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S04.E06: There's Always a Back Door


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The "farce" back n' forth between Gretchen and Boon was the kind of sitcom trope I think is beneath this show. But Gretchen's conflict was a very real element for single people dating in their 30s. I was happy to see her address and discuss the issue than trying to avoid it.

MRA Paul is so dumb but made me laugh. It's exactly how Paul would act trying to fit in with that crowd. I think we got our second visual meme representation this week with Paul as Richard Spencer being punched. I only wish it was Edgar doing the punching.

The closing music was on point again

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Who punched Paul? I saw it happen, but no idea who did it. 

The writers need to get together and figure out who Lindsey is. She seems a different character each week and it's really aggravating. 

Lindsey and Edgar are getting a little too rom com for me. Oh why, why won't they just see how right they are for each other? It don't fit the show it's on. 

Gretchen wasn't mean this week. That's good. But Jimmy did fight for her. More than once. He's doing it now. And I know we all want someone to fight for us so I can understand what she's saying and how hard she's trying to convince herself, but Boone was just taking out the trash. 

While manic Jimmy was fun, I liked RealizingJimmy! at the end. Maybe he'll just ask her to move out -- give her back the rent she paid -- and let them both move on.  Not much of a show if that happens, but he seems to be getting there. 

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1 hour ago, whiporee said:

Who punched Paul? I saw it happen, but no idea who did it. 

I think it was one of the women Paul referred to as lesbians.

1 hour ago, whiporee said:

Lindsey and Edgar are getting a little too rom com for me. Oh why, why won't they just see how right they are for each other? It don't fit the show it's on. 

Ditto.  Part of my problem is that I have long believed that they wouldn't work together so I'm trying to adjust but not succeeding.

1 hour ago, whiporee said:

Gretchen wasn't mean this week.

Oh yes she was.  In fact, she did one of the most reprehensible things she has done on this show.  She ate Lindsay's coworkers lunch.  Awful. Just awful.

1 hour ago, whiporee said:

But Jimmy did fight for her.

Yep.  She may be mad at him now, rightfully, but I think the pop up tent he put up for her instead of leaving with the bar chick while Gretchen was in deep depression remains the most romantic moment of the show for me.

Edited by Irlandesa
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And going back to the end of s1, he also fought for her when she wanted to end things because of the fight or finding the ring or both.

Speaking of which, that ring misunderstanding from s1 was kind of a similar sitcommy trope as the Olivia misunderstanding.

The AV Club review really nailed what made this episode so sad for me:

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it quickly reveals a subtler core: Everyone’s outgrowing each other, and they’re only slowly realizing it. “There’s Always A Back Door” captures the moment of transition when relationships begin to die and new ones begin to form.

Jimmy might be in real pain but rejecting Edgar was really tremendously shitty of him.

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4 hours ago, arc said:

Jimmy might be in real pain but rejecting Edgar was really tremendously shitty of him.

I thought Edgar was more in the wrong there than Jimmy. He was pushing for a relationship Jimmy clearly didn't want, and if he were paying attention to the person he considers his friend, he would have known this was not something Jimmy would go for. Plus, it felt a lot more like a come-on than a request for friendship. And for the record, jimmy was talking and taking, it just wasn't the kind of deep connection Edgar was looking for, or the connection Edgar thought they should have after listening to his coworkers. There wasn't a lot that was sincere or genuine in what Edgar was asking -- it was going through some sort of motions he thought he was supposed to do.

And to that point, I actually thought Jimmy was almost kind in being direct with him.  I was expecting some sort of shenanigans abut Jimmy thinking it was Edgar's confession of love, but Jimmy saw what Edgar was trying to do and was honest with him. 

One other thing popped into my head this morning as I thought about the show: why does Gretchen not feel like she should have to fight for Jimmy? If that's a part of her romantic imaging, why doesn't she feel like she should have to reciprocate? 

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9 hours ago, whiporee said:

The writers need to get together and figure out who Lindsey is. She seems a different character each week and it's really aggravating. 

Lindsey and Edgar are getting a little too rom com for me. Oh why, why won't they just see how right they are for each other? It don't fit the show it's on. 

Agreed on there being a different version of Lindsey every week.

I desperately don't want to see her with Edgar, though, because I can't forget that Lindsey has proven to be an utterly monstrous human being time and time again. I wish they hadn't made her so awful last season.

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I just wasn't feeling this episode for some reason.  For the life of me, I just don't sympathize with Gretchen, like at all.   I did kind of chuckle at her not being able to say the word "guilt," kind of like the Fonz not being able to say "sorry," but the thing is, I am not sure she did feel guilty.  It was fun and games sneaking around with what she assumed to be a married man, but then the kid gave her pause.  But she seemed more freaked out about the fact of a kid then she did because she was contributing to the "family" dysfunction.  And even after that, all it took was a completely messed up pep talk from Lindsay and she was all back in the saddle.  And having extremely loud sex with the new guy in Jimmy's room while she knows he is home, just yuck.  I'm not sure if I'm supposed to find all the revenge tactics funny, but I don't.  What Jimmy did was awful and maybe unforgivable, but if that's the case then I wish she would just completely walk away.  I agree that Jimmy has fought for her, but instead of forcing the new guy to "fight" for her, I wish she would maybe ask herself WHY no one ever fights for her, sheesh.  She has almost no self-awareness and I just can't warm to her much.

Speaking of Lindsay, even the most socially inept person must know that you are often a different person at work than you are with your closest friends and that's a good thing.  She and Gretchen should stop exchanging advice and pep-talks since their friendship seems to be more toxic than not.  I also thought it was kind of weird that she texted Jimmy to let him know that Gretchen and the guy broke up.  If she thinks that Jimmy is good for Gretchen (and for the most part I think he is), then I wish she would mention that instead of giving her the rah-rah speech about banging the married guy.  I know that they are the WORST, but they seem to be getting even more so.

Who knew that Paul, who I have loathed, would give me the most laughs out of the episode?  MRAs are complete creeps, but I have to admit if anyone can send a guy over that edge, it would probably be Lindsay LOL!  "And noooo, I"m not gonna rape you!!"  I laughed a little more than I should have at that.  When Vernon and Jimmy are looking at you like you've gone to far, its bad.   And I know that I shouldn't feel this bad for Jimmy, but I do.  Maybe its the beard.

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"No one ever fought for me" was a misstep for sure given Jimmy staying with Gretchen during her depression.

The directing was really odd again this week. I don't claim to know good directing from bad directing, it just feels ... weird. The rhythm of the dialogue is also off. They're either trying too hard with the "hella" stuff or there are lines of filler that didn't used to be there. 

So not interested in Boone. The show works best when Jimmy and Gretchen are more or less together, even when it's "less".

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10 hours ago, whiporee said:

And to that point, I actually thought Jimmy was almost kind in being direct with him.  I was expecting some sort of shenanigans abut Jimmy thinking it was Edgar's confession of love, but Jimmy saw what Edgar was trying to do and was honest with him. 

I read that scene very differently - it definitely seemed to me like Jimmy thought it was a confession of love. 

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Plus, it felt a lot more like a come-on than a request for friendship. 

I, too, thought Jimmy misunderstood Edgar's intentions and thought he was propositioning him. However, once Edgar left and the other guys got to talking, it did seem as though Jimmy understood what Edgar was really after.

I guess I'm the worst, because I laughed at Lindsey's pedophile joke. I'm sick like that.

I kept expecting Lindsey to walk in and see "the new" Paul and be into him again.

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Gretchen acted relatively human this week, for a change. It's about time. 

Why would Jimmy think Edgar was propositioning him? There is no reason to assume this, given everything Jimmy knows of Edgar. I think he knew exactly what Edgar wanted and was sternly rejecting it. 

And of course this show made Paul a MRA and a dumbass. Because there is no other way to see men's rights. 

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At this point, I just want Gretchen and Jimmy to figure it out already. But while we're still dealing with Boone, I have to say that I am really enjoying Colin Ferguson. His performance has this slightly off-kilter quality that tickles me.

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On ‎10‎/‎7‎/‎2017 at 11:17 PM, Pamela said:

But while we're still dealing with Boone, I have to say that I am really enjoying Colin Ferguson. His performance has this slightly off-kilter quality that tickles me.

I love Colin Ferguson so I'm tickled that he's on this show and I really don't mind Boone at all.  But, he's relatively normal so we all know where that's headed...

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