Happy! Season 2 Episode 2 Review: Tallahassee
Carissa Pavlica
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Father of the Year got the daddy job for a whole day on Happy! Season 2 Episode 2.
That meant scaring the bejesus out of Hailey before breakfast, a trip to make-a-bear, and another to OTB among other things.
Ironically, Nick was trying very hard to please his daughter, especially after learning he was her preference over a babysitter. Awwww
As her former imaginary friend, Happy is of little use. He knows the girl Hailey was not who she is today.
It's kind of sad witnessing the breakdown of a child's imagination. Maybe if we could keep that fresh perspective a little longer, it wouldn't be so easy to fall into despair (drugs, alcohol, and other vices).
Hailey is really a chip off the ol' block, though. Nothing in this life bothers her until she suffers a bit at the hands of her dad when things don't go as swimmingly as the two expected.
What other little girl would open a refrigerator filled with human organs could then go about her day without making a fuss about it?
Related: Happy! Season 2 Episode 1 Review: The War on Easter
Her relationship with dad grows by leaps and bounds when Nick discovers his daughter has a knack for the ponies.
Unfortunately, everyone has a knack for the ponies for a little while. There's truth to the phrase "quit while you're ahead."
Playing with fake money had Hailey winning at every race.
But when it was real money at stake, her horse's started losing. That resulted in a scuffle at the OTB.
Oh, sure! Like you guys are all great parents!
Nick
It worked out for the best because, due to running out of the OTB, Hailey led Nick straight to David, the Jewish dude who had organs on his mind.
His story about his brother needing a kidney and Nick's assistance in the delivery process had Hailey at hello. She wants nothing more than for her father to be her hero.
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What more could a little girl want than to have her dad saving lives?
There is an underlying menace to David's words that confuse Hailey, but she still pleads with Nick to do David's bidding.
Nick and Hailey are in the throes of a new relationship, and that's a very bad place for Nick to find himself when he needs to be on his best behavior.
He's going against his better judgment to do things that please Hailey and putting her in danger at the same time.
While we didn't see what happened between the time a kidney was still in a living body donor and Nick delivering the now smaller package to David, we eventually discover that he's not willing to fall down the rabbit hole of deprivation.
At least not with people who don't deserve the punishment.
But Nick is the one with an imaginary friend. He's the one who needs to coat the truth with a bit of fantasy to get through the day.
Hailey: Did you kill those people?
Nick: I dropped off a package, that's all.
Hailey: Just tell me the truth. He set you up, so you killed them.
Nick: There are certain things you just can't know.
Hailey: I already do.
Hailey susses out that Nick killed people, but she isn't mature enough nor does she know Nick well enough to understand the intricacies of what lines Nick will cross and why.
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It was heartbreaking to hear Hailey wish Nick away, especially since she doesn't know how hard he's working to protect her. It was even worse seeing how the day played out while she wrote her school essay.
Meanwhile, Amanda is going through some mind-bending stuff herself.
She is counting on Nick for private school for the first time, and she's so confident about it that her lunch with Merry is infused with enough booze to get Nick through the day.
Wow. Cop, fucker of husbands not your own, real estate agent, and now psychotherapist? Is there anything you can't do?
Amanda
She's getting influenced by memories of her experience with Sonny Shine which is hinted at not only by her visions and drinking but shopping for Easter, too.
And if we thought Simon might be too good to be true (as well as a big gag-worthy with his smarmy sweet shtick), that might be right.
Happy: Boy. Amanda's in a really good mood.
Nick: She just fucked that guy!
Is he an associate of Sonny?
He was in Amanda's past and back now just as the pink-dyed rabbit foot wound up in Amanda's bedroom among her possessions.
Something doesn't smell right about how the world is closing in on Nick and his family again.
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There can't be a worse group of people to have on the edge of your lawn than Sonny and Smoothie.
Sonny is the mastermind behind making Easter great again, but Smoothie has special needs to carry out the orders he gets.
Poor, damn Scooter frickin' Sterling will never have another good day, and his safe word is of no use while hanging around with Smoothie.
The guy seemed like a real jackwagon, but nobody deserves that. And while it should come across as funny in a disgusting way, I can't get on board with the horror hanging on that hook.
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Watching Nick pound the goo out of a bunch of baddies or slipping and sliding in the blood of the recently deceased is just peachy, though. How crazy is that?
Someday, maybe Nick will get to pound some pain into Sonny or Smoothie. Even if they live another day to come back and make Nick miserable, the ass whooping would be worth the time and effort.
Do you have lines even in comedy and horror that are crossed a little too far for your enjoyment? What are they?
How will all of the moving pieces of what we've witnessed so far circle back around and form one big bad Easter disaster?
How into Nick's life will Hailey get before the end of Happy Season 2?
Hit the comments and tell me all about it!
Carissa Pavlica is the managing editor and a staff writer and critic for TV Fanatic. She's a member of the Critic's Choice Association, enjoys mentoring writers, conversing with cats, and passionately discussing the nuances of television and film with anyone who will listen. Follow her on X and email her here at TV Fanatic.
