Spoiler alert: Details follow for Season 7, Episode 3 of “Game Changer,” which premiered May 5 on Dropout.
The bit-o-meter is dead. The Seal songs have been sung — twice. And three comedians just bared their souls (and navels) in what may be one of the most hilariously heartfelt episodes of “Game Changer” yet.
Season 7, Episode 3 of Dropout’s genre-defying series, titled “Earnest-est,” is a fever dream of vulnerability, theatricality and chaos — the kind that only host and Dropout CEO Sam Reich could mastermind.
This week’s contestants — Ally Beardsley (they/them), Zac Oyama (he/him) and Lisa Gilroy (she/her) — are no strangers to the Dropout universe. But none were prepared for what Sam had in store: a sincerity-based gauntlet where the only way to win was to drop the bits and dig into their tender comic cores.
The Bit-O-Meter Dies, So Sincerity Lives
The episode opens with the debut of the bit-o-meter, an alleged 1956 contraption designed to measure comedic commitment. It immediately breaks — as if the comedy gods themselves knew what was coming. With bits banned, Reich declares the true game: earnestness at all costs.
Challenge One: Explain how a TV works. Zac delivers a dad-tier explanation involving signals and boxes. Ally spins historical nonsense about 17th-century tube tech. Lisa walks the tightrope with poetic absurdity. The tone is set: sincerity is king, but a little flair doesn’t hurt.
Challenge Two: Display your belly button. Not metaphorically — literally. Each contestant lifts their shirt and monologues with TED Talk–level gravity. Ally turns theirs into a symbol of maternal connection and hatchback memory. Lisa references confused nerve endings and anatomical identity crises. Zac shrugs: “It’s okay.” It might be the most honest sentence in the episode.
And that’s before the show really twists the dial.
Dropout
$15,000 for Seal, and Worth Every Penny
Midway through, Reich unveils a karaoke mic and announces a historic milestone: Dropout’s first licensed song. Yes, they paid $15,000 to use Seal’s “Kiss From a Rose,” immortalized by “Batman Forever” (1995).
It’s surely among the most money Dropout has ever spent on a bit. But sources tell Variety that fans can expect even more elaborate (and expensive) stunts later this season.
Zac, vocally out of his range but emotionally dialed in, croons like a late-night dive bar closer. Ally throws Paw Patrol into the lyrics — and somehow makes it work. Lisa channels pure ballad energy, locking eyes with Reich in what can only be described as a flirtatious showdown. What’s more painfully apparent: none of the players seemed to know the song. Am I that old now?
Still, Lisa wins the round. And possibly custody of Sam’s heart.
While it may not be the most expensive single item the team has ever paid for, it’s definitely the silliest.
Santa Claus, Therapy Sessions, and a $400 Hammer
If the Seal wasn’t enough, enter Paul F. Tompkins as Santa Claus, inviting the players to share their deepest Christmas wishes: Lisa asks for more kindness toward women in the industry. Zac requests a trail bike. And Ally goes for a $400 hammer. Industrial-grade. The earnestness was real.
The sincerity keeps flowing through a vulnerable therapy discussion, where contestants candidly address jealousy, self-criticism, and repressed anger. It’s funny, yes — but also moving in that quiet “maybe I should get back into therapy” kind of way.
Poetry and Compliment Dual
With a spaghetti Western music accompaniment and a sepia tone, complete with a tumbleweed visual effect, the three contestants took turns in pairs, staring at one another and inching closer until they were nose to nose. The comics traded increasingly heartfelt compliments while trying not to laugh. Ally told Zac he’d be a great parent one day, while Zac admired her carpentry skills. Zac won that round.
Zac then took on Lisa. The Canadian comic called his freckles “adorable” (it’s hard to tell if Zac even has freckles). Zac praised her breakout emergence on the comedy scene. Lisa triumphs.
For the love of the theme, Sam had Lisa and Ally square off, with Ally praising Lisa’s courage as a femme comic. Lisa took Ally down with a succinct: “You simply have the most beautiful blue eyes.”
Next on the docket was an impromptu poetry slam (berets included) in which they had to write in one minute.
Zac’s “This Old Dog” tugged on our heartstrings talking about a kanine, who is sitting on a “sunny porch waiting for his best friend.” He garnered plenty of snapping fingers.
Lisa, who appeared to mutate her beret into the chef’s hat from “Ratatouille,” assembled “Exhale,” offering a smoky, romantic vibe that seemed embedded from a past-life experience. Ally delivered a haiku-like reflection on parents, children and “a view.” Ally won the round.
Moments like these should be preserved in amber.
Freestyle Rap Battles About Sam
In the midst of the episode, “Game Changer” made sure to remind us that sincerity doesn’t mean skipping the slander. Enter the freestyle diss track round, where each contestant had to deliver a rap targeting none other than Sam Reich himself — accompanied by a live beatboxer named Antonio. What followed was a chaotic roast session wrapped in rhythm and regret. After what felt like an eternity of pauses, Ally came in hot with “The Cat in the Hat.” Zac, leaning into vulnerability with rhyme, delivered zingers that bordered on self-help. And Lisa, ever the overachiever, balanced slick flow with heartfelt jabs (“Fuck you Sam!…You four-eyed bitch!”) that felt oddly… complimentary?
It was cringey, cathartic, and completely delightful — the perfect lyrical takedown of a CEO who built a show just to get insulted on beat.
“Why So Serious?” — Because There’s Choreography
Then, just as things seem to settle into a mellow rhythm of wholesome absurdity, Sam pulls the Joker card. Literally.
Each contestant dons full Heath Ledger Joker makeup — smudged lipstick, green vests, the whole Gotham package — and performs an earnest acting audition as the Joker.
Lisa’s Joker is part motivational speaker, part chaos goblin. Ally goes full method, eyes dropped, and with unsettling energy. Zac, clearly a product of improv training, finds a Joker who only breaks to ask, “Line?”
Then, because this is “Game Changer,” Reich plays “Kiss From a Rose” again. Don’t worry, that’s not another $15,000, folks — same price if used twice — all for the sake of sincerity. We are gifted, a group choreography number in full Joker regalia.
There are spins. There are near-tears. Ally hits emotional catharsis somewhere around the bridge. Lisa becomes a tragic pop-Joker hybrid. Zac nails a surprisingly graceful pirouette. It’s theater kid chaos at its most beautiful.
Final Score: Lisa Wins, But Sincerity Takes the Crown
When the eyeliner dries and the laughter subsides, Lisa Gilroy emerges as the episode’s victor. But the real winner is sincerity itself.
“Earnest-est” is a masterclass in comic vulnerability — where bits take a backseat and being seen (really seen) becomes the joke, the goal, and the glory. Reich’s game design, built to challenge Dropout’s finest, once again shows that absurdity and authenticity aren’t opposites — they’re dance partners. Sometimes in Joker makeup. Sometimes to Seal.
Next week: A new game, new chaos, and maybe (just maybe) fewer emotional breakthroughs. But we wouldn’t count on it.
A new episode of “Game Changer” is released every other Monday at 7 p.m. ET / 4 p.m. PT on the streaming platform Dropout.
