Love (2016) - General Discussion

[Booger666]

FREE BERTIE.

AND FREE GRANDPA.

[elzin]

I am late to the Love party and I have to say it was a bit of a relief to see all the... I don't want to say negativity.... but let's say a lack of enthusiastic positivity.  I didn't hate the show and I'm sure I'll watch S2, but that's mostly because I liked Jacob's performance and the character of Bertie. I can't tell if she's really that sweet and nice or if  there's something seriously wrong and dark about her we haven't seen yet, and I like that ambiguity. I also like that it didn't make me hate her. 

 

There were points I hated both Mickey and Gus.  She just couldn't keep her mouth shut at the Magic Castle? Even if you hate hate hate something, grown-ups can sit still for an hour and suck it up with a fake smile and then rip it to shreds on the car ride home.  Showing up on the lot and neglecting the cat and Bertie crossed the line for me too. And Mickey's writers' room implosion was awful. I loved how he was called out by both Mickey and the ex for not really being a nice guy. That's such an important thing that happens, that guys self-label themselves as nice when they're really not. There's nothing wrong with NOT being a "nice guy" as long as you stop short of the asshole line.

 

I think what didn't turn me off from S2 was that they both appeared to mature and recognize their broken parts within themselves. If the next season picks up after a long break between them during which they tried to work on not being terrible, that could be intriguing. If it starts with them hooking up from the parking lot I might turn it off.

 

More Kerri Kenney wouldn't hurt either.

[Booger666]

I liked it more than most of the commenters here. I wonder if it is a bit of a generational thing? It reminded me of the movie Singles and the relationship between Matt Dillon and Bridget Fonda's characters. They were not meant to be in terms of a great romance, but were definitely meant to be for the moment. An inexplicable and stupid attraction that can't be avoided even though you know the person is all wrong for you and likely a bit of an asshole.

[Megan]

Yeah, Gus is very much a "Nice Guy," but Mickey is an asshole who is too cool for everyone and everything. Gus' friends were talking about their reality show editor jobs and she opens up with gah, I bet you hate it.

The whole theme song thing is super dumb and silly but they just do it for fun. Which she is against for some reason? Just like with the Magic Castle. Are we supposed to feel sorry for her?

The witch sex was lame but so was the sex with Mickey.

Edited May 7, 2016 by Megan
more ideas.

[Megan]

I read the previously article and I don't get why we're supposed to think Gus is as bad as Mickey?  Other than accepting sex from Heidi in public which was dumb. Mickey only seems to relate to Arya, which I don't think is a good thing.

Her whole I'm not the cool girl! how dare you fuck me and then ignore me! Which is totally not what happened. They fucked and then she told him to fuck off via the vibrator use and the fit at the Magic Castle and that he and his friends (that she hadn't met) were dumb.Then showed up to his "dumb" get together and was rude to everyone.. then showed up to his job and acted crazy. She also ditched Bertie twice. Also, setting up Bertie with a guy she liked was really shitty.

She and Gus don't know each other well enough for her to pull the "I hate you! don't leave me" thing. Or is the whole show about her mental illness?

[kieyra]

I've been working my way through this series slowly. I'm having issues with it, and normally I can get into this kind of thing (Girls, Catastrophe come to mind). 

I just have no idea how i'm supposed to buy these two as a couple. Not to be overly shallow, but there's the old Gregory House rule of "sixes date sixes, sevens date sevens" etc., and Gus is just a little too dorky-looking (and behaving) when paired with the gorgeous Gillian Jacobs, even if they're trying to dress her down into some kind of post-hipster thing that I can't even comprehend. But they don't really have anything in common except the stupid orange rug, and no chemistry that I can see. And I LIKE dorky guys. Give me Cisco Ramon over Barry Allen any day. But I digress.

I think Bertie is my favorite character so far, although Mickey's interactions with her boss have been pretty entertaining. 

Also, all the musical references are about 20 years out of date for people who are supposed to be in their early 30s, but maybe that kind of thing doesn't matter anymore due to Spotify and whatnot. (I could just see someone in their late 40s reaching back and pulling out 'Laid' and Social Distortion as some nostalgic college party music in that scene a few episodes back. And I'm pretty sure the two leads wouldn't have been born when Blister In the Sun came out. Again, I know that music is becoming de-generation-alized, but ALL the music seems to be from the head of someone squarely in the middle of Generation X.) 

Anyway--Catastrophe does a much better job of showing how two people who are basically assholes can still make sense together.

Edited May 23, 2016 by kieyra

[kieyra]

Not sure. I'm smack dab in the middle of Generation X--and based on the music choices, the writers are too--and I pretty much agree with the sentiments here.

Never got why Mickey would be attracted to Gus, then they subverted any dorky charm he might have had by making him into a dick. Maybe that's the message there, sometimes nice guys are actually just dicks? So then what's the point of this "love" story?

So she said the theme song party thing sounded dumb. Big deal. He knows her well enough to know she's brash and doesn't have much filter. And when she does show up, his reaction is to push her away when she tries to kiss him? Fuck THAT. 

I don't know, I don't get it. 

Bright side, based on this thread I'm going to check out Master of None and You're the Worst. And I can recommend Catastrophe in return.

[Readalot]

Yes Iris was "the landlord" from Funny or Die, right? 

[Readalot]

Well I finished the season. At the beginning of each episode I was hoping it would be the one where Mickey and Gus redeem themselves. But nope. The reunion at the end was lame. Didn't she live about two blocks away or within walking distance at least based on the first episode? Now it's a long ass car ride?  Was that Gus settling for Mickey, as in "my life is fucked up, what's another fucked up thing in it?" Or "I need some sex right now?"  And I hate Mickey's fake self awareness. She just used the insight to make excuses, it didn't seem to me she was serious about improving herself. I really like Bertie. She needs to move. And yes I'm Gen X and agree the music didn't fit the 30's crowd. 

[kieyra]

(Master of None was a great antidote to this show.)

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I watched the first two episodes of this show back in February and am just now finally catching up on the rest. I guess that tells you how compelling I found the show.

At first I felt bad for Mickey because it was so obvious that Dr. Greg was hitting on her, which put her in an awkward position. But yeah, sleeping with him so that he couldn't fire her and then TELLING HIM that as they were having sex? Sheesh.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

What is wrong with these people? If someone invited me to a housewarming party (meaning a gathering of adults, not a kegger in someone's apartment during college), I would not pull into the driveway at 7pm sharp and then enter a house where I could hear people arguing and there was clearly no party going on yet. I don't blame the husband for being annoyed that some stranger just walked into his house and then said that Mickey invited him to the party.

As for Mickey, she had no right to get pissy because Gus had the audacity to make friends and have a good time without her. If you're going to friend zone someone then you can't get mad when they don't drop everything to give you attention. Later when she yelled at everyone about how boring they were being and how wild they use to be, I just rolled my eyes. There are few things more pathetic than people who insist on acting like they're still 16. Adults can still have fun but there is no need to emulate/repeat the stupid things they did over a decade ago. And it's not like everyone was sitting around bored. Everyone else seemed to be enjoying themselves. Her selfish behavior really annoys me.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

The biggest surprise to me was that Gus would actually go on a date with Bertie - not because she's undateable but it seems like if you like someone, you wouldn't go on a date with their roommate. I know he was doing it just to be nice (to both Bertie and Mickey) but still. I was really annoyed at the beginning of Gus and Bertie's date that they were being so nice to each other, to the waiter, etc. (how many times can two people say "thank you" in the space of ten seconds?) so it was actually a welcome relief when Bertie accidentally texted Gus and he decided to burn it all down and see how awful he could make the date and then Bertie decided to double down and take it even further. I loved that it ended up taking the date from awkward to making them like each other (platonically) again. That's also why I liked that after the date, Gus told Mickey that he didn't appreciate what she had done because she knew he was interested in her. But I didn't like that her reaction was to run into the street, kiss him, and then run away. I wouldn't like that under any circumstance, but doing that on your first day sober? Not a great idea.

Edited August 13, 2016 by ElectricBoogaloo

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I agree that the Bette Davis moment felt genuine which is what made it so fun to watch.

I'm not a fan of kids interfering with adult relationships, but I had to laugh at what that kid texted to Mickey from Gus.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I haven't seen Catastrophe, but I think that You're the Worst does a good job showing how two assholes can make sense together.

My issue with this episode is that both Mickey and Gus were so busy being their own kind of self-centered asshole that they just irritated each other.

• Mickey said she was cold as soon as they left the house, like as soon as they walked outside and before they even got to the car. If you're cold while the sun is still out, you're only going to get colder once it's dark. Be an adult and be responsible for your own comfort. That means saying, "Let me go back inside and get a jacket/shawl/wrap." But don't say you're cold in the middle of the afternoon and then act surprised when you're still cold a few hours later or expect someone to give you their jacket because YOU chose not to bring your own.
• The aforementioned nice guy move when Gus ordered the chicken dish just for the ponzu sauce so that he could score points reminded me of people who brag on Facebook/Instagram about how they gave food to a homeless person or did some kind of volunteer work. If you really want to do something nice, then go do it. But don't do something just so you can get credit for it from other people.
•  I get that Mickey isn't into magic and that's totally fine, but when you're watching a show it's rude to make loud comments about how you don't like it or how stupid it is. That's just basic manners. I wouldn't go to the ballet and start making loud passive aggressive comments about the choreography or a dancer's performance. Don't act like a child. I'm sure you are capable of sitting quietly and clapping politely.
• On the flip side, Mickey made it clear that magic was not her thing and Gus's response was to tell her that if she didn't like it, they could go somewhere else. When it was apparent that nothing in the Magic Castle was impressing her, his response was to make her sit through a 40 minute show.
• Whenever you go somewhere, you are subject to whatever their rules are. Disagreeing with their rules doesn't mean you are exempt from those rules. If they have a dress code, they are allowed to enforce it. Making a scene isn't going to change their dress code.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

ITA that You're the Worst is better in every way. I understand why Jimmy and Gretchen are together and the writing is funny, relatable, and still emotionally truthful. But Gus and Mickey? They've barely spent any time together (the walk they took together in the first or second episode was the most "getting to know you" time they've had in their entire relationship).

Once again, Mickey totally annoyed me in this episode. Yes, the movie theme night thing is silly and pointless, but it's just a group of friends having fun. They all seem to enjoy themselves and no one is forced to be there, so as lame as I found their songs to be, all that really matters is that this is something they like to do and they don't inflict it upon unwilling participants (and hey, it involves people talking to each other and collaborating, which are both good things). There was no need for Mickey to be so negative about it. First she told Gus that it sounded stupid. Then she showed up and proceeded to be surly and rude the whole time. Like seriously, if you think this is totally lame, then leave. But don't stay and shit all over it. Take any other hobby or group activity that people do together and apply that principle. Like if you hate bowling, don't go to your friend's bowling party and spend the whole time complaining about how stupid bowling is. It's fine if you don't like it, but you don't have to ruin it for the people who enjoy it.

I did love the one guy's explanation about how Canada's healthcare system is what makes Canadians so happy and friendly. I was fine with Heidi (who seemed like a perfectly nice person) until the last ten seconds of this episode. Her dirty talk was horrifying, as were her fake sex noises.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Mickey was so out of line in this episode. Yes, they had sex two days ago, but in those two days since they had sex, she was an asshole on their date, she was an asshole at his party, and then she was an asshole at his job. Having sex with someone doesn't mean you are entitled to 24/7 communication. He's not ignoring you because he's being a jerk. He's ignoring you because HE'S AT WORK. As much as I love technology, I hate that people now expect you to respond to every call and text immediately because cell phones exist. Just because I have a phone with me at all times doesn't mean I'm available to use it all the time, especially during work hours because, you know, I'm at WORK. Just because you decide to pretend you're sick doesn't mean everyone else has all day to talk to you about whatever you're feeling right now at this very second (that also goes for calling your friend, who has a young child, at 4am).

Mickey's demand for Gus's attention was ridiculous, especially give the timeline. Yesterday morning, she basically told him to go away when he asked if she wanted to have breakfast and when he invited her to come over to his movie song party, she told him it was stupid. Then she showed up that evening and acted like a petulant child. Today she calls him while he's at work and when he doesn't reply (again, because he's at work), she shows up at his job and makes a scene. I mean, seriously, if someone was a jerk to me on Monday morning and a jerk to me on Monday night and then they called me while I was at work on Tuesday morning, I wouldn't exactly be racing to call them back right away either. But it is so narcissistic for her to assume he should drop whatever he's doing at work so that she can talk to him. You just saw him, like twelve hours ago so calm down! At the very least, give him until he gets home from work to call you back before you freak out.

I also hate that she keeps ditching Bertie while also manipulating her. Don't tell me that we're friends and you want to spend time with me when what you're really doing is making an elaborate excuse to stalk the guy you set me up with and then slept with.  I did appreciate that when Bertie called her on it, Mickey admitted it was true (it was the least she could do though). And I am glad she has enough self awareness to tell Bertie that she's a narcissistic asshole but when you have a friend who is always apologizing for the same thing, it means that she knows what the problem is and she doesn't care enough to change. "Hey, sorry I just ditched you for the second time in 24 hours, but call me back because I need someone to talk to!"

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Mickey: Do you have any weed?
Bobby Lee: Oh, normally I would say a big yes on that, but this week I'm trying something different. Every time I want to smoke weed, I'm going to do fifteen push ups. Every time I want to masturbate, I'm going to do twenty sit ups. That way by the end of the weekend, I'll be totally ripped and I'll get high on self-esteem.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I could not believe the way Gus behaved in the writers' room. What kind of adult would think that's acceptable professional behavior? He totally deserved to be fired for that. Even before he grabbed that lady's laptop, he crawled onto the table to ask why the script only credited him with the story. WTF?

I loathed that he kissed Mickey in the last scene. She finally realized that she needs to be alone and work on herself and his response to that is to kiss her? Thanks for totally not listening or respecting what she just said!

I really like You're the Worst and Master of None, but watching Love made me appreciate them even more because they deal with both realistic and absurd relationship situations so much better.

[BooBear]

On May 23, 2016 at 0:30 PM, kieyra said:

I just have no idea how i'm supposed to buy these two as a couple. Not to be overly shallow, but there's the old Gregory House rule of "sixes date sixes, sevens date sevens" etc., and Gus is just a little too dorky-looking (and behaving) when paired with the gorgeous Gillian Jacobs, even if they're trying to dress her down into some kind of post-hipster thing that I can't even comprehend. But they don't really have anything in common except the stupid orange rug, and no chemistry that I can see. And I LIKE dorky guys. Give me Cisco Ramon over Barry Allen any day. But I digress.

I will just post here because I have been watching the series and I think I am close to stopping. I was annoyed to see yet another "romance" where the girl seriously outclasses the guy. Honestly I feel like at this point it is a big conspiracy to make women accept guys that aren't at all in their league.  And Gus isn't the only one. Both of Gillian Jacobs former boyfriends were not believeable. But Gus is a serious jerk. Not even close to being someone who possibly could tempt even a normal looking girl but look at this show. Gus' former gf is a looker too. It is cringeworthy because Mickey is sort of doing the same thing as always. Picking a guy who is a jerk who might not be the "norm" because she thinks this is her key to love.  But it isn't. 

Bertie is my favorite character as well. I think she is actually someone really pretty who seems to be trying to hide it. 

It is also driving me crazy how so many couples on tv do not have chemistry. Have they forgotten how to write it? You can't put two people in a room and thus a couple make.  And they keep seeming to do it with actors who are just so wrong for each other. 

I just hate Judd Apatow -- can't someone stop him?

[BetterButter]

Judd Apatow’s ‘Love’ Renewed for Season 3 at Netflix

[BetterButter]

[ElectricBoogaloo]

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After coming clean to Gus, Mickey tries to head home to decompress. But an unexpected turn of events keeps them out together late into the night.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

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While Gus heads to a bar with his guy friends, a restless Mickey stirs up trouble at a dinner party full of couples.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

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Mickey tries to help her work buddy Truman out of a sticky situation, and an on-set accident rattles the "Witchita" cast and crew.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

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A quiet night turns trippy when Mickey convinces Gus, Bertie, and Randy to sample her leftover psychedelic mushrooms.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

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On a day of spontaneous adventures, Mickey and Gus open up about their pasts and begin to let go of their fears.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

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Big news on the "Witchita" set leaves Gus caught in the middle of a family dispute over Arya's future. Mickey grows suspicious of Randy's motives.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

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While Mickey schmoozes with her new corporate bosses at a radio station party, Gus strikes up an unlikely friendship with Dr. Greg.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

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Gus joins Mickey for an outing with her dad but soon realizes the father-daughter dynamic is more complicated than she let on.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

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While housesitting at a friend's mansion, Gus and Mickey host a "Witchita" viewing party. But brewing tensions threaten to spoil the fun.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

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As Gus heads off to the set of Arya's action film and Mickey dives into a big project at work, new cracks appear in their relationship.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

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Mickey bonds with her ex while Gus makes a desperate bid to patch things up with the film director. Bertie has a revelation.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

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With Gus back home, Mickey realizes she needs to make a decision. But her attempt to straighten out her love life only creates more chaos.

[kathe5133]

Wow!  It's been three days and no posts yet?  I'll start.  Binge watched the entire thing.  Looking for opinions here.  I grew up on traditional TV.  Once a week, for maybe 40 weeks, or so (can't remember how long the old traditional seasons lasted.)  There were no VCRs.  No DVRs.  You had to be at the TV at the appointed time, sit through commercials, and watch.  Yes it's nice that we now have the technology to watch and entire "season" on a Saturday.  But 12 episodes?  That's a season now?  And that's it for another year?  Too short and too long a wait!  

[hincandenza]

Okay, I'll admit, having had my own "experimental" period back in the day, I was howling at the dialogue when they were high on shrooms and having "deep" conversations. Boy, did that bring back memories, hehehe! Never chased a coyote or broke into a house, though.

Posting this having only watched through this episode; I hope Randy's "inner barbarian" isn't some ongoing plot point. That kind of "dude, we are all just these savage beasts underneath this 'civilization' thing!" is kind of common on shrooms, and doesn't mean he's secretly a serial killer, whether Beatty understands that or not (like she could give him the side eye; he didn't dissect a rabbit at 23 and keep the parts in a bowl in the shed!).

I did like that Gus was finally assertive, and it worked! Gus growing a spine and Mickey finally figuring out her only problem is her instinctive need to make problems are hopefully the growth these characters have this season. Mickey was looking pretty schmoopy,  but she hasn't figured out enough to stay in a good place. Not yet, and certainly not with more than half the season left...

Edited March 13, 2017 by hincandenza

[hincandenza]

Thought this was a rocky start (having watched through the first 4, it did get better), to be honest. I found myself unexpectedly enjoying season 1 more than I thought I would when a friend recommended it to me last year, but somehow this episode made me dislike how... immature both characters are acting now.  I guess a part of it is that the two main leads are expected to be doing the old will they/won't they trope, but for example I kind of enjoyed Gus with Heidi more. Until she gets her shit worked out, Mickey is really not a good match for Gus and too frequently mocks his own interests while demanding he support her on whatever new chaotic flight path she's determined for herself that day.

However, the humor and personality are still there, and fun to watch, and I enjoy all the supporting characters.

[hincandenza]

This was a fun episode, better than the first I think. What this show does well is the sort of "realistic comedy", where characters and dialogue are close enough to believable that the goofball situations and setups are funny without causing hair pulling of "no one ever acts like that!", as with a typical network sitcom. I loved the whole bit with Gus at the bar and the crazy "I have a boyfriend" woman, including when he just disengaged her with the "Is that Michael Landon?!?" realization.

Their counterparts as well: you can both see Gus' neighbor point (and he sounds exactly like Mickey when he says sure, it's all a penis/vagina dance... and that's why it's great) and Gus' in feeling like sometimes you want to just be out with your buds and leave the mating ritual bullshit aside. Similarly we can see that Mickey was behaving childishly... but the supposedly mature parent couples are just as fragile and not as bulletproof as they like to think.

[hincandenza]

Mixed on this episode; it was definitely funny, but Truman is in a physically abusive relationship, whether he is also a lazy boyfriend and liar to Mickey or not. The twist of the lying thing and the cunninlingus punchline seemed like copouts to me, but eh, I'm not going to lose sleep on it.

The Wichita scenes were gold; Gus constantly flubbing every one of his work relationships remains one of the funnier recurring gags they do. I don't remember Heidi being quite so out of touch narcisstic last year, but it's good to see the actress back. I mean, really good. I mean, holy cow that woman is gorgeous.

Not sure where the Wichita boss sex offer came from. She'd only ever shown contempt for Gus, but I guess it was some strong weed? I assume the point was to show that Gus is getting plenty of offers  (like the girl at the bar last episode) and is going to foolishly push everyone away while pining for a Mickey who will probably flake out on him soon enough. It's interesting that both the bar girl and the show producer made more or less blatant offers, and yet when rejected both denied that it happened or was sincere.

[Megan]

Mickey is back to being horrible, or I guess back to normal because she's a selfish shit person.

I would have told her to gtfo the house.

The broken bowl was one thing but it started with her trying on/wearing Linda's clothes. She's such an asshole. Up until this episode I had forgotten I hate her. She has zero respect for anyone or anything but Andy Dick apparently?

And then to find out they've only known each other a month?

Edited March 13, 2017 by Megan

[ChelleGame]

I like her so much more than him.  Enjoyed season one. Just binged season two and my dislike of Gus actually grew.

[ChelleGame]

1 hour ago, hincandenza said:

It's interesting that both the bar girl and the show producer made more or less blatant offers, and yet when rejected both denied that it happened or was sincere.

That stuck out to me too.

Think the young actress that plays the star of Wichita does a really good job.

[ChelleGame]

This episode cracked me up.  I think it was the way Randy kept pronouncing coyote.

[hincandenza]

Mickey totally blew this up on her own, it was like a train wreck over the last couple of episodes.  An unsurprising trainwreck, to be sure.  Gus, however, needs to grow a spine!  I  was forehead slapping when he even considered telling the director "Well, I got this girlfriend of a whole one month..."; it's almost physically painful to watch him weakly meander around, cleaning up other people's messes.

I'm still a little confused by the whole director/translator thing.  On the one hand, the Randall Park/Tommy character was clearly running interference and jerking Gus around to some extent... but on the other, the director did seem really interested in the island story, so did Gus ruin his big break by wanting to Skype, or by simply showing up at the bus and waking him, or...?  I wasn't clear if he ever had a chance to work with that guy, or if it was all a prank- and if it was real, if it's salvageable at this point.  It seemed like the director was interested, but not via Skype, and now was pissed because he was woken up... but then he also seemed to understand that Gus had been misled by Tommy, and Tommy even (sort of) explained that, so then Gus' "fuck you" seemed like the one time he overreacted when he shouldn't have.  I guess we will see (I'm commenting having only watched through this episode).

Still, Mickey did exactly what you'd expect: she met her father in episode 8, and then began mirroring him unconsciously from that point on.  She accuses Gus of things she herself does, she's irrational and unfair, she puts no effort in because she wants to be alone, and has the nerve to tell him how she totally was supposed to take a break from dating- as if he forced himself on her and she never wanted a relationship.  They're basically polar opposites: Gus is so weak-willed he is consumed with pleasing people, even ones he barely knows, while Mickey is so defensive she sabotages her relationships with anyone who is kind to her.

Gus needs to move on, because she is right about one thing: she needs time alone.  She's very damaged goods- more than Gus- and Gus can do better and focus on his career.  It's interesting about this show, because in addition to being funny it's also obviously written by trope-aware people, so I'm still not sure if Mickey and Gus are meant to eventually fall apart irrevocably.  Gus always seems to get along better with other people, and Mickey was way too into Dustin this episode.  I'm guessing that's where the title of the next episode, "The Long D" (as in Dustin?), comes from.

[hincandenza]

19 hours ago, Megan said:

Mickey is back to being horrible, or I guess back to normal because she's a selfish shit person.

I would have told her to gtfo the house.

The broken bowl was one thing but it started with her trying on/wearing Linda's clothes. She's such an asshole. Up until this episode I had forgotten I hate her. She has zero respect for anyone or anything but Andy Dick apparently?

And then to find out they've only known each other a month?

Yeah, she's basically tilting ever since she met her dad, and it's ugly.  That bowl smashing thing was so early 20's psycho girlfriend, yet these people are all approaching 30 or beyond at this point, right?  This is a comedy, but Gillian Jacobs portrayal of that type of person is spot-on to the point of being kind of unsettling (for anyone who's been around the block a few times).  She's behaving in a robotic loop and is completely unaware of it.

That said, I really like this show, and this season perhaps more than season 1; it's very funny in a dry way, the supporting characters are hilarious, and it's such a good portrayal of that mid-20's/early-30's type of love where you think you have things- and yourself- all figured out only to have failed relationships remind you "No you don't!".

[hincandenza]

Oof.  That was ugly to watch; not just the grimy Barflies sequence or Mickey's dad being terrible (and as bad as he was, I still felt pity at how quickly and viciously his R Car was going to be rejected by anyone in SV), but how immediately after, Mickey starts blaming Gus for her dad's behavior, and falling right back into the accusatory self-destructive cycle.  She's going to fulfill Dr. Greg's prediction- probably the thing she'd hate most is to prove that psycho right- because she just. can't. help. it.

[hincandenza]

Gus on the set continues to be the comedic highlight of this show.  He actually did a good job for once in conveying Arya's message, but of course Arya had to ultimately put her parents in their place.

I'm not sure how the show wants us to think of Randy: on the one hand he seems like a simple overgrown puppy type of guy who genuinely likes Bertie, but on the other there are some extremely worrying signs (not just the 'never held a job' thing) to go along with the mushroom trip mumblings.  Is he just a character that, like many in this show, is there to reflect different stages and personality types in the game of love and life- like with Truman and his lady- or is he Chekhov's gun, waiting to go off in the third act?  Was I supposed to derive extra meaning from his scene at the end when he was calling Bertie about returning the check and/or coming over, while standing in front of an ATM?  I think I missed whatever that camera pan was supposed to convey in terms of ominous portent.

[hincandenza]

Oh, one other thing.  I still don't "get" Randy. I get that Bertie got the creeps and has been low-key ghosting him/keeping her distance.  But he's getting an awful lot of narrative conflict and personality details set up, which seems odd for a pretty minor character if it doesn't pay off by season's end.  

Presumably in something gruesome, given his barbarian mumblings, the freak-out at the kids clothing store, etc, etc...  

[hincandenza]

Dr. Greg is really a piece of work, but I assume we shouldn't be surprised that he and Gus got along so famously (up until DG realized who Gus was).  Where did the neighbor Chris (?) and Bertie thing come from?  He was macking on her pretty hard at the work party and she seemed fairly open to it, but I don't recall there being any setup for that. Is he just going for it because he figures Randy has slipped out of the picture and he's a free spirit?

[hincandenza]

This was a good episode.  A "shoe is about to drop" episode, but a good one nonetheless.  I'm curious how this show comes off at different stages; in my early 40's, I can be both enchanted by the "younger people spend the day together doing random stuff" scenes, and also knowing how forced whimsy that can be, and how hard that is to sustain if it's the only fuel in your relationship.