You're the Worst Season 2 Episode 4 Review: All About That Paper
Caralynn Lippo
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It's been more than a minute and I am still tremendously bothered by this ending. Like, on a personal level.
You're the Worst Season 2 Episode 4 was overall standard You're the Worst fare: it was fun, it was silly, it was absurd, it was occasionally really mean, and it was a little weird. I enjoyed it! It was a good one.
Then they went and ended it on that sequence of Gretchen sneaking out and grabbing her little burner flip phone (Sam's "God" phone?) as Jimmy not-so-soundly dozed beneath his sleep apnea machine! What the heck, show!?
Before jumping in to confront that SUPER concerning ending, let's back up a bit, shall we?
I'll reiterate, I really enjoyed almost all of "All About That Paper." I liked the way the show kept Jimmy and Gretchen apart for the majority. Edgar and Lindsay were similarly off doing their own things, largely separated from one another.
While the "core four" are always great together and I love every bit of their group interactions, it's always enjoyable to see them go off and do their own things every so often – mostly because they then have more opportunity to interact with the stellar supporting cast that we don't get to see quite as often.
Turns out Honeynutz rhymes with Honey BUTTS.
Sam
For example: Sam, Honeynutz and Shitstain! I loved seeing them back. Those three are hilarious. Their fake "rap beef" was really funny, particularly how bad the three of them were at faking said beef.
Sam seeking revenge for Honeynutz and Shitstain dropping their own track behind his back by hacking and erasing Shitstain's Netflix queue? The horror!
Was I the only one who found Edgar's explanation in the veteran's group that he "talked about [Lindsay] with his friends and they didn't think it was a good idea" completely depressing?
Even the group leader clearly had a moment of being taken aback by that statement – even worse, we (the audience) knew firsthand that that' s not really how the conversation had gone at all.
Gretchen and Jimmy hadn't talked to Edgar about it and offered that they thought it was a bad idea! They had basically just ragged on him. That scene where they were mocking how stupid Edgar and Lindsay's future potential children would be kind of hurt my heart a little bit. Oof. Painful.
It also made me nervous that they were bringing up children right when Lindsay was attempting to trap Paul with a baby. I am now utterly terrified that Lindsay will rope Edgar into impregnating her and attempt to pass the baby off as Paul's.
It's like they threw that mocking bit in there as a reminder. "In case you'd forgotten because Jimmy and Gretchen were acting like decent humans for a minute, they are actually mostly awful!"
Side note: Is it terrible that I still really enjoy each of the characters, and the show as a whole, even when they are all being (quite sincerely) the worst? Still trying to wrap my head around that moral quandary and what that says about me as a person.
On that note, I was very happy to see Edgar succeed at improv, though the 2 Nathans (tall and regular-sized) were a couple of weirdos (and not very good at improv, if you ask me).
Unfortunately, Edgar's improv success didn't do him much good in the quest for Lindsay's heart. When he went to visit her, she was too busy trying to inseminate herself with Paul's very old sperm in the most Lindsay way possible (using a microwave... and a turkey baster... and a spatula).
Lindsay: Have fun having hand sex with your girlfriend in the woods!
Paul: If you must know... I'm able to finish with her REGULAR.
Lindsay continued on her recent spree of not being the worst... just the saddest. Yes, it was a little bitchy to blurt out to Amy that she and Paul had had sex while Paul and Amy were together, but she was obviously scrambling.
It was believable, and more of a pitiable move than a terrible one. It was really sad to see her watching that old video of Paul.
Obviously her self-insemination isn't going to work, but I wonder what exactly the fall out from this little subplot is going to be.
I also enjoyed Jimmy's subplot, mostly because Roger Bart was really great as the grade-A weirdo author, Strasburg.
Strasburg: Critique me.
Jimmy: OK, well, the image of the endless Costco aisle seems somewhat derivative of DeLillo.
Strasburg: Get out.
Jimmy's growth as a person is outpacing Gretchen's. He seems to be making real headway in moving forward with his writing career (or at least he's talking about it enough to make it appear as though he's progressing), and this experience with Strasburg really highlighted that.
I also really loved the text interactions and how Jimmy and Gretchen were consistently "checking in" with one another even though they'd mocked that idea earlier that same morning.
Jimmy: Hey, do you want to get a lap dance with me?
Gretchen: Oh, hell yeah I do!
Apparently, though, that was all a little too real for Gretchen. She snuck out on Jimmy in the middle of the night, which can only mean bad things are afoot. My immediate suspicion is that she is cheating on him but I really hope that is wrong. What do you guys think is going on with Gretchen?
Stray Observations:
- This is an incredibly minor point, but I loved that callback when Lindsay referenced the "get-together" of You're the Worst Season 2 Episode 3, instead of calling it a party.
- As uncomfortably callous as Gretchen and Jimmy's mockery of the potential Edgar/Lindsay coupling was, I thought it was too funny that they stuck their hands in poor Edgar's breakfast lasagna, poking around and peeling it back to take a peek at what it was. Boundaries, guys! Yeesh.
- Becca is the worst sister ever! She serves as a great foil to Lindsay and every time she pops up it's a nice little reminder about why Lindsay is the way she is. Vernon is also pretty bad. I can't think of two worse people to be around when getting served with your husband's divorce papers.
- It's a nice little detail that Lindsay doesn't even remotely hate Amy. In fact, she seems to legitimately like her and even admire her.
What did you all think of "All About That Paper"? Are you as concerned about Gretchen and Jimmy's relationship as I am after that ending? Chime in with your comments below and remember to watch You're the Worst online right here at TV Fanatic!
Caralynn Lippo is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.
