S01.E08: Traumatic Party Stress Disorder

[photo fox]

For his fortieth birthday, Henry requests that Eliza find him a meaningful gift, but when she buys him tickets to see his favorite band, it creates tension between Henry and Julia, the woman he's seeing.

[mamey2422]

That was a sweet episode though I feel it had a lot of the same beats as last week's episode with Eliza pushing Henry's boundaries, him reacting angrily and then realizing she's really well-intentioned. The birthday office party was PRICELESS though - every single second of it. I also liked the scenes with Eliza, Charmonique and their other co-worker eating lunch together and then again after the party in her apartment as it showed Eliza forming genuine bonds with people. This was the girl who ate lunch alone over a trash can and now she's sharing a gift certificate for lunch with coworkers. And Henry has gone from talking to his yogurt at home alone to having a blast at a concert. It's nice to see the effect Eliza and Henry are having on each other. Can't wait for the last episodes. So glad we get to watch them.

I can't say I fully understand Henry's reservations about letting loose every now and then but it was fun to watch.

[BooBear]

I also thought it was similar to last weeks, but also, loved it.  Henry rocking out did crack me up and I liked the added part about him feeling that when he lets go people don't like that...  I don't want him to think he can't be himself.  I miss this show.

 

And (i watched on ABC go) I will not be watching Gallivant. If I like it -- you will just cancel it.

[HotForBacon]

I, too noticed the same format but I didn't mind because Henry and Eliza are just so cute together! I could just watch them for hours and the supporting cast was pretty awesome as well. This was a fun episode. I'm so glad we get to watch what they've made.

[shapeshifter]

I'm old, so I like formulaic shows--if they are shows that I like--like this one--OMG, I'm sounding like Eliza--which, by the way, is a much better baby name than Katniss.

[Eolivet]

Freddy's friends with cat names was one of the funniest throwaway gags I've seen in a while. Whiskers, Mittens, Azriel, Heathcliff.

 

I was really impressed with this episode from a story standpoint -- I didn't find it that similar to last week's episode. The first scene of the episode with Eliza's party-for-one reminded me that Eliza and Henry seem like they both might've been loners who went in polar opposite directions. I know that should be obvious, with Eliza's obvious desire for (online) "friends" -- that she chose to combat her loneliness while Henry embraced it and made it a part of who he is. They're a lot alike in that sense, which makes them so compelling to watch together.

 

We've seen Henry a couple times (the first time with the K-pop while babysitting) go from buttoned up to loosened up more quickly than you'd think he would. And while Julia was self-aware about her reaction, you get the feeling she'd prefer to keep Henry in his buttoned up state (most of the time, heh), as that is where she's the most comfortable. In other words: judging how easy we've seen it is for Henry to have fun in the right circumstances (especially when Eliza creates them), I wonder if it's the show's way of telling us that, despite all outward appearances, he and Eliza are more similar than he and Julia. If so, that's some impressively subtle storytelling.

 

I'm just happy we'll get to see the remaining episodes online. A show like "Selfie" is tailor-made for a Web series (as others have said: a modern retelling of a classic story has blown up online before -- see: "The Lizzie Bennet Diaries"). Come on, ABC (or Hulu or whoever) -- it's a perfect Web-based show. And people won't mind the title so much online.

[jmonique]

I registered just to commiserate with fellow Selfie fans.

 

I feel like this show just went a little too much into caricatures at times. Julia is beginning to border on unwatchable for me, with the overly enunciated, pedantic speech, the throaty diction and stick firmly up her butt. Even when she's trying, she's trying. And I really liked her on "Go On." But I've also long been of the opinion that they should have at least let Karen use her natural accent.

 

Beyond anything to do with Julia, the rest of the show was gold. John Cho, Popper-in out? No words to explain how much I'll miss things like that.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Ha, I laughed so much at all the concert scenes. Glad Henry had fun and made a new friend.

I liked that even though Eliza was pushing Henry's boundaries, she still put thought into what she did for his birthday. She spent all that time scouring the pictures of his FaceBook friends trying to find a clue as to something he would like. Then she planned a work themed party because she knew his favorite thing is work.

Her sex buddy gave her some good advice to steer the party in the right direction so I like that he is being a supportive and helpful sex buddy, despite Henry's initial concerns about him.

[applecrisp]

Ha, I laughed so much at all the concert scenes. Glad Henry had fun and made a new friend.

I liked that even though Eliza was pushing Henry's boundaries, she still put thought into what she did for his birthday. She spent all that time scouring the pictures of his FaceBook friends trying to find a clue as to something he would like. Then she planned a work themed party because she knew his favorite thing is work.

Her sex buddy gave her some good advice to steer the party in the right direction so I like that he is being a supportive and helpful sex buddy, despite Henry's initial concerns about him.

I am glad he is not portrayed as a total douche.  Just glad they did not go there.

 

I'm just glad she has made some friends at the office and Henry made a friend outside of the office.

 

Henry was rude when he yelled at Eliza at his home with all the guests there, thought there might be some fallout from his co workers.

Edited November 27, 2014 by applecrisp

[BooBear]

Henry was rude when he yelled at Eliza at his home with all the guests there, thought there might be some fallout from his co workers.

 

This is how I thought it was similar to last week. Henry being too harsh. I thought it was interesting, however, that Eliza didn't seem too upset about it afterward. As if she understood that Henry was just pushed out of his comfort zone and would apologize later. I guess Julia isn't working for me. It does feel like Henry has a little act going on that he might not even be aware of. He breaks very buttoned up and frustrated easily but I think he is a little more loose than that. Julia isn't. So I think they are in fact a bad match. I felt like this episode they both worried that the other wouldn't like them for who they actually are and did things to try to make the other happy so I think that was a mistake. Both looked rather desperate to make things work.

 

I find this show's writing very tight and smart. I do think they are subtly showing how similar Henry and Eliza are though most people wouldn't think they were and I enjoy them showing how each has really changed.

[thuganomics85]

I wasn't aware they were putting these last episodes On Demand (plus, Hulu it seems), so I just caught the recent episode.  I'm glad they are at least going to finish these up.

 

This episode was fun as always, even though it was similar to the last one.  A review I read pointed out something kind of interesting about Eliza's gifts for Henry.  On the surface, they don't seem to be that big of a deal (tickets to a concert, surprise party), but when you consider how much effort she had to put into finding a band Henry might like (since this is Henry), and trying to make a party she'd think Henry would enjoy, they really were thoughtful gifts.  Which, in turn, is why I did feel for her and got annoyed when Henry lashed out at her.

 

Also, I thought this episode kind of pointed towards why Henry and Julie will probably fail.  We do get glimpses of Henry letting loose every now and then, but we haven't seen that from Julie yet.  Granted, she's only been in about three episodes, so that could change, but I can see her never being like that, and it being a deal-breaker.  I can totally understand why being somewhere you don't want to be can be annoying, but she really didn't handle it well.  At least Henry had Wayne!

 

This was probably the best use of Freddy/Eliza's sex buddy.  Loved the gag of all of his friends with cat names, and especially the Tom Cruise running joke.  Good to know that he and Henry agree on one thing: Tom Cruise had no business playing The Last Samurai!

 

While Henry does need to loosen up more, I'm with him on the birthday singing.  That's why I never tell restaurants I'm eating at it's my birthday!

 

It's sucks that we only get five more episodes of John Cho and Karen Gillan being awesome together. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I also loved that Freddy made up more cat friend names just to mess with Eliza. Between that and giving her real advice about Henry's birthday, he isn't being depicted as the cliche sex buddy who has no interest in spending time with Eliza outside the bedroom. I mean, he went to Henry's house with her afterward (and based on what she told Henry about fitting into his bathroom window, he helped her break in too). But I also like that he didn't insist on staying at the party or inserting himself into her plans for the party. They seem like they are developing a nice relationship where they are not just having sex but they also aren't being clingy or jealous.

Loved that one of Charmonique's work duties is singing happy birthday to the employees. I can totally picture Saperstein telling her she has to do it and handing her a list of everyone's birthdays.

[shapeshifter]

I don't know if they are going to try to wrap up the season into a tidy series finale, but it seems like the show's story is/was heading for both Eliza and Henry learning to have real relationships with significant others, and then realizing that's what both of them want with each other.

[ketose]

I get an e-mail at work from HR on my birthday, which I otherwise keep under wraps.

 

Julia seems to be emulating Lilith Crane from Cheers. I think she said when they first met that them being so similar wouldn't work out, even though Henry is giving it a try. At least he has someone to bring him out of his shell.

 

I think Freddy is Eliza's boyfriend now, especially after he visited her in the hospital.

 

Henry still sees himself as Eliza's teacher and not necessarily as someone who can learn from her. That concert was pretty awesome. Ron Funches as Henry's new Blues Traveler friend and John Popper giving them the runaround with the thing fans ever want to hear at a concert.

[Tabbyclaw]

Julia seems to be emulating Lilith Crane from Cheers.

 

That's exactly what was going through my head the entire episode. She's got the same clipped, brusque delivery.

 

I enjoyed the entire episode, but for me the best part was the very end. Henry's chagrin was great, and Eliza's delight was so sweet and candid that it almost felt like I was watching an outtake rather than a scripted show.

[BestestAuntEver]

Henry rocking out at the blues travelers concert had me cracking up. Ugh, why does the first comedy I've liked since Big Bang's premiere gets canceled.

The work party made me giggle too

[bros402]

Freddy's friends with cat names was one of the funniest throwaway gags I've seen in a while. Whiskers, Mittens, Azriel, Heathcliff.

That made me laugh so much. I had to pause for a minute to just get the laughter out. I loved how he closed it with "Now I have to go meet Sylvester and Hobbes."

 

The Tom Cruise joke also made me laugh quite a bit.

[Blakeston]

This is probably a dumb question, but is the whole "Tom Cruise had no business playing The Last Samurai" just a reference to people thinking he wasn't good in that movie?

 

Or is it about the racial implications? I seem to recall that people weren't happy about the whole "white man goes to Japan and becomes a leader of the samurai" concept.

[Blister]

I love this show, so sorry it's been cancelled.  This episode did seem to speed forward, as if it was made after they got the news the show was cancelled.  Glad we can see all they made of them, though.