S03.E11: The Inherent, Unsullied Qualitative Value of Anything

[Tara Ariano]

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Tensions come to a head for Jimmy and Gretchen when they attend a wedding together. Also: Edgar's success threatens his relationship and Lindsay comes clean to Paul.

[wayne67]

Well I can't stand Lindsay any more and I think Jimmy and Gretchen are played out as are the antics of the band post wedding... 

[whiporee]

Jimmy was, perhaps, a bit too strong in his lede. I think it's always better to go with something like "leaves cereal box out" or something when confronted with revealing a list.   

My family has always taken a misquoted Robert Frost poem as our was of dealing with each other -- I shot an arrow in the air, it landed but I know not where -- as the way we have arguments. Once something is said, it cannot be unsaid, and you lose control of it once you do. I don't think either of them meant to hurt the other, but it can't be undone, and it can't always be overcome. 

Gretchen's face before she hid under the covers was amazing.  

[Arynm]

dang! I was expecting a light fluffy episode and then, wham!! Those things they said were a lot deeper than either was expecting I think. Not sure they can come back from that. Not really the right way to tell Paul you had an abortion and are leaving him Lindsey. I am going to need her to smarten up, she is getting tired.

[marny]

I feel sorry for Paul to an extent, but I was livid at his insistence in revealing her pregnancy to the stylist. I get why she cracked. 

[iMonrey]

Last week I was trying to figure out what Dorothy's problem was. So basically she's just jealous that Edgar got a job writing for Doug Benson? Does she know he's only getting paid $300? 

I was excited that the stylist was Carol from Episodes. God I miss that show.

I'm torn about Lindsay. What she did was truly horrible but then . . . the name of this show is You're the Worst. These people are supposed to be horrible. Whether they can reach a level where they're no longer even entertaining is entirely subjective I suppose. I'm sure Lindsay has crossed a line for a lot of the audience. But dammit, Kether Donohue cracks me up.

I'm not sure whether the fact that Jimmy can't see having kids with Gretchen should be a deal breaker. I get that it's a hurtful thing to say, but really - do either of them even want kids? Because, as far as I'm concerned, neither one of them should ever re-produce. They are both so horribly self-involved and damaged I'd fear for any child of theirs. 

And Jimmy is already somewhat successful. He's got a nice house, that's for sure.

This really felt like a season finale, I'm surprised there are two more episodes left. Please don't tell me we have to wait until January for them.

Edited November 11, 2016 by iMonrey

[EdnasEdibles]

Last week I was trying to figure out what Dorothy's problem was. So basically she's just jealous that Edgar got a job writing for Doug Benson? Does she know he's only getting paid $300?

Dorothy has been toiling away in comedy for a while and she taught Edgar. She has to clean houses to pay the bills. But her boyfriend - who has only just recently gotten into this area (and honestly isn't even that funny) was hired to write for a show. Even if he's only getting $300, he's still getting something to put on his resume. Dorothy - who taught him - has to continue to clean houses. And listen to him come up with sketch ideas like "What if someone takes everything literally" - I sympathize with her. I'd have a really hard time being happy for Edgar. 

I'm not sure whether the fact that Jimmy can't see having kids with Gretchen should be a deal breaker. I get that it's a hurtful thing to say, but really - do either of them even want kids? Because, as far as I'm concerned, neither one of them should ever re-produce. They are both so horribly self-involved and damaged I'd fear for any child of theirs.

Agreed! They're both terribly self-involved and there's no way either of them should have any children until they work through their own issues. Jimmy seems to think he's saner than everyone around him but he's just as bad. 

[arc]

It's pretty fitting for an episode that made callbacks to the pilot for Jimmy to go back to his defining character flaw from the pilot: a self-destructive urge towards "complete honesty" that was really just him excusing himself for being a jerk.

Edgar's comedy isn't that funny, and he's being selfish about not recognizing that this is something that really hurts Dorothy. But Stephen Falk did say in an interview that it's important that Edgar gets to be selfish, that he has been quite selfless through the entire run of the show so far.

I 100% agree that Paul should have shut the fuck up about (what he thought was) Lindsay's pregnancy. But yes, also, it is terrible that Lindsay had the abortion without even telling Paul.

I admire the formal ambition of the unbroken take, but I don't see how it contributed that much either comedically or dramatically. Regular editing is fine by me.

[Ottis]

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I admire the formal ambition of the unbroken take, but I don't see how it contributed that much either comedically or dramatically. Regular editing is fine by me.

Like the Very Special Episodes on Gretchen's depression and Edgar's PTSD, the unbroken takes felt like someone had something to get out of their system. It added nothing to the narrative. Nor did whatever the hell that was with the three dudes who were working the wedding, and their drugs.

OK, while Paul probably shouldn't have said anything to the prospective newbie employer about Lindsay being pregnant (from a purely ethical POV, actually he wasn't wrong given the job demanded so much travel), this in no shape or form compares even a tiny bit to his wife aborting their baby without telling him, before OR after.

[iMonrey]

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Nor did whatever the hell that was with the three dudes who were working the wedding, and their drugs.

I forgot all about that. What, if anything, was the show trying to say with this side plot? 

[MaggieG]

Sam cracked me up with his imitation of Honey Nuts leaving a voicemail "Uhh call me back uhh click".

I also don't get what the waiters and cocaine had to do with the plot 

I did feel bad for Paul. He gets ignored the entire wedding and then Lindsay tells him she had an abortion and wants a divorce. 

[arc]

I think the cater waiters and their drugs were just the connective tissue to keep the jokes going while the camera found the next main character.

[wendyg]

I loved the wandering camera. It's how I always feel at weddings, like you spend hours and hours wandering aimlessly talking to people more or less at random, dipping in and out of other people's conversations.

As for Jimmy and success...his finances make no sense to me, and the only way I can explain what's going on is to think that TV screenwriters have no clue how little money novelists generally make. I know many writers, and of them only *one* got a six-figure advance for her first novel. These days, writers in any field who are largely unknown generally get advances of $10,000 or less. Novels may be even *less* because many non-fiction titles are in fields where at least some amount of readers genuinely need the information contained in them. We know from the chronology the show has supplied that Jimmy's first novel is relatively new when season 1 opens - so his money from the novel has to have been from the advance. We saw him get his (presumably) first royalty check, for $17 and change. Now, that's interesting: he would only be getting royalties because the amount of royalties earned has now surpassed the amount of the original advance (which is against royalties). So he *could* now be netting much larger payments if the book is selling well - except that in season 1 it didn't seem to be.

For other income, we've seen him write one magazine piece (which would probably put him out of the running to write for any serious magazine - sleeping with your source is really not considered acceptable) and give up on both research for another author and novelizing CSI: LA. Edgar pays rent by being his servant; Gretchen we only saw pay rent once (but she may have continued). Jimmy seems not to worry about money *at all* - he buys drinks, drugs, groceries, etc., without apparently ever counting the cost.

Now, he presumably sold the "book proposal" (novels don't generally have proposals; they have whole drafts you write on spec unless you have a contract, which Jimmy doesn't, if his agent set up an auction) for serious cash - but then again, that's interesting, too, because how much a publisher will pay for your 2nd novel is usually highly dependent on how well your first one sold, how much of an advance you got, and whether it earned out. Unless, as I guess we're meant to conclude, the publisher thinks your book is wildly commercial and they know just how they can market it. I guess we're supposed to think the book he's working on is of the class of "Fifty Shades of Grey". But that at least had fans already; we've never seen Jimmy write a blog or do anything else online to market himself and his work.

I'm not convinced Gretchen cares whether Jimmy is successful for herself. I think she cares for *his* peace with himself, and also, she was sufficiently hurt by his comment to pick the thing she knew would really sting. But for herself, she was happy in that apartment with the faulty wiring.

[FurryFury]

That was heartbreaking. Fuck you, Jimmy, seriously. I really felt for Gretchen this ep. She may be horrible, but nobody in a relationship deserves to be treated this way. And really, Jimmy? You can't see yourself having children with her? Can you see YOURSELF having children, at all? Because I definitely don't.

Gretchen's issue was a bit more grounded, I think. Made sense and didn't feel as personal and stupid as his.

Kinda hope Paul will be gone for good after this season. Just tired of the horribleness of his marriage to Lindsey.

[Traveller519]

When I first realized they were filming in single shot (I think it was when Shitstain and his wife wandered into the back of one of the shots) I was prepared to be annoyed, "a third concept episode in the short season!" But as it played out I really enjoyed it. It gave you a feeling for the space they were working in, and the commercial breaks allowed them to break up the time. Like wendyg says, it really felt like you were there, wandering among the party. And by the third one it no longer felt heavy handed.

[DrSpaceman73]

The single shot part did not really add much

I don't care about Lindsey.  I realize these are all flawed people and we are supposed to root for them anyway, but she is just a terrible, selfish, manipulative person this season.  I fail to see what I am supposed to feel about her actions recently other than just vile contempt and revulsion. 

The ending paralleling the end of the wedding in the pilot was well done. 

Agree with his "list" was just cruel.  Didn't start with anything small, just go right with a shot to the heart.  Also agree the idea of those two having kids is ridiculous right now.  They can't even care for themselves. 

[msani19]

On 11/16/2016 at 0:15 PM, DrSpaceman73 said:

don't care about Lindsey.  I realize these are all flawed people and we are supposed to root for them anyway, but she is just a terrible, selfish, manipulative person this season.  I fail to see what I am supposed to feel about her actions recently other than just vile contempt and revulsion. 

 

All of this. She's revolting and not in the least bit entertaining, nor can I find anything deeper about her actions. She stinks.