Warning: Spoiler Alert
“I used to drink and black out. That surprises a lot of audiences because I don’t look like someone who used to do anything.
John and his roommates face a new headache. Bedbugs. While packing stuff up, Motif stumbles upon a box of old photos of John and Jane. Both drastically different than they are now. John partied too hard (actually pretty in line with details of John’s actual life, or so he’d have you believe from his standup) and Jane was naive and had an ‘eyebrow situation’. Oh and she still went with her Iranian name, “Gagoosh”.
John and Motif exit their apartment to find Oscar doing the same thing, and for the same reason. John has this great idea to bring friends and stay at Lou Cannon’s place while he’s out. This way they can party and connect with the college version of himself. John invites Oscar who gladly accepts. Then reacts even more pleased when John references partying like he was in college.
While Jane frets about forgetting her flat-iron and other such tools used to keep her ‘eyebrow situation’ in check, Oscar suggests that going onto Lou’s roof would be a bad idea on hallucinogens. Clearly, Oscar misunderstood just how crazy John was planning on getting. Oscar put peyote in the tea. John fires into a pre-trip flashback about a bad experience with acid in college. Short version is that apparently he visualized a Reggie Watts looking zombie chasing him down.
To distract from the onset of peyote, Oscar suggests they put on a Motown record and water plants. Which they do. And don’t look too unlike the Peanuts gang dancing to Schroder’s music in A Charlie Brown Christmas. Everything seems to be calming down, when Lou comes home unannounced. With Oscar’s help, this overreach on John’s part became an impromptu surprise birthday party for Lou. Even if they just thought of it.
Side note. This has to be filed under “I get why”, but the inconsistencies in the timeline are starting to get annoying. My understanding of the situation was that after the first episode or two, FOX freaked out over the ratings. News flash FOX, don’t put a first time sitcom in prime time on a Sunday. Mulaney spent the first 10 episodes or so competing with Homeland and Sunday Night Football. A lead in from Seinfeld would not have overshadowed those two juggernauts. So then they decided to shuffle the episode order to put episodes they liked better up front. FOX and NBC being more worried than most about instant gratification for ratings. Problem is now details seem intentionally and awkwardly out-of-place.
When John needs their help the most, his friends are preoccupied with their own issues. Motif can’t stop calling ‘Rodeo’ to tell her he loves her even though he doesn’t. And Jane is trying to turn Lou’s heated toilet seat into a flat-iron. Meanwhile the clock is ticking on John’s sanity. Any minute the peyote is going to take him to hallucination land. John starts in with Jane on who would possibly walk into a fumigated apartment to retrieve….then Andre just appeared. The ship might have sailed on the waiting for peyote bit. Andre somehow just happened to have a bag of Jane’s stuff. The Lou’s introduction to this new game called “truth or dare” is interrupted by Jane. She walks out holding a clarinet. With the unibrow in full rebellious growth and her hair resembled that of Mad Madam Mim.
All along the way, there seems to be a stalement between Lou and Oscar over who is really John’s mentor.
Just as John feels like he has an out with this the truth or dare rules, no less than six participants, Natasha Leggero runs in. Leggero, another staple on the current standup circuit, I assume must be ‘rodeo’.
Motif draws truth from Rodeo. The question is “Who or what are you in love with?” John leans in and says, I would lie on this one. Then out of respect for the game, Motif gives Rodeo an old standard.
Motif: Rodeo, I love you. But I’m not in love with you. And also, I don’t love you.
Then Rodeo goes into ‘tear this place up’ mode. As if that weren’t bad enough, Lou comes in for John’s turn and suggests truth. “Which one of us is really your mentor, me or this hippie?” Some back and forth later and Oscar has found himself about to escort Lou ‘outside’ and let the cat out of the bag concerning John’s peyote use and ignorance toward the knowledge of Lou’s birthday.
Lou is throwing his own pity party. John then decides regardless of the threat of the onset of peyote, they are staying. No one should be alone on their birthday. Rodeo finds the gun in Lou’s safe and forces Motif to say what she wants him to up to and including “we’re getting married” because she has the gun pressed into Motif’s back.
Jane has completely reverted back to full on Gagoosh. So Gagoosh gets truth, “How did you lose your virginity? The story and flashback tell a story of Gagoosh spotting a scared preppy boy and seizing an opportunity to shed her flower and she talked the boy. Or in other words, Gagoosh was the Reggie Watts looking zombie.
The egg timer goes off and John doesn’t feel the effects of the peyote. He begins to monologue about rejecting the old him and embracing the current, responsible, good friend that he is now. He goes around the room to address each person. Lou, Jane, Andre, Oscar, Lou (again), Dracula…and then the peyote kicks in and John is transformed into a smiling, catatonic, tripping version of John. Then Lou has a great idea.
Lou (looking at Oscar): He needs the both of us. Let’s FREAK HIM OUT!
Lou and Oscar appear to be new BFFs sitting on the couch recounting the evening eating pudding. Then John runs out of a bedroom asking what happened last night. “You made a fool of yourself in ways we will tell you over the years. Jane comes out looking like Jane again. John mentions that he knows they had sex last night but they don’t have to talk about it. Jane convinces him that it wasn’t her and he was on peyote. Despite the monster with the clarinet account. Then Andre walks out in boxers and no shirt holding a clarinet. Everyone looks uncomfortable.
