Okay, at least that cliffhanger ending means we’re getting somewhere. I’m now feeling much more patient with Cliff returning as Mindy’s divorce lawyer, if only because the two have an entertainingly contentious rapport. And, of course, we’ll get to that cliffhanger in a bit.
At the beginning of this episode, Mindy is insisting she’s fine with the demise of her marriage to Ben, even as she eats the gravestone-shaped cake her co-workers got her for the occasion. “But you don’t have a husband,” Tamra points out, “and that’s all you ever wanted.” Great pep talk, thanks.
But there’s lots of news from the other characters as well! Tamra insists that her recent hookup with Morgan was a mistake brought on by fertility hormones. (Though she later changes her mind when she sees a “plus-sized female mannequin” and thinks of him.) Anna overhears that Jeremy slept with a docent at the Met. Jody thinks Jeremy and Anna should get back together. And Peter has returned, which is always a welcome development. His wife, Lauren, got a job in New York City, which strongly suggests he’ll be sticking around until the end of the series. Yay! Furthermore, he and Lauren will be staying with Mindy for the contrived (but timely) reason that “We bought a condo at Trump Tower, but we don’t speak Russian, so it’s really hard to make friends.”
Peter wants to throw Mindy a divorce karaoke party, and this is why we like having Peter around. After a bafflingly fleeting dinner appearance by Mindy’s parents and her brother Rishi — maybe we’re just trying to fit everyone in one last time in this season? — we’re onto more important things, like why Lauren has an Orphan Annie–like haircut and why Anna wants to have lunch with Peter. At first, Peter thinks it’s because she wants him to be her OB/GYN. After all, he gives great pap smears: “When I was Mindy’s OB/GYN, she used to call me Pappa Smurf.” Anna replies, “I’m very happy to say I don’t know what that means.” Lucky lady.
Turns out Anna does not want a pap smear; she wants to give Peter her job because it’s been too hard working with Jeremy after their breakup. “Jeremy turned you down?” Peter says. “What are you, some kind of weirdo?” Yes, of course she is, but that is demonstrated by her answer: “No, I’m within the range of normal. I’ll be happy to show you my brain scans.” Like Jody before him, Peter takes it upon himself to berate Jeremy for his stupidity in this situation: “She’s a living, life-size Bratz doll!” Jeremy insists that he’s “cool” now, but I question that assertion. I don’t want cool Jeremy back, and I’m pretty sure Jeremy himself is with me on all of this. Peter agrees with us: “If you can find a weird girl whose weirdness matches up with your weirdness, I wouldn’t let that go.” A better definition of life partnership has never been uttered.
Mindy is still insisting that she’s fine with how things have turned out: “I got a great job, I got a great son, and Will & Grace is back and bitchier than ever.” She’s feeling fine, that is, until she hears that Ben wants half of everything she has. “What’s he going to do with 12 Omaha Steaks every month?” she asks. But she’s no longer so sanguine about her divorce.
Still, the karaoke party must go on, and Beverly literally starts it with the song “Get This Party Started.” Colette sings Elvis’s “In the Ghetto.” Anna shows up with a bandage on her nose, having been punched by a jealous Lauren. And Mindy has a rare moment of sage wisdom while talking to Anna about both of their recent divorces from men they weren’t passionate about: “Trust me, it’s a lot harder to break up with someone you loved.” Clearly, that’s also a foreshadowing of what’s shortly to come.
For the moment, though, it inspires Anna to “perform a gesture.” She cues up “If I Could Turn Back Time” and sings it to Jeremy. He proves he is indeed not cool by gushing, “Oh my God, it’s finally happening. My life is becoming a musical.” He hops up to perform it with her, and they kiss. Jeremy finally gets his happy ending! If nothing else happens on this show, at least we have this moment. It’s pretty sweet.
Meanwhile, Mindy goes to the hospital to try to talk to Ben in person about their divorce settlement. Instead, she runs into his daughter, Lindsay, who mentions that Ben already has a new girlfriend. (Her name is Vanessa and she “runs reality at MTV,” which seems about right.) But Lindsay also ends up talking her dad into backing down on his divorce demands, so yay, Lindsay!
Cliff drops the big bomb the next day when he says he wishes Danny’s divorce were going as well as Mindy’s. So yes, we’re headed toward some kind of reckoning with Danny. Do we want them to reunite? I don’t even know anymore. Maybe I’ll know when we see him, which, if I know myself, probably means I’ll want them back together. Especially if there’s a dance routine involved.
