Happy Endings Season 3 Premiere Recap: “You’re ‘Misery’-ing Me!”
Introduction: Hey there Cinemavines (is that what Steph calls her legion of loyal readers? If not, that is what I deem you all) my name is Jordan (or, @jthecritic on the Twitter) and I will be recapping some shows for the site. I’ll be starting with the funniest show on TV, Happy Endings.
If you know me, or follow me on Twitter, then you know I have not shut up about this show. I’ve forced it on people (it was forced on me when I completely ruled it out), handed out the DVDs to friends and family, and pretty much haven’t stopped telling people to watch it. Admittedly, Happy Endings is no different from most of the other low rated sitcoms on TV (New Girl, The Mindy Project and NBC’s entire Thursday night lineup); Happy Endings is quick witted, reference filled and absolutely hysterical. But, the one thing that sets it apart from every other sitcom on TV is that everyone on this show is completely insane and it takes the show to another level. For me, the 6 of them – Max, Penny, Dave, Alex, Jane and Brad – are a giant sketch character and that is either the selling point or what turns you off forever. Happy Endings is a very divisive show and maybe that’s why I love it so much.
“But Jordan, I don’t have time to catch up on two seasons!? I still have to catch up on Homeland” – said you all as you half watch the latest episode of The Walking Dead while reading this. While I recommend you watch both seasons that came before (you can completely skip season 1 but season 2 is a game changer), this show is not Lost or 30 Rock where you can’t just jump right on in; it’s very accessible and if you want to give it a shot, the season 3 premiere is a great place to start. It picks up we left off last season, with all these crazy characters in the same places they found themselves last year: a very messy period in their lives.
This show works best when the 6 of them are paired up and even better when they come together, and that’s what this premiere uses to its advantage. Penny and Max are fan favourites, obviously, and this episode proved why. “Max is Misery-ing me; he’s like Kathy Bates but fatter!” The entire Misery reference is why Happy Endings is Happy Endings and if you enjoyed that entire moment as much as me, then you get it and we can be good friends. Jane and Brad are in a close second, for myself, especially after this episode (side note but not really a side note: I don’t know which Brad/Jane scene I enjoyed more: the hand puppet at the table or the bath tub scene, because… I mean…). Then there is Dave/Alex: Dave is a mix of Ross from Friends and Ted from How I Met Your Mother i.e. the weakest link and completely annoying (Ross became less annoying after season 2). The same could’ve been said for Alex, Elisha Cuthbert, but she upped her game in the show’s second season. Their storyline isn’t exactly where I hoped it would go, but after season 2 finale, it was inevitable; they are the Ross and Rachel of Happy Endings so more of this is to come.
With all the ridiculousness that surrounded this episode, we get to see Penny become a real person for once, but only for a moment, of course. Penny is in a very fragile state, both emotionally and physically, and when she breaks down to Max at the end, it’s all very obvious how big of a mess Penny is. This scene didn’t really catch me the first time I watched the episode but the second time I took notice at how brilliantly Casey Wilson (Penny) handled this scene. When this show stops for a moment to look around and realize it’s characters are real human beings is when it’s at it’s best; these characters are all disasters but they have each other to get them through whatever is happening.
Have I convinced you to watch? I hope so. See you next week?