Welcome to the TV Recap series on the FXX original series You're the Worst. Join me every Thursday to unravel the chaos of TV's greatest/worst romantic couple as they try to get their lives together. Will this be the week that everything works out? Who cares. As long as they don't miss Sunday Funday, everything will be fine. So get your trash juice ready and prepare to do what normal people don't do as I review the plot and other major points from throughout the season. Hope you're ready. If not, too bad. We're doing this anyways.
“I miss our Largo days.”
- Gretchen (Aya Cash)
Gretchen (Aya Cash) begins to grow fond for the life of her neighbors. They appear to have everything together. They have a family, and are trying to get their daughter into a prestigious school. As she stalks them around the city, she adopts a lot of their traits, feeling happiness from the idea of responsibility. During one occasion, she decides to steal their dog and goes to a dog park, at which she is praised for having a dog. She feels content with herself, especially as she realizes the downside to Jimmy (Chris Geere) and Edgar's (Desmin Borges) mundane lifestyle. When she goes to return the dog, she gets a crushing reality that the reason that they're happy is because they settled for the simple life. They're disappointed in not being able to congregate together and do childish things. When Gretchen picks up on that, she becomes depressed once again, realizing that she'll not be able to achieve that in her current state.
WVP:
The Neighbors
Is there anything more detestable than envying your neighbors? It's the old saying that the grass is greener on the other side. In fact, it's likely several shades greener on the neighbors' side, where they have a great family and seem to have happiness figured out. For Gretchen, it is the answer to her depression. She wants to achieve that success and feel like she is wanted. As it stands, she has nothing by comparison. Her longing drives her to stalk and steal their dog for an afternoon. They give her the best advice, which is also the harshest. It only throws her further into the depression. Is it really worth discovering how much greener the grass is if there's some unpleasant truths about why that is? Probably not. It'll only make you sadder.
Worst Moment
"Do you like LCD Soundsystem?" While this quote may seem like a random thing to say and name the episode after, it speaks volumes of the episode's underlying theme. Gretchen doesn't want to give up being cool and young, but she wants to have that happiness that her neighbors do. LCD Soundsystem's thematic style focused on the aging perspective as they fall out of love with youthful things. It's the driving force that makes for one of the series' most crushing moments. She tries to flirt with the neighbor, thinking that it will give her happiness to be accepted by them. Even though it does, she's still unhappy. She's realized that she's stuck in a crushing hole that is destroying her esteem. While the final frame of Gretchen crying towards the camera is the most damaging, it's the preceding scene that releases a nightmare of emotion the likes of which have been building all season and have unveiled this series to be darker and more complex than anyone cared to think.
Was This the Worst?
I don't know how Stephen Falk has done it, but three episodes in a row with nearly flawless results; all dealing with depression. While it shouldn't seem like the resource for a great comedy series, it ends up entering some uncomfortable and fascinating territory that is more human and perplexing. While the show has prided itself on being abrasive, it's interesting to see it form emotions and give us, for the first time, a look into the life of one character. Gretchen has slowly become one of the most interesting characters on TV, and this arc regarding depression has only gotten more honest and more amazingly written. Provided that the season can stick the landing with the rest of the episodes, this may not only go down as a better season than the already great first season. It may also just be one of the best seasons of TV period. Depression and comedy have never been so boldly and jarringly placed alongside each other with brilliant results.
Rating: 5 out of 5
Comments
Post a Comment