Mulaney: The Third Wheel

Courtesy of FOX

Warning: Spoiler Alert

We start off tonight’s episode with a second show in a row with completely fresh material. It may not seem like much, but that is a big consideration. This was about finding a new apartment. These have all been used as a device to telegraph some aspect of the plot. So who is moving out, I guess is the question.

John and Jane return from a tenant meeting. Motif is in the background and suggests they should invite him to one of those meetings. Which leads them to break the news to Motif that he technically is not on the lease. Which was delivered in a similar manner to how two parents attempt to inform their child that he or she is in fact adopted.

Lou apparently pays a guy to sit in the front of the audience as a go to insult plant. A person Lou can make fun of who won’t be problematic, because he’s being paid for his troubles. And it’s been the same guy for decades.

Motif meets with his ‘homies’. Which are three women who could not possibly seem any more opposite from Motif. They seem to be rich, white, ‘whinos’ who cannot help themselves from spitting out horrible slogans to suggest Motif needs to be on the lease.

Motif takes the advice of these ladies and decides to investigate the previous roommates to see where he ‘stacks up’. First stop Andre. Who wasn’t a roommate but creepily has kept notes on the people who were.

Barging into the apartment, Motif decides to breach the lease issue again. He immediately notices that candles are lit and John and Jane are dressed up and standing together on the other side of the kitchen island. He then implores them to not kick him out. They had a chat and made a decision. John hands Motif an envelope which Motif opens like a child on Christmas morning. They added him to the cable bill. Not the lease. He storms out.

On set at You Guessed It, the mild observation that Lou has never offered a contract to his comedic punching bag, has become a full-fledged mutiny.

John and Jane can’t help but notice a heightened volume of the city, then they realized that Motif was just always talking drowning out the noise. Which incites a fight about not having scissors. Then transitioning into how Motif would objectify her daily, but it came off as sweet.

The craziest of the ‘homies’ group has presented a lease for Motif to sign to move in with her. Just as he’s about to sign it, John and Jane run into the restaurant like a guy trying to stop a woman from boarding a plane in a bad Rom-com. The issue of the previous roommates came up. Despite the information Andre gave him, they were actually kicked out for legitimate reasons. And this time, they are going to take him to the tenant meeting and have him added to the lease.

Just about the time Arnie (the audience plant) is about to sign a contract to play a recurring character on the Good Wife, Lou runs in and begs him not to. There are too many of these ironic ‘funny finding you here’ in the largest city in the country. Lou offers Arnie a contract with benefits. John even runs over to tell Arnie he should “100% do the Good Wife”. Arnie chooses audience plant.

At the meeting, the motion is denied. Something about the size of the apartment. Then John tries to push back and claims if Motif’s not on the lease then no one is. To which Jane completely disagrees. This creates an opening for Jane and Motif to be on the lease but not John.