Anyone whose seen at least some of FXX's Man Seeking Woman knows it doesn't stick to conventions. Simon Rich's freshman series loves to play with what can and could happen in their wacky universe, and its proud in how atypical and then surreal it can be.
That said, it's still surprising when the show switch up perspectives during its penultimate episode of the season from Josh (Jay Baruchel) to his sister Liz (Britt Lower) as we follow her attempts to get back in the dating life at nearly-30 when she breaks up with her boyfriend. Josh does pop up briefly at the beginning and end of this new episode, "Teacup," but as we see director Tim Kirby recreate the pilot's opening, it's evident this is Lower's (half) hour to shine.
As she has this whole season, the actress does exceptional work here. Her character, more naturally affable and down-to-Earth than even our regular protagonist, allows the weird things that happen to her to flow with a nicely-tuned mix of acceptance and relatable determination to regulate what happens. And whether it's discussing her life possibilities with an already-married group of second-graders at their tea party or going on a date with her old camp buddy/robot Chip (Austin De Iulio), she keeps the amusement coming.
But that's kind of the problem, however. While it's nice to see Rich and his team, including this week's writer Sofia Alvarez, change things up and try new things— even if it is a little late in the game—the ideas conceived in this ninth episode are mostly just cute or likable enough. The writers seem more content with changing up the stakes then actually playing with them. While they make some interesting points about the struggles of single 29-30-year-old women today, most of these are dropped as the episode goes along. Not to mention how "Teacup" seems to just end, force-feeding Josh back into the narrative abruptly and making it evident they didn't really know how it should close. While the Chip scenes are as hilarious as anything Man Seeking Woman has created yet, these are the only times "Teacup" really seems game and open to what they can do.
The tea party scene is fun, but it doesn't have the charm or creativity of Man Seeking Woman's best moments, while Liz's attempts to make the perfect man Frankenstein-style has a funny punchline, and also Matt Lucas as Igor, feels like it retreads an already worn-out and played-out bit down several times before already. Were "Teacup" as uproarious as the last bit, this episode would have been one of the season's best work, but it sadly plays out as one of Rich's weakest and limpest to date.
Again, it should be noted a kinda limp episode of Man Seeking Woman is already better and more creative than anything CBS does in terms of comedy, at least so far. It's just a shame the end result is this average when "Teacup" has such rich potential. Much like "Dram" earlier this season, the writing is typically good but it could be better, and if this is one of the last of the season before we have to say goodbye, you especially want the product to be more memorable, crazy and fun. As such, though, this is a fine penultimate episode, but it looks as though the really good stuff comes during their seasonal swan song next week.
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