This recap includes spoilers for season two of “Nobody Wants This.” If you’d like to share your opinion about this episode or any aspect of season two, subscribe to our Substack, Jewish TV Club and join us in the chat!
As this episode title suggests, we find all the characters of “Nobody Wants This” at a crossroads.
Morgan realizes she knows nothing about Dr. Andy (which, yes, hello) and also maybe that he’s a walking red flag? Joanne and Noah are at an impasse in their relationship because of the conversion issue (sigh) which has Noah reluctant to move in together despite Joanne getting evicted. And Esther’s search for meaning and purpose in her life drives a wedge between her and Sasha, who ends up trying to help everyone else only to end up suffering and ignored.
I’m going to be honest, this episode feels very much like filler to me. I don’t think you necessarily need to know the specificities of it to move on to the finale, because all these issues will repeat themselves there. But if you want to know exactly what happens, here’s my reluctant recap of what I think is the weakest episode of this season. Feel free to argue with me in the comments of TV Club.
Joanne is looking at apartments, including three bedrooms. “Just thinking ahead,” she says, and Noah agrees that in a perfect world they move in together, but says they’re not there yet.
Noah tells Sasha that Joanne said she was “fine” about him not wanting to move in together, and Sasha says that Esther and any woman who ever says she’s fine is not fine.
“I always think, if I could choose to be Jewish, would I be Jewish?” Sasha muses, though he doesn’t seem to be too conflicted about it. I’m not mad about him releasing that sentence and then it not going nowhere.
Joanne brings Morgan a peace offering from Courage Bagels (shout out) and the line was apparently insane (believable). Joanne apologizes for being a monster at Morgan’s dress shopping, and Morgan accepts it because, well, she got her evicted. Those bagels look so good and the two eat them outside as they talk relationships. Morgan talks about being in couples therapy with Dr. Andy about their run in with his ex-patient/ex-girlfriend. Joanne works really hard trying not to judge, and she invites Morgan and Dr. Andy to a beer garden happy hour with Noah, Esther, Sasha and her.
We get to go inside Dr. Andy and Morgan’s couple therapy session and there’s truly nowhere else I’d rather not be. “Helena, we barely got out of that one alive,” bemoans the therapist. The whole couple’s therapist situation is super weird. I think it’s supposed to be funny, but something about so many unethical therapists is really getting to me. Like, Dr. Andy and this therapist clearly have a previous relationship? They get drinks together? I hate it! Dr. Andy bemoans that Morgan hasn’t asked him a question in over two years, which… He was her therapist!! I can’t anymore, someone please throw this storyline in the trash and light it on fire. Save me.
Sasha asks Esther about whether he should wear the “Benny Blanco” sweater or “Cool Japanese Guy” sweater to the beer garden and Esther tells him she’s tired of picking his outfits and showing him things and being his second mother. It’s very relatable carrying-the-mental-load angst, but there’s also something more — we are reminded again, Esther is just not happy where she is anymore. Sasha is confused because he thinks Esther genuinely likes helping him with his sartorial choices and Esther does end up telling him to wear the “Japanese Guy Shirt,” even though I’d go for NJB Benny Blanco.
The couples play Cornhole at the beer garden. When Esther suggests Joanne move to The Valley, Joanne replies: “How dare you?” and a “pup pu pu,” the Jewish expression that wards off the evil eye. I am a little concerned of the use of “pu pu pu” here, but Joanne does seem to understand this is about keeping away bad juju, so I think maybe it’s OK.
Everyone then decides to play a get-to-know-you card game made up by Dr. Andy and Morgan’s couples therapist. Dr. Andy urges them to be real and a lot of truths come out. It seems destined to end poorly, but here we go.
Joanne opens up about crying when her parents divorced, Esther opens up about wanting to be Diane Keaton (RIP) in “Baby Boom” pre-baby, a tiger lady who does whatever she wants. Noah reveals that he doesn’t feel conflicted about him and Joanne moving in together (it was an easy no for him), and Dr. Andy reveals that he has a twin, which Morgan didn’t know — “you didn’t ask,” Dr. Andy replies nonsensically.
Sasha talks about his love for jiu-jitsu which Esther doesn’t know about and neither does anyone else at the table. This is the final straw for Sasha, who really does show up for everyone else and seems to get ignored more than is fair. He gets mad and calls out everyone at the table: Noah for not wanting to move in with Joanne, Morgan for not knowing anything about Dr. Andy and Esther for hating his guts, which, of course, brings the entire hang to a screeching halt.
Joanne and Noah head home and have a serious talk about why Noah doesn’t want to move in together. He puts the cards on the table: It’s about conversion. He’s scared if they move in together they won’t answer the conversion question and he will be unhappy and resentful. Joanne says she’s inching there but isn’t ready to make a decision yet.
“If you can’t move in with me as I am now I don’t see how we do move forward,” Joanne confesses, and I feel like we’ve been having this conversation all season without moving forward, too.
“Don’t you think we deserve to be in relationships where we can both be exactly who we are while still moving forward?” she wonders, and it’s clear that she and Noah — and this entire show — are at an impasse. The same one they’ve been at all season, for those keeping track at home.
The wins
Pu pu pu, even when it’s said not entirely correctly.
The icks
Ugh, this whole episode is prego.
