The Mindy Project returns from its winter hiatus with two back to back episodes tomorrow night! I had the chance to catch the one hour Spring premiere in advance and was thrilled with the first episode of The Mindy Project‘s return but have some concerns about the second episode. More below! Mild spoilers.
Photo Credit: Beth Dubber/FOX
In “French Me, You Idiot,” airing 9:00-9:30 PM ET/PT, Mindy (Mindy Kaling) and Danny (Chris Messina) confront the consequences of their kiss. Meanwhile, Jeremy (Ed Weeks) and Peter (Adam Pally) devise a plan to poach patients from a competing practice that has shut down. Glenn Howerton (“It’s Always Sunny In Philadelphia”) guest-stars.
What an opening for the Spring premiere of The Mindy Project. I bet you’ve never seen a hot and heavy bathroom scene in a plane like this before! This show nails physical comedy every single time and right off the bat we’re hit with the physical and that’s not the last of it in this episode either. Oh, you just wait.
Even funnier, the love triangle that Mindy finds herself trying to break between her, Danny, and Cliff (guest star, Glenn Howerton). Cliff can’t take a hint and Danny is adorable when his jealousy comes to the surface. He’s fierce but doesn’t take action until he reaches his breaking point and boy oh boy does comedy ensue. At a funeral, no less. It’s difficult to talk about this episode without spoiling everything but as much as I absolutely love Mindy and Danny together (Yay! Finally!), “French Me, You Idiot” provides some of the best escalating conflicts this season. How much more awkward and inconvenient can Mindy’s love triangle get? That’s the question that drives every scene, making every single moment even more hysterical than the last.
Of course there’s the b-story. Jeremy and Peter attempt to get new clients after a competing practice folds and it’s not just any group of clients. Let’s just say there’s dancing involved and both Jeremy and Peter are not having fun. B-stories on this show in season one were amazing. The first half of season two, they were hit or miss. If the writers keep up what they’re doing here, they can continue to ride this amazing wave because this was entertaining. We have likable characters (isn’t it refreshing to be talking about likable and unlikable characters that are male instead of female?), the characters are thrown in familiar conflicts but with a twist, and it was engrossing enough that it felt like a story that deserved to be there instead of a distraction from the main story.
Simply put, this episode rocked! “French Me, You Idiot” was well worth the wait, so make sure you’re watching tomorrow night!
Photo Credit: Jordin Althaus/FOX
In “Indian BBW,” airing 9:30-10:00 PM ET/PT, Mindy discovers an incriminating video of herself that is floating around the Internet, and she enlists Peter to help her keep it from falling into the wrong hands. Max Minghella (“The Social Network”), Bill Hader (“Saturday Night Live”) and Rob Huebel (“Childrens Hospital”) guest-star.
Then there’s “Indian BBW.” The opening for this episode was interesting to say the least. I had hoped that the rest of the episode would be just as entertaining as “French Me, You Idiot” so that way I could try to overlook the opening. But this episode goes down as one of my least favorite. It’s not boring, that’s for sure. But…well..
The opening for “Indian BBW” was handled as delicately as possible which I give props for but I still think it might rub people the wrong way. At least a few seconds of it anyway when Danny gets frustrated that Mindy doesn’t want to have sex with him this early in their relationship. His frustration is light but it’s present. Also, he says, “Don’t I get credit for that?” after explaining that they had been making out for twenty minutes instead of jumping right into sex. As if he deserved sex for being respectful and taking it slow this early in their relationship which he should have been doing anyway without expecting anything.
He goes on to say that there are plenty of girls who’d love to have sex with him right now. So, go have sex with them, Danny if you’re that impatient. Call it quits with Mindy and do your own thing like you were doing if it was so convenient and awesome for you. Danny talking about how much he’s gotten around and can get around while trying to get in Mindy’s pants shouldn’t be one of the first things that come to mind to help his “case,” especially in a new monogamous relationship. That’s not sexy. Or respectful. I say monogamous because if it weren’t, Mindy wouldn’t have had to choose between Cliff and Danny. Yes, Cliff was much more serious about the relationship but Mindy didn’t have to be. She could have dated both guys. And I don’t believe monogamy is one sided in this relationship of theirs where Mindy has to be monogamous and Danny can do whatever he wants. So. If you can get past this ridiculousness, the rest of the opening is funny.
But wait. There’s more. Danny’s mentality is that if he’s not having sex with the person he’s seeing, they’re not dating. What in the world? I hope he’s joking but he did intentionally introduce Mindy as a co-worker rather than girlfriend just before making the joke or maybe it’s not a joke. So.
Then, out of nowhere, one of the things that Mindy is familiar with happening often in the pop culture world happens to her. This marks the return of guest star, Bill Hader as Tom. The rest of the episode will definitely garner some laughs. Long story short, Mindy and Danny need to figure out just how compatible they are as a couple. The idea of Mindy and Danny might be awesome but clearly, there are some things that need to be ironed out. I don’t think the two being co-workers is what either of them are really afraid of facing. Intimacy and changing the dynamics of their relationship from hereon out is what the real issue is.
I can only hope that as the two navigate this blossoming relationship, I come out feeling more entertained than angry at a main character. Yes, relationships aren’t easy and can be messy and I don’t have to agree with everything a main character does but I also don’t want to come out feeling angry at any characters in a comedy. In a comedy. This is a half hour comedy. Maybe you might come out of this episode not seeing what the big deal is that I’m making. Maybe you’ll agree. Regardless, there’s still something to appreciate in this episode so I hope you can find that and hold onto that. I don’t know what the intentions were behind the opening and Danny’s character in this entire episode. Maybe it was purely playful. Maybe it was meant to spark conversation. I don’t know. I do know that this episode is a pass for me. And that’s okay. I don’t have to love every single episode and we fans don’t have to agree on every single episode. So judge for yourself and enjoy the rest of the season. I know I will!
Watch The Mindy Project at a special time Tuesday, April 1, 2014 9:00-9:30/9:30-10:00 ET/PT on Fox.