Happy Endings, Season 3, Episode 8: “Fowl Play/Date”
Written by Sierra Teller Ornelas
Directed by Rob Greenberg
Airs Sundays at 10pm (ET) and Tuesdays at 9pm (ET) on ABC
Enter Alex into the diner with Tyler, the racist parrot, follow it up with some crazy quips that only those six lovable weirdoes can provide, and the second half of season three has started off with a bang. It’s interesting and funny to see the writers bring Tyler the Parrot back for another round. His last outing did have the gang pretty much fuming and only Alex could get away with bringing the parrot into a diner. The reason he is there, you might ask? Well, that would be because the writers are bringing back something else from season two- the RomComCon! Alex is going by herself this year, which means the rest of the group will be split up as well, Brad and Penny trying to cover a very unfortunate incident and Jane and Dave trying to hook Max up with a new guy.
Seeing Dave and Jane paired up is quite hilarious, almost as go0d as when they were trying to create something romantic for Alex. This time though, their target is Max. Their mission? Find someone special for him. Each one of them has a potential match, who just happens to be an almost perfect reflection of them. While Eliza Coupe steals the scenes she is in, as usual, Zachary Knighton is definitely upping his game. From the song he wrote for Alex coming home to his bar argument with Jane over whose guy is better, ultimately knocking a tray out of drinks clear out of a waiter’s hands, Knighton has come quite a ways since the beginning days of the show. Perhaps the writers should start giving him some more comedic moments.
The other story arc in the episode features Brad, Penny, and a very dead Tyler the Parrot. Hilarity surrounds the two as they try to come up with a way to cover up Tyler’s death. Leave it to Penny to be the brains of the operation. Casey Wilson and Damon Wayans Jr. have always brought their A game to the material that they are given, but seeing the two of them together and how they handle their characters’ situation is perfection. Eventually it’s revealed that it’s actually Alex who kills Tyler. How? By giving him too much alcohol. Only our lovably stupid Alex could be that dense about giving alcohol to a bird. But Elisha Cuthbert plays it perfectly and makes you love Alex and her airheaded ways even more.
The episode is definitely a good start for the New Year. It brings the laughs that Happy Endings is known to provide and it doesn’t disappoint after the hilarious Christmas episode that closed out that first half of season three. The MVP of the Week is a tough call. Since Wilson/Wayans and Coupe/Knighton are operating together it would be unfair to split them up. The award ultimately needs to go to Coupe and Knighton. Their unwillingness to let up on Max choosing their respective guy and the lengths they go to is just hysterical. The second act of season three of Happy Endings has started off with their A game intact. Here’s hoping they keep the momentum going in the future episodes, and oh, make sure never to give margaritas to a parrot, even if it is Taco Tuesday!
Josh Bouye