Episode
2, I think, improves a fair amount on the pilot. It runs with the better aspects of the pilot
while smoothing out some of its rougher parts, and on the whole it feels
tighter and flows better. This is a fun
one.
While
waiting to see if Goldie’s implantation took, David and Bryan both have their
own mini-freakouts about how their lives will change if they become dads. After David’s straight buddies with kids
demand to know why he’d wreck the good, carefree thing he has going, David
starts to worry if he’s really ready.
Bryan, meanwhile, has a hard time coping when he discovers a
permanent-marker drawing on his couch, presumably made by Goldie’s young
daughter Shania.
The guys
doubting their readiness for fatherhood is realistic and relatable, even if it
seems like they would’ve (and probably should’ve) done more of this before starting the actual process of
conceiving a child. And though it’s only
the second episode, their reactions seem fairly in character for both of them –
David tries to reason his way through it, like he thinks if he can just be in
control enough, he can logic the issue away, and Bryan is fancifully dramatic
but ultimately gets things figured out.
The
episode is also helped by the delightful weirdness of Shania, her obsession
with Grey Gardens, and her fantastic
Little Edie impersonation. It’s one of
the most noteworthy things I remember about watching the show back when it
first aired, and I still love it. It’s
just such a wonderfully-offbeat quirk for a child to have, and it’s the start
of Shania being very much her own sort of oddball, which offsets the typical
precocious-kids archetype. Additionally,
Jane isn’t less offensive here (she
makes an especially ugly crack about Obama, that we used to have presidents who
would’ve owned this president,) but there’s less of her, which makes it easier to take.
Bryan and
David’s relationship continues to be a highlight. You lose sight of how many TV couples,
especially on sitcoms, only seem to stand each other for the last two minutes
of any given episode, so that when you see two characters that clearly love
each other a lot, it really pops. Sure,
they disagree, bicker, and tease, but the love is always first and
foremost. Is episode 2 too soon to show
a flashback of their meet-cute?
Probably, but it’s so lovely and cute that I don’t mind, goofy hair and
all.
The show
is figuring out Bryan’s character a little more, and Andrew Rannells plays it
wonderfully. I love the knowing cheek
they give to his vanity, musing that he’s decided he’s not going to age because
“it just seems so expected.” Bryan’s
interactions with Shania are great in this episode too, both his “dad practice”
in trying to talking to her about the couch issue and their unexpected
bonding. They have a fun back-and-forth
and just seem to get each other, making for an entertaining dynamic on the show
going forward.
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