"Just because you partner with someone, doesn't mean you're going to be satisfied with them. Save your users the heartbreak. Give them the fun of dating without the pressure of finding a happiness that... quite frankly, might not even exist."
Good Friends
The episode starts with a parent-teacher interview at Laura's new school where they call themselves "one big happy family". She tries to fit in and say all the right things but they sound fake. After that they go to a potluck to meet all the parents and students. Over there, Alex meets one of the mothers and Laura realizes everyone is way too open and honest for any school. One of the students, Aubrey played by Dylan Gelula (Chasing Life, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt), tries to stop her from running away and missing the opportunity.
Aubrey: Why didn't you say anything real?
Laura: Like what? That I made a sex tape and tried to sleep with my teacher?
Aubrey: Yeah. That would've been good. Look you don't have to front, we just want to get to know you.
Laura: Why?
Aubrey: You don't think very highly of yourself, do you?
Valerie is starting to get charmed by Jennifer over lunch but she ends up eating alone when her new friend has a patient emergency. She turns to Alex for help, and he says normal dating rules apply so he invites a couple of friends to the same bar where Jennifer said she'd be to make Valerie look cool, which actually works.
Alex, on the other hand is trying to work out his issues over lunch with Snooger's co-founder, Paul Schmidt, to discuss the company's situation. Paul is trying to convince him to take financial help from a DC firm who wants to invest in them, Alex doesn't want to sell out, he just wants to improve the app's code. Finally, Paul wins and they meet at JME Capital with Jordan Anderson played by Vincent Kartheiser (Mad Men) . He says they made a study to find out which dating site had the highest percentage of users who found long-term partners, and Snooger was number one but the reason why the company was insolvent was because, when those people found love, they stopped using the app. So he suggested they should find a way to keep people online.
Alex: You want me to match people who are incompatible? Sell the a lie?
Jordan: People in monogamous relationships report no greater satisfaction than those who date around. Those studies have been challenged. 50% of marriages end in divorce and many more report tat they wish they could. Just because you partner with someone, doesn't mean you're going to be satisfied with them. Save your users the heartbreak. Give them the fun of dating without the pressure of finding a happiness that... quite frankly, may not even exist.
After that meeting Alex spends all day asking people if they're happier married or single and, even if he doesn't get many answers, he decides to sign the deal and calls the woman from Laura's school to go back to meaningless sex. After they finish there is a very awkward situation where she says:
"Our children are going to be such good friends."
Big Green Egg
This episode starts with Alex going late to the office but they don't let him through since the security guard doesn't recognize him.
Guard: ID, please.
Alex: Why, you got a bar back there?
He finally gets in but he's not in the best mood.
Oh, boy, you give a guy a night stick, suddenly, he's Captain f*cking America. Really makes you wonder why we're militarizing police, right?
As soon as he sits down on the table, he realizes the meeting is over and they're talking about having drinks later. So he invites everyone over to a barbecue, even if he doesn't have a grill. So he asks Leon for help to buy one, he suggests a gas one because it's more sustainable but Alex disagrees.
Alex: Fire's comforting. It speaks to our inner caveman, when we killed with impunity and feasted on the spoils of the hunt.
Leon: Have you ever been hunting?
Alex: Of course not. I'm a pacifist.
Alex: Hey, do you know a place where they sell game hens?
Leon: No.
Alex: Seems like a British thing to know.
He finally buys a grill that looks like a big green egg and invites Leon to the barbecue but he says he has plans with other friends, which really surprises Alex. Once at home he has trouble putting it together, Laura reads him the instructions but she's not much help. Though I totally get why they would try to give them as much screen time as possible since they're so great together.
Laura: It says: "Once an egg is lit, be sure to... burp it before opening the dome."
Alex: Burp it? What is it, an infant?
Going to Valerie's office we can see her and Jennifer eating lunch and definitely clicking they make great friends who shrink-talk. Also they have great chemistry because of how they contrast each other's personality: Valerie obsessive and some times insecure and Jennifer relaxed and effortless. But they're both very honest and that's what makes them truly work.
Jennifer: Then I discovered TM (Transcendental Meditation) and it was just...
Valerie: I tried that too and all I got was... existencial angst.
Jennifer: What do you do to relax?
Valerie: I drink wine. I drink lots and lots of wine. One day, I'm gonna put a barrel next to my bed and just run a line straight into my mouth like a straw, and I'm just gonna suck on it until I pass out.
So Jennifer says she should come to her game night, since they have so much wine, and she thinks she should introduce her to Harry, one of her friends. After that, Valerie is driving with Laura in the car pondering whether she should go, when she gets a call from Drew. He says he and Mae-Yi are thinking of having a kid and keeping their old house, which makes her hung up and decide to go.
Valerie: I like game night. I do, and who knows where it could lead.
Laura: Game vacation?
When she gets to Jennifer's house it turns out Harry has already brought a date, Allie, a very shy botanist who can't sustain a conversation, the group even starts calling her "one word Allie" behind her back. Though there is another guy there, Jack (Kyle Bornheimer), who I think should play a bigger part in the next episodes. All of them have fun playing a celebrity guessing game though Allie sucks at it.
Harry: Can you give us a sport?
Allie: Ice.
Jack: Just i... my favorite sport. Ice.
Later, Valerie finds Allie feeling bad about herself ans the pressure she feels to fit in but Valerie reassures her that she doesn't need their approval, though she's actually looking for it herself.
Over at Alex's house Jordan brings his fiance who turns out to be Sarah Finn, the last girlfriend Alex ever brought home to his parents. Which he'd decided never to do again, after they caused her to have a mental breakdown due to her schizophrenia. They discussed her on episode eight of the first season "Bottles", when their parents show up to tell them they're getting married. So he calls Valerie in a panic but she doesn't want to leave game night.
Alex: Sarah Finn. Sarah f*cking Finn
Valerie: What?
Alex: She's here, Val. And there's an open flame and all that's gonna be left is a pile of ashes and my f*cking teeth.
Valerie: What's she done so far?
Alex: Nothing. She's just toying with me, like a cat and a mouse.
Valerie: Is there any chance you're overreacting a little bit?
Alex: No, Val. The last time I saw her she broke into my apartment and stole all my light bulbs, even the one in the fridge. That kind of attention to detail... I'd be impressed if I wan't afraid for my life.
Valerie dismisses him and hangs up. Alex is desperate but he ends up having a chat with Sarah, he says she's crazy but se replies that she has come a long way, and she has someone who truly loves her now. After that, they all leave.
While Alex and Valerie are with their own things, Laura goes to a café to study with Aubrey. They too have great chemistry: they make fun of a guy who tries to pick them up by giving them cookies and the mock the school's safe space and attempts to give "trigger warnings" every time a delicate subject is going to be addressed.
Aubrey: When will that trend die?
Laura: Political correctness is here to stay. I mean, how else are we supposed to know who is the most progressive?
Afterwards they show a parallel of them smoking weed in the car, and of Valerie and Jennifer drinking wine and laughing after everyone has gone home. Both are girl-crushing big time.
The last scene is of Alex sitting in his bed looking as if he has just realized something, but I guess we'll have to wait till next week to find out what that is.
So, do you think this Jack will be Valerie's next date? What do you think Alex realized? I would love to read your thoughts.
Note: English is not my first language so I apologize for any mistakes.
