One my main complaints with this show so far has been that whole episodes go by in which nothing much really happens. That's true this week but it's also my favorite episode of the series so far. Maybe it's the way in which not much happens that matters.
Three awkward pause-filled therapy sessions highlight the episode. In the first we start to get a glimpse of why David can't have sex with his wife anymore and apparently it's because she's his wife and the fact that she's associated with all the mundane business of being a suburban dad just isn't much of a turn-on. (What does turn David on? Is that ice cream shop scene a suggestion?) They're great at being parents but it's that skill itself that's eating away at their love life. I don't know if I buy that logic, but at least it's logic. In the second, Carolyn shows up sans Palek, who's busy buying a suit from an extremely attentive clerk. I sense trouble. In the third, Jaime finally makes it into therapy after stalking Hugo and attempting to tattoo, then screw, the pain away. "I define myself by sex," she says of a previous round of therapy. "That's what we figured out." I think we figured that out a long time ago, but at least she senses there's a problem.
All three scenes aren't afraid to use silence, letting the characters stumble over what to say as they attempt to put into words the awkward, sometimes hurtful, feelings they have about their partners and themselves. It's all quite well acted and if nothing here quite suggests that Tell Me is on the verge of finding a much-needed higher gear, the episode definitely captures the show at its best.
Grade: B
Stray observations:
— Nothing here from the Dr. May sub-plot and no sign of her drippy, silver fox husband. That's really okay.
— Hugo shows up just long enough to tell Jaime he's in "detox" when it comes to their relationship. Classy.
— Regarding Carolyn's lunch date: Do you think the invitation read, "Let's get together and talk about our decade-old abortion"?
— David meets Palek! Worlds collide!
— David was still talking about how much he loved the TiVo. That man loves his TiVo.