S03.E07: The Only Thing That Helps

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Quote

Gretchen and Jimmy hold an unconventional funeral. Paul struggles to give Lindsay what she needs sexually. Edgar takes a stand against the VA.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Ha, #benfoldsmovestola #benfoldsiseverywhere #benfoldssightings cracked me up!

[BeckyThatcher]

I loved this episode. It hit all the right marks and the final scene was beautiful- painful, filled with love and hurt. No one is untouched by death and Jimmy embracing it, finally, with anger, loss, things that will never be, a parent who was never there but still his dad, a void yet a father. 

 

Plus Lindsey, Ben Folds, and garbage out the front door!

Edited October 13, 2016 by BeckyThatcher

[butterbody]

Yes! I loved how the box kept getting back in the house, and the visible trash piling up when someone opened the front door.

I also sincerely appreciate the way they are honestly showing what our vets go through to use medical marijuana. I am glad the writers have an agenda re: this issue. It's something that needs to be discussed more. I won't get on my soapbox about it again but its important to talk about.

Now, a couple questions because i missed a chunk. What house did Jimmy go to at the end? I wasn't sure if it was significant, or just a random mansion with mean dogs?

Also, is Lindsay still pregnant? Nobody minds her drinking and we've sort of quit talking about it.

Ben's cartoon autograph. Ha. I love self depreciating celebrity cameos. Always fun.

[Megan]

49 minutes ago, butterbody said:

Now, a couple questions because i missed a chunk. What house did Jimmy go to at the end? I wasn't sure if it was significant, or just a random mansion with mean dogs?

I assumed it was Tony Shaloub's house.

[NorthstarATL]

52 minutes ago, butterbody said:

I also sincerely appreciate the way they are honestly showing what our vets go through to use medical marijuana. I am glad the writers have an agenda re: this issue. It's something that needs to be discussed more. I won't get on my soapbox about it again but its important to talk about

The VA stuff was pretty accurate. There IS a problem with getting federal benefits AND buying a drug that is illegal federally, which is why there ought to be a vote by the country about lifting the prohibition on drugs federally, just as happened with alcohol back in the day. The country needs to be aware that this is an issue. (also, and I'll get OFF my soapbox after this, MY people did the country no favors by pushing for "legalizing" gay marriage; marrying someone of the same gender was not a criminal act; smoking or possessing weed IS, as is cooking meth in your garage. The blurring of distinctions hurts subsequent causes.)

 That was supposedly Tony Shalhoub's house where Jimmy dropkicked his Dad's ashes, as requested.

 I thought it was interesting that Jimmy was decidedly unblocked when he wrote with his Dad's ashes present.

Good episode.

[iMonrey]

Hmm. I'm not sure how I feel about this one. On the one hand, the ending did feel genuine. On the other hand, I sort of feel as though the show has succumbed to a cliche. The idea that deep down we all mourn the loss of our mommies and daddies regardless of what assholes they were to us isn't really true, but it's an emotional beat Hollywood can't resist hitting. This idea that somehow Jimmy is "broken" and won't be "fixed" until he cries over his father's death really bugs me if his father was as awful as he says. For a show that has made its mark by being irreverent and breaking all the rules of TV, it's disappointing to think it has fallen back on a sentimental trope.

I know a lot of people will say "Well, that felt real," but for the most part, that's projecting how we would feel about the loss of a parent. So if Jimmy doesn't feel anything (except maybe relief or even glee) he isn't really "dealing." I just think that's a bunch of crap and I kind of wish they hadn't gone there.

On another note, Tim Bagley has officially been on every TV show, ever.

Poor Paul. He really needs to find someone else. Is Lindsay still pregnant???

[fauntleroy]

Edgar is too painfully dopey and passive. Why? Don't know if it's from PTSD but come on man, spend ten minutes on google.  This for example. If pot helps you then get it off-market or get a med card and shut up about it.  Asking somebody at the friggin VA of all places is just clueless. Doesn't he know other vets to talk to?

Agree with iMonrey, not keen on the crying as catharsis daddy sentiment. Just another reason not to like Jimmy. Is there anything not awful about him? Don't know what Gretchen sees in him. Paul should dump Lindsay - she is an idiot, useless, and doesn't respect him - I could do without either character.

I like Gretchen in spite of the stupid depression story from last season. Which came out of left field.  Maybe because Aya Cash can't help but come off smart and fresh in spite of the script making her be "the worst".

[butterbody]

I think it would be natural to ask the VA first about marijuana because it seems reasonable, but where I live, the VA will drug test you if they suspect you're using marijuana, and then cut off your benefits if you are. Because of HIPAA, you don't have to tell the VA when you have your card, but there is always that fear that you will get caught.

Seriously does anyone know if Lindsay is still pregnant?

[JustaPerson]

I agree that children don't always have to mourn crappy parents, but I think in Jimmy's case he always deep down hoped he and his father would eventually connect somehow. Especially the way his bravado when calling his father to announce the sale of his latest novel crumbled into a childlike "I sold a book Daddy..!" It seemed more like a reality when his father admitted that he always had trouble understanding Jimmy but was still proud of him, only for Jimmy to be faced with the reality of their relationship when his father didn't even have the courtesy to tell his son that he was dying. I think for Jimmy it was that last confirmation that his father was a) gone, b) a crappy dad, and c) that they would never have the chance to have a real relationship (not probable that would have really happened anyway). 

Edited October 14, 2016 by JustaPerson

[iMonrey]

Agreed, Justa. As I said, it did feel genuine. However, I still kind of wish they hadn't gone there, because it felt like a cliche. Unpredictability has been the hallmark of this show but I've seen this moment coming ever since Jimmy's father died and Gretchen kept trying to get him to react and grieve. These people are supposed to be "the worst." I prefer they remain unabashedly so, rather than have their tender, squishy moments.

[Traveller519]

I think Jimmy's response hits his beats pretty accurately though. In Jimmy's mind he has everything together. He's in control of his actions and his emotions, but when something picks at him, he comes really unglued rather quickly, usually in an almost obsessive manner. Jimmy was all to aware of the emotional response and kept trying to avoid it, but there was in-surmounting emotion building.

I do agree that the crying was a bit cliche, but I don't know how else they could have played the honesty of the emotion.

[DrSpaceman73]

Well I commented before about Edgar and was critical of him and how he reacted to his doctor, but I am completely on his side with medical MJ and feel exactly the same way as was stated in this episode :  you have tens of thousands if not millions of people getting "medical MJ" as nothing more than an excuse for recreational use where as he has a LEGITIMATE need for it for PTSD, a true pathologic problem.  Its ridiculous it can be legal and then the VA could cut off benefits for them using it.  No idea how true that is, but its not how it should be.

 

But then I think MJ should just be legalized anyway, forget about the "medical" part. 

Lindsay's storyline is just annoying.  "I want to be with you but able to have sex with other guys". Sorry, that's ridiculous.