Another concept episode, but it’s a little more grounded and has more relevance to the ongoing plot than “Nick Starr.” It’s similar to the Planned Parenthood episode from season 2 in that it features a series of vignettes knit together by a framing device. However, this one stays more focused on the immediate lives of the characters, and the different fantasy sequences in each one are comedic breaks, not the focal point of the entire vignette.
When the news comes out that DeVon is “divorcing” Devin and it’s rumored to be because she wouldn’t give him a hand job, all the kids have hand stuff on the brain. Jay is eager to please when Lola asks him to finger her, despite not knowing what he’s doing. Meeting Aiden’s friends makes Matthew worry that he and Aiden should be further along physically. Andrew, noting that Nick is in need of some serious stress release, offers to show him “the Glouberman method” of masturbation. And Jessi feels pressured to help out when her 9th-grade boyfriend Michael Angelo (yes, really) is “suffering” from blue balls.
This is a great episode. I enjoy the framing device of Devin and DeVon’s “divorce.” Throughout, everyone is following the “story” on social media – OMG, Devin, “Please respect my privacy as I livestream for 12 hours and take questions from literally anyone” – and we get another DeVon-is-secretly-an-old-man joke, which I always love.
Each vignette does a great job of 1) bringing the funny, 2) playing around with different fantasy sequences, and 3) examining a different aspect of sexual exploration, pleasure, and consent. Of course Jay gets terrible fingering advice from his brothers (“You wanna get as many fingers in there as possible,” “obviously,”) and I adore Lola’s sultry, “That is cliterally my clitoris!” Andrew’s Bob-Fosse-style rundown of his patented “17-step” masturbation method is hilarious, with multiple checks of the door lock sprinkled in throughout the process. And Jessi’s story is a good continuation of the interplay between her Hormone Monster, Depression Kitty, and Anxiety Mosquito, with Connie surprisingly being the voice of reason urging Jessi not to do something she doesn’t want to do as the others whisper in her ear that Michael Angelo will break up with her if she doesn’t “help him.” Also, how great is Connie exclaiming, “They have a blue-balls ward? Where are our free tampons?!?”
Andrew Rannells/Matthew gets a whole vignette to himself. Listening to Aiden’s friends, who claim that every gay guy they know is “hand-jobbing” and straight people are prudes for being uptight about it, Matthew gets insecure about his relationship with Aiden, even as he doesn’t feel ready to do it himself. His fantasy sequence is Maury’s episode of Spunk History, looking at the history of LGBTQ discrimination, which Maury uses to argue that it’s Matthew’s sworn duty to be sexually active in honor of his persecuted “gay forefathers.”
This is probably the best job the show has done so far of threading the needle when it comes to Matthew’s sexuality. I’ve noted before that they pull their punches with him compared to the other kids, and I did notice that, when he and Aiden make out, they’re still more often drawn with their mouths closed than other kids are. This storyline allows him to be a little more explicit, actively talking about sex stuff and displaying the same kind of cluelessness that many of the straight kids have, talking a big game while also not knowing what he’s doing and being a little freaked out by the whole idea. The resolution of the story is nice, and the ending tag on it hints at least one more Matthew-centric plot this season.
I continue to enjoy seeing Maury with Matthew. Their dynamic is so different than Maury and Andrew, and Rannells and Nick Kroll play really well off of each other. I love a scene in which they’re discussing the whole handjob dilemma and Maury interrupts Matthew to butter him up. The timing and delivery between them is just impeccable. “Okay, so you’re saying is that as a young gay man –” “who’s so hot and who I love so much,” “– Thank you….” Good stuff.
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