Can't Brendon Be Done?

The Mindy Project, S01E12

Mindy decided to take Jeremy's advice and tried having casual sex instead of dating.  She chose Brendon since she was attracted to him, but didn't respect him.  Danny had a first date with the girl with the eye patch, but her wild ideas for the night scared him off to fake a work emergency before the date started.

 There were so many things wrong about Mindy trying to hook up with Brendon.  I mean, this was an idea essentially from Jeremy, who might be the king of casual sex, but not the best general idea guy around.  What works for him definitely isn't for Mindy.  She's too much of a romantic for that to be her cup of tea.  I might have changed my mind if she hadn't picked Brendon of all people.  Ugh.  He's not super good-looking in my opinion, and his personality is so irritating.  There's something so cocky and controlling about him that rubs me the wrong way. I wanted Mindy to have any excuse in the world to not go to his house.

It was just painful to watch Mindy's failed hookup the whole time.  I can't think of one part that was the most embarrassing to see--they were all equally terrible.  However, I did think it was sort of funny in an unlucky way when Mindy got caught in Brendon's automated shower.  She was screaming and trying to break free, while he was just strumming on his guitar without a care in the world.  I felt bad for her, but I also thought her flailing around in the water and glass walls was priceless.  I actually wish she had berated Brendon for her own mistake later, but she just played it cool.  I feel like she had suffered enough at that point and should have gone home way before Morgan and Duncan crashed the "party."  For me, Brendon is so not worth the trouble of all that.

I still wasn't feeling Brendon when he was able to get Morgan's asthma under control by relaxing him.  It was actually one of the first times I felt like what he does is a little like magic as the doctors have been calling it out of spite.  I think I just wasn't impressed by his moves because he kept making Mindy feel like an idiot and unneeded when he was doing his thing.  Yes, she was making the situation worse, but she was sort of his date that night--he didn't have to be a jerk to her.  Like that was one of my main problems--I didn't feel chemistry between them.

Finally, when Mindy threw in the towel to that horrible night of non-sex, I thought she had banned Brendon from her list of possible booty-calls.  Nope, she was still on board with the idea when Brendon declared they would hook up eventually.  What?  No!  Man, just write that up as a failure and never look back.  If only they didn't work in the same building.  I know I'm not going to love the episode where Brendon makes good on that promise.  At least, as of right now.  I'd almost rather her get drunk and sleep with Josh again.

Jillian turned out to a better match for Danny than I thought, mainly because she both exposes Danny's age in comical way and possibly makes him a little cooler.  I was excited to hear Jillian's plan for them that night and was looking forward to Danny wriggling around while he tried to hide his discomfort and lack of hipness.  Instead, Danny turned tail and ran away.  Disappointing, but not really shocking, I guess.  I'm sure that Danny would much rather take the coward's way out than look like a fool in front of a girl he liked.  He also had Mindy to think about because she was all up in Jillian's business.  He wouldn't be able to save face if he had to hide the fact that their date was a disaster.  Although, since Mindy's fling with Brendon was train wreck, she couldn't really rub it in his face.  At any rate, Jillian doesn't look like she's giving up on Danny yet.  I just wonder how old she is now that we know that Danny is 38.  He's a lot older than I thought, and yet his actions make him seem a lot older than he claimed.

I could have liked this episode more if I didn't have to see so much Brendon.  Can't say that I'm a fan of him yet.  I feel like his character is useful because he makes a good antagonist, but as a love interest for Mindy, I still think she could do better.   Maybe he'll show a side of him that really shows me there's more chemistry to them than I've seen, but I'm not counting on it.  Right now the sight of them together makes my stomach churn a little.  Danny and Jillian, on the other hand, seem pretty cute together.  It'll be interesting to see if she can get Danny to cut loose a little.  It's pretty clear that he could stand to loosen his collar once in a while.

Lisa, You Fool!

Suburgatory, S02E05

Tessa decided to spend Thanksgiving with her grandmother because she was told her mother would be visiting there.  George tried to cook Thanksgiving dinner for Dallas, Dalia, Mr. Wolfe, Alan the chef, and Noah.  Lisa didn't want Malik to come to their house for dinner, but he did and Shelia mistakenly walked in on him after he got out of the shower.

I was surprised that we actually got to see Alex in this episode because I had a feeling that Tessa was going to be disappointed by spending Thanksgiving at her grandmother's.  I was happy to see that she was at least pretty enough for me to believe should could be Tessa's mother.  She did seem flaky, but at least there was some time for Alex and Tessa to bond.  However, I couldn't help but feel bad for George because I like him and know that he's quite attached to his daughter.  I couldn't help but wish Tessa would pay him a little attention when he was sitting sort of lonely-like on the stairs, listening to Tessa and Alex laugh.  Aww...  I know Tessa wants and deserves to get to know her mom, but I would hate to see her forget all about George.  Everyone else in his life is kind of a mess, so he needs Tessa as much as she needs him.

The biggest thing that happened in this episode was that Lisa was being so unreasonable.  Sure, Shelia is borderline offensive in the way she is trying to accommodate to Malik and welcome him to the family, but her behavior is much better than her outright trying to send Malik away.  Granted, it is beyond awkward the way Malik and Shelia handled the mistake of her walking in on him naked, but at least the two involved didn't make it into something gross.  It was just weird and funny.  In fact, I loved when Shelia and Malik high-fived when Malik commented that it wasn't a "little thing" either.  Lisa just needed to get over it.  And by that, I mean she needed to accept that it was bizarre and give herself time to forget that it happened.  That is the only logical thing anyone should have done.  I can't believe that she ended it with Malik over that and the fact that Malik doesn't hate Shelia.  Lisa probably wants someone she can badmouth her mother to, but I wouldn't think it was a problem for my boyfriend to like my mother unless he liked her in a sexual, creepy way.  Lisa is a moron.  She will never do better than Malik.  She's too freaking crazy for anyone else to handle!  I was so mad to see her give up that easy.  

The best thing out of this story, though, was that Lisa found an envelope with the coveted wishbone in it that Ryan had been saving to wish for sex with Tessa (somehow cute in a slightly creepy way).  I was actually a little moved by him offering that wishbone he had been concentrating on all night to Lisa so her problem might be solved.  God, I love Ryan.  He's so dumb, but he's so sweet!  Every time I see him, it's like he makes me like him a little bit more.

I'm not really looking forward to seeing more of Alex.  I'm taking her with a little grain of salt just because George has suggested that she can sometimes emotionally con people.  I would hate to see her start bonding with Tessa to only disappear again for a significant chunk of time.  Tessa is smart and probably thinks she won't get attached to her, but I know she will and she'll get hurt if Alex falls off the face of the world again.  The most important thing, though, isn't Alex, but Lisa  getting her act together and realizing the huge mistake she's made by tossing Malik aside.  Ain't no other boy gonna put up with your nonsense, Lisa--go get him back before it's too late!