Remember when we thought As Good As It Gets was a good portrayal of mental illness?
You're The Worst sets the bar so high that one would need to jump the equivalent of the distance between this planet and Andromeda to clear it. And this episode is not merely one of the best examples of how it manages that. It is the best.
Gretchen has been having a difficult time. She is in a job that she dislikes, a job in which she has to deal with spoiled, borderline delusional brats from the entertainment industry. She has a "family" that would have me enacting violence in a heartbeat. And she has a boyfriend whose histrionic personality disorder makes him just as likely to make her miserable as it is to lift her spirits.
So what happens when she is, for all practical purposes, trapped in the house and drinking her sorrows away ceases to be an option? Well, for one, she lets everyone know exactly what she thinks of them at that point in time. Oh, if only we had certain of her clients (you know the ones), Paul, her gene pool befoulers, and Becca in the room to get a serve, too. Especially Becca, that raging psychopath.
Unless you are one of those people who cannot see obvious signs when they are highlighted in neon, you already know that all seven of the main characters in You're The Worst live with some form of mental illness. Three of the illnesses amongst the characters that have not already, or are not about to, explicitly spelled their illness out have very unsubtle hints given in this episode. Well, except for Jimmy. His illness is a very difficult one to explain even to an audience who knows their butt from their ear about the subject matter. But it is the way these hints are delivered that makes all of the difference. There is a reason why Aya Cash has been getting some very high-profile roles recently. This woman could make a reading of the phone book a disturbing, terrifying, exhilarating, and emotionally devastating experience.
You're The Worst also accomplishes another milestone in There Is Not Currently A Problem. Very few You're The Worst episodes require more than two or three locations, but this is how You're The Worst delivers a bottle episode. Everyone in television, even Vince Gilligan, can learn a lesson from this bottle episode. One location, two rooms, and well-developed characters with serious interpersonal conflicts. The show is pretty no-budget most of the time, anyway, but Jimmy's house is the kind of location to use as much as your story allows.
If I had to choose a favourite performance outside of Aya Cash in this episode, it would have to be Todd Robert Anderson. His character, Vernon, cannot finish one conversation without saying something inappropriate, oversharing, diverting into a story both with common elements with and totally irrelevant to the topic of conversation, or combinations thereof. He even gives the recurring guest a couple of moments to bounce off him with a puzzled look or asking if he is really a doctor in a way that sounds like she hopes the answer is no.
There Is Not Currently A Problem is the episode where You're The Worst finally slapped all of its cards down on the table and showed us what it is really all about. And it was a triumph of storytelling. Characters who were already extremely relatable become the kind of people you wish you had (more of) in your life. Questions are answered, and new ones that you know might have an unpleasant answer are raised.
You're The Worst needs to be compulsory viewing for every person who wants to become a psychologist or psychiatrist. It is the best show about mental illness because it is not about the illnesses themselves, but rather the effects that the illnesses have on the relationships the sufferers have with others. Be they social, sexual, or occupational. Or even just a random acquaintance.
You're The Worst is an example of storytelling at its best, and There Is Not Currently A Problem is high in the running for the series' best. If you know someone who is mentally ill and you want to understand just a little better, this episode is a good place to start.
You're The Worst sets the bar so high that one would need to jump the equivalent of the distance between this planet and Andromeda to clear it. And this episode is not merely one of the best examples of how it manages that. It is the best.
Gretchen has been having a difficult time. She is in a job that she dislikes, a job in which she has to deal with spoiled, borderline delusional brats from the entertainment industry. She has a "family" that would have me enacting violence in a heartbeat. And she has a boyfriend whose histrionic personality disorder makes him just as likely to make her miserable as it is to lift her spirits.
So what happens when she is, for all practical purposes, trapped in the house and drinking her sorrows away ceases to be an option? Well, for one, she lets everyone know exactly what she thinks of them at that point in time. Oh, if only we had certain of her clients (you know the ones), Paul, her gene pool befoulers, and Becca in the room to get a serve, too. Especially Becca, that raging psychopath.
Unless you are one of those people who cannot see obvious signs when they are highlighted in neon, you already know that all seven of the main characters in You're The Worst live with some form of mental illness. Three of the illnesses amongst the characters that have not already, or are not about to, explicitly spelled their illness out have very unsubtle hints given in this episode. Well, except for Jimmy. His illness is a very difficult one to explain even to an audience who knows their butt from their ear about the subject matter. But it is the way these hints are delivered that makes all of the difference. There is a reason why Aya Cash has been getting some very high-profile roles recently. This woman could make a reading of the phone book a disturbing, terrifying, exhilarating, and emotionally devastating experience.
You're The Worst also accomplishes another milestone in There Is Not Currently A Problem. Very few You're The Worst episodes require more than two or three locations, but this is how You're The Worst delivers a bottle episode. Everyone in television, even Vince Gilligan, can learn a lesson from this bottle episode. One location, two rooms, and well-developed characters with serious interpersonal conflicts. The show is pretty no-budget most of the time, anyway, but Jimmy's house is the kind of location to use as much as your story allows.
If I had to choose a favourite performance outside of Aya Cash in this episode, it would have to be Todd Robert Anderson. His character, Vernon, cannot finish one conversation without saying something inappropriate, oversharing, diverting into a story both with common elements with and totally irrelevant to the topic of conversation, or combinations thereof. He even gives the recurring guest a couple of moments to bounce off him with a puzzled look or asking if he is really a doctor in a way that sounds like she hopes the answer is no.
There Is Not Currently A Problem is the episode where You're The Worst finally slapped all of its cards down on the table and showed us what it is really all about. And it was a triumph of storytelling. Characters who were already extremely relatable become the kind of people you wish you had (more of) in your life. Questions are answered, and new ones that you know might have an unpleasant answer are raised.
You're The Worst needs to be compulsory viewing for every person who wants to become a psychologist or psychiatrist. It is the best show about mental illness because it is not about the illnesses themselves, but rather the effects that the illnesses have on the relationships the sufferers have with others. Be they social, sexual, or occupational. Or even just a random acquaintance.
You're The Worst is an example of storytelling at its best, and There Is Not Currently A Problem is high in the running for the series' best. If you know someone who is mentally ill and you want to understand just a little better, this episode is a good place to start.
