Chris: That distraught mess I was hoping to find Jimmy in during the previous episode was unfortunately exactly how we found Gretchen. The previous episode focused on soley Jimmy and what he’s been up to so it makes perfect sense that part 2 catches us up on the rest of the main cast. As much of a mess that is Gretchen right now, I have to admit that I’m impressed that she’s at least still taking her medication and skyping with her therapist on a regular basis. It would’ve been terribly easy for her to fall out of those habits. It is incredibly weird to see Edgar and Lindsay as the individuals that has their respective lives together. When Lindsay and Edgar first hooked up, I initially groaned because I knew that would be terrible for both of them but the more I thought about it, the more I think it could work out. Because who are we kidding? Friends with benefits never works or never lasts that long. Either they give up and just start to flat out date each other or someone gets their feelings hurt and end the friendship altogether. And speaking of groaning, I was hoping we were done forever with Tye but I guess I was wrong. In the end, breakups are hard even if done amicably because all those places you like going to becomes terrifying because of the prospect of running into your recent ex. As you saw with Gretchen, the very thought of such a thing can be debilitating.
Alexa: As much of a hot mess as Gretchen understandably is post-breakup, I’m glad to see the show isn’t just having her wallow. Yes, she is obviously devastated, but Gretchen isn’t one to wear her heart on her sleeve either, and the writers wisely use her descent for some new comedic opportunities. Aya Cash leans into that brilliantly, and you can’t help but laugh at her and feel sorry for her at the same time (see the scene in which she chases Lindsay down an alley while sing-shouting “One Week” by Barenaked Ladies). And I guess I knew she would go back to stupid Ty but I was still hoping it wouldn’t happen. Elsewhere, Lindsay and Edgar are way more interesting this season. Between their career moves and Lindsay finally living on her own, they have a lot of new territory to explore and it’s reinvigorating their characters after they spent all last season in dead-end relationships. It was inevitable that Edgar and Lindsay would hook up eventually, but I don’t know where exactly that storyline is heading. At this point in their lives though, I think it kind of works. If we have more interactions like “let’s take a break from sex to do an hour of productive work before hopping back into bed” then I’m totally on board.
Joel: I know that this is pretty much the same concept as the previous episode, done for the other half of the main relationship, but I ended up liking this one a lot more than the “Jimmy” based episode. Maybe it’s because Edgar and Lindsay are a part of this one as well. There are three characters that I have invested history with in this episode as opposed to just one. This also helps to make Jimmy’s vanishing act at the end of the last season feel more messy. Not only did he abandon Gretchen, but he vanished without a trace from the lives of everyone around him. It would be so easy to focus on how Gretchen has been dealing with Jimmy running away, and that gets plenty of time, but I like how we don’t gloss over the fact that Jimmy has abandoned everyone else as well, particularly Edgar. Second to Gretchen, Edgar probably had the biggest life change when it became clear that Jimmy was gone. In some ways, Jimmy’s disappearance was even more of a mystery to Edgar than to Gretchen. Gretchen at least could tie down Jimmy running away to an exact moment and as a response to a specific thing. Even if there was no way to rationalize Jimmy’s actions or understand why he did what he did, it had to be even stranger to be in Edgar’s shoes and just have Jimmy not come home one night. And who knows how much information Gretchen gave Edgar, or how helpful or coherent any of that information would have been.
Speaking of Gretchen, it’s really great that her emotional state in this episode is distinctly different to what we saw in season two. In this episode, Gretchen hasn’t gone outside in months, has developed an obsession with daytime radio, and is clearly experiencing some level of breakdown over Jimmy abandoning her, and it would have been easy to just revert to “depressed Gretchen” the way we saw her before. This is a different situation however, and it’s good that the show recognizes that. I also appreciate that she brings up how she’s not sure if she’s still engaged or not. After all, the question was asked and answered. Since there was no additional communication past that point, what does that technically mean? I’m no expert on the finer points of engagement rules, but I like that we’re acknowledging that the events of the show have landed us in a weird gray area.
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