You're the Worst 3.1: "Try Real Hard"

Chris: Well let’s start off with a couple interesting things within the episode and they all revolve around Gretchen walking over to the Hispanic church service. First of all, the security guard outside the door when she leaves the club to walk across the street is the same bouncer she hooked up with in season one when she was trying to get even with Jimmy. I appreciate that even though he didn’t have any lines, the guard still look surprised and a little nervous when he realised it was Gretchen that walked by him. Secondly, Lucha Underground fans should have noticed that the minister of the Hispanic church is none other than the man in charge of LU, Dario Cueto. All your kayfabe is broken. And finally, as another reference that the church wasn’t there a week ago and will be something else soon, the name of the church is Iglasia Mas o Menos which translates to “Church...more or less.” I know these things are inconsequential to the plot of this episode but the little attention to detail is something I’ve always appreciated and can go a long way into getting me invested in a show. Also, I Deserve to Be Blown Before the Jacuzzi is a song that is easier to get stuck in your head than you may think.

Alexa: As uncaring as Jimmy and Gretchen like to appear, they really are oddly sweet together. And after the strain their relationship faced for much of last season, it’s refreshing to see this dynamic between them again. It’s a pretty momentous thing for such cynical people to say “I love you,” which makes the first time Jimmy says it sober all the more meaningful. His slow realization that saying “I love you” doesn’t have to be a lifelong commitment is kind of adorable. Aya Cash deservedly earned a lot of praise for her performance in season two, but it’s little moments like this one where Chris Geere really shines in an understated way. Jimmy plays the part of the pompous ass much of the time, but underneath his prickly exterior, he actually does have a heart, and Geere manages to convey those moments in a way that feels totally genuine to Jimmy’s character without undermining his less favorable qualities. In other news, Lindsay has gone full crazy. I didn’t expect her reunion with Paul to go well, but I also didn’t expect her to literally stab him in the back. I don’t know where this storyline is going, but I don’t see a scenario in which these two actually become parents.

Joel: By having the “I love you” moment bridge the end of season two into the beginning of season three, You’re the Worst manages to have its cake and eat it too. At the end of the last season, we get the perfect, sweet little moment that tugs at all the right heart strings exactly the way an “I love you moment is supposed to.” And then the show manages to pull off a great “I’m not ready to say that.” storyline despite the fact that we know both characters have already said it.

A large part of the Jimmy and Gretchen part of this episode feels like we’re back to form with these characters with Jimmy obsessing over something silly that Gretchen does (not wash her legs), and Gretchen executing an elaborate, but poorly thought out plan to trick Jimmy into doing something (get drunk enough to say “I love you”). What’s really great though, is how all of these scenes, which feel like very funny but standard You’re The Worst scenes on first viewing, come into a new light at the end of the episode when Gretchen realized that Jimmy’s actions are saying he loves her even if his words aren’t. Jimmy is invested in Gretchen like never before. He not only wants to know everything about her, but has follow up questions as well. While it’s funny enough that Jimmy is more focused on the bible camp than the owl in Gretchen’s owl attack story, it also adds a layer of sweetness to that scene to realize that Jimmy is more focused on the part of her story that most affects their relationship. Remember that moment at the end of last season where both characters try to look at each other and not look at each other at the same time? (If you don’t remember, they do the same thing at the end of the theme song every week.) This whole episode is like the verbal version of that. Jimmy is ready to build a stronger, more permanent relationship with Gretchen, one that he’s invested in. He may not realize that himself, but both of these characters are starting to take steps to be in this for the long haul.

One of the great things that You’re the Worst does is really take the time to show different types of terrible people. Yes, you can look at most of the characters on the show and see how their flaws are more often than not their defining characteristics, but the types of flaws that are explored on the show are widely varied. Each character is “the worst” in their own special way, and in this particular week, we get to delve into Paul’s flaws like we haven’t before. Paul is really one of the few truly sympathetic characters in the show along with Edgar. Most of the time he seems more like a person trapped in life by these terrible people instead of being the one causing the terribleness in any given situation. This episode however, maybe for the first time, we get a story between Lindsay and Paul where Lindsay is portrayed as the sympathetic character.

Paul seems to be doing a good thing in this move. He gets rid of all of his “nerd stuff” and anything that took his time away from focusing on Lindsay. Setting aside the fact that it’s healthy for people to have personal interests and hobbies outside their relationship, Paul’s gesture seems to be one that will help strengthen the relationship between the two of them. Of course Paul replaces all of his “Paul hobbies” with a new “Paul hobby” only this one is one that he forces Lindsay to be a part of. As much has Paul has been portrayed as a victim of his relationship with Lindsay, here we see his selfish tendencies coming to light as well.

Paul still doesn’t seem to know who Lindsay is as a person. After two seasons there’s no question that Lindsay would never have any interest in a couples meal delivery service. That’s just not the kind of person she is. There’s even added heartbreak because Lindsay is genuinely excited for her present. She sees the possibility of a new chapter in their life, one where they can actually work as a couple and as a family. Paul however, whether he’s aware of it or not, is still trying to force Lindsey into the type of person he wants his wife to be. For the first time really, we get to see Paul as “the worst.” He still doesn’t recognize the issues in his relationship, or that he’s not entirely blameless. Of course he gets stabbed for this so it’s not like Lindsay is the innocent victim in this story.