You're the Worst 2.8: "Spooky Sunday Funday"

Chris: Much like last year’s Sunday Funday, the Spooky version is a problem solver with one major difference, Gretchen’s depression. With Edgar, his problem of being scared to be more intimate with Dorothy was solved because turns out Dorothy is super understanding and cool if Edgar would just communicate. And then Lindsay gets a good pep talk from Buffalo Bill and she feels more able to confront simple adult things that most of us already know. As foreshadowed in the previous episode, Jimmy tried his best to fix Gretchen immediately after she explicitly told him not to. This episode does a good job of showing that depressed individuals can have a good day and do all the things they love doing but the depression is still there, just as strong as it was the day before. However, Jimmy does deserve some applause for growing and not being disinterested in Gretchen’s problems just because they don’t involve him.

Alexa: As soon as Jimmy revealed his plan to pull Gretchen out of her depression with a day full of her favorite things, my heart sank. Poor Jimmy wants so badly to help her, but doesn’t understand that clinical depression isn’t the same as just being sad. Gretchen can have fun - and there are a few moments when she genuinely seems to be enjoying herself - but that doesn’t make her depression go away. It’s obvious Jimmy loves her but I’m not sure he’s equipped to handle such a serious issue in a relationship. And the introduction of this Nina chick certainly seems to indicate my concerns may be valid. It would help, of course, if Gretchen were willing to open up to Jimmy about her depression. I completely understand her frustrations about the notion she needs to be “fixed,” but Jimmy’s experience with depression is clearly limited at best. He doesn’t really comprehend what depression means, but Gretchen isn’t doing anything to educate him by pretending it’s no big deal and everything is fine. That lack of communication will almost certainly damage things between them to some degree. In happier news, the haunted house scene was a riot. It was a hilarious reminder of what skilled physical comedians these guys are. I appreciated it so much more after reviewing the documentary “Haunters” for our Movie of the Week feature a few weeks ago. Nothing about that experience seems fun to me, but I had so much fun watching these characters endure it.

Joel: Oh, boy this whole episode was based around Jimmy planning a fun day that would “fix” Gretchen’s depression, which means that the whole episode was like watching all the pieces fall into place for a disaster that you knew was coming and had no way to stop it. It’s frustrating to watch unfold, because it’s clear that Jimmy has put a lot of thought and work into this Sunday Funday and it really is all for Gretchen. Even in Jimmy’s most honest moments it’s clear that his motivation behind putting all of this together is because, in his mind, Gretchen is sad and he wants to do everything he can to make her happy. It isn’t that he’s annoyed with her mood, or trying to get things back to the status quo that he likes. His genuine goal is to make Gretchen happy and puts her first. Unfortunately, Jimmy’s entire plan is based on a gross lack of understanding of clinical depression and thus we end the episode with the train wreck that we knew was coming since the beginning.

It’s easy to feel for both characters in this episode. For Jimmy, it’s hard to see someone you care about going through this and unable to help. Jimmy’s desire to help should be viewed as a positive thing as his actions in this episode are some of the least selfish things that he’s done so far in the series. Unfortunately, Jimmy is probably not the first, or tenth, person to try and fix Gretchen thinking that the solution to clinical depression is nothing more than an fun time and a few good jokes. Gretchen yelling at Jimmy that he can’t fix her is completely expected, and unfortunately so is her decision that it will just be easier to fake being better for Jimmy. At every turn in this episode, the best of intentions lead to bad ideas, and this feels like it’s setting up for a much bigger issue down the line.

On one other note, Lindsay trapped in a Silence of the Lambs style hole might be the best scene for this character so far. It’s one of the funniest moments of the episode, and it fits the character and the moment perfectly. As Paul says in this episode, giving up on things is a defining character trait for Lindsay and her getting tortured and just letting it happen is a perfect visual representation for that, leading to her would be torturer trying to help her get her power back on.