‘Happy Endings’ 3.16 & 3.17 Recaps: “They Play Jinx in Prison?”

Another week, another two episodes of ‘Happy Endings’. This past week saw a feud between sisters, a feud between two food truck owners, and a feud between Brad and Robo-Brad. All in a day’s work for this wonderful, bizarre show.

In ‘The Incident’, Max’s hairstylist dies, so he goes to Alex and Jane’s, Krisjhan (RuPaul), who reveals that the sisters had been dishing dirt on each other for years. When Max tells this to Brad, Brad mentions that Alex and Jane can’t be honest with each other. The one time they tried, it turned into a huge ugly fight that lasted for weeks (known, coincidentally, as “The Incident”). Max can’t help but stir the pot and set the girls against each other. Sadly, despite hearing reports of problems the pair caused in the past, and Brad’s insistence that people will get hurt and others will end up in prison, virtually no fighting is seen on screen. The two make up when their grandmother (that Penny was certain was dead) turns up and makes them do a “sister dance,” which is too anti-climactic to really pay off.

Penny borrows Dave’s truck to move an armoire she purchased, and someone steals it. They find the truck open for business with sandwiches (or, as Dave calls them, “sandos”) that are better than he’s been able to make. They confront the thief who reveals that the secret ingredient is love – by which he means that he sexually molests the beef before making the sandwiches.

‘The Incident’ has plenty of funny stuff, including the discovery of Jane’s robotic stand-in for Brad when he’s away. (He says things like, “Way to keep it tight, girl” and “I’m always wrong.”). But, ultimately, this feels like a lot of wasted potential.

The superior ‘Bros Before Bros’ once again revolves around Dave’s food truck. Dave has a rival, who runs a Brazilian steak truck, and the two can’t get along. Max is determined to help Dave until he runs into Wilson, a handsome gay man, and they sleep together. The next morning Max discovers that Wilson is the son of the man who owns the Brazilian truck. Max’s loyalty is torn, which delights Brad to no end, as he believes he’s watching a modern day ‘Romeo and Juliet’. The whole thing culminates in a huge food fight, and Max and Wilson begin making out in the middle of the street, prompting the Brazilian truck owner to declare peace (with the great line to Dave: “It is clear my son loves your son.”).

Jane continues to plan Penny’s wedding (something that has been practically ignored for three episodes), and Penny realizes she doesn’t know who’s going to walk her down the aisle. Alex convinces her to reach out to her absentee father, played by guest star Andy Richter. At first, things are awkward, but soon her dad buys Penny her dream wedding dress and even offers to pay for the whole wedding. Penny breaks down and tells her dad she needed him when she was a kid, not now, but the pair reconcile later.

Richter is a welcome presence on the show, even if he isn’t given a ton to do, but the storyline makes for some great exchanges between Jane, who doesn’t approve, and Alex, who’s optimistic about the whole situation. On the whole, the two episodes don’t compare to last week’s, especially ‘In the Heat of the Noche’, but less than perfect ‘Happy Endings’ is still better than most other sitcoms at their best.

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