Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy's in a Love Triangle!
March 20, 2015 4:23 AM - Season 1, Episode 10 - Subscribe
Kimmy decides between Dong and Logan. Xanthippe finds out that she has to move to Connecticut to live with her mother. Titus gets a straight coach to help him get an acting gig.
I really want the "Sports" jersey Titus was wearing.
posted by drezdn at 5:17 AM on March 20, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by drezdn at 5:17 AM on March 20, 2015 [6 favorites]
"And when I saw this next one even I couldn't help but think 'Man! This nerd is lame!'"
posted by sobarel at 6:02 AM on March 20, 2015
posted by sobarel at 6:02 AM on March 20, 2015
For me, this episode's whole existence was justified by Daddy's Boy.
DADDY'S BOY: Daddy's boy. I'm just a silly little daddy's boy.posted by Cash4Lead at 6:07 AM on March 20, 2015 [40 favorites]
DADDY: Daddy's boy. He's got a daddy that he brings such joy!
DADDY'S BOY My daddy's tall and sweet like a candy cane.
DADDY: And when we walk down the street, we refuse to explaaain—
DADDY'S BOY: How a daddy's boy—
DADDY: And a daddy's boy daddy—
DADDY'S DADDY: And a daddy's boy daddy's daddy—
ALL: Could love each other sooo—
ROBERT OSBOURNE: And that's how the 1938 musical trainwreck Daddy's Boy ends. Mid-song, as their crew refused to continue working on the production. Coming up next, an encore presentation of Daddy's Boy—No! We had a deal!
"He's at his Captain Phillips fantasy camp until Monday."
posted by drezdn at 6:19 AM on March 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by drezdn at 6:19 AM on March 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
This entire show's existence was justified by Daddy's Boy. I couldn't believe how the joke just kept going and escalating. I was in literal tears.
posted by yasaman at 7:26 AM on March 20, 2015 [10 favorites]
posted by yasaman at 7:26 AM on March 20, 2015 [10 favorites]
Daddy's Boy is everything.
posted by Navelgazer at 7:37 AM on March 20, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by Navelgazer at 7:37 AM on March 20, 2015 [2 favorites]
"You're not a daddy's boy who dolphins me and then blimps."
posted by drezdn at 7:45 AM on March 20, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by drezdn at 7:45 AM on March 20, 2015 [6 favorites]
"The dolphin died on the sidewalk."
posted by Navelgazer at 8:00 AM on March 20, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by Navelgazer at 8:00 AM on March 20, 2015 [4 favorites]
You're right, that does sound better in a British accent.
Her scene in the themed restaurant is funny, but her acting in it is weird.
Why is the straight coach named Le Loup (The Wolf)? Because it sounds both a bit femme being French, but also super manly because he's The Wolf? And who is the voice of Roger? It sounded a bit like John Lovitz at moments, which would be awesome. (This is the last episode I've seen so far, do we ever see Roger?)
posted by filthy light thief at 8:02 AM on March 20, 2015 [3 favorites]
Her scene in the themed restaurant is funny, but her acting in it is weird.
Kimmy, laughing maniacally: This place is hilarious. It's so funny what people who have never been kidnapped think is scary. Talking crows? I would have loved to meet a talking crow.Is she laughing maniacally because that's how you laugh in a haunted house?
Crow: Death looms over us all.
[Kimmy laughs some more]
Why is the straight coach named Le Loup (The Wolf)? Because it sounds both a bit femme being French, but also super manly because he's The Wolf? And who is the voice of Roger? It sounded a bit like John Lovitz at moments, which would be awesome. (This is the last episode I've seen so far, do we ever see Roger?)
posted by filthy light thief at 8:02 AM on March 20, 2015 [3 favorites]
sign in library 'masturbate responsibly'
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 8:02 AM on March 20, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by quonsar II: smock fishpants and the temple of foon at 8:02 AM on March 20, 2015 [4 favorites]
sign in library 'masturbate responsibly'
Shh! Not 'til next episode!
posted by Navelgazer at 8:05 AM on March 20, 2015
Shh! Not 'til next episode!
posted by Navelgazer at 8:05 AM on March 20, 2015
What's so great about Daddy's Boy is that the phrase is used for a few episodes, and so the build up is great. Also, the way the strings build up the tension of the moment on Kimmy's face and then it explodes into this utterly absurd thing, which just keeps going all throughout the credits.
The rest of the episode is great, too. But yes, I think the entire season was made for just this payoff.
posted by Catblack at 8:09 AM on March 20, 2015
The rest of the episode is great, too. But yes, I think the entire season was made for just this payoff.
posted by Catblack at 8:09 AM on March 20, 2015
OK, it finally dawned on me - I got this far watch UKS, and then my Netflix crapped out when I had about 10 minutes to go in this episode, which is why some of the jokes seem familiar and others not at all. So I need to get back to watching now that these recaps have gotten slightly ahead of me!
To be fair, I've never seen the inside of a public blimp.
posted by nubs at 8:11 AM on March 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
To be fair, I've never seen the inside of a public blimp.
posted by nubs at 8:11 AM on March 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
YES. I'm not the only one who wondered if Roger was voiced by Jon Lovitz!
posted by angeline at 8:14 AM on March 20, 2015
posted by angeline at 8:14 AM on March 20, 2015
Also, did anyone else notice Bill Hader in the "There's No Entourage 2!" celebration?
posted by angeline at 8:16 AM on March 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by angeline at 8:16 AM on March 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
Logan is my favorite of the show's bad men (well, except for the baddest of men, Reverend Richard Wayne Gary Wayne). He's just so obliviously privileged, and yet not so oblivious that he isn't immediately able to make use of that privilege in hurtful ways to get what he wants.
Daddy's Boy was spectacular.
posted by maxsparber at 8:20 AM on March 20, 2015 [2 favorites]
Daddy's Boy was spectacular.
posted by maxsparber at 8:20 AM on March 20, 2015 [2 favorites]
Between "Daddy's Boy" and "squash" this episode got a lot of mileage out of words that sound more and more uncomfortable with each repetition.
posted by Navelgazer at 8:42 AM on March 20, 2015 [6 favorites]
posted by Navelgazer at 8:42 AM on March 20, 2015 [6 favorites]
Loved how Kimmy's concept of taking her relationship with Logan "to the next level" involved mauling him until he passed out.
posted by plastic_animals at 9:20 AM on March 20, 2015 [2 favorites]
posted by plastic_animals at 9:20 AM on March 20, 2015 [2 favorites]
Somebody mentioned in a previous post that there is a far more sinister joke that can be read into that: That if you couple this with her claim that weird sex stuff happened in the bunker, it is possible to interpret this as meaning that she misinterpreted Reverend Richard Wayne Gary Wayne trying to kill her, and so her sex moves are all murderous.
posted by maxsparber at 9:23 AM on March 20, 2015 [9 favorites]
posted by maxsparber at 9:23 AM on March 20, 2015 [9 favorites]
I was laughing maniacally through the "Daddy's Boy" bit but I lost it while reading the "Daddy's Boy" credits and seeing Thom von Finnland getting producers (or something) credits.
posted by Seamus at 10:18 AM on March 20, 2015 [9 favorites]
posted by Seamus at 10:18 AM on March 20, 2015 [9 favorites]
Yeah, that was maybe the darkest joke of the season and it amazes me that the show managed to pull it off. I'm not sure we were supposed to take anything more specific from it than simply that Kimmy's concept of sex is wrapped up in an extremely violent context.
I think the thing you really have to look at in this show in terms of what works or not is "who is it written for?" The stuff with Dong generally feels offensive, in part because in no way does the show seem like it's aimed at Asian immigrants. Similarly with the Jacquelyn/Jackie Lynn stuff (though from what I'm seeing the view of that storyline from Lakota and other Native Americans is mixed to positive.)
With the horrors of the bunker, though, which should not, should not, should not work as humor, I feel like the reason they do is sort of the opposite of the way similar jokes would play in, say, Family Guy, where MacFarlane would run with the assumption that 99% of his audience would be willing to laugh at the remaining 1%. In the case of UKS, it works because it almost feels like a show written about and for survivors of this kind of horror, and the dark humor they themselves would find in their experiences.
Don't know if that's at all true, but it's what it feels like to me.
posted by Navelgazer at 10:22 AM on March 20, 2015 [13 favorites]
I think the thing you really have to look at in this show in terms of what works or not is "who is it written for?" The stuff with Dong generally feels offensive, in part because in no way does the show seem like it's aimed at Asian immigrants. Similarly with the Jacquelyn/Jackie Lynn stuff (though from what I'm seeing the view of that storyline from Lakota and other Native Americans is mixed to positive.)
With the horrors of the bunker, though, which should not, should not, should not work as humor, I feel like the reason they do is sort of the opposite of the way similar jokes would play in, say, Family Guy, where MacFarlane would run with the assumption that 99% of his audience would be willing to laugh at the remaining 1%. In the case of UKS, it works because it almost feels like a show written about and for survivors of this kind of horror, and the dark humor they themselves would find in their experiences.
Don't know if that's at all true, but it's what it feels like to me.
posted by Navelgazer at 10:22 AM on March 20, 2015 [13 favorites]
sobarel: "And when I saw this next one even I couldn't help but think 'Man! This nerd is lame!'"
posted by filthy light thief at 10:25 AM on March 20, 2015 [10 favorites]
Kimmy: It's her waterproof birding journal!I have high hopes for Xan's life in Connecticut, where she can cast aside her shell of snotty, privileged teen and embrace her true, nerdy self. Or she can become a real bad-ass, hell-bent on revenge.
Xan's mother: You saw a Thick-Billed Murre? Where?
Xan: Mom, I don't want to talk about it right ... It was at Turtle Pond. It was glorious.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:25 AM on March 20, 2015 [10 favorites]
Navelgazer, with that thought, the Restaurant of Horrors bit from Kimmy makes sense. That kind of fake horror isn't scary if you've lived through a true horror.
posted by filthy light thief at 10:26 AM on March 20, 2015 [3 favorites]
posted by filthy light thief at 10:26 AM on March 20, 2015 [3 favorites]
I loved that Le Loup's assistant was actually named Felicia.
posted by mochapickle at 11:39 AM on March 20, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by mochapickle at 11:39 AM on March 20, 2015 [4 favorites]
I actually felt a little sorry for Logan up until this point.
I mean, he's just as clueless about the world as Kimmy and Dong are, and his previous interactions with Kimmy really were quite respectful. Sure, he had his assistant buy her birthday gifts, but it's the thought that counts right?
She spent a night lying to him, which he was understandably miffed about, but then he didn't really seem to care about the social class divide between the two of them. He didn't even do anything to attempt to disrupt her friendship with Dong until after Dong assaulted him. Asking Kimmy to stop associating with a guy who obviously has feelings for her was a big ask, but the kind of advice that wouldn't be out of place on AskMe.
He obviously crossed the Moral Event Horizon [TW: TVTropes] with the deportation thing, but nothing he had done before that made him a Bad Guy, even though it was obvious (to the viewer) an episode ago or so that he would be replaced by Dong.
posted by sparklemotion at 1:11 PM on March 20, 2015 [3 favorites]
I mean, he's just as clueless about the world as Kimmy and Dong are, and his previous interactions with Kimmy really were quite respectful. Sure, he had his assistant buy her birthday gifts, but it's the thought that counts right?
She spent a night lying to him, which he was understandably miffed about, but then he didn't really seem to care about the social class divide between the two of them. He didn't even do anything to attempt to disrupt her friendship with Dong until after Dong assaulted him. Asking Kimmy to stop associating with a guy who obviously has feelings for her was a big ask, but the kind of advice that wouldn't be out of place on AskMe.
He obviously crossed the Moral Event Horizon [TW: TVTropes] with the deportation thing, but nothing he had done before that made him a Bad Guy, even though it was obvious (to the viewer) an episode ago or so that he would be replaced by Dong.
posted by sparklemotion at 1:11 PM on March 20, 2015 [3 favorites]
Me too. I liked Logan for being cool about the night they met. His affection for her seemed genuine.
The dolphin situation definitely moved the needle against him -- without it, Logan's tip off to Immigration would have felt like it came out of nowhere. There was no way Kimmy would find true love with a guy who had inadvertently murdered a dolphin, whether she knew about it or not.
posted by mochapickle at 1:30 PM on March 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
The dolphin situation definitely moved the needle against him -- without it, Logan's tip off to Immigration would have felt like it came out of nowhere. There was no way Kimmy would find true love with a guy who had inadvertently murdered a dolphin, whether she knew about it or not.
posted by mochapickle at 1:30 PM on March 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
I think that's the clever thing about Logan as one of the "bad men" of the show - he likes Kimmy, so it's trivially easy for him to be very nice to her, and he's obviously able to be patient and understanding with her as well, but it's because, again, he likes her and made a choice to be that way. His default state is to be casually thoughtless, though, and there's not really a conflict between those two things. And few stories really show us that. (Into the Woods's princes are similar, I guess...)
posted by Navelgazer at 1:57 PM on March 20, 2015 [7 favorites]
posted by Navelgazer at 1:57 PM on March 20, 2015 [7 favorites]
>Loved how Kimmy's concept of taking her relationship with Logan "to the next level" involved mauling him until he passed out.
Was that in this episode? I actually think it's the weird sex stuff she mentioned in the first or second episode, and I suspect ... she's never done it to anyone with testicles before.
posted by Catblack at 3:08 PM on March 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
Was that in this episode? I actually think it's the weird sex stuff she mentioned in the first or second episode, and I suspect ... she's never done it to anyone with testicles before.
posted by Catblack at 3:08 PM on March 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
I'm pretty sure it's in this episode. There's a flashback to them moving to the next level, with Kimmy attacking Logan, and then Titus says that Logan is chasing her so much because Logan has never been denied anything before.
posted by drezdn at 3:20 PM on March 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
posted by drezdn at 3:20 PM on March 20, 2015 [1 favorite]
This is as good a place as any to put this Tituss Burgess on a Role Tailor-Made for Him on ‘Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’ (New York Times).
posted by plastic_animals at 7:53 PM on March 20, 2015 [4 favorites]
posted by plastic_animals at 7:53 PM on March 20, 2015 [4 favorites]
I mostly just felt really sorry for Xan in this episode.
I mean, running through the timeline -- Xan's mom seems to have a history of dumping her when she's inconvenient. The best I can guess is that Xan lived at least part-time with her mother up until the point where she became a teenager, at which point she "invented teen angst" and got shipped off to her father. (Note that this also would be around the time of the new quintuplets... replaced by five younger versions of herself!)
Yes, Xan's friends are terrible people. But they exclude anyone they don't like. As long as they're not excluding her, Xan knows they like (or at least tolerate) her. Who else in her life does that, at least up until Kimmy comes into the picture? Her own mother shipped her off, her father is absent, her stepmother is scared of her, and none of the paid help gives a crap. Her friends seem to be the only people who pay attention to her until Kimmy shows up.
I have to wonder if Xan was scared that her mother wouldn't take her back to CT -- and if the whole play at Kimmy's was a preemptive ego defense. Mom didn't want me, but only because she thinks I'm on drugs and I play the drums and I hang out north of 96th Street!
Kimmy reached out to Xan's mom with good intentions, but what actually happened is that Xan's mom proved that her love for her daughter is conditional on straight As, AP Latin, the oboe, and birding.
Also, this show is really down on Connecticut.
posted by pie ninja at 7:19 AM on March 21, 2015 [10 favorites]
I mean, running through the timeline -- Xan's mom seems to have a history of dumping her when she's inconvenient. The best I can guess is that Xan lived at least part-time with her mother up until the point where she became a teenager, at which point she "invented teen angst" and got shipped off to her father. (Note that this also would be around the time of the new quintuplets... replaced by five younger versions of herself!)
Yes, Xan's friends are terrible people. But they exclude anyone they don't like. As long as they're not excluding her, Xan knows they like (or at least tolerate) her. Who else in her life does that, at least up until Kimmy comes into the picture? Her own mother shipped her off, her father is absent, her stepmother is scared of her, and none of the paid help gives a crap. Her friends seem to be the only people who pay attention to her until Kimmy shows up.
I have to wonder if Xan was scared that her mother wouldn't take her back to CT -- and if the whole play at Kimmy's was a preemptive ego defense. Mom didn't want me, but only because she thinks I'm on drugs and I play the drums and I hang out north of 96th Street!
Kimmy reached out to Xan's mom with good intentions, but what actually happened is that Xan's mom proved that her love for her daughter is conditional on straight As, AP Latin, the oboe, and birding.
Also, this show is really down on Connecticut.
posted by pie ninja at 7:19 AM on March 21, 2015 [10 favorites]
Is Xan wearing a Bajoran earring while she's facetiming with her mom, or is that actually a thing now?
posted by figurant at 11:30 PM on March 21, 2015
posted by figurant at 11:30 PM on March 21, 2015
or is that actually a thing now?
iirc, it was actually A Thing in the 90's where upper/upper-middle class Caucasians made a run on certain (East) Indian culture!
Nose and nose-ear piercings and jewelry were not uncommon. The Bajoran/Star Trek thing came on the tail end of that fad.
posted by porpoise at 12:45 AM on March 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
iirc, it was actually A Thing in the 90's where upper/upper-middle class Caucasians made a run on certain (East) Indian culture!
Nose and nose-ear piercings and jewelry were not uncommon. The Bajoran/Star Trek thing came on the tail end of that fad.
posted by porpoise at 12:45 AM on March 22, 2015 [2 favorites]
My favorite quotes:
"What's a Tilda Swinton?"
"He wants to shoop, baby. shoop."
"I would have loved to meet a talking crow!"
"A female dog? The thing that makes puppies? Nice compliment Xan."
"It's like talking to a chicken!"
"I rode a bus to get here! A bus that went over a drawbridge!"
"Is that my leg hole?" "Oh it's ok, I'm pretty good friends with the pregnant raccoon who lives in there."
"I dont want to eat a bird I might now!"
"She's crazy mom, from the drugs!"
"Man, this nerd is lame!"
"You're not some daddy's boy that tries to dolphin me and then blimps."
Titus' "sports" jersey, Kimmy's DRUGS shirts, Dong's Chris-Cross outfit!
posted by sweetmarie at 8:24 PM on March 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
"What's a Tilda Swinton?"
"He wants to shoop, baby. shoop."
"I would have loved to meet a talking crow!"
"A female dog? The thing that makes puppies? Nice compliment Xan."
"It's like talking to a chicken!"
"I rode a bus to get here! A bus that went over a drawbridge!"
"Is that my leg hole?" "Oh it's ok, I'm pretty good friends with the pregnant raccoon who lives in there."
"I dont want to eat a bird I might now!"
"She's crazy mom, from the drugs!"
"Man, this nerd is lame!"
"You're not some daddy's boy that tries to dolphin me and then blimps."
Titus' "sports" jersey, Kimmy's DRUGS shirts, Dong's Chris-Cross outfit!
posted by sweetmarie at 8:24 PM on March 22, 2015 [1 favorite]
For me, this episode's whole existence was justified by Daddy's Boy.
I have never seen that kind of commitment to a joke before. My wife and I were dying as it escalated further and further. Heck, Daddy's Boy may in fact have sold me on 30 Rock by extension.
Also, courtesy of the AV Club comments section, they got some big Broadway names to make that clip: Nic Rouleau (Book of Mormon, making his screen debut), Jefferson Mays (A Gentleman's Guide To Love & Murder, Tony winner) and John Cullum (A whole lot of plays, with a whole lot of awards).
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:59 PM on March 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
I have never seen that kind of commitment to a joke before. My wife and I were dying as it escalated further and further. Heck, Daddy's Boy may in fact have sold me on 30 Rock by extension.
Also, courtesy of the AV Club comments section, they got some big Broadway names to make that clip: Nic Rouleau (Book of Mormon, making his screen debut), Jefferson Mays (A Gentleman's Guide To Love & Murder, Tony winner) and John Cullum (A whole lot of plays, with a whole lot of awards).
posted by Holy Zarquon's Singing Fish at 1:59 PM on March 24, 2015 [1 favorite]
I was laughing maniacally through the "Daddy's Boy" bit but I lost it while reading the "Daddy's Boy" credits and seeing Thom von Finnland getting producers (or something) credits.
I was in agony by the time the Daddy's Boy credits rolled around, and then nearly wet myself at the Tom of Finland bit. Protip, trying to explain Tom of Finland to a fella who has no idea who Tom of Finland is while gasping for breath is not easy.
Also I kind of really want to see Xan and Kymme (sp?) go on Adventures.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 10:57 PM on April 20, 2015
I was in agony by the time the Daddy's Boy credits rolled around, and then nearly wet myself at the Tom of Finland bit. Protip, trying to explain Tom of Finland to a fella who has no idea who Tom of Finland is while gasping for breath is not easy.
Also I kind of really want to see Xan and Kymme (sp?) go on Adventures.
posted by feckless fecal fear mongering at 10:57 PM on April 20, 2015
Kimmy failing at Xan's name was my favorite gag but there was so much. This episode was one of the best thus far.
And she wasn't in the Daddy's Boy sequence (loved how far they took that) but it was great to see another Broadway (etc) star, Christine Ebersole, as Xan's mother.
posted by mountmccabe at 7:51 AM on May 3, 2015
And she wasn't in the Daddy's Boy sequence (loved how far they took that) but it was great to see another Broadway (etc) star, Christine Ebersole, as Xan's mother.
posted by mountmccabe at 7:51 AM on May 3, 2015
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posted by drezdn at 4:24 AM on March 20, 2015