S02.E13: Kimmy Finds Her Mom!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

While Kimmy reunites with her mom at Universal Studios, Titus heads to Miami. Jacqueline invites Russ and his family to Thanksgiving dinner.

[FurryFury]

Haha, that was awesome. And I didn't think that Jackie would fall in love with that lawyer, but it was unexpectedly sweet and I'm so rooting for them with the renaming the Redskins idea (it does help that I've no idea what they are - I've never watched a baseball or American football game in my life, but the name does sound vaguely racist). And John Hamm! And it's really funny that we've SO MANY fake marriages in the show - Titus, Dong, Cindy (almost) and now Kimmy herself! 

I guess I expected more from Kimmy's mom, I mean, loved the casting, but it was kinda... low-key, I guess.

 

Is there a "Whole show" thread? Because I need it.

Edited April 16, 2016 by FurryFury

[DeathQuaker]

Haha, that was awesome. And I didn't think that Jackie would fall in love with that lawyer, but it was unexpectedly sweet and I'm so rooting for them with the renaming the Redskins idea (it does help that I've no idea what they are - I've never watched a baseball or American football game in my life, but the name does sound vaguely racist). And John Hamm! And it's really funny that we've SO MANY fake marriages in the show - Titus, Dong, Cindy (almost) and now Kimmy herself! 

I guess I expected more from Kimmy's mom, I mean, loved the casting, but it was kinda... low-key, I guess.

 

Is there a "Whole show" thread? Because I need it.

 

"Redskin" is a term that originates in colonial and early-United States hunting bounties that called for the murder of American Indians, e.g., "$20 for a male Redskin  scalp." (One article on this here: http://www.esquire.com/news-politics/news/a29318/redskin-name-update/and also just go Google "Phips Proclamation" and similar subject matter and you'll find a number of examples.) In other words, it was used to describe them in the same way a hunted animal would (coonskin, bearskin) rather than as a human being. So yes, it is a very hurtful term, and yes, it is the actual name of Washington, DC's football team (along with a mascot that is a very unflattering caricature of an American Indian), and a lot of people are working to protest it.

 

I was almost afraid that Jacquelyn wasn't going to speak out against the family and I'm so glad she did and that's what brought her and Russ together.

 

Really liked this season a lot overall. It had its missteps but overall I think it was a little more tonally consistent than last season and it was funny as heck.

 

Kimmy's mom issues were made such a big deal of this season and last it'd be hard to pay off the build up. There may have been less sparks fly than I would have liked but ultimately it was a good story, well-performed, and I enjoyed the roller coaster confessional.

[Cheshrkat]

I'm old enough to remember the big reveal when Phoebe found her real mother on Friends, and still remember the absolute pitch perfect casting that was Teri Garr in that role, so it's cool to see Lisa Kudrow as the big reveal for Kimmy's mom.  I am not sure it's as perfect a fit for Ellie Kemper as was the other, but it was still fun.  It really did end on a bittersweet note, but that was offset by the sight gag of her coaster head friend having to adjust his "pig neck".

[Pixel]

I loved kids at Universal thinking Kimmy was a character.

[hnygrl]

At the end, after the John Hamm phone call? I was speechless. "He...she...they...what...he....they...whoa...!!!?

 

This season! I like it that Kimmie realized early on that her mother was never going to change, and that her energies were better directed into the future and that the past is the past for a reason.

 

Good Job show...

[teddysmom]

At the end, after the John Hamm phone call? I was speechless. "He...she...they...what...he....they...whoa...!!!?

 

I was too. Then the more I thought about it, in the not Kimmy world, is it a legal marriage if there was no license? I'm assuming the Reverend just married her in the Bunker and self officiated. 

I live in Indiana and we are under the rule of Mike Pence, who would like to make the Bible the state Constitution, but we still have to get a marriage license from the State. 

 

I realize it's just a great plot point that she'll have to fight the Reverend next season, so if we get more Hamm acting like a total lunatic, I'm all in. 

[RCharter]

At the end, after the John Hamm phone call? I was speechless. "He...she...they...what...he....they...whoa...!!!?

 

This season! I like it that Kimmie realized early on that her mother was never going to change, and that her energies were better directed into the future and that the past is the past for a reason.

 

Good Job show...

Everytime I see Jon Hamm, I can't help but focus on how good looking he is.  

 

He must know Tina Fey, or someone, because he was on 30Rock and he is on this show.  I think he does comedy well.

 

I wonder if he is considering maybe doing another comedy series as his next project.

[helenamonster]

Everytime I see Jon Hamm, I can't help but focus on how good looking he is.  

 

He must know Tina Fey, or someone, because he was on 30Rock and he is on this show.  I think he does comedy well.

 

I wonder if he is considering maybe doing another comedy series as his next project.

 

I think he's definitely an FoT (Friend of Tina); when she came out to present the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama last year, I already knew he had it just cuz they'd bothered to get her to do it.

 

I actually think his background was initially in comedy, or he traveled a lot in those circles before landing Mad Men. I remember Sarah Silverman saying somewhere that she'd known him for a while and then was totally taken aback to turn on Mad Men and see him in such a serious role.

 

But anyway, it was great to see him again. And lmao at him introducing himself as Dick, congrats to them on taking two whole seasons to deliver that joke. I'm curious if they're gonna do more stuntcasting for his future bride...any woman crazy enough to marry the Reverend should be played by a special guest star.

 

I actually predicted Lisa Kudrow as Kimmy's mom because I recognized her voice in "Kimmy Goes to her Happy Place!" as the Fairy Godmother cuz I'm Friends trash. Not what I was expecting, but I thought she did a really great job and I hope we see more bonding moments with them in future seasons. It also ties into this show's recurring theme of random '90s shoutouts. The only thing I kept waiting for was for Kimmy to bring up Kymmi; Kimmy might have gotten over the role she thought Laurie Ann played in her kidnapping, but Laurie Ann still abandoned Kymmi and left her such a mess. Maybe they'll get deeper into that next season. I'm curious to see Kudrow and Kiernan Shipka act opposite each other.

 

And the mystery of Kimmy's Velcro fear was solved! I actually thought that was really good payoff.

 

The Native American subplot is still weird and I'd still wish they'd drop it. I'm not against renaming the Redskins, in fact I'm all for it and have yet to see one good reason to keep the name as it is, but it just feels all wrong coming from Jane Krakowski. She's not Native American! Stop pretending she is! I don't care if it's part of the "joke." Gah! Maybe if her parents had come to Thanksgiving and ripped Russ's awful family a new one, it would have landed more with me.

 

I do like Russ though and I'm unexpectedly rooting for him and Jacqueline, just as I'm rooting for Titus and Mikey.

 

So, trying to figure out how Kimmy and the Reverend could be married...we saw last season that he can cast a certain charm over people (probably because he's played by Jon Hamm lol) so maybe he was able to charm some county clerk into writing up a license, and he got some other crazy cult leading reverend to sign it. Idk but I'm looking forward to going back and rewatching this season while I start the countdown for Season 3. Oh, the struggles of binge-watching.

 

Great line: "Leah Remini joined Gretchen's cult."

[RCharter]

^^Jon Hamm could probably convince me to do just about anything, no matter how terribly he would fuck up in MadMen I always had a soft spot for him.  

 

That soft spot is not in a place I would talk about in polite company :)

 

Interesting that he had a comedy background, I had only known him from MadMen!

 

Would love it if they got Christina Hendricks to play his new bride, although I'm not sure if she can be as funny, I just think she is gorgeous (and I say this as a 100% straight woman) and she has red hair, just like Kimmy!

[Gulftastic]

Christina Hendricks was pretty funny in her 'Firefly' appearances. 

[MrsR]

Jon Hamm was Ellie Kemper's  8th grade teacher at an exclusive boarding school in Missouri.

 

For real. Not kidding. You can look it up. 

 

I still have problems with him because of the reveal of his hazing crime when he was a  frat boy. Again, for real, not kidding. You can look it up. But I have to put that aside and just enjoy his work.

 

I did love Lisa Kudrow as Kimmie's mother. Kimmie is definitely a comic descendant of Pheobe Buffay.

Edited April 19, 2016 by MrsR

[Captain Asshat]

I did love Lisa Kudrow as Kimmie's mother. Kimmie is definitely a comic descendant of Pheobe Buffay.

I will believe this *only* if S3 has an episode called "Kimmie Goes Running!", and she demonstrates the unique Phoebe running style.

[helenamonster]

I will believe this *only* if S3 has an episode called "Kimmie Goes Running!", and she demonstrates the unique Phoebe running style.

 

Early on in "Kimmy Goes Outside!" comes pretty close.

 

"We're running! Outside!"

[Empress1]

Well, now we know why Kimmy is afraid of velcro.

 

Jon Hamm was Ellie Kemper's  8th grade teacher at an exclusive boarding school in Missouri.

 

For real. Not kidding. You can look it up. 

She speaks very well of him, too. I think he reached out to her when she started acting as an adult.

 

Am I the only one who kind of thinks the divorce is a non-issue? Even if they are legally married, which I doubt, it's not like she's going to contest it. I mean, certainly she should add that to the list of things to work through in therapy (and she needs to keep going to therapy), but this, like Titus's marriage, can easily be resolved in the first episode of the next season.

[Dots And Stripes]

I've accepted that this show deals with Kimmy's bunker experience in a light hearted way. I just couldn't get over this whole experience of her reconnecting with her mother. I liked Lisa as the mother and I think it was a nice choice to make her sort of a free spirit. They also tried to show that she did care that Kimmy was kidnapped and that she tried to find her for as long as she could. Ok.

 

I still have two issues. 1) Not going to see Kimmy once she realized Kimmy was free. I'm sorry but not wanting an awkward conversation is not good enough and felt lazy. 2) the whole well we'll see each other at Christmas and than awkwardly walking away. That didn't seem to fit the rest of what we saw. Kimmy's mother seemed genuinely happy to see her daughter and then they did talk through some difficult things. It felt like they needed to get rid of her as someone who is not a main character and get Kimmy back to NY. They've been building up the mother daughter reunion for half the season so to dismiss it in a away that felt unauthentic was a let down.

 

Ending on the marriage thing was a real downer. Especially since Kimmy's mother wasn't there and Kimmy seemed to have genuine anxiety at hearing from the Reverend.

 

I liked Jacqueline's personal growth and that she now has a mission. I hope this means we get more David Cross next season. 

[Captain Carrot]

My big problem is that nothing Lori-Ann said justifies leaving her other daughter with a man that probably needs help making a bowl of cereal.

 

Although it does make sense that Kymmi wasn't mentioned. Kimmy was more concerned with confronting her mother about the way that she was treated then she was with a sister she's met twice in her life. And Lori-Ann is an inherently self-centered woman.

[xander874]

Unpopular opinions coming...

 

I am not a fan of Jon Hamm (although he is impossibly good-looking) and I really did not like the trial episodes last season, so I hope this story doesn't drag out too long. I don't mind him in small doses, but I don't want the Reverend driving the storyline next season. Of course, even if she was married to him, it's not like she needs to be in a hurry to end it since he's in jail and she doesn't even have a boyfriend.

 

Also, I am meh on David Cross. They spent so much time talking about how gross his character is, it makes me cringe to see him and Jackie kiss(that beard is a bit much too).  I will say, I am looking forward to Jackie the crusader next year.

 

I hope we will time jump four months with Titus coming back next season because I want to see him actually succeed at the cruise ship thing and maybe even deal with some minor celebrity. Perhaps he can take his Geisha show on tour?

Edited April 25, 2016 by xander874

[OnceSane]

I like Lisa Kudrow, but the whole mother-daughter confrontation fell flat. Though I did like each of them saying, "We're going again!" Also, I'm glad we found out where Kimmy's fear of Velcro began.

I thought Jacqueline truly falling for Russ AND standing up for her heritage was well done. And I LOVED that he understood and just appreciated her giving a damn about something.

Of course Kimmy is married to the Reverend. Bring on Season 3!

[Potanical Pardon]

^^Jon Hamm could probably convince me to do just about anything, no matter how terribly he would fuck up in MadMen I always had a soft spot for him.  

 

That soft spot is not in a place I would talk about in polite company :)

 

Interesting that he had a comedy background, I had only known him from MadMen!

 

Would love it if they got Christina Hendricks to play his new bride, although I'm not sure if she can be as funny, I just think she is gorgeous (and I say this as a 100% straight woman) and she has red hair, just like Kimmy!

 

She's on Another Period right now which is basically a show with every current comedian on it that makes fun of Downton Abbey and period piece entertainment. She's had comedic roles over the years too.

[RCharter]

She's on Another Period right now which is basically a show with every current comedian on it that makes fun of Downton Abbey and period piece entertainment. She's had comedic roles over the years too.

Thats wonderful, I'll try to find it....I really like her and I'm glad to hear she is doing well!

[Lazlo]

I liked this episode, even if I didn't love it.

Lisa Kudrow and Ellie Kemper don't really look anything aike which was a bit distracting, but I thought their bonding was quite sweet and cathartic. I do agree Kymmi should have been brought up.

I don't really get the love for Russ either from Jacquelyn or here - sure he's a do gooder but he's also weak willed and repulsive (during the kiss I couldn't stop thinking about 'stink tongue'. Ugh.) I did love Jacquelyn finding a cause though.

Overall I liked this season a lot. There was some deadweight (Dong is just a very bland character and I wish they had not brought him back) but it managed to be funny and emotionally engaging. Eager to see what happens next.

[DrSpaceman73]

This finale like most of the season I just found OK. 

It wasn't bad, but just not as funny as season one.  Lisa Kudrow as the mom and this episode, had its moments, but I thought it fell flat.  She let her mom off far too easy I thought, even if she can't change the past. 

I would like to see Titus on the cruise ship next season.  And Jon Hamm coming back is promising.  But hats for next season

[Roaster]

I was hoping Kimmy's mother would turn out to be Joan Cusack in a call-back to The Office finale.

[LisaM]

I really liked this episode and all of the cliffhangers (even though I am not a Jon Hamm fan and really didn't like the trial episodes). 

Titus in Titusville cracked me up. I hope that he has some success on the cruise ship and that he and Mikey stay together. I love them together. 

What an about face for Jacqueline! Cracked up at Will Gardner being such an obnoxious ass. Loved seeing Jacqueline, Kimmy and Carol Kane together at dinner. They should have had a bottle of Pinot Noir. 

[thuganomics85]

Not totally surprised that Kimmy's mom was played by Lisa Kudrow, since she was the voice of the fairy godmother in Kimmy's happy place, but it was a nice reveal though.  I'm glad Kimmy hashed it out and seems ready to move on, but I still felt like Lori-Anne painted herself in a better light then she deserved.  While, it was obviously sucks that Kimmy's kidnapping made the town think she was a horrible person and never let her even have a moment to just have fun, she still didn't put for any effort to reunite (I have to think she heard about the rescue somewhere), and it really did seem like she was a distance mother, before the actual kidnapping took place.  I'm not saying Kimmy is wrong to forgive her and move on (each person has their own line), but I still feel like Lori-Anne is kind of dodging responsibility.

Interesting set-ups for the supporting cast next season.  Titus is now officially going on the cruise, after a brief stop in "Titusville."  Lilian meets some fancy donor or whatever, that wants her to run for office in order to stop the hipsters from taking over (this plot will never get old for me.) And Jacqueline finds out that Russ's family owns the Washington Redskins, and now both of them are going to team up and try to change it.  Already loving Josh Charles as Russ' jackass brother.  He's great in these roles (his snooty, prepping counselor from the Wet Hot Summer America series), and I can't wait to see more of him.  I would pay money to have him team up with Deirdre.

And then there is Kimmy's stuff, with is dealing with the return of Reverend Richard Wayne Gary Wayne.  Not sure how much drama they wrangle out of it, but I'm looking forward to seeing more of Jon Hamm in this role.

Overall, really enjoyed this season and can't wait to see where is goes next.  Also really rooting for Ellie Kemper at the Emmys this year.  She was close to perfection this season.

[aradia22]

I thought it was another great episode.

I think the issue with her mom is that the more emotionally mature decision that Kimmy came to (nothing is going to un-kidnap her and there's nothing her mom could say that would fix everything) doesn't feel satisfying. But that's being an adult when there's complex emotions and a lot of baggage. It's not the sitcom resolutions that we usually get to plotlines week to week. I do hope Kimmy finds a way of digging into her repressed feelings more, whether with Andrea or another therapist. I'm OK with where they left the Lisa Kudrow character. She was a teen mom. She seems to make poor decisions and have trouble dealing with her own issues (see: shouting on roller coasters) so I didn't expect her to stick around or have more to say after they spent those few hours together and yelled at each other on a roller coaster. Again, fictional catharsis is comforting but not how things usually work. You don't have one epiphany and then make a decision and everything ends HEA. 

I like their commitment to bringing Jon Hamm in periodically. It went away a little with the beard but when he was making that phone call, as creepy as the character is... still so handsome.