Other Doctor Lives: Big Mouth: Season 6, Episode 6 – “The Apple Brooch” (2022)

*One spoiler from episode 5.*

Okay, here’s something: a Big Mouth episode that is only Other Doctor Lives, not The Book of Rannells. Matthew/Andrew Rannells isn’t around this episode, but Seamus/Peter Capaldi is, albeit briefly.

Everyone is going gaga over the Apple Brooch, the latest whizbang gadget/status symbol. When Jessi’s mom, who’s insecure over Jessi bonding with her dad’s girlfriend, buys her an Apple Brooch in the hopes of gaining her affection, the other kids at school go into jealousy overdrive. Meanwhile, Missy deals with the unresolved sexual tension of “taking things slow” with Elijah.

The Apple Brooch stuff isn’t as deep as some of the topical subjects the show has explored—or even Nick’s previous “abusive relationship” with his phone—but it’s entertaining. Maury’s bought an Apple Brooch for his baby-turned-toddler Montel, and when Andrew questions why a toddler would even need one, they snap, “It’s not about using it, it’s about having it, you pear-shaped peasant!” Later on, Andrew and Nick are at the Apple Store and Andrew remarks, “Yum, yum! Look at all these innovative products that do roughly the same thing but in different shapes and sizes.”

Missy’s plot is great. Mona is very unsure about the whole taking-it-slow thing, exclaiming, “You, my dear, are sex poor!”, but Missy insists that it simply makes innocuous interactions that much sexier. She says this makes it like Bridgerton, which, from my understanding, makes it sound like she’s definitely never seen Bridgerton. But it gives us some entertaining dream sequences and the terrific line, “Elijah didn’t even have to touch you to send you all the way to Shondaland!”

We briefly check in with Seamus. While coming to Nick’s rescue in the last episode, Elliot realized that Seamus has been living in unsafe, unsanitary conditions and has brought him back to stay with the Birches. Naturally, this is a nightmare, with Seamus rudely insulting and making demands of everyone (and still peeing in empty beer cans—this plot remains very gross.)

Although this follows directly from the last episode, it’s just a jumping-off point to get to Nick’s main story today, which is that his mom has forbidden him to get an Apple Brooch, given how aggravated she is to have Seamus there. So Peter Capaldi is just in one scene, but he definitely gets the job done. Seamus is vile and stirring up all kinds of trouble in the family, which is sure to be ongoing. And for his take on the Apple Brooch, he sneers, “What a worthless piece of shite for rich, spoiled bitches!”

Now that I’ve had a few episodes to get used to it, I can recognize Capaldi better. Seamus’s voice isn’t the same as his, but I can at least tell that it’s him.