Remember that one time in Happy Endings when Alex left Dave at the altar? Well, if you’ve been waiting for that to finally have consequences, you’re in luck with their latest episode, “To Serb with Love.” I’m not talking about the charming consequences of “will they or won’t they?” because, let’s be honest, it was always more of a question of “when will they?” For those that aren’t up to speed, let me catch you up. Dave and Alex are back together. In fact, the only way you could not know that is if you haven’t watched any episodes this season.
I’m sorry, do I sound annoyed at that? Well, maybe it’s because honestly I am. I’m always a fan of the sexual tension. Okay, that made me sound a little To catch a Predator-y, but seriously, what show has ever been the same without that tension? I’ll never forget the day that Luke and Lorelai finally got together on Gilmore Girls and how the show fell apart. Or how about when Buffy and Angel consummated their love and Angel lost his soul to SMG’s vagina? (Credit to Katie Wilson for reminding me of that stellar moment in WB history) Okay, I may have skipped some of the subtleties of that one, but you know what I mean. Every show has to have that tension. So if I’m not thrilled to have Dave and Alex back together, you’ll have to forgive me, I’m still dealing with it, even six episodes into this season. But I’m not the only one who isn’t thrilled. The whole episode revolves around Alex avoiding telling her parents until Dave shows up at a family event, standard sitcom style. Honestly, the storyline needed to happen because Happy Endings doesn’t always acknowledge that running out on a wedding is… well, it’s kind of a big deal. Alex’s parents aren’t thrilled with the news, although why they blame the wedding falling apart on Dave is still kind of beyond me… but, who are we kidding? This whole plotline was just to give Dave a platform for his feelings for Alex and blah blah blah. Happy Endings needed to acknowledge their history and their family’s reaction to the news, but Alex is at her best in her less-sentimental moments with her mom at the buffet line. Evidently, Alex’s legendary appetite is a trait passed down to her from mommy dearest.
Source: ABC
However, sentimentality seems to run in the Kerkovich family as well. “To Serb with Love” shows us a softer side of Jane as she struggles to come up with a joke that will make her dad laugh. Sure, we see the same Jane we’re used to, particularly in a great scene between her and Max where she tries to recruit him to come up with a joke for her. Still, there is an almost unbearably tender moment at the end of the episode, when she gets her dad to laugh. It’s weird because this whole storyline could have played off of Jane’s desperate need for approval, but it’s more grounded than that. It’s more about that bizarre power your parents have over you to make you feel like you’re 5 years old. You just want to do something to make them proud. It’s a nice change of pace to see Jane in the role of loving daughter. This is the kind of sappy stuff that gets to me, maybe because of my own messed-up family or something, who knows? Needless to say, the schmaltz in “To Serb with Love” is overwhelming, but with Jane, it works well.
The episode isn’t all about family though. Remember when I was talking about how Nick Zano makes absolutely no impression on me at all? Well, Happy Endingsdecided to switch it up and actually have a guest starring love interest of Penny’s stick around for more than one episode. Lucky me, right? Still, “To Serb with Love” does some really funny stuff with what should be a tired bit by now. I mean, we get it, Penny can’t make a guy stick. “To Serb with Love” plays off of the whole thing by pretty much listing all the places Penny has gone wrong before.
Source: ABC
However, Casey Wilson is at her best when she is playing love doctor. I mean, Penny is finally in a long-term, super-healthy, 10 day-old relationship. What other qualifications do you need to give unsolicited relationship advice?
Still, Max steals the show in “To Serb with Love.” Honestly, I feel like my love of Max is bordering on bias but with his plotline to search for a Penny replacement, how could you not love him? However, he doesn’t do it alone. Kulap Vilaysack as Max’s new BFF, Nicole (or Nickel as Max likes to call her) is am-ah-zing. She keeps up with the energy of Adam Pally to create a charmingly dysfunctional dynamic. It’s a shame that the two of them don’t get more screen time because they make comedic gold out of an easily disposable B-plot.
“To Serb with Love” is a mixed bag of tricks. Dave and Alex jeopardize the episode again but in a way that, while mostly unpleasant, needed to happen. Jane has some fantastic moments that are equal parts comedic and sentimental. Penny and Max with their distinctly separate, but undeniably inter-related storylines were the highlight of the episode though. Penny as a makeshift dating guru is a force to be reckoned with, while this needy version of Max who actually cares about something for once? Well, it’s definitely something new, but that’s not such a bad thing.
What did you think of this week’s episode?
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Calhoun Kersten is unofficially over-educated and unemployable. he is currently finishing up his Masters thesis on horror films from DePaul University, but now resides in Hell on earth aka Los Angeles. When he’s not writing, he enjoys being a grown man who still watches Arthur on PBS, singing along loudly to Three 6 Mafia, and spending time with his dog, Karl Marx.