In the last two weeks, “The Mindy Project” gave somewhat of a happy ending to several characters. Beverly, Tamra, Morgan, Jeremy, and even Jody found bits of happiness. The only one left standing now is our very own Mindy Lahiri. But has she closed herself off to the possibility of love? Let’s find out.
“Jeremy and Anna’s Meryl Streep Costume Party"
Mindy and Jeremy are walking to work and discussing how she’s been okay not dating anyone since her divorce with Ben. The two of them find an attractive man, David (Yassir Lester), admiring their office building and Mindy takes an instant liking to him.
Meanwhile, Jeremy is confused at work when he see’s everyone has RSVP’d to the Meryl Streep-themed housewarming party he’s throwing with Anna. The two of them have not only reunited but have since moved in! This makes me happy. You just know their house is going to be filled with all kinds of random art. His colleagues tell him this is the first party they’ve ever really been interested in because, hello, Meryl Streep.
Mindy and David, who we learn is a mechanical engineer, go on a lunch date later in the day and he shows an extreme interest in her coworkers, inviting himself to the party. When they get there, David approached Beverly to announce that he’s the son she abandoned! Whaaaat. Beverly had a baby and left him outside a Jazzercise studio many years ago. Not knowing how to react, she runs away from there.
The next day, Dr. L and Dr. Reed apprehend her for behaving the way she did with her son. The two give her a quick makeover because Mindy has called David to their office for a second shot at a reunion with Beverly. They even coach her on what to talk about - her cats, Christmas, and Pier 1, and what to avoid - knives! That’s when Tamra announces, “the son you abandoned is here.”
Mother and son seem to be having a lovely conversation that ends in a hug. David thanks Mindy but before leaving, he realizes his wallet is missing. That’s right, Beverly stole from her own son! She later explains to Min that she did it only to take a look at her son’s driver’s license. He looks just like his dad, she confirms. Beverly and David end things on a good note. She promises to visit him and his family (a wife and two kids) in Long Island.
I wouldn’t have pictured this as the happy ending for Beverly but I’m glad she, and in turn, we got to see it turn out like this. She’s always been used for her quips and one-liners and has never been the focus of a story as such. It’s good to see it happen.
Also in this episode, Jody finds out that most of his young female patients are opting to see a Dr. Mary Hernandez (Ana Ortiz) over him because she’s cooler. He goes to meet her at the “dangerously star-studded” Lower East Side at her clinic but she basically rebuffs him and calls him out on his conservative attitude. To get back at her, Jody and Morgan revive the good ol’ Shulman & Associated mobile medical unit, complete with photos of Danny and Peter, and parks it outside Dr. Hernandez’s office to give out free medical help and actually enjoys doing it. It does feel good to do something selflessly, he later points out to Mary. And cue the sparks!
“The Midwife’s Tale”
The episode begins with Mindy and Morgan at the subway station, figuring out the differences between content, content, and contempt when Morgan see’s a man about to jump in front of the train. He runs to save him and guess who it is: everyone’s favorite midwife, Brendan Deslaurier (Mark Duplass).
Duncan (Jay Duplass) threw him out of their practice and since then, life hasn’t been good to him. The trio approaches the younger Deslaurier brother, hoping to work things out. Instead, they end up arguing about the true meaning of “Frozen.” Duncan believes the movie is about one sibling receiving all the attention, which up until now was Brendan. “I’m Elsa now, bitch,” he declares. Morgan thinks the movie is to prove reindeers are better than humans - yikes - and finally, Mindy says “Frozen” is about sibling love being above anything else, much like Jaime and Cersei in “Game of Thrones.”
Obviously, this conversation leads nowhere. Feeling pity, Mindy hires Brendan at Shulman, much to the chagrin of everyone else. Things have been tense at the workplace anyway because they find out they’re really running low on money. It does work out well because, despite Brendan’s holistic approach to his work, which includes removing chairs from the conference room, his expensive services are actually bringing in some cash.
Meanwhile, Cousin Sheena (Laverne Cox) is back, too, and she’s always been a real treat to watch. She’s discovered Tamra is pregnant and that the father is someone she works with, not knowing it’s Morgan. She all but threatens Jeremy and Anna that she’ll hunt down whoever it is till he confesses. “If you play with fireworks, you gonna get burnt.”
That’s when Jeremy remembers spotting Tamra and Jody entering a movie hall hand-in-hand (!?) and believes Jody is the father. Jeremy and Anna, who are now all into office gossip, approach Mindy first, asking if it’s true that Tamra is pregnant. She denies an answer so they directly ask Jody. He explains that the reason he took her to the movies is that he loves the Madea movies and wanted to watch the new one but every time he goes alone, the audience thinks he’s the villain. He needed Tamra’ support!
Morgan is just happy to hear that Tamra’s actually pregnant so he hugs her to congratulate her. Unfortunately, that’s when Brendan, who learned the truth from Colette, announces to everyone that Morgan’s the real father, which causes him to faint.
When he comes to, he very sweetly asks Tamra to marry him. It’s all nice and dandy but she needs some time to process because it’s all happening quickly. Her family doesn’t want her to marry Morgan because “he’s a Shrek” so she asks her colleagues what she should do because they know him best. It’s Mindy’s advice that sticks out the most. Dr. L tells her that they may tell her what to do but eventually, she’ll have to live with the decision she makes. She’ll be fine on her own and shouldn’t say yes just because it’s romantic. Morgan interrupts them with a ring, ready to make an official proposal, but instead, he falls off the ledge.
Tamra turns the tables when he comes to in the hospital, accepting his proposal much to everyone’s happiness. That’s right, you guys, Tamra and Morgan are getting married and having a baby! This is exciting.
Getting back to the sparks between Jody and Mary, the latter is friends with Anna and asks her to find out if Jody is interested in her. Of course, he is! Sadly, Mary hears about the rumors that he may have impregnated Tamra and doesn’t reach out to him. When he bumps into her in the lounge, he wonders why she didn’t get in touch and dispels the rumors. Mary believes him but she’s also heard how he’s slept with almost everyone at the hospital. He claims he’s willing to change but she doesn’t believe him. Something tells me she’s going to change her mind. Perhaps, she’s Jody’s happy ending.
Where does this leave Dr. L? Brendan notices how she’s given up on the idea of love, one of the things he found annoying yet charming about her. He tells her that he’s quit the practice because it’s too close-minded and dysfunctional but he leaves her with an important piece of advice: not give up hope just yet in terms of relationships. Things may change for the better. Later that night, she goes to bed and in a monologue to us, she talks about how she’s ready to open her heart again. Just in time for another Danny Castellano return, I hope!
