This was a fun episode. It’s the second in a row where Matthew is in a major subplot, but it’s also the second in a row where Jay is definitely taking the lead in their story. And in a surprising first, this Book of Rannells post doubles as an Other Doctor Lives post, thanks to an appearance from Twelfth Doctor Peter Capaldi!
The kids do DNA and ancestry testing in science class, which leads to certain developments. Nick learns that he’s Scottish, but that uncovers a part of his dad’s past that he wants hidden. Jay discovers that he has a half-brother, and he hopes for a second chance at familial love. When Missy and Elijah, the boy she has a crush on, learn that they both have Nigerian ancestry, he invites her to a local Jamaican restaurant (there aren’t any Nigerian restaurants in Bridgton) for “research,” and Missy isn’t sure if it’s a date or not. Meanwhile, a Love Bug has shown up in Andrew’s life, but undiluted Andrew proves to be a bit much for him.
Other shows have done the “parent has an outlandish secret past” storyline, and Big Mouth does it well. Given what we learn, both Nick and his dad’s reactions to it make sense. And really, the very idea of Nick’s dad having deep dark secrets seems wild—as Nick points out to his mom, “How is anything off-limits here? Dad talks about eating you out, like, every day.”
I’m enjoying this Missy storyline. I know she and Andrew had a thing in the early seasons, but watching her (and Mona) be gaga over Elijah is hilarious. She’s adorably, ridiculously nervous during their is-this-a-date? outing, and at one point, the words, “You terracotta be kidding me!” come out of her mouth—bless. And it’s interesting that Elijah is a devout Christian who’s super into youth group, because even before Mona came along, Missy was pretty unapologetically horny. I’m curious to see where these two go.
To be honest, I watched this episode (and a later one from this season) without even realizing Peter Capaldi was in it. But he is, popping up in flashbacks regarding Nick’s dad’s secret past in Scotland. He only has a few lines in a couple of brief sequences, but I enjoy Capaldi’s delivery on the phrase “extremely specific calluses.”
Given that, again, it took me a couple episodes before I learned Peter Capaldi was on this show, that means it isn’t the last we see of this character. Since Nick’s storyline in this episode is all about the secret life his dad has hidden from him, I’ll save the details on that for a future Other Doctor Lives / Book of Rannells post.
Moving on to the Andrew Rannells of it all, Matthew is very much a function in Jay’s plot in this episode. Jay is eager to introduce Matthew to his family, exclaiming, “If I’m the same-sex lover of the hottest guy in my school, there’s no way they can neglect me!” (I love the delivery on Rannells’s response, “Oh honey, your logic is heartbreaking.”) But of course, with Jay’s abysmal home life, that doesn’t exactly work out the way he wants, so he’s excited when he learns that his dad has fathered other kids, since that gives him a do-over on introducing Matthew to his family.
He's very focused on Matthew in all this, but it’s clear that it’s really about his desire for a family that loves and cares about him—Matthew just becomes a symbol for that. So while Jay is running around concocting plans, releasing doves from his backpack (yes,) and swinging into Matthew’s bedroom window (just go with it,) Matthew is left mainly to react.
One thing I will say: this storyline certainly reflects Matthew’s personal growth as a character, because there’s no way the bitchily superior kid from the early seasons would put up with this kind of havoc, especially not without mocking Jay mercilessly for it. But Matthew is actually a fairly good, supportive boyfriend, gently trying to dissuade Jay from getting his hopes up while reluctantly going along with his increasingly manic schemes.
So once again, Matthew has screen time but not exactly focus. It still works, because Rannells gives great reads on reaction lines, and his “I can’t believe this is actually happening” air blends amusingly with Jay Mantzoukas’s chaotic mayhem, but I do hope Matthew doesn’t spend the whole season playing second fiddle to Jay.
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