S04.E07: The Barbecue

[ElectricBoogaloo]

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The Roses plan a barbecue; David confronts his comfort level with Patrick; Alexis investigates a mysterious text.

Edited February 28, 2018 by ElectricBoogaloo

[PWHCHCH]

I think Patrick is my new fav TV character. This episode was great!! Hope the issues can sort themselves out soon! 

[Fake Jan Brady]

Rachel's ex being Patrick was such a great reveal; I did not see that coming. ["Who is she? I glanced down at my plate for two seconds"]

I love this show.

[RHJunkie]

Love the Rachel/Patrick twist. I felt the awkwardness emanating from Alexis when she dropped in on Ted to fish around on information about the text. While the fan in me is impatient to see the storyline move forward, I also appreciate the realism of having Alexis/Ted interactions spread out - they no longer work together and he's in a relationship so there's little reason that she should be seeing him often anyway.

[weightyghost]

This show continuously makes me laugh out laugh. Then the scene with David/Patrick at the end gutted me. It was handled so well. Between David "well thats the most beautiful thing anyone has ever said' but still needing time, and then Patrick's shakey voice as he left. 

[Clare]

I love how happy they all are for David.  The scene at the beginning when they came in to bring him the cookie was so sweet.  The family has become so close.  

The last few episodes have made me love Patrick and David so much.  David still asking for the plate of sliders and the sides had me cracking up.

[BusyOctober]

I missed what the text said in the last scene....I assume that was Alexis’ phone & it was Ted?  

Loving Patrick on his own as a character, but the coupling of David and Patrick is growing on me too.  

Catherine O’Hara continues to slay me every week.  Loved her delivery when discussing David’s previous “long term relationship”....”She was in prison,dear.”  

[weightyghost]

57 minutes ago, BusyOctober said:

I missed what the text said in the last scene....I assume that was Alexis’ phone & it was Ted?  

Yep, it was something along the lines of "it was nice to see you today :)" 

[LilWharveyGal]

This episode reminded me how hilarious David and Stevie can be.  I wish they had more scenes together.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Clips:

Four months

Girl talk

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Patrick & Stevie: breakups

[jcin617]

I love this show, and I love David and Patrick, but why do shows feel the need to throw obstacles in the way of their romances?  You can write a lot of funny (and dramatic) stories around getting to know each other and the humor in being opposites without the clichéd drama.

That said, the way David left it by asking for food and such made me think it's not intended to be a huge roadblock.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

35 minutes ago, jcin617 said:

the way David left it by asking for food and such made me think it's not intended to be a huge roadblock.

I think that David asking for food was less about how open he was to reconciling with Patrick and more about David being David. I'm pretty sure his attitude was something along the lines of "just because I'm mad at you doesn't mean I'm going to deprive myself of food when I'm hungry but I don't want to deal with my family yet so you can go fetch me some food while I hide in here and decide what to do."

[iMonrey]

Nooooooooooooo! Not Patrick and David! Anything but that! Man I hope they can work this out. 

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I love this show, and I love David and Patrick, but why do shows feel the need to throw obstacles in the way of their romances?  

I don't like it either, but to be fair, at some point I would want to know more about Patrick's history. The first time he and David kissed he admitted he'd never done that with a guy before. So obviously there's a story to tell. I just hope it doesn't come between them.

[cleo]

So I guess I'm in the minority, but I really dislike the emphasis on the relationships. And esp Patrick and David. There was something in the episode last week and this week with the cookie which just felt like the stories were Dan Levy's wish fulfilment or something. Too self indulgent, just set up to have Patrick adore him. 

Asking Patrick to get him food after was a jerk move.

[Pamela]

David and Patrick are my current favourite tv couple. Hopefully, this is just a small bump in the road.

(And David asking Patrick to bring him "a smattering of everything" is so perfectly David.)

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Inside the episode:

[strippedhalo]

17 hours ago, cleo said:

Too self indulgent, just set up to have Patrick adore him. 

I really love David and Patrick (together and as individuals), but I can see this. I found it weird that David would view it as SUCH a betrayal that Patrick wouldn't have told him about an engagement that ended before David and Patrick even met. Maybe they were going for the betrayal being about the fact that his ex was still texting him, but it seemed to me like they made it clear that Patrick wasn't interested in Rachel anymore and had not been leading her on. Maybe my betrayal threshold is just set really high, IDK.

Was there something in a previous episode (the one where they borrowed Stevie's apartment for the night) where David asked about Patrick's previous relationships and Patrick either brushed it off or said they'd talk about it later? I feel like there might have been but can't remember.

In any case, David is our main character (of the two) and he's clearly an oddball with an unfortunate relationship history, so I don't mind seeing Patrick adore him, but I would also like to see some evidence of the reverse - David doing sweet things for Patrick would be really cute, and I'm sure David's definition of "sweet things" would be amusing.

[Jordan61]

17 hours ago, cleo said:

So I guess I'm in the minority, but I really dislike the emphasis on the relationships. And esp Patrick and David. 

I agree, I think because I really enjoyed this show as the fish-out-of-water story it started out as. I loved David working at the Blouse Barn, and Johnny's office at Bob's garage. Plus I really like David best in small doses and this season has been too heavily focused on him. But then again I can't stand Moira and everyone else loves her so, I'm Miss Unpopular Opinion.

[iMonrey]

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There was something in the episode last week and this week with the cookie which just felt like the stories were Dan Levy's wish fulfilment or something. 

But . . . David doesn't want the mushy stuff like giant cookies, or inviting Patrick to family gatherings. He's been trying to keep his distance in a way. 

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I found it weird that David would view it as SUCH a betrayal that Patrick wouldn't have told him about an engagement that ended before David and Patrick even met.

It had more to do with the fact that David had just expressed to Patrick his objections and Patrick gave him this song and dance about trusting and being more comfortable. He got David to let his guard down just at the wrong moment. 

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Was there something in a previous episode (the one where they borrowed Stevie's apartment for the night) where David asked about Patrick's previous relationships and Patrick either brushed it off or said they'd talk about it later? I feel like there might have been but can't remember.

Yeah, because what's-his-name dropped by (the wood-working guy both he and Stevie dated) which brought up the issue of past relationships. The both decided to table the discussion because they had limited time in the apartment.

[Enginerd]

I also don't see why David felt so betrayed. What's the big deal? Yes, having been engaged is a bigger deal than just having dated other people, but it was in the past; Patrick had broken it off and moved away and had no interest in responding to Rachel's attempts to connect. And it sounds like it was a half-hearted vague engagement at best, if they'd been off and on repeatedly. There was no betrayal of trust! Unless they'd actually had a conversation at some point where Patrick said he'd shared with David every important detail of his dating history but he left that out. It isn't a crime to leave past things in the past; you don't have to discuss EVERYTHING, when you've only been together 4 months.

 

For that matter, Rachel needs to get some self-respect. Why would you want to be with a guy who has to be coerced into it and lured back, who's already made it clear he doesn't want to be with you?

Mostly I was looking for signs of the improvement plan Alexis had for the motel. Why is all that hideous decor still all over the lobby? I would have hauled all that to the dumpster first thing.

[dstv]

I don’t think this is ultimately supposed to be a “betrayal”. But remember, when Rachel showed up at the table, the statement that she was Patrick’s fiancée was originally made in *present tense* (Alexis said “Patrick is your fiancée?”  Not “ex-?“, or “was?”, but IS).  And Patrick leading with “what are you doing here” would not have helped. So, despite the ultimate explanation being much less serious, that first shock of “the boyfriend who has been telling me to trust him  is cheating on me and secretly engaged to someone else” has *already happened*, regardless, and that emotional hit would be what David is reacting to, not the idea that Patrick broke an engagement before they met. 

[Enginerd]

29 minutes ago, dstv said:

I don’t think this is ultimately supposed to be a “betrayal”. But remember, when Rachel showed up at the table, the statement that she was Patrick’s fiancée was originally made in *present tense* (Alexis said “Patrick is your fiancée?”  Not “ex-?“, or “was?”, but IS).  And Patrick leading with “what are you doing here” would not have helped. So, despite the ultimate explanation being much less serious, that first shock of “the boyfriend who has been telling me to trust him  is cheating on me and secretly engaged to someone else” has *already happened*, regardless, and that emotional hit would be what David is reacting to, not the idea that Patrick broke an engagement before they met. 

But he stayed locked in his room all evening after Patrick explained the situation. Is he not capable of calming down and recalibrating?

[dstv]

1 minute ago, Enginerd said:

But he stayed locked in his room all evening after Patrick explained the situation. Is he not capable of calming down and recalibrating?

Well,he did explicitly say he’s “damaged goods” and needed some time, so...my feeling is, eventually, but not that night?

[Tanichka]

Boy, this show is not doin' it for me.  What a waste of Eugene and Catherine.  Daniel Levy needs to find a new profession.  Talk about annoying.

[Mrsjumbo]

On 3/9/2018 at 2:01 PM, Jordan61 said:

I agree, I think because I really enjoyed this show as the fish-out-of-water story it started out as. I loved David working at the Blouse Barn, and Johnny's office at Bob's garage. Plus I really like David best in small doses and this season has been too heavily focused on him. But then again I can't stand Moira and everyone else loves her so, I'm Miss Unpopular Opinion.

The relationships kind of bore me, I don’t want to watch a soap opera. Love the “fish out of water” aspect of the Roses vs everyone else in the town.

I’ll disagree about Moira, she’s my favorite & consistently makes me laugh.

[Catfi9ht]

I realize this is an old, dead thread but just poking my head in for a couple of things.

In the "Behind the Scenes" video, Dan Levy says something to the effect of "Can we just stop writing crazy ex-girlfriend storylines in tv, raise the bar for writing expectations, and give female actors something better to do?"

I completely agree, and I think it's why I love this show so much. It doesn't rely on alot of outdated tropes and writes silly, over-the-top, and complex characters.

On 3/9/2018 at 4:57 PM, Enginerd said:

I also don't see why David felt so betrayed. What's the big deal? Yes, having been engaged is a bigger deal than just having dated other people, but it was in the past; Patrick had broken it off and moved away and had no interest in responding to Rachel's attempts to connect. And it sounds like it was a half-hearted vague engagement at best, if they'd been off and on repeatedly. There was no betrayal of trust! Unless they'd actually had a conversation at some point where Patrick said he'd shared with David every important detail of his dating history but he left that out. It isn't a crime to leave past things in the past; you don't have to discuss EVERYTHING, when you've only been together 4 months.

What hit home for me was there was a very quick line that Patrick said she had been trying to get ahold of him for the past few months which was obviously while Patrick and David were dating. I think that sin of omission after the "trust talk" that Patrick gave David would be enough to get anyone upset not to mention for people with abandonment issues like David has.

[rlc]

‘Carnies are people, too.’

[rippleintime17]

I am just catching up with this show and I kind of get why David was upset. It seems like four months should be enough time to reveal that you had once been engaged? And after falling hard for Patrick after the Open Mic performance, I felt upset with him too! I haven't watched the next episode yet but while I'm pulling for Patrick and hope David gets over this after his initial hurt, I think David was fair to be upset and "shame eat" his way through his feelings for a bit. 

I think I also reacted this way to this because Alexis had just been in a similar situation. Did Ted never tell Heather that he had proposed to Alexis? C'mon, nice guys! 

[Iseut]

I thought it was also a big step for David to say out loud to Patrick "I'm damaged goods!" It broke my heart a little bit, actually, but I think that it's something he's probably not used to admitting. In previous relationships, he probably just left or at least covered up his pain with snark. But for him to be able to admit to Patrick why he's not okay and that he needs time shows a lot of emotional growth and the value that he places on that relationship. And then the anguished food request on top it made me laugh through the wrenched heart. 

I love love love the slow and steady growth that this show allows for its characters and relationships.

[Kate47]

I've actually done the whole "can you grab me some..." thing in the middle of an argument, so that rang really true to me. It's like this thing where you're really emotionally hurt but at the same time you are who you are and you need time to process something but also your stomach is growling like a mother. It also gives kind of a layer that David is not going to shut Patrick out entirely, he just honestly needs time to decide how badly he's hurt and how to proceed going forward.

[festivus]

The bit at the beginning when David said he wouldn't invite Patrick to eat charred meat with this group of carnies was the most I've laughed so far at this show. Even Roland had a funny moment. Loved this ep.