The Mindy Project finally returned last night after some time off for the World Series. Appropriately enough, Mindy’s chronic lateness was a big theme of the episode. On a show like this usually centered around the romcom-y aspects of Mindy’s love life, it’s rare to see it apply some more serious life lessons into the mix.
Mindy’s tendency to run late for things has really started bugging Danny. First she’s so late for their Godfather II date that the movie sold out. She’s also late for work, but Danny really loses it when she misses the beginning of the Italian-American stand up comedy show. That’s when I started thinking Danny was getting a little ridiculous. Come on, she was ten minutes late and he already left!
It’s a good thing Dr. Fishman is still around and outwardly concerned for Danny’s mental health. After Mindy’s escalating lies in the last episode about Danny being suicidal, Dr. Fishman is genuinely worried about his sudden anger over Mindy’s lateness. She eventually has to threaten suspension from his hospital rounds until he completes the seminar.
Brendan Deslauriers mediated the seminar and really got to the bottom of Danny’s anger issues. It turns out Danny’s issue with people running late all stems from his childhood when his father stood him up when they were supposed to see Ghostbusters together. As he continues to break down, he delivers the best line: “If you love someone, why would you keep them waiting?” If that didn’t break your heart, you must be a monster. (Also if this season doesn’t earn Chris Messina an Emmy next year, I don’t know what will.) Danny learned the important life lesson that some things are better late than never.
While Danny was attending his mandatory group therapy session, Mindy agreed to take Annette out on her usual Saturday chores. She learns how annoying it is to be the person constantly waiting for someone who takes their sweet time to get ready. It’s interesting to note that Danny made sure Mindy allowed for a whole hour to get Annette from her house to her hairdresser appointment that is only five minutes away. He probably did that partially because he knew Mindy would run late herself, but Annette isn’t exactly punctual either. It goes to show that Danny’s used to his mother always being late but at least she’s been there for him all his life.
The second life lesson comes from Peter acting like a jerk. What else is new? No, but really the writers are onto something here. He’s been acting like a d-bag all season and finally someone calls him out on it. Abby (guest star Allison Tolman) is Tamra’s best friend set up on a blind date with Peter. Morgan and Tamra were so sure that they’d hit it off but Peter royally screwed that up from the start. He did surprise me when he took Abby’s words to heart and actually did something to prove that he might not be such a bad guy after all. Since Abby is a romance novelist, it’s appropriate that Peter took a second to stop judging books by their cover. His stab at writing “A Titanic Mistake: A Sunken Romance” was enough to give her a second chance. Hopefully she’s just the person to change Peter into a more likeable character!
Overall it was a great episode with an equal balance of humor and heart. Don’t you agree?
Photo via Fox
