Courtesy of NBC
If you’re a glass half full kind of person, this episode features a musical glimpse into the inner workings of Jenna’s (Jane Krakowski) mind. If you’re a glass half empty person, Hazel (Kristen Schaal) is back.
Let’s bitch it out…
After Hazel worms her way in to Liz’s (Tina Fey) office as her new assistant with sweet talk and an mini freezer, Hazel tries to secretly star in an episode of TGS and is finally fired. I had hoped that based on the end of this season’s premiere episode, we would be treated to Tracy (Tracy Morgan) taking down Hazel and actually helping his friend Kenneth. But that plot line has apparently been dropped in favor of more stories about Hazel’s unknown pathologies and her need to become a star. At this point, with only seven episodes left, I would rather that she be written out of the show for good so that we can focus in the characters we care about.
And now that the election’s over, we get some great moments with the rest of the cast. Even if it was only for a minute’s worth of screen time, Jenna’s inner musical monologue about being a great listener (while she tuned out Kenneth) was enough to confirm everthing we’ve all assumed about Jenna from her behavior over the years. And I loved seeing Tracy outsmart Jack (Alec Baldwin) by conning him into dropping his libel suit over his Aunt Phatso films.
But what is most exciting is to see how Liz is still changing as she gets ready to get married (which I cannot wait to see!). Liz has been married to TGS for seven years now, and now she finally gets that if she wants to have a real marriage and a shot at a family, she’s going to have to make some choices about her role on the show. It’s a surprisingly mature realization for Liz, who was planning on tanking NBC up until a few weeks ago (another dropped plot line that I wish the writers had seen through). Of course it comes from Liz crawling though the halls of 30 Rock on her hands and knees (because of bunyon surgery) as she stops Hazel from taking over TGS.
Other considerations:
- There’s officially no hope left for any growth in Kenneth (Jack McBrayer). His story this episode was about no one listening to him except for Hazel, and he still proclaims that he will still be everyone’s gofer at NBC! What does the guy have to do to get even a modicum of respect?
- Who else plans to respond to requests for life advice with Tracy’s “Respect these boobies!”?
Your turn! Are you ready to see the last of Hazel yet? And who is excited for Liz’s wedding next time? Sound off below!
30 Rock airs Thursdays at 8 EST on NBC.