TV Retrospective: "Togetherness" - Season 2

Scene from Togetherness
Earlier this month, it was announced that Togetherness was going to end its run after its second season. It seems to be the way things go, especially when considering the fate of other HBO indie comedy series including former Sunday partner Looking and the fall of Girls next year. However, there was always something odd and different in workhorses Mark and Jay Duplass' series about 30-somethings who run into an array of relationship problems. They almost seemed too old to be paired with the younger, edgier shows. Yet that doesn't mean that it had one thing going for it. The show still had plenty of raunchiness, but it also had sentimentality on a weekly basis that most shows miss. In fact, it is possibly one of the best short lived series in HBO's history.
As the title suggests, the series attempts to understand why anyone would be together. After a great first season that saw the main couple (played by Mark Duplass and Melanie Lynskey) fall apart, this season picks up on them trying to formulate their lives and their passions. One wants to pursue a ridiculous low budget play of "Dune" while the other is forced to raise a family and deal with the complicated politics of her child's school. In fact, this is when the show is at its best. Where last season found joy in the discomfort of the characters sharing a room together, the second season finds joy in experiencing life by occasionally throwing caution to the wind.
If there's one fault, it's that the series had shorter seasons than almost every other show on the network. At only eight episodes, it allowed for the stories to be simpler and more condensed while allowing the characters to riff off of each other and better understand their chemistry. The particular highlight comes in Amanda Peet's performance as Lynskey's sister. Over the course of the season, she finds a desire to be a mother despite developing grief that even in her late 30's, she is too old to have them. To watch the sister characters talk and bond over a lingering sense of more responsibility is one of the show's strengths and serves as the emotional core of why the show works. The plots aren't particularly memorable, but the small moments excel in many other ways.
This is generally why the show may have not been as accessible as the other HBO indie comedies. With exception to some ambitious uses of nudity, the series was more nuanced in small ways, such as Duplass' choice to date an Uber driver (played by Amy Adair) and pursue a project that overall seems rather ridiculous. In fact, this season is possibly less immediate than the first, especially thanks to the regressive nature of the male characters and the somewhat meandering arc of the sisters. The jokes aren't as prevalent, but that doesn't mean that the writing or acting is bad. It simply became an assured version of the Duplass Brothers' directorial films where characters talking trumps anything else.
Yet what is possibly the best part of the series is that the writing was slight and came in the final stretch. Following a few meandering episodes, Togetherness manages to unite the characters and critique their judgment calls. As great as Lynskey's drive was, she is inevitably undone by another mother's bigger influence. Duplass is wanting to pull off a ridiculous production that will likely fail. Everyone in some ways ends the season on a bad note. However, it's the unity of the final two episodes that ends up shining, especially as Duplass' affair with an Uber driver comes to the surface while he steals sand from a beach (you know, for his "Dune" production). What's probably a little frustrating for some is the lack of action that follows, as the conflicts are resolved in the familiar old bickering of a married couple. 
The final episode may be one of the better surprise finales since The United States of Tara rushed Tara off to a mental institution as Supertramp plays. By the end, the adults realize that even if they're incompatible, they need to sacrifice their foolishness for the child. A "Dune" production turns into a creative arts project for kids, which solves Lynskey's problems in part. It's a moment that lingers on nothing in particular, showing children smiling and having fun - something that's been largely absent from the season. By the end, the adults learn that sometimes they're being too petty and need to just put aside differences, if just for a little while. It's a sweet moment, and one that the series was very good at.
In the echelon of HBO comedies, it doesn't seem likely that Togetherness will be as iconic as Sex and the City or Curb Your Enthusiasm. Then again, it never really strove to reinvent the wheel. Of course, the Duplass Brothers are so proficient (they had another series on HBO simultaneously called Animals) that they're not starved for work. Still, it's sad to see such an endearing and unique show end, especially as it represented a demographic who rarely gets their due. Being a 30-something isn't easy, and sometimes it's a little uncomfortable. However, Togetherness managed to ride the balance between the age bracket's many problematic features with a certain class that made it consistently one of the best series on TV. It's sad to see it go, especially with such a unique and stellar cast. Even then, one can be thankful that it ended before it got bad, and that's not all that bad of a legacy to have.


RATING: 4 out of 5
OVERALL RATING: 4 out of 5

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