You're the Worst 2.5: "We Can Do Better Than This"

Chris: I like the idea of characters being aware that all they talk about is the opposite sex in some fashion and we finally see some of them have a desire to branch out to create depth within themselves. The only problem being that there's very little depth to be explored, as least in the case of Lindsay but God bless them, they're trying. And it's not like Gretchen doesn't have more depth to her, because she does. It's just that whatever she's got going on in her brain right now leaves very little room for anything else complicated. So she may desire to talk about something else but once Lindsay makes an attempt, Gretchen realizes how taxing all of that is and just brings them both back down to their usual thing.

Alexa: I’m so curious to know what the connection is between “You’re the Worst” and “NCIS: Los Angeles,” as frequently as the latter show is referenced. Do the creators know someone involved with the production or are they just massive superfans? In any case, Jimmy navigating the task of writing a novelization with such seriousness is hilarious to watch. But even more hilarious is, once again, Kether Donohue. The notion that the only thing standing between Lindsay and anything resembling intelligence is her obsession with men is comedic gold. But as this subplot proves, Lindsay being an informed citizen of the world is a dangerous thing in its own way. Still, I died laughing watching her try to discuss Benghazi and other global affairs with Gretchen with such enthusiasm. Still, the old self-involved Lindsay will no doubt be back now that Edgar has his sights set on another woman. But amid the steady stream of jokes about improv and current events and 11-year-old Jimmy’s flair for erotic fiction, Gretchen’s issues that were alluded to in the previous episode are absent until the very end, when Jimmy notices her sneak out. I don’t know how long the show will keep us in the dark about whatever is going on with her, but I’m curious where this development will lead.

Joel: Jimmy defines so much of his personality around things that he doesn’t like, or perhaps more specifically, thing that he doesn’t like because he feels like they’re below his refined sense of quality. This is the second time in this show that Jimmy dismisses something as stupid, and shows up with a printed out list of pre-planned heckles only to become fully taken with whatever thing he had showed up to make fun of. (For those keeping count, the first time this happened was at the book reading with Sandra Bernhard, and the improv show was the second time.)
As much as he wants to believe this about himself, Jimmy does not have traditionally refined tastes in entertainment. Half of this episode is about how much he loves NCIS:LA. He wants to believe he’s refined. He wants people to be impressed with his taste in art and his opinions on high brow literature, but because he is so focused on coming across as highly cultured, he often misses out on things that he would genuinely enjoy.

This may be a good time to mention the fact that I (as well as Chris) have a podcast about professional wrestling. Yes, the kind that gets called fake, and is constantly the butt of jokes about the lowest form of entertainment. I can say, I understand Jimmy’s desire to appear well cultured. For a long time, I would have felt morally superior to anyone who considered themselves a wrestling fan, publicly or privately. However, if your main focus isn’t what looks good to others, you can find there is a whole slew of amazing entertainment that you’re missing out on just because you’d be embarrassed to admit, even to yourself, that you might like it.  It’s easy to make fun of improv comedy, but there’s a reason that Whose Line is it Anyway? was one of the biggest shows of the 1990s and why the show was successfully revived years later. Yes, there is a lot of terrible improv out there, but 95% of everything is crap.
There’s no reason to force yourself to enjoy something that’s terrible, but more importantly there’s no reason to deny yourself something you would actually enjoy just because you think it might be perceived as low brow. Think about things you think you hate that are enjoyed by millions of people (wrestling for me, improv for Jimmy, whatever for you). There’s a reason that millions of people enjoy that thing, and there’s a good chance you’re missing something. Sure you may genuinely dislike whatever it is, nothing is for everyone, but there is so much amazing weird, off the wall, crazy, interesting things out there to experience, that you could be missing out on, just because you want to come across as refined to strangers who don’t know you and don’t care about you.