Episode Recap and Discussion - 2x02 - In My Humboldt Opinion
HELLO! Welcome back, Picspam Reviews! Oh, how I have missed you. So uh... I am lazy and just could not find the enthusiasm to picspam 2x01 last week, but hopefully I'll go back to it someday. For now, I bring you 2x02, In My Humboldt Opinion. Feel free to use this post to leave your thoughts on the episode! Or comment on my thoughts. Whatever floats your boat.
- I adored the opening scene. It was classic IPS, and for some reason I had an instant affection for the pot-growing perfectionist named Jerry. Loved his line when he saw the dead body, "Oh, that's not cool."
- First off, Marshall being adorable with the kids:
Come on, let it out, you know you want to. "Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww."
Social anxiety caused by a lack of pot:
Mary's reaction to seeing that Raph is in this episode:
No, I kid, I kid. I actually like Raph well enough. He just makes me make that face a lot.
And then we get some beautiful Marshall-teasing-Mary-ness:
"What happened? Did Mary yell at someone already?"
OH, TEASING MARSHALL! HOW I HAVE MISSED YOU! I am guessing he's mimicking Mary's look right there, so of course that means he's in love with her. It does! Somehow...
Marshall has turned into a tour guide! My real excuse for this pic? I adore shots of Marshall and Mary in the car. They just look so partnery and symmetricalish.
THEY'RE SHARING CYNICAL LOOKS WITH EACH OTHER!
Of course, the real OTP of this episode?
Bob/Jerry. Their chemistry was pretty intense.
Mary and Marshall are wicked jealous that they are being outshined by a smiley face wearing a chef's hat and a pothead with social anxiety disorder.
- Apparently Brandi needs help registering for classes. It's... not that hard. Which she later finds out. Anyway, Brandi plays the guilt-trip on Mary even though just days earlier Mary's life was in danger purely because of her. Hmm... And, of course Mary caves, because it's Brandi, and Mary just doesn't know how to say "no" to her, and when she does, Brandi and Jinx make her feel like crap for it. Aaah, family.
AGENT ASSWIPE!!!! OMG, I'VE EVEN MISSED YOU, BUDDY! Seriously, he's hilarious. I know he's unnecessarily mean and all, but he always gets humiliated in the end, so it all works out. Like this:
See? Mary totally pwned his ass. And it was glorious. And I somehow come away from that having loving feelings for Agent Asswipe. I have no idea why.
Don't be rearranging Mary's stuff. She's not good with change. Not at all.
Stern Mother Figure Alert! Or should I say step-mom? Because Mary's fighting her like a spoiled daughter would fight her father's new wife. So, I actually like this addition, and I'm hoping that their relationship develops into a begrudgingly affectionate one, because lord knows that Mary needs a strong mother figure in her life. She loves her mother, no doubt about that, just... Mary's always been the one taking care of Jinx. So, it'll be interesting to contrast this relationship to the Mary/Jinx relationship.
Marshall is enjoying the whole battle for power thing until he sees Mary breaking down.
I love how he jumps up and is there for her in an instant.
Even though he has no clue what he's doing.
Psychologist Lady! She was pretty awesome. Loved her.
"Oh Jesus, stop it."
"She's stereo, she's good."
Hee! I love them. I love that Marshall is so possessive of Mary sometimes in the sense that he feels like he's the only one who can understand her and he HAS to explain her to everyone and he is so very proud that he gets to be the one to do it. It's not exactly romantic or anything (especially considering the fact that he sounds just like me when I explain my nephew to people), but it's sweet nonetheless. It just shows a certain amount of closeness that Mary doesn't have with anyone else.
And now we get to me being a crazy shipper fangirl:
OMG, THEY'RE TOUCHING! THEY TOUCHED!!!1!! LOOOOOK!
I'm sorry. I'll stop. Maybe.
We get some top-notch acting from good old Raph. He sounded so WROUGHT WITH ANXIETY for her! Oh yes, my friends, sarcapslock strikes again! Or, sar-caps-alot, as berrica might say, which I then translate into Sir Capsalot. That could easily be a children's book character, couldn't it? Hmm... If I was more creative, I would so write a book about a knight who saves Camelot through his masterful skills at identifying capital letters.
Anyway...
WHUT???
- So, I love Brandi. I know she does stupid things, but I love her. Why? Because she's adorable.
LOOK AT HER! HOW COULD YOU NOT LOVE HER?
...
PRETTY, PRETTY BICKERING:
And then Mary uses her womanly wiles on Marshall to get him to do a threat assessment:
He tried to resist. He really did.
It was no use. Naturally.
- Mary and Psychologist Lady totally have a burgeoning friendship thing happening. I like it. I hope this character is a recurring one, because it would be awesome if Mary could actually have a female friend.
- Jerry fakes that he has amnesia and he makes his own kids cry. Not cool, man. Not cool. But Mary scaring the crap out of him?
Pretty cool. And hilarious. This is the Mary I know and love, and I hated that she was so absent from the season 2 premiere.
- Marshall decides to play with Stan and Eleanor:
- BRANDI! CARING MORE ABOUT THE "ON HOLD" MUSIC THAN HER OWN MOTHER! Oh, Brandi, you are hopeless. And I love her for asking to be put back on hold. Bwahahaha.
- More Marshall teasing Mary! And, of course, since Mary and Marshall are basically a couple of 8-year-olds on the playground, we know that teasing = flirting, so naturally we turn to mush when this happens:
"Amnesia, huh?"
"Don't you dare laugh."
"I would never!"
"Although it is surprising this hasn't happened before, considering how many people would like to forget they ever met you."
"Took you a long time to think that one up, didn't it?"
"Almost an hour..."
HEE! They are so lovely. I love them like I love things that I really, really love.
- Jinx. I still really don't like her. I don't like her like I don't like things that I really, really don't like. And... I just don't understand her in this episode. At all. Although, I guess she's never really gotten anything that she actually wanted before and now that she did she has no idea what to do and is freaking because she's sure she's going to fail at it and it would kill her to fail if she actually puts in effort so she might as well screw it up now before she actually puts her heart in it. Okay... so I maybe I do understand her. Still don't like her though.
- Loved the cop solidarity! 'Twas a sweet scene. Also, I loved that moment between Mary and Psychologist Lady and we hear Mary's reasoning for putting up with her family through anything. They are hers, and she feels responsible for them. She loves them despite their insanity, and she'll do anything for them. They have no one else.
- I loved Mary's line where she said, "I don't know. I'm pretty sure that if I had a family like yours and someone was going to take them away, I'd try to fly." I just love it when her sentimentality subtly shows up.
And, I don't know if it's just that I identify with Jerry's social anxiety disorder or what, but this bit got me:
I teared up a little. I mean, I was still thinking, "Jeez, come on, man! Can't you even try? Fight for your family!"
- Mary's pep talk to Jerry? Loved it. When talking about knowing he wanted to be brave, and she whispers, "Everybody does," ooooh, how I loved that. It was a nice little insight into her personality and how she always pushes herself to be brave in just about any situation, and when she isn't (like in her relationship with Raph, for example) she's not too fond of herself. Also, this was freaking brilliant:
And that is why Mary is so damn good at her job. She never gives up, and she somehow always figures out how to deal with other people's neuroses. It was just such a beautifully simple gesture, and it was unexpected, and it worked for that very reason. It was wonderful. Also, the music playing there was perfect. It was just a really great scene.
- Stan vs Agent Asswipe is always a good thing:
Especially when it brings about shots of Mary and Marshall subconsciously being in perfect sync.
And now Eleanor totally pwned Agent Asswipe's... ass. And it was wonderful. And again I am left with loving feelings for Agent Asswipe despite his asswipieness. He is obviously an anomaly. And... I still wrongly ship him with Brandi. I am sad they haven't shared any scenes together yet this season. Bring on the Asswipe/Brandi! You know it would be the epitome of awesome.
- Can we just pretend that the episode ended with the scene between Mary and Psychologist Lady? Fine, fine. I will admit that the ending was cute for a Mary/Raph scene. I honestly don't hate that relationship, because if anything, it shows how much more right she and Marshall are. Raph is just a pass time. She knows he's a good person, and she knows he cares about her, and like any normal person, she wants to hold onto that. But... while they have a whole lot of physical intimacy, they will never have the emotional intimacy that she has with Marshall, and someday she'll figure that out. And we already know that Raph resents the fact that Mary always puts everything else before him, but at this point in time, he still believes he can change that. Raph is just Mary trying to be a normal human being. She wants to be loved by a good man. The problem is that she doesn't love him. Not enough, anyway.
Question, what was that song that was playing throughout those last few scenes?
In conclusion, this episode was classic IPS, and I really adored it. The plot of the week was really well done and the guest actors were wonderful. Definitely a giant step up from last week for me. Last week's ep had amazing Mary/Marshallness, but it was seriously lacking in all other departments. So I'm glad this week's ep was entertaining all around. Loved it.
- I adored the opening scene. It was classic IPS, and for some reason I had an instant affection for the pot-growing perfectionist named Jerry. Loved his line when he saw the dead body, "Oh, that's not cool."
- First off, Marshall being adorable with the kids:
Come on, let it out, you know you want to. "Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww."
Social anxiety caused by a lack of pot:
Mary's reaction to seeing that Raph is in this episode:
No, I kid, I kid. I actually like Raph well enough. He just makes me make that face a lot.
And then we get some beautiful Marshall-teasing-Mary-ness:
"What happened? Did Mary yell at someone already?"
OH, TEASING MARSHALL! HOW I HAVE MISSED YOU! I am guessing he's mimicking Mary's look right there, so of course that means he's in love with her. It does! Somehow...
Marshall has turned into a tour guide! My real excuse for this pic? I adore shots of Marshall and Mary in the car. They just look so partnery and symmetricalish.
THEY'RE SHARING CYNICAL LOOKS WITH EACH OTHER!
Of course, the real OTP of this episode?
Bob/Jerry. Their chemistry was pretty intense.
Mary and Marshall are wicked jealous that they are being outshined by a smiley face wearing a chef's hat and a pothead with social anxiety disorder.
- Apparently Brandi needs help registering for classes. It's... not that hard. Which she later finds out. Anyway, Brandi plays the guilt-trip on Mary even though just days earlier Mary's life was in danger purely because of her. Hmm... And, of course Mary caves, because it's Brandi, and Mary just doesn't know how to say "no" to her, and when she does, Brandi and Jinx make her feel like crap for it. Aaah, family.
AGENT ASSWIPE!!!! OMG, I'VE EVEN MISSED YOU, BUDDY! Seriously, he's hilarious. I know he's unnecessarily mean and all, but he always gets humiliated in the end, so it all works out. Like this:
See? Mary totally pwned his ass. And it was glorious. And I somehow come away from that having loving feelings for Agent Asswipe. I have no idea why.
Don't be rearranging Mary's stuff. She's not good with change. Not at all.
Stern Mother Figure Alert! Or should I say step-mom? Because Mary's fighting her like a spoiled daughter would fight her father's new wife. So, I actually like this addition, and I'm hoping that their relationship develops into a begrudgingly affectionate one, because lord knows that Mary needs a strong mother figure in her life. She loves her mother, no doubt about that, just... Mary's always been the one taking care of Jinx. So, it'll be interesting to contrast this relationship to the Mary/Jinx relationship.
Marshall is enjoying the whole battle for power thing until he sees Mary breaking down.
I love how he jumps up and is there for her in an instant.
Even though he has no clue what he's doing.
Psychologist Lady! She was pretty awesome. Loved her.
"Oh Jesus, stop it."
"She's stereo, she's good."
Hee! I love them. I love that Marshall is so possessive of Mary sometimes in the sense that he feels like he's the only one who can understand her and he HAS to explain her to everyone and he is so very proud that he gets to be the one to do it. It's not exactly romantic or anything (especially considering the fact that he sounds just like me when I explain my nephew to people), but it's sweet nonetheless. It just shows a certain amount of closeness that Mary doesn't have with anyone else.
And now we get to me being a crazy shipper fangirl:
OMG, THEY'RE TOUCHING! THEY TOUCHED!!!1!! LOOOOOK!
I'm sorry. I'll stop. Maybe.
We get some top-notch acting from good old Raph. He sounded so WROUGHT WITH ANXIETY for her! Oh yes, my friends, sarcapslock strikes again! Or, sar-caps-alot, as berrica might say, which I then translate into Sir Capsalot. That could easily be a children's book character, couldn't it? Hmm... If I was more creative, I would so write a book about a knight who saves Camelot through his masterful skills at identifying capital letters.
Anyway...
WHUT???
- So, I love Brandi. I know she does stupid things, but I love her. Why? Because she's adorable.
LOOK AT HER! HOW COULD YOU NOT LOVE HER?
...
PRETTY, PRETTY BICKERING:
And then Mary uses her womanly wiles on Marshall to get him to do a threat assessment:
He tried to resist. He really did.
It was no use. Naturally.
- Mary and Psychologist Lady totally have a burgeoning friendship thing happening. I like it. I hope this character is a recurring one, because it would be awesome if Mary could actually have a female friend.
- Jerry fakes that he has amnesia and he makes his own kids cry. Not cool, man. Not cool. But Mary scaring the crap out of him?
Pretty cool. And hilarious. This is the Mary I know and love, and I hated that she was so absent from the season 2 premiere.
- Marshall decides to play with Stan and Eleanor:
- BRANDI! CARING MORE ABOUT THE "ON HOLD" MUSIC THAN HER OWN MOTHER! Oh, Brandi, you are hopeless. And I love her for asking to be put back on hold. Bwahahaha.
- More Marshall teasing Mary! And, of course, since Mary and Marshall are basically a couple of 8-year-olds on the playground, we know that teasing = flirting, so naturally we turn to mush when this happens:
"Amnesia, huh?"
"Don't you dare laugh."
"I would never!"
"Although it is surprising this hasn't happened before, considering how many people would like to forget they ever met you."
"Took you a long time to think that one up, didn't it?"
"Almost an hour..."
HEE! They are so lovely. I love them like I love things that I really, really love.
- Jinx. I still really don't like her. I don't like her like I don't like things that I really, really don't like. And... I just don't understand her in this episode. At all. Although, I guess she's never really gotten anything that she actually wanted before and now that she did she has no idea what to do and is freaking because she's sure she's going to fail at it and it would kill her to fail if she actually puts in effort so she might as well screw it up now before she actually puts her heart in it. Okay... so I maybe I do understand her. Still don't like her though.
- Loved the cop solidarity! 'Twas a sweet scene. Also, I loved that moment between Mary and Psychologist Lady and we hear Mary's reasoning for putting up with her family through anything. They are hers, and she feels responsible for them. She loves them despite their insanity, and she'll do anything for them. They have no one else.
- I loved Mary's line where she said, "I don't know. I'm pretty sure that if I had a family like yours and someone was going to take them away, I'd try to fly." I just love it when her sentimentality subtly shows up.
And, I don't know if it's just that I identify with Jerry's social anxiety disorder or what, but this bit got me:
I teared up a little. I mean, I was still thinking, "Jeez, come on, man! Can't you even try? Fight for your family!"
- Mary's pep talk to Jerry? Loved it. When talking about knowing he wanted to be brave, and she whispers, "Everybody does," ooooh, how I loved that. It was a nice little insight into her personality and how she always pushes herself to be brave in just about any situation, and when she isn't (like in her relationship with Raph, for example) she's not too fond of herself. Also, this was freaking brilliant:
And that is why Mary is so damn good at her job. She never gives up, and she somehow always figures out how to deal with other people's neuroses. It was just such a beautifully simple gesture, and it was unexpected, and it worked for that very reason. It was wonderful. Also, the music playing there was perfect. It was just a really great scene.
- Stan vs Agent Asswipe is always a good thing:
Especially when it brings about shots of Mary and Marshall subconsciously being in perfect sync.
And now Eleanor totally pwned Agent Asswipe's... ass. And it was wonderful. And again I am left with loving feelings for Agent Asswipe despite his asswipieness. He is obviously an anomaly. And... I still wrongly ship him with Brandi. I am sad they haven't shared any scenes together yet this season. Bring on the Asswipe/Brandi! You know it would be the epitome of awesome.
- Can we just pretend that the episode ended with the scene between Mary and Psychologist Lady? Fine, fine. I will admit that the ending was cute for a Mary/Raph scene. I honestly don't hate that relationship, because if anything, it shows how much more right she and Marshall are. Raph is just a pass time. She knows he's a good person, and she knows he cares about her, and like any normal person, she wants to hold onto that. But... while they have a whole lot of physical intimacy, they will never have the emotional intimacy that she has with Marshall, and someday she'll figure that out. And we already know that Raph resents the fact that Mary always puts everything else before him, but at this point in time, he still believes he can change that. Raph is just Mary trying to be a normal human being. She wants to be loved by a good man. The problem is that she doesn't love him. Not enough, anyway.
Question, what was that song that was playing throughout those last few scenes?
In conclusion, this episode was classic IPS, and I really adored it. The plot of the week was really well done and the guest actors were wonderful. Definitely a giant step up from last week for me. Last week's ep had amazing Mary/Marshallness, but it was seriously lacking in all other departments. So I'm glad this week's ep was entertaining all around. Loved it.