Valerie finds herself with a choice between two very different men. Alex's relationship with a young coworker attracts attention. Laura and Aubrey make Spencer an offer he can't refuse.
Casual has reached the halfway point of its second season. And now, Valerie, Alex and Laura all find themselves in some complicated romantic dynamics. They are each juggling between two love interests. They are complex relationships that feel very grounded in reality. All three characters have evolved and grown since the series began. But that doesn't make them any better at approaching relationships and knowing what to do in their current situations. They don't know how to handle these new feelings. That forces all of them to act out in ways that they normally wouldn't do. Sometimes that's very subtle. They want to embrace something new just to see how it feels. But other times, it's much more overt either because they want to avoid their feelings or they want to focus on something that might make them happier. It's all very nuanced and intricate. It all builds to a number of really strong moments in "Threesomes."Valerie is no longer as naive as she once was when it comes to modern day dating. That has a huge issue at the start of the series. She has grown so much. And yet, Alex and Laura keep finding new ways to teach her about romance. However, she has the confidence now to know how to maintain a conversation over text with multiple guys. Alex and Laura are very proud of her at the start of the episode. And yet, they don't know what she's going to do. Will she continue to date and see where things go with Harry? Or will she give into her impulses and embrace the uncertainty with Jack? They are two different options. But they both appeal to her as well in ways that she can't really explain. Nor is it problematic when she tells Jennifer about these feelings. Jennifer really wants Valerie and Harry to be together. She thinks they'll be a really cute couple who work well together. That could be really great for Valerie. But Jennifer is open to hearing about Valerie's feelings for Jack as well. He's Jennifer's friend too. And yet, she warns Valerie about him but doesn't tell her what to do.
It is definitely surprising that Valerie decides to act on her feelings for Jack. She liked Harry and is curious on what that relationship could become. But here, it's all about her having sex with Jack. It's a different romantic story than last week's adventure with Harry. Yes, she has sex with both guys. But with Jack, it's all about the sex. She goes over to his hotel room and they immediately get to it. With Harry, they went out on an awkward first date. It still ended up with sex that made Valerie happy. But Jack was able to please her as well. There's simply not as much awkwardness whenever she's around Jack. She doesn't know how to react to him. He showed up at her office wanting to flirt during an official session. Since then, they have just been flirting over text messages. And now, they've finally had sex. Plus, Jack is able to pull some personal stories out of Valerie. Michaela Watkins is absolutely fantastic during that monologue about driving away from her life with Drew and Laura for a little while - and the horrible soup that got her to come back. It's a moment filled with so much specificity that it really worked. Valerie opened herself up to Jack which makes it only more devastating when he burns her in the end. It doesn't seem like she has a future with either of the guys. Yes, it's weird that Harry is suddenly portrayed as a guy who drunk texts a lot. That comes out of nowhere. But it's also meaningful that Jack isn't there for Valerie when she really wants him to be. Their relationship is just sex but it's clear she wants something more than that.
Meanwhile, Laura is struggling to form real intimacy as well. She and Aubrey had that brief moment of connection when they had sex at the college party. And now, Laura is comfortable bringing Aubrey around the house to hang out. Valerie is just excited her daughter has friends again. She has no idea what's happening in Laura's room though. However, Laura isn't actively trying to connect with Aubrey here. Her attention is instead on Spencer. She's fascinated and sad that his cancer means he only has six months left to live. She's more concerned about that than whatever the state of her relationship is with Aubrey. When she suggests having a threesome with Spencer, it takes Aubrey by surprise. She didn't know that was something Laura would want to do. In fact, Spencer didn't even really enjoy the photos they took of themselves for his care package. But everyone is committed to a threesome because it sounds fun and hot. None of them really know what they are doing. It's so fascinating to see the awkwardness between them both before and after. This has the potential to really change things between these characters. Laura and Aubrey may be holding hands in the end but Laura is smiling at Spencer.
And lastly, Alex is really committed to his relationship with Fallon solely to make Sarah jealous. He saw just how upset she was when she first heard about it. And now, he hopes to amplify it even more. And yet, he is being very naive about the whole situation as well. He's only really turning the charm on and off when he knows that Sarah is watching. He only asks Fallon out on a date when Sarah is in the room as well. He wants the world to know that this relationship is strong even though he has no real interest in Fallon whatsoever. That date really is an interesting scene. Neither of them seem to be connecting as much as they were when they were having sex in the office. It's not even a generational thing or awkwardness because he is technically her boss as well. It's just two people who aren't really connecting or have a whole lot in common. But again, Alex is committed to this relationship because it puts him in proximity to Sarah and Jordan. He is successfully making them uncomfortable. Sure, it doesn't seem like he has thought through this plan all that well. He simply wants to be with Sarah again. He believes he's in love with her and wants to start things up with her again despite the happiness she has with Jordan.
But Alex is being manipulated as well. Fallon is using him to make Jordan jealous. That's an inspired twist that shows that Fallon is even more of an expert when it comes to playing this game. She's the one truly in charge of this situation. Alex is going a bit over-the-top with his scheme. Fallon is playing it cool and knows how to really annoy Jordan. Because of this reveal, the audience doesn't have to feel badly for Fallon either. She's not simply the girl bound to get hurt because the guy she's dating is in love with someone else. She's using him just as much as he's using her. She just seems to be doing a much better job at it. Alex has no idea how to handle any of this. He is literally speechless upon learning that he was being manipulated. It gets him to realize just how toxic this whole situation has been for him. But this reveal also pulls him even closer to Sarah. Alex doesn't tell her about what's going on between Jordan and Fallon. And yet, that tension can clearly be felt in the room of the engagement party. He leaves because he needs to retreat back to his safe space at home. Sarah shows up at his doorstep not because she has had some big realization that he's the right guy for her. Jordan has just betrayed her and she's acting out with a guy she knows is interested in her. That doesn't mean they'll start up their relationship again. It just means things are only going to get more complicated moving forward.
Some more thoughts:
- "Threesomes" was written by Liz Tigelaar and directed by Lynn Shelton.
- Unlike Valerie, Leia still hasn't warmed up to Jennifer at all because of that bad first impression. Whenever Jennifer shows up at Valerie's office, Leia just has such a confused look on her face. Also, it's still disappointing that the show isn't doing more with Leia.
- Something is clearly about to happen with Valerie's one patient who is in a very abusive relationship. Now, his girlfriend is forcing him to physically change his body. Valerie is getting increasingly worried. I wonder how this story is going to play out later on and how important it will be.
- Valerie's happy that Laura has a friend in Aubrey and even more happy when she has another friend in Spencer. But it's also so interesting that she openly talks about her sex life with Laura's new friends as well. Though of course, Laura pushes her into it.
- It really did seem like Valerie was going to walk in on Laura, Aubrey and Spencer during their threesome. She decided to stay home not because she wanted to avoid Harry's work thing but because she was thrown by a kid with cancer being in the house. Fortunately though, she didn't see anything.
- Jennifer even knows the stories Jack must have told Valerie in order to impress and intrigue her. Though is there a bigger reason why Jennifer doesn't want Valerie to date Jack? Or is it just because she thinks Harry is better? I'm hopeful it's the latter.
- Fallon is in control even when it comes to her favorite drink. It's a fun and unique detail that she carries a card around with her so that the bartenders make it correctly for her. That confidence really is too much for Alex.
