"Everything in this country is disposable."
It's Been
Hey, guys,
it's been a while, I've missed these characters and I'm happy to have them back on my screen, I hope you are too. So, this season begins by showing us the different ways in which Jimmy and Gretchen have been hiding for the last three months, Jimmy living the trailer park life in a retirement community, and Gretchen literally hiding in Lindsay's new place, meaning she hasn't gone outside in all that time (made available to you by delivery apps).
Jimmy is spending most of his time with Bert, basically, what Jimmy's future could look like, there are even parallel scenes where they both turn down the opportunity for what other people would consider fun. They both try to ignore important truths from which they're hiding, Jimmy from what he did, and Bert from getting old and not being able to be a completely lone wolf anymore.
There is plenty of fun to be had with these two, both being rude to the old people and the kids (what's with Jimmy and kids? they always seem to bond in a very weird way, not necessarily creepy, just odd) and sharing their passion for movies. It was also pretty funny when they went looking for Bert's car keys in Gale's house. But eventually Jimmy starts realizing he can't let Bert hide anymore, he's having tantrums in front of everyone (though he has a point about most things becoming disposable), and his reckless driving almost gets them both killed.
So, when they stop at a bar and Bert proposes leaving the retirement community, Jimmy tries to reason with him and they have a heart-to-heart, he tries to get him to understand he can't do whatever he wants, that he shouldn't leave the people that love him, but it's clearly something he needs to be saying to himself as well. Bert spits it right back at him, and when Jimmy plays dumb and insults him, he even gives him a well-deserved punch in the face before leaving him stranded.
Once Jimmy gets back, he gets a copy of his own book (I so want this book to exist, I loved that cover) and decides to turn his phone on for the first time, only to be attacked by the real world in the form of hundreds of messages. The next day Bert can't find his car keys again so he goes looking for Jimmy but he only finds a note saying he took Bert's car and sold his, leaving him the money, which Bert wisely uses to get a projector to share it with the rest of the community. It was nice that Jimmy got to him somehow, but it remains to be seen how wise he'll be about his own life now.
Back in L.A., we're happy (or not) to find out Lindsay continues to be a selfish asshole, but at least she's doing well at her new job, working for Priscila (Kathleen Rose Perkins) as a stylist assistant, she's confident helping people be less ugly is God's work. She even gets offered the position permanently by the end of the episode which is quite awesome, it looks like an interesting environment to explore and I have a feeling I'm gonna love Carl (Stephen Ellis), he was hilarious with only one facial expression.
Gretchen is in full on manic-mode, and though I love Aya Cash I was a bit disappointed about her portrayal, it was a bit too much like a caricature and felt like she missed a big opportunity to shine. She did found her footing a little more as the episode progressed, especially once Lindsay found out she hadn't left the apartment in three months, keeping her job by bullshitting everyone into thinking she was scouting talent around the world, she also says she's been skyping with Justina (I miss her), but it makes no sense she didn't help at all. Anyways, once she got real and showed her best friend how hurt she was, she really did hit it, it was a very vulnerable moment.
Lindsay goes to Edgar to see if he's hiding Jimmy, but once she realizes he's not there she tells Gretchen she won L.A. and she can finally dare to go outside. So, that she does, but she gets bored so she goes to Lindsay's workplace, Lindsay's trying to be responsible for once in her life and she's afraif Gretchen will ruin it for her, so she tells her she can't be her only person and kicks her out. So, Gretchen takes refuge in a bar, apparently, she had some weird notion that she and Jimmy were still technically engaged and was in denial, but she finally decides to move him to the exes folder, which is very important step for her, she realizes she now can stop pining over him and she can even start dating again. So to get back on the horse, she goes the easiest route and onto Ty Wayland (Stephen Schneider). But when she's literally on top of him she receives a message from Jimmy who will probably be trying to make some amends, but she decides to ignore him, for now.
Later, she goes back to Edgar's (who's doing quite well for himself with comedy) to take shelter and vent about Gretchen smothering her, there's a hilarious moment when they realize the tables have turned and they're the serious ones now, it's an awesome OMG moment for both of them. But they acknowledge they miss their friends and start imitating them, Desmin is awesome particularly awesome as Jimmy. This, somehow, leads to sex. Afterwards, they agree they're both all about their jobs now and can be just fuckbuddies, and we all know that won't hold up.
Overall, this was a good way to segway into what comes next, without ignoring the betrayal of the last season finale. They couldn't just go back to normal, but to tell you the truth I can't wait for them to go back to their shenanigans, even if they don't get back together until the season finale. I also miss the smaller characters (I'm looking at you Vernon), I need Jimmy and Gretchen to go back to the real world and be assholes to almost everyone around them, and even each other.
What about you?
I look forward to reading your thoughts.
