S05.E02: Testimonials

[Aulty]

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Amy attempts to gather glowing character testimony for Mateo's immigration lawyer, but comes up short. Jonah plans an engagement party for Sandra, infuriating Dina, while Glenn and Marcus compete for Mateo's old locker.

Original air date: October 3, 2019

[Harvey]

I usually think Dina’s character is okay, but I was kind of put off by her behavior in this one.  It's especially mean because she didn't want Jonah throwing the party and making her look like the bad guy, But Dina's never cared about other's opinions of her. In fact the plot of an episode was about Dina letting Amy pin the problems with the schedule on her because she didn't care how people felt about her. The whole episode I was waiting for her to pop out with a legitimate surprise party of her own and... that never came.

[VartanFan]

RIP, Myrtle.  Sad

Also, maybe they'll do a storyline where Jeff wins tons of money in a whistleblower suit?

[Trillium]

Yeah didn’t care for Dina this time, although I did crack up when Sandra commented that her silent eating cake in the stock room was a better party than she could have ever dreamed of. And I did enjoy her hugging Mateo at the end. 
 

I knew that photo of Mateo and Jeff was a set up to get him to testify, it would have been a real asshole move to screw them over for a second time. Subaru’s do retain their value pretty well, so he could sell two and manage for a bit. 

[memememe76]

I did not know the actress who plays Myrtle just passed. RIP. 

Loved Sandra’s reaction to seeing Mateo.

[Boofish]

4 hours ago, Harvey said:

I usually think Dina’s character is okay, but I was kind of put off by her behavior in this one.  It's especially mean because she didn't want Jonah throwing the party and making her look like the bad guy, But Dina's never cared about other's opinions of her. In fact the plot of an episode was about Dina letting Amy pin the problems with the schedule on her because she didn't care how people felt about her. The whole episode I was waiting for her to pop out with a legitimate surprise party of her own and... that never came.

I'm at the point where I just don't like her AT ALL. The way she castrated and bullied Jonah (AGAIN) because she could was just off putting and unfunny. I can't decide who is the bigger jerk at the store her or Cheyenne

[Kip Hackman]

As usual, the more employees involved, the better the episode. I especially loved Sayid's "I also give zero F's. It's not unique to Mateo" line.  And Justine delivers every time.

[Melina22]

Generally, I enjoy this show and don't expect it to be remotely realistic, but occasionally they push the believability envelope so far they lose me. 

It's hard to explain where the line is, but for me they crossed it with the whole ridiculous Jonah/cake scene. Implying that he would eat an entire slab cake because... reasons... way too absurd to be funny. Plus I agree that Dina crossed into monster territory in this episode. 

I get that this show is supposed to be sort of absurd, but when the characters stop bearing any resemblance to real people, nothing matters and the show loses its heart and humour. For me, at least. 

It was very sad to see the final RIP though. 😢

[iMonrey]

I wonder if that's the reason they wrote Myrtle out of the show, because the actress's health was failing. I'm glad they included a nice little dedication to her, I would never have heard about her passing otherwise. 

Jerry trying to bond with Garrett was both sad and hilarious. Boy he and Sandra are such a couple of sad sacks. He has never been to a party in his life and Sandra's only choices for maid of honor were Dina and some wino she rides the bus with. Neither one of them seem to have any friends.

I didn't catch what Cheyenne was saying about the picture of Mateo and Jeff. Was she only pretending Mateo still had it hanging up in his locker? After Jeff walked away she said it was really Jeff's profile picture . . . or something. ??

[Kip Hackman]

5 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

I didn't catch what Cheyenne was saying about the picture of Mateo and Jeff. Was she only pretending Mateo still had it hanging up in his locker? After Jeff walked away she said it was really Jeff's profile picture . . . or something. ??

Amy had Cheyenne print out Jeff's Facebook profile pic, and say Mateo had it hanging in his locker.

[Trillium]

38 minutes ago, Melina22 said:

Generally, I enjoy this show and don't expect it to be remotely realistic, but occasionally they push the believability envelope so far they lose me. 

It's hard to explain where the line is, but for me they crossed it with the whole ridiculous Jonah/cake scene. Implying that he would eat an entire slab cake because... reasons... way too absurd to be funny. Plus I agree that Dina crossed into monster territory in this episode. 

I get that this show is supposed to be sort of absurd, but when the characters stop bearing any resemblance to real people, nothing matters and the show loses its heart and humour. For me, at least. 

It was very sad to see the final RIP though. 😢

Yeah I was disappointed Jonah didn’t tell her fuck off, he’d throw Sandra a party if he wanted to. It was just an odd shift form last week where Dina seemed genuinely upset that she wasn’t able to save Mateo from ICE.  
 

I do hope Sandra and Jerry end up having some very elaborate, over the top wedding.

[iMonrey]

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Amy had Cheyenne print out Jeff's Facebook profile pic, and say Mateo had it hanging in his locker.

Oooooooooooh. So Jeff had a picture of himself with Mateo as his Facebook profile photo. I get it now. Thanks.

[Harvey]

4 hours ago, Boofish said:

I'm at the point where I just don't like her AT ALL. The way she castrated and bullied Jonah (AGAIN) because she could was just off putting and unfunny. I can't decide who is the bigger jerk at the store her or Cheyenne

I kept expecting Jonah to stand up for himself and was surprised when it never happened. What can Dina do to him, really? If she lays a finger on him, she will be fired immediately, specially now that Jonah is dating the boss.

[tennisgurl]

I heard about the actress who played Myrtle had passed away, that was a nice tribute to her. RIP. 

Loved Sandra hugging Mateo and that everyone looked so happy during the party. Except for Dina, who was being a pretty big asshole the whole episode. Just throw Sandra a party already, or let Jonah do it! And since when does Dina care about what people think to begin with? 

[Boofish]

2 hours ago, Trillium said:

Yeah I was disappointed Jonah didn’t tell her fuck off, he’d throw Sandra a party if he wanted to. It was just an odd shift form last week where Dina seemed genuinely upset that she wasn’t able to save Mateo from ICE.  
 

I do hope Sandra and Jerry end up having some very elaborate, over the top wedding.

Yeah I didn't get why he was so scared of her; it was just dumb. 

[iMonrey]

Well, everyone is scared of Dina. Her motivation for not wanting a party seemed to be based on some list she was following on the internet. (Or, as she put it, the International Network.) Technically speaking, it is not the duty of the bridesmaid to throw an engagement party. Often a bridesmaid is not chosen until later. The bridesmaid(s) are expected to throw a bachelorette party, if anything. That said, Dina had no reason to oppose one. Maybe she was just under the impression that one wasn't supposed to take place based on whatever list she was following.

[Melina22]

39 minutes ago, iMonrey said:

Maybe she was just under the impression that one wasn't supposed to take place based on whatever list she was following.

True. That didn't really explain her smacking the cake out of Sandra's hand though. It was funny but ridiculous. 

What's the story on... is it Carol? The one who was Sandra's nemesis and pure evil, then last week quite saintly. I feel like I missed something. 

[Harvey]

17 minutes ago, Melina22 said:

What's the story on... is it Carol? The one who was Sandra's nemesis and pure evil, then last week quite saintly. I feel like I missed something. 

It was mentioned she took a break from work due to a personal problem during the break room scene.

[Trillium]

1 hour ago, Harvey said:

It was mentioned she took a break from work due to a personal problem during the break room scene.

Yes and everyone was worried she was plotting  some type of Gone Girl plot against Sandra/Jerry. 

[parrotlover]

10 hours ago, Melina22 said:

Generally, I enjoy this show and don't expect it to be remotely realistic, but occasionally they push the believability envelope so far they lose me. 

It's hard to explain where the line is, but for me they crossed it with the whole ridiculous Jonah/cake scene. Implying that he would eat an entire slab cake because... reasons... way too absurd to be funny. Plus I agree that Dina crossed into monster territory in this episode. 

I get that this show is supposed to be sort of absurd, but when the characters stop bearing any resemblance to real people, nothing matters and the show loses its heart and humour. For me, at least. 

It was very sad to see the final RIP though. 😢

Everything you posted times a thousand. Dina’s behavior was cruel, not funny in the least. 

And because the episode annoyed me so much I have to nitpick the ridiculous. Jonah said after that scene where Dina “made” him eat a whole cake, that he didn’t want any because he had thrown up cake earlier. Then at the “engagement party”, he was shown enjoying a slice of cake. If we’re to believe he ate an entire sheet cake, I highly doubt he would ever eat cake again, much less a day or two later. 

[PJ123]

Ok glad to see people are not enjoying the Dina/Sandra thing.  Sandra = Jerry from Parks and Rec.  Stopped being funny a long time ago.  It is more hilarious when Sandra is being her bizarre self.  Just comes off as lazy writing - this show can and has done better.

[iMonrey]

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Ok glad to see people are not enjoying the Dina/Sandra thing.  Sandra = Jerry from Parks and Rec.  Stopped being funny a long time ago.  It is more hilarious when Sandra is being her bizarre self.  Just comes off as lazy writing - this show can and has done better.

It really just rests on whether or not you find that trope funny because it happens everywhere. There's also Toby on The Office. Or Hitchcock and Scully on Brooklyn 99 (although they probably deserve it more). It's sort of a staple for sitcoms like this to have some stock character everyone shits all over. Personally I think it's kind of funny. These characters are so broadly drawn they border on the absurd (and often cross that line). Your heart may go out to them but Sandra or Jerry/Gary/Larry go through life blithely unaware how they're being treated. Look how Sandra reacted through the whole thing - she just didn't get it and was convinced there was going to be a party. She's not really affected by how mean Dina is to her.

[cleo]

Yeah it's off the DVR for me. I couldn't make it through this episode. Stuff with Dina, Mateo, it's just all overall unpleasant with the occasional funny line.

Also- I don't think Hitchcock and Scully are treated the way Sandra and Jerry are/were. Usually their behaviour inspires disgust whereas the other two are treated like garbage for no reason. I didn't watch the office so I can't comment on that.

I also don't think it's a sitcom staple. But it's definitely one of those things people love or hate, there is an audience for it I guess.

Anyway I didn't like this ep overall.

[ZenMoonPi]

I'm giving this show one more episode. I was cringing more than watching it as a nice distraction. Just not worth it to deal with cruel characters.

Edited October 6, 2019 by ZenMoonPi

[aradia22]

Episode 1 was a little shaky but this one was pretty funny. For a 20 minute episode, I laughed multiple times which is more than I can say for most shows. 

The only thing I disliked was Dina being such a deck to Jonah about Sandra. For God's sake, can we let this go? I don't know who on the writing staff thinks the audience wants to see mean characters punish nice characters over and over. At least Garrett and Cheyenne seem much improved this season. Like, Dina's rant about the zoo things was funny. But she should have just let Jonah do what he wanted. At worst, maybe she'd take credit for all his hard work. But the cake... it was too much. What is she, Agatha Trunchbull?

The mandatory 7am party was cringey but at least we finally got the resolution of Matteo being out on bond. Still, they need to cool it with the way they write the antagonistic characters like Dina.