Here’s
another episode I like (does it tend to go every other? Is that a thing? We’ll see as write-ups go on.) Andrew Rannells does some great work in this
episode, and Jane isn’t even horrible for most of it! Not that it’s perfect, which I’ll get to, but
overall, I put this one in the win column.
Bryan is
on edge when David’s mother comes into town.
She’s never been a fan of Bryan, and David’s attempts to play peacemaker
feel more to Bryan like just making excuses for his mom. Mindful of their baby on the way, David
encourages Bryan to talk with her about their differences. Meanwhile, Jane hooks up with Piper’s brother
from Orange is the New Black (I love
going back to shows and discovering guest stars I didn’t get to know until
later) and is a little startled by her own potential for sexual pleasure.
I’ll
start with Jane first, just so I can move on to the meat of the episode. This might be one of her best storylines in
the whole series, if only because she doesn’t spend most of it going out of her
way to offend people. While the message
about older people still being sexually vital is maybe hammered home a bit too
hard, Ellen Barkin plays it very well, and her frustration at not being able to
consult Dr. Oz on her “petit mal seizure” (a.k.a. orgasm) is fun.
But I
really love the A-plot with Bryan, David, and David’s mother. I like that they go with her mostly being
cold to Bryan, acting generally dismissive of him and occasionally making
little digs that could mostly be explained away as “jokes.” It’s more believable than open hostility
would be (a la Ruby and Bow on Black-ish,)
and in some ways, it probably makes it even harder for Bryan to deal with,
because it’s so easy for others to downplay.
And yet, when you bring David into it, it’s not as simple as him being
on his mom’s “side.” Throughout the
episode, it’s clear that he cares about both very much and typically goes to
bat more for whoever’s at a disadvantage at the moment, albeit fairly
subtly. So, when they’re out for dinner
with his mom, he talks Bryan up, and when Bryan later tries to address the
issue with him in private, David tries to soften Bryan’s take on his mother’s
behavior. Again, this makes for a better
story than David being 100% Team Mom.
The
episode has tons to offer when it comes to Rannells being awesome. I love when, in the aforementioned
out-for-dinner scene, Bryan grabs the waiter and flatly informs him, “I’m going
to be needing dessert for dinner” – it’s an utterly-relatable line, and it
perfectly expresses what sort of torment Bryan is in. His reaction shots in that whole scene are
excellent, and when he and David’s mom do
have that talk, he’s wonderful. Bryan
spends much of the episode on the defensive, and I like how we see him taking
some of his go-to traits, like his cavalier bon mots or his wild self-absorbed
claims, and employing them as protective measures against this woman who he
feels really mistreats him.
So, lots
of defensiveness – muttered comebacks, huge swigs of wine for courage, steeling
himself against stings by preparing a witty reposte – but we get more open
vulnerability too, when Bryan is alone with David. This is something I really like about
Bryan. While he can be glib, shallow,
and over-dramatic, he can also have a surprising amount of emotional maturity,
and when there’s an issue between him and David, he’s often the one to bring it
up first and be really honest about his feelings. To be sure, there are times when David thinks
Bryan is being too insensitive, is over-reacting, etc., but it’s to Bryan’s
credit that he generally doesn’t brush things away or pretend he’s fine when
he’s not; communication is an important part of the guys’ relationship, and
Bryan does a lot to keep those lines open.
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