The fifth season premier of “The Mindy Project” turns out to be quite the emotional roller-coaster for our lead character, Mindy Lahiri (Mindy Kaling). We pick up exactly where we left off in the season 4 finale — our favorite OB-GYN spent her night locked in an elevator and “doing the nasty” with her ex, Danny Castellano (dreamboat #1 Chris Messina), while her colleague Jody (dreamboat #2 Garrett Dillahunt) brought her a whole apartment so she has enough space for herself and baby Leo.
Let’s get to the crux of the love triangle that began and ended with this episode, for now, at least:
As much as she appreciated Jody’s gesture, Mindy tells him they need to take it slow. Jody, unaware of the “I love you’s” Mindy exchanged with Danny just before a little while, assumes there is nothing stopping them anymore. Then, when Mindy finds the RSVP card for Danny’s wedding with Sarah (Greta Gerwig), she confronts him. Danny manages to worm his way out of the situation by being hella adorable and tells Min that he’ll talk to his fiancé to call off the wedding.
She tries to hide her tryst with Danny from her office colleagues by trying to convince them she was in Miami during the weekend — something Tamra (sass queen Xosha Roquemore) finds out isn’t true when Leo’s principal calls the office to apologize to Mindy about them getting stuck in the elevator. She and Colette (Fortune Feimster) pose as Mindy’s lawyers to get access to the security footage, confirming Tamra’s suspicion about her bosses (well, one ex-boss) hooking up. Colette, who was cheering Jody before for pursuing his heart, is now enraged that Mindy didn’t pick her brother, so they confront her in front of him. Mindy has her defense ready.
1) She didn’t know Danny was engaged when they slept together and 2) She was unaware Jody brought her an apartment. Jody see’s her side of things and doesn’t blame her.
Surprisingly, and in her own weirdly unique way, Beverly (Beth Grant) gives Mindy some sound advice about who she should pick between the two hunks and also adds that if neither of them seem like a match — she should wait for the right person.
This leads to Danny and Mindy’s heart-to-heart after he doesn't tell Sarah about her, not without some assurances that Mindy will change this time around. She doesn't agree because she doesn't think she needs to change and Danny says the same thing about himself. This forces them to realize that despite their chemistry and love for each other, they didn't work out for a reason. For him, this means he is marrying Sarah, which Mindy tells him isn’t the right thing to do either.
She also runs in the rain to confront with Jody in a scene straight out of a rom-com that makes you believe a magical kiss is sure to happen. Instead, after some light banter, she tells him that she needs to be alone for now. Jody, who has been patient this whole time, lets up and yells at her for leading him on and for choosing not to be with him when she has the chance, slamming the door on her face and throwing food at her from his window. Mindy walks away, looking happier than she has been in a while now.
With this, “Decision 2016” was a quick one from Mindy Lahiri. For how long will she actually stay single, though, is hard to tell, especially since Bryan Greenberg is poised to join the show. Personally, I will always love Danny & Mindy together even though it sucks what they did to his character plus Messina is no longer a regular. I have always enjoyed this show and have thought each new season tops the previous one. Let’s see where season 5 takes us.
On an important side note, the writers need to do so much more with the other characters. Morgan, Tamra, Beverly, and Jeremy are such fun personalities — they deserve their own plots and not only those that revolve around Mindy’s love life. I also loved seeing Utkarsh Ambudkar as Rishi Lahiri, who apparently now works as an admin of some sort at his sister’s fertility clinic.
The episode had some hilarious one-liners. Here are some of my favorites:
“I will never see the new Ghostbusters!” - Mindy Lahiri, and this is funny/ironic because Kaling wrote in her first book a few years ago about how they should remake the film with an all-female cast.
“I am super attracted to you. You are handsome and rugged, like a lumberjack in a porno.” - Mindy to Jody
“This has been the strangest day. One man gave me a new upstairs. Another gives it to me downstairs.” - Mindy Lahiri
“You’ve turned me into an adulterer Danny and I’m barely an adult.” - Mindy Lahiri
“Everyone’s real worried you’re going to lose it because Dr. C is marrying a white woman.” - Beverly
“I thought she was giving me “dough” eyes, you know, the way she looks at cookie dough!” - Jody Kimball-Kinney
“I didn’t have time to put on a padded bra before I left. This is not representative of my real rack.” - Mindy Lahiri
What did you think of the season opener and which quote made you laugh? Do you agree with Mindy’s decision? Can you, like me, not wait for Adam Pally’s Peter Prentice to return? Where was baby Leo the whole time Mindy and Danny were locked in the elevator for the night?
