S03.E02: Fix Me, Dummy

[Tara Ariano]

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Gretchen begins therapy; Jimmy's confidence weakens at work; and Lindsay neglects Paul.

[Jodithgrace]

Wow...was I the only one who saw this episode?

I really didn't care for the scenes of Lindsay "nursing" Paul. Why is he not in the hospital? Why is she not in jail? There is a line between selfish stupidity and sociopathic behavior and Lindsay crossed that line for me. He could seriously die of infection and she is treating him like a doll with whom she is playing nurse on a five year old level.

Gretchen's reaction to therapy was pretty much as expected. And of course Jimmy is going to freak out while waiting for his novel to be accepted or rejected. His book sounds horrendous, doesn't it?

 I really enjoyed Eduardo's helping the homeless vets with his comedy.

But over all the Lindsay plot gave me such a bad taste in my mouth, it colored the entire episode.

Maybe I should have skipped it like everybody else.

[Whimsy]

23 hours ago, Jodithgrace said:

Why is she not in jail

Somehow Paul thinks he backed into her.  Which, makes absolutely no sense since he didn't move and Lindsey immediately went back to her spot on the other side.  If he had really backed into her she would've been right there and said "OMG, are you ok?". 

I just caught up on both episodes.  I still like this.  For some reason Gretchen's reactions to the therapist are cracking me up. 

Jimmy's book sounds absolutely horrendous!  That's why it's hilarious.  "It's literature" and his two-way mirrored siblings and the jizzing on stockings just don't go together. 

Edited September 9, 2016 by GenL
ETA: Jazzing and Jizzing are NOT the same thing.

[AlliMo]

Well, Paul managed to marry Lindsey while ignoring every glaringly obvious warning sign about her instability and immaturity , and to remain oblivious throughout their marriage, so it doesn't seem at all unrealistic to me that he would let her convince him that he just backed into her. He may be outwardly nicer than she is, but in many ways he's just as self absorbed and deluded.

I love Jimmy's non-reaction to Edgar's girlfriend moving out, as he clearly had never bothered to notice that she's moved in.

[Irlandesa]

I'm guessing Lindsay and Paul did go to the hospital.  She was giving him pills which looked prescribed. It was so very Lindsay for her to interpret "take responsibility" as a sign to apologize for leaving Paul alone all day instead of for stabbing him.  BTW, Paul getting that DVD in the player was kinda badass. 

Jimmy's "book" was what made me laugh the most.  It's so terrible.

[FurryFury]

Loved this one, aside from Paul/Lindsey scenes (she really is the worst of the title, not that I have that much pity for Paul). I have experience with both depression and therapy, so this was quite relatable to me. The therapist was fun, too. I also loved that Jimmy was basically the B-plot of the episode and Gretchen got more meaty stuff.

[MaggieG]

What was Lindsey doing to Paul's wound? It didn't look like she was treating it, it looked like she was making it worse.

Jimmy's books sounds a little nuts, a bunch of themes thrown together. I wonder how long Gretchen will wait until she tells him about his dad.

Funniest line of the night was when Edgar was asking for suggestions from the homeless people, one guy says "Cookies" and the other guys says "Demon Rape". Edgar's response: "I heard cookies." That cracked me up.

[Jodithgrace]

I've done improv for many years and that  is the classic response to inappropriate suggestions from the audience. That's why it made me laugh.

[blixie]

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It didn't look like she was treating it, it looked like she was making it worse.

I think she was changing the packing, which there is no way she cut him that deep, it went in like half and inch, and she was pulling gauze like he was run through by a sword. IDK I think Paul revealed himself to not only be clueless, but just as big of an asshole as the rest of them by dumping his very compatible girlfriend to reunite with trainwreck Lindsey, so I'm enjoying her cycling between aggressive resentment and mildly annoying guilt. Her complete relief when taking responsibility absolved her was hilarious.

As was Edgar's, "I *heard* COOKIES!" I like that he's not spiraling fast, and is finding healthy way to cope with going off his meds. I imagine it will eventually get hairy, but I kind of hope there is swerve in that story. 

Jimmy moving from indifference to Edgar's notes to paying focus group to help him with his pitch was great. Also glad to see Gretchen working to manage her depression if not "fix" it.  I have to say I really hope I get some Becca/Vernon soon, and I need to know what happened with his financial dominatrix debt. 

[JustaPerson]

Jimmy and Gretchen were so normal and couple-y this episode! Well, for them anyway. Loved that Jimmy went with Gretchen on her first therapy session, though of course he took it over to talk about himself. Cracked up when Gretchen was casually giving Jimmy a hand job while Dorothy was in the room.

[scrb]

Are there many people around 30 who try to remain hipsters forever, aggressively deriding the notion of growing up?

Eduardo is trying but it would get old if he remains dysfunctionally damaged through this season.

We see that Gretchen's car matches her apartment (or maybe they showed it before).

Lindsay feels guilty and the others are pretty matter of fact about what she did, so maybe her character will show some change too.

[Jade Foxx]

2 hours ago, scrb said:

 

Are there many people around 30 who try to remain hipsters forever, aggressively deriding the notion of growing up?

 

YES

[FurryFury]

4 hours ago, scrb said:

Are there many people around 30 who try to remain hipsters forever, aggressively deriding the notion of growing up?

Absolutely. I sorta am like that myself.

[wendyg]

There are many, many eople who think "growing up" means a life of boring adulthood, yes. Some people are even proud of not doing it. These people are not role models for that approach to life.

blixie: Yes, and was it twins?

[thegreatfireofrome]

This Lindsay plot may be one of the darkest things I've ever seen on tv. I cannot think of another show in this era that's played domestic abuse from the abuser's perspective, or another show ever that's done it with this gravity and as comedy. I remember all the articles last year leading up to season 2 saying they were going to go dark, and really explore some shit. Clinical depression was definitely a bold shot to cover, but it's not anywhere as gruesome as this. Seeing the immediate post-abuse gaslighting/reality revising was even more stomach turning than the actual stabbing.

So excited to see Samira Wiley enter, I've been pumped about this for months. Everything was great, really, but I'm just so goddamn struck with this Lindsay thing. I had to give myself little "holy fuck" breaks to finish this episode. Minor note: I have never fully liked Dorothy, even in her and Edgar's sweet moments, and I'm definitely feeling that ultimately she can't handle him. Not that her insight about his friendship with Jimmy or relationship to comedy haven't been valuable. But, it is possible to love someone with PTSD, and the key is to be pretty consistently tuned in to them when you're with them. (Not a bad rule for a relationship in the first place.) And we've seen her fail at that in minor ways, a lot.

[tennisgurl]

Samira Wiley! Being awesome and looking beautiful. So happy we get to see more of her, and I like Gretchen in therapy. I love that she is really making an effort to deal with not just her clinical depression, but her other issues. She has found herself in a better place with her depression, and she is in a stable (if nontraditional) relationship with a person she loves, and now she can actually work on her issues. 

Jimmy and his terrible sounding book was hilarious, as was him asking random people for their thoughts on his book. Which sounds delightfully pretentious and very Jimmy ish. But it looks like things are going to be getting more real, with his dad being dead now, and Gretchen might try to keep it from him. I would be alright with Jimmy getting some non Gretchen related issues to deal with, now that Gretchen has had her big emotional arc. 

This Lindsay plot is...weird. I would like to get some real context into why Paul ever reall fell for Lindsay, or why he is so desperate to stay with this woman who is pretty clearly not right for him, even ignoring the fact that she LITERALLY STABBED HIM WITH A KNIFE! Even ignoring that tiny detail, they are just not a couple that works. I really wonder where the writers are going with this. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Loved Gretchen's therapy session with Jimmy going on and on about his book proposal while Gretchen sat on the floor in the corner texting. I also loved the delighted look on Jimmy's face when Gretchen started swearing up and down at her therapist.

Jimmy's book sounds soooooooo terrible but it's funny to hear all the snippets of horrible plots. Edgar was so sweet to make such a thorough list of notes. Even though Jimmy initially felt attacked by it, we know it's because Edgar really cares and wants to help Jimmy. It was great to see the evolution of Jimmy being defensive to actively seeking out more feedback from the randos on the street.

The two best things about the Paul/Lindsey plot this week were Paul getting that last DVD into the player (maybe he should take up frisbee golf as his new hobby!) and Lindsey running around town in that nurse outfit like it was totally normal.

Even though it was silly, I totally cracked up when Gretchen's therapist caught her in the parking lot and Gretchen's lame excuse was that she was making out with Lindsey and then Lindsey leaned over to start making out with her (still in her nurse costume, of course).

I am not a Dorothy fan either, but I feel like she's still trying to make things work with Edgar instead of just giving up and running away, so I give her some credit. You could tell that she was annoyed Edgar was supposed to be helping her move but was off making signs for the homeless guys, but I thought she handled it well when she suggested that he help her finish moving and then he could use the boxes to make more signs. I really thought Edgar's motivation for helping them was that he saw he could end up being one of them if he stays off his meds. I know your sex life is important, but just flushing your meds and going cold turkey doesn't seem the best way to deal with the situation.

Edited September 12, 2016 by ElectricBoogaloo

[scrb]

What was the deal they teased Lindsay and Edgar for most of two seasons or rather she teased him and then she goes back to that neb and they get Edgar a replacement gf?

[wendyg]

Jimmy and Gretchen told Edgar that pursuing Lindsay would be a disaster, but it was great entertainment for them. That kind of pushed him to decide going after her wasn't a good idea. It was quite a bit later that Lindsay went back to Paul.