S01.E08: Finish Your Milk

[arc]

Well, wow. There were the romcom cliches of meeting the parents and all that stuff and also finding a hidden engagement ring, but they took some nice twists on everything. And what a gut punch of a breakup.

This show wasn't even on my radar when it started, but it's very quickly become one of my favorites.

Edit: the two subplots (Edgar and Lindsey) were great too, but on first draft I completely forgot about them because the Jimmy-Gretchen story just completely stunned me.

Edited September 5, 2014 by arc

[SimoneS]

I really enjoyed this episode. Poor Jimmy. He looked devastated when Gretchen broke up with him. Did I miss something? Did he really buy that ring for her? Gretchen was near unrecognizable in those country club outfits.

 

Edgar is so sweet. I loved how supportive he was hurt Jimmy and tried to distract him by helping him cook.

 

Oh Lindsey. Her husband is boring, but sweet and obviously loves her. She will break his heart.

Edited September 5, 2014 by SimoneS

[AlliMo]

I loved the "The Usual Suspects" nod in the scene in the museum/gallery. Just one of the little things that shows how clever this show can be.

 

This show is so much more than I expected it to be. Get it together, Gretchen and Jimmy - I like you more than half the real life couples I know!

[larapu2000]

I was gutted when Gretchen broke up with Jimmy.  That's how good this show is!  I liked Lindsay's subplot with her husband, it was like they were going on a first date!  I just love Edgar.  I want to give him a big hug and tell him everything will be alright.  I was really glad that Jimmy was nice to him at then end rather than lashing out, it was a sweet exchange.

[possibilities]

I actually really like Lindsay's husband. It doesn't seem like he's her type at all, but she strikes me as a case of arrested development. She's like a kid in junior high school or something, and he's a grown up. The thing is, I can't imagine he married her without realizing what kind of person she is, because she doesn't seem to hide it much. And surely he didn't seem like a wild party animal to her before marriage, either. So I'm not sure what brought them together or what is really going on there.

 

Gretchen and Jimmy.... well played, show! Though I do think it's a bit early for a marriage proposal, I also love the way this show promises me shallow shenanigans and delivers a gut punch or left turn or something deeper almost every time.

 

I also like that they continue to pursue Edgar's story, which is actually pretty serious business for a sitcom.

 

And how about that scene in the movie theater lobby? I love Gretchen's clients.

[zxy556575]

I feel better about Lindsay now that she's guilty about her infidelity. It originally seemed like picking up stray guys was something she did all the time, which chapped my ass because her husband doesn't deserve that. But I'm not sure if sidekicks Lindsay and Edgar are also supposed to be the "worst," or if that's just the leads.

 

Whatever the meaning of the ring was, I don't think this show would let it be what it seems. Gretchen and Jimmy have only recently admitted they like each other, for crissake. It was interesting that Jimmy stood up for Gretchen's choices and told her parents off.

 

The funny: Gretchen telling Jimmy that obviously she hadn't really packed -- it was toilet paper and damp clothes.

Edited September 7, 2014 by lordonia

[Irlandesa]

I really enjoyed this episode. Poor Jimmy. He looked devastated when Gretchen broke up with him. Did I miss something? Did he really buy that ring for her?

Chris Geere was really good in that scene.  I doubt that the ring was for her.  I wouldn't be surprised to find out that it was for Beth but they broke up before he proposed. 

 

The funny: Gretchen telling Jimmy that obviously she hadn't really packed -- it was toilet paper and damp clothes.

 

That was funny.  Even funnier is that it was pretty obvious that's what she was packing during the packing scene. 

[arc]

That was funny.  Even funnier is that it was pretty obvious that's what she was packing during the packing scene.

Oh, that much was obvious, but given what we know about Gretchen (esp her apartment!), I felt like Jimmy did - it could have been her actual packing strategy.

[NoNeinNyet]

All of the characters had a really good episode. Edgar continues to be my favorite and Jimmy and Gretchen are so wonderful. That breakup was a punch in the gut.

 

I also like that they're continuing to have Becca show up because she explains a lot about Lindsay. Lindsay a lot more like her sister than she'd like to admit but the fact that they're not exactly the same also explains how Lindsay came to cheat on Paul.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Ha, I loved that Lindsay and her sister had that loud and physical fight in the middle of aerial yoga and then said, "Go on with your yoga." One of the things I like about this show is the different relationships that they show. Becca and Lindsay might not be the BFF sisters you see on Hallmark cards, but they do act like real sisters. They talk shit about each other, they spend more time with their other friends than they do with each other (but they do spend time together at non-family events), they snipe at each other, they judge each other, but underneath it they love each other even if they don't like each other all the time. Their sisterly relationship seems realistic to me without being overly hateful or fakely sweet.

 

I also like the other friendships on the show. Edgar and Jimmy have a weird complicated relationship that doesn't seem equal, as do Lindsay and Gretchen. But I like that they have shown Lindsay and Edgar becoming friends as a result of Gretchen and Jimmy's relationship. It will be interesting to see where Edgar and Lindsay's friendship will go now that Gretchen and Jimmy have broken up.

 

Although I disliked the cliche storylines of Gretchen not wanting Jimmy to meet her parents and Gretchen finding a ring, I like that this show is similar to The Mindy Project in that it uses those cliches but with a twist so that they're funny instead of tired.

 

To me, the saddest thing about Gretchen and Jimmy breaking up is that Jimmy thinks it's all because of how he interacted with her parents. I hope that he finds out it was really about the ring (via the Gretchen->Lindsay->Edgar->Jimmy game of telephone).

 

Part of me really doesn't get the Lindsay/Paul marriage. Why would either of them marry the other? Lindsay knew he was a boring weird nerd and Paul knew that she was a self absorbed brat. I can't imagine marrying someone and not knowing about any of his hobbies. The sad thing is that Paul already had that tandem bike in the hopes that one day Lindsay would get her head out of her ass and show some interest in biking with him. Hope springs eternal!

 

Edited because Lindsay's sister is named Becca, not Beth!

Edited September 16, 2015 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Qoass]

I think Paul and Lindsey got married because neither thought they could do any better.  And that may be true.  Much as we'd like to think there's somebody for everybody, Paul would be hard pressed to find a woman who likes recumbent biking and rocketry hobbies and Lindsey doesn't fit the physical ideal that LA men are hoping to find.

[rho]

I think Paul and Lindsey got married because neither thought they could do any better.  And that may be true.  Much as we'd like to think there's somebody for everybody, Paul would be hard pressed to find a woman who likes recumbent biking and rocketry hobbies and Lindsey doesn't fit the physical ideal that LA men are hoping to find.

 

You summed it up perfectly! I think they both would be happier with someone else and that person could easily exist. Edgar, for example, is kind of perfect for Lindsay. But at the time, I think both Lindsay and Paul believed the other was the best they could do. So from here, they'll either bond over their mismatched marriage of convenience or realize they should never have gotten married in the first place and mutually end things.