You're the Worst 4.12: "Like People"

Chris: I believe Alexa said it earlier in the season, we want Jimmy to end up back with Gretchen but we want him to earn it. Like People is what it looks like when they get back together momentarily without Jimmy earning it, had he earned it then maybe he wouldn’t have been so angry that Gretchen had a meltdown when she woke up and he wasn’t there. And good for Lindsay for stepping in and helping even when it’s not an easy thing to help with which is a huge sign that she’s progressing and it set things in motion for Boone to do something. Now, Boone is really just asking Gretchen to move in out of desperation from what Lindsay told him but it forces Gretchen to take a long look at exactly what she wants right now. Jimmy is starting to realize the damage he caused to the fullest extent and it’s hitting him how his usual activities are so much worse without Gretchen but accepts that she’s seemingly moved up and not caring about what he does. All of that is until Gretchen sets his car on fire, proving that she does care, even though it’s manifested in anger and destruction.

Alexa: Really, Jimmy? You couldn’t be bothered to leave a note or something? The fact that Jimmy didn’t even think about Gretchen’s reaction if she were to wake up before he got back proves he still has a bit of learning left to do before they can be together. And Gretchen may be starting to forgive him, but she clearly doesn’t trust him yet. As natural as things are between them when they’re together and as much as they belong together long-term, this episode showed they’re not quite ready to be a couple again. That said, Gretchen should obviously not be moving so fast with Boone when she’s in love with Jimmy, especially since her relationship with Boone involves a child who obviously admires her. When Lindsay is the voice of reason, you know you need to get your act together. She is officially the responsible one of the group now. But unfortunately her interference wasn’t enough to snap some sense into Gretchen and Boone, and actually had the opposite effect. If Gretchen actually moves in with Boone, things are surely going to implode spectacularly.

Joel: Of course Jimmy and Gretchen were going to get back together at some point, but they managed to find their own “Jimmy and Gretchen” way of doing that as well. Television couples that break up and get back together, always have to have the long dramatic scene where they get past whatever emotional obstacles have been keeping them apart, to finally once again fall into each other’s arms and return to the perfect couple they were before, to the satisfaction of television audiences everywhere. That’s great for TV, however, in real life, a couple that wants to get back together is far more likely to skip to the “fall into each other's arms” part without ever taking the time to fully go through the emotional baggage part.

This is exactly what Jimmy and Gretchen do, and it ends up coming back to bite them. It feels like the fight between the two of them is the first time they're actually dealing with what happened at the end of the last season. Because of the three month gap where the two didn’t see each other, it feels like every interaction the two of them have had with each other has had some amount of performance surrounding it. Gretchen had to show Jimmy hadn’t really emotionally destroyed her. Jimmy had to maintain that his actions may have been drastic but they were still justified. Both people were concerned of how they came across to the other person instead of trying to express how they really felt.

Now, we finally get to see all of that come down, and see how much the breakup has hurt both parties. Jimmy, for the first time, admits that he has wronged Gretchen, not that he was justifiably reacting to the situation she put him in by using the word family. Gretchen’s reaction as well seemed to come from a place of genuine emotion not one focused on retaliation. It’s a fight that should have happened in the first episode of the season, but of course it too these two till the next to last episode before finally having it. But even as Gretchen says that there’s no future for the two of them, it’s clear that this can finally be a first step to genuine progress in their relationship. And of course, You’re the Worst signifies emotional progress by burning a car.