There’s often a risk with getting two will-they-won’t-they characters into a relationship; shows such as Castle and Bones spend seasons upon seasons building up the sexual tension, with the result, more often than not, resulting in a season’s worth of happiness before the inevitable break up. The Mindy Project has bucked that trend by beginning the Mindy/Danny relationship in the middle of the show’s second season, before putting them together for good in the season 2 finale.
So here we are in season three (not bad for a show that struggled so immensely in the US ratings game during its first season), and Mindy and Danny are happily in a monogamous relationship. This episode proves that there will still be many reservoirs of comedic material even without Mindy’s cavalcade of guest star boyfriends – and this week it’s that Mindy can’t keep a secret, and Danny has too many. It all starts when Peter, eager to impress his girlfriend Lauren, comes to Danny for sex advice, as Mindy told him that Danny is “like a thirsty camel at a desert oasis” in the sack. Danny soon finds out that Mindy has been telling the entire office about their sexual exploits, such as the fact that he exclaims “Woah, Nelly!” when he climaxes, and this is definitely not okay with him. Danny soon has gossip of his own when he sees Jeremy giving Peter’s girlfriend Lauren a backrub, and he begs Mindy to keep it a secret.
Mindy being Mindy, she tells Morgan and soon everyone, including Peter, knows. As it turns out, Lauren and Jeremy kissed post-back rub and after having his teeth knocked out by Peter, Jeremy throws down the gauntlet – as it turns out, he too is in love with his old “college chum” Lauren. This is one of the best plot lines set up for the coming episodes, and I for one hope Peter gets the girl, even if he’s never given a woman an orgasm.
The beating heart of this show is Mindy and Danny, and Mindy Kaling and Chris Messina make the most of their insanely palpable on-screen chemistry. The best jokes this episode came from their “interpersonal chit chat”, as Mindy called it; the banter between the two is great and you’ve got to give it up for Kaling and the rest of the writing staff for their great, witty dialogue. The Mindy Project also has a distinct brand of self-deprecating, borderline offensive humour that I’ve sorely missed during the show’s hiatus. One main criticism of the show has been its casting of Mindy’s romantic interests, and the show responds to it with Cousin Lou’s chat up line to Mindy, as he tries to steal her from Danny: “I’m not well read, well-travelled, and our family’s trash, but I’m a white guy who’s interested in you”. Mindy is always willing to take a dig at itself even, and perhaps most especially, if it doesn’t put the show in the greatest light.
A couple of changes since last season: Betsy is gone, and I don’t blame Zoe Jarman for jumping ship, as she was severely underused last season. Tamra has been given more lines and she’s officially in a relationship with Morgan, and there’s what I hope is a new recurring character: Morgan’s Cousin Lou, who is played by It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia alum Rob McElhenney. I can’t finish this recap without mentioning the final scene, one where Danny shows Mindy his stripper moves; Kaling promised fans that they’d see more of Chris Messina dancing, possibly in various states of undress – and the closing scene of the show proves she’s a woman of her word (and that Messina’s fangirls will be GIF-ing that until the end of their days). If this episode is anything to go by, the show won’t suffer from Mindy and Danny’s monogamy, it will only get better and better. Oh Mindy, how I’ve missed you.
Review Score: FOUR STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
The Mindy Project screens in Australia on Channel 7.
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