon in. Regardless, they eventually arrive, amid a storm of Simon second guessing himself on just about every possible thing, despite Trevor’s attempts to reassure him.

They eventually get in to Kovac’s impressive mansion, and find out they are not alone. Several other actors have made it to this round, and there’s a lot of chatter among the potential stars. It’s an eclectic group, and a seemingly random mix of Hollywood actors desperate for a big break. Despite having been given sides (a portion of the script) to prepare from, Kovac decides to shake things up and they end up in what’s more like a high stakes version of Whose Line Is It Anyway rather than anything approaching a standard audition.

After a nightmare sequence, Simon goes outside for a break and Trevor once again does his best to help the nervous man. Simon spells out his reasons to be concerned, and it’s not just his neurosis talking. Kovac’s weird process might well expose things Simon desperately needs to keep hidden. There’s more weird improvisation and eventually Simon and Trevor are led to another room. Convinced they’ve lost their shot, the duo prepares to leave, and gets a surprise that could be a great thing for them. But the final scene has reality crashing in once again, as Trevor is very forcefully reminded of his obligations to the Department of Damage Control. We still don’t know why Cleary is so focused on Simon, or how Clearly learned of Simon’s powers (although I have a theory), but Cleary isn’t about to let Trevor off the hook. The former Mandarin is going to have to make a choice soon, and it’s really not going to go well for somebody.

What I Liked: The chemistry between Simon and Trevor is great. They make a very amusing odd couple. Add Kovac into the mix and there’s no telling what’s going to happen. Simon being so physically powerful and still filled with every kind of self-doubt makes for an interesting contrast. I can’t say I like Cleary, but I will give him points for being persistent. Trevor is really going to have to decide which way he’s playing this soon and actually do something.

What I Didn’t: Really, not much. Simon’s self-sabotage can be excruciating, but it’s played so very well. Most of the other actors at the callback didn’t really hugely impress me one way or another, but they were believable enough.

With only two episodes left, it’s going to be very interesting to see what happens to Simon, what Trevor decides to do, and maybe what’s up with Cleary. Also, I’m curious to see if this ‘Wonder Man’ movie is a real project within that world. I’ll give this a 4 out of 5.