Courtesy of ABC
It’s time for the second helping of Happy Endings and after the last episode I was left with a bad taste in my mouth. Luckily this week the gang, with the help of Zack Morris (Mark Paul Gosselaar), is back in action and in top form leaving me with the delicious taste of funny in my mouth and it kind of tastes like pie. Mmmmmm…pie.
Let’s review…
Let’s start with the best storyline of the night: Pete (Nick Zano) is back and he asks Penny (Casey Wilson) to hang out with his group of friends for a change. Obviously Penny is confused. I mean, who knew there was a world outside her circle of friends?
Pete’s friends are what we refer to as ‘normies’ (meaning they’re like us. ie: normal people). This proves to be a comedic gold mine, as the scenes between Penny, Pete and his friends are hilarious. It’s a great way to showcase the absolute craziness of the Happy Endings crew as Penny is baffled by their absolute ordinariness. And really, if I had a group of friends as zany as Penny and co., I would be bored with Pete’s friends, too. I mean who cares about the debt ceiling? Am I right?
Wilson nails these scenes with every bit she is given. She has really been giving it this season and I hope people are noticing ’cause this is some Emmy worthy sh*t! Don’t even get me started on the bird episode. Her expressive face and awkward mannerisms have elevated a lot of her material this season. I love that she is stranded in a sea of normies throughout most of this episode because it allows her to shine (awkwardly and brilliantly).
What are the rest of the weirdos doing this week? Well, Max (Adam Pally) gets a new roommate and it’s Zack friggin’ Morris!! Okay, so his name on the show is Chase, and he is really cool…and ultimately creepy. When he goes missing, Max, Alex (Elisha Cuthbert) and Dave (Zachary Knighton) are on the case (after all, there may be bears involved).
Although this may not be the funniest storyline of the night, it does have its moments. I really enjoy Max’s constant digs at his ex-roommate, aka Dave and Alex and Max talk over each other as they grasp for straws over what to do next is pretty amusing. And obviously Dave would ruin a dramatic swivel – he’s such a dork. I do wish they had used Gosselaar more, though, since it seems a waste to have him in the episode for only three very short scenes. Although with an the ambiguous ending, it seems certain that we haven’t seen the last of Chase.
Courtesy of ABC
Meanwhile Brad (Damon Wayns Jr) and Jane (Eliza Coupe) are entertaining Jane’s ex, Ryan (Briga Heelan), who just happens to have a vagina. Of course Brad is excited, I mean two sexy ladies in the throes of college sexual discovery = so hot…and by hot I mean…not my kind of thing (though Jane talking about their wet and wild night of unbridled feminist theory conversation definitely had me hot under the collar. Feminist theory really gets me going).
So much of this storyline works for me: everything from Brad’s jealousy ‘shups (push-ups) to his attempt to eat whey powder dry to his ridiculously funny – and scientific – presentation demonstrating Jane’s love for him (including a graph!). This couple is so adorable, even when they get jealous of each other, and I always love a good Brad and Jane storyline because it allows these two to work off each other. This episode is no exception.
Other Observations:
- Max as a psychic? I only wish we could’ve seen this as a full-fledged storyline (P.S. Is this a Ghost Whisperer joke?)
- I love the small jokes the writers slide in, like Jane’s love of hand sanitizers and filing cabinets shown in Brad’s presentation chart.
- I really hope Chase comes back to seek revenge on Max. Could this be a season finale moment? Fingers crossed!
- How does Max owe Jane and Brad three cats? And as a follow-up, what did he do with those three cats? They’re certainly not living with him.
Best lines of the night:
Penny: “What should we do this weekend? Dinner with Brad and Jane? Or Max is always doing something weird. Last week he pretended to be a psychic and assisted the police with a murder investigation, and with his help they apprehended several innocent people.”
Penny: “Check out red shirt diaries over here. Spill much? Have a little cheese with that wine, you stupid clumsy bitch! Hahaha – up top!…ohh…..Oh, you guys don’t do pile-ons?”
Brad: “Shups for life!”
Brad: “Well Melissa left me a lot of notes too: sex notes. Some were even sent through the federal mail, so it was basically a sex crime…no, no, no, that is something completely different…regardless, it was hot.”
Jane: “Ok Brad, that’s enough.”
Brad: “Just five more minutes.”
Jane: “You said that five minutes ago. Time for bed now.”
Brad: “I hate bed!”
Jane: “Say thank you to the nice ladies.”
Brad: “Thank you, nice ladies. I never get to have any fun.”
Jane: “Ahh, we’re about to go upstairs and have sex right now.”
Brad: “Ohhh, can you check my pants for monsters?”
Jane: “I always do.”
Happy Endings returns to its regular schedule, so it now airs solely on Tuesday nights at 9pm EST on ABC