Sunday, October 30, 2016

No Tomorrow - No Holds Barred


I let out an audible sigh when "No Holds Barred" came to a conclusion. The episode falls into the trap of countless basic romcom cliches as Evie (Tori Anderson) discovers Xavier (Joshua Sasse) is still dating other women and decides to have a few dating adventures of her own. Because her choices do allow her to become a more self-realized person, and force Xavier to acknowledge how much he cares for her, I could forgive the convoluted set-up if the episode didn't end in one of the preeminent romcom cliches of two people who obviously belong together failing to admit their feelings only because the plot needs to be extended another half-hour (or in this case several episodes).

We know the two are good for each other. They know that as well. The refusal of both to admit that to each other is at the best cowardly (something the theme of the show runs decidedly against), and also pretty fucking stupid. That said, the episode still delivers some fun moments, the best of which is the unexpected pairing of Xavier and Evie's ex. Here's one subplot I would definitely be interested in seeing the show explore further (and please, less of bizarre office wooing and Tim's painful attempts at picking up women).

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