You’re The Worst Recap: S3E2 “Fix Me, Dummy”

This episode of You’re The Worst explores what it means to take responsibility of your own life.

And we are back with the most awful people you’ve ever met!  This episode, Gretchen finally goes to therapy, Edgar helps Dorothy move into a new apartment, and the consequences of Lindsay’s stabbing come into play.  Check out last week’s recap if you need a refresher on the last episode!

Gretchen and Jimmy

This episode is the first time we really see Gretchen’s depression come back into play.  Season 2 was all about Gretchen admitting that her depression is a real problem.  Now we get to see her try to work on it.  Except that right away, we see that Gretchen thinks that the therapy she’s being made to go to will “fix” her.  She actually describes the therapist “waving a magic wand” in the opening scene.

When she finally does go to therapy, of course, she discovers that that’s not the way it works.  We get our first look at Samira Wiley as the therapist, Justina Jordan, when she explains to Gretchen that “self-improvement is a life-long process.”  She suggests that Gretchen make a to-do list with just one thing on it at a time.  Gretchen expresses extreme anxiety about opening the mail; she feels overwhelmed by the potential bad news that can send her spiraling into a depressive episode.  So, Gretchen reluctantly agrees to open one piece of mail, but only after verbally and almost physically abusing her therapist.

You’re The Worst, Image via FXX

At first, her reluctance and anger seem to stem from characteristic laziness; we think Gretchen is just annoyed that she has to do some work.  But later, Gretchen barges into Justina’s office to let her know she won’t be coming back.  As they talk, Gretchen explains that by asking her to do things to treat her depression, Justina is insinuating that she could have made herself better by now.

Gretchen doesn’t like feeling a sense of responsibility over her own depression.  She’s sick.  She wants to get better.  But actively doing things to treat her depression makes her feel like it’s her fault.  If opening mail can make her better, she thinks, then choosing not to open it means she is choosing depression.  If she could have fixed herself whenever she wanted, then she must not be smart enough or strong enough to do it.  She must not want it enough to make it happen.

“Eventually, we all have to take responsibility for our own life.” – Justina

But in a later scene, when Gretchen admits to Justina that “being vulnerable makes me angry,” Justina explains it succinctly. “Lockdown shit eventually becomes un-locked down shit…eventually, we all have to take responsibility for our own life.” Gretchen’s depression is not Gretchen’s fault, but it is Gretchen’s responsibility. She has a responsibility to herself and to people who care about her to try. To really be doing everything she can be doing. And once Gretchen understands that, she agrees to go back to therapy. And to open the mail.

The first few letters are easy for her. It even seems to make her feel relief that they are just bills or credit card statements. But she eventually opens a letter to Jimmy, telling him that his father died. And then he comes back in the room, excited that his book proposal, which he had been obsessing over and revising all episode, had been bought. And she doesn’t know how to tell him. So she doesn’t.

I have to say, Aya Cash is truly astounding in these moments. Sarcastic, funny Gretchen and panic-stricken, depressed Gretchen seem so different from each other on paper, but Aya Cash gets it. They can be the same person. They are the same person, for tons of people, including me. Her understanding of that personal spectrum is a big part of why I love this show so much.

You’re The Worst, Image via FXX

Edgar and Dorothy

Edgar, meanwhile, is moving Dorothy into her new apartment when he spots a tent city of homeless people. He comes over to talk to them and helps fix one of their cardboard signs, adding commas to make the intention more clear. When a man shows him a sign that labels him as a fellow veteran, Edgar tells him that he should go with a funny quip instead; people don’t like feeling guilty about veterans, so they tend not to look at them at all.

Using his improv skills, he comes up with a goofy slogan for the man’s sign, and then for another person’s. He does his best to help them all out, and when Dorothy, annoyed that he’s not helping her move, confronts him, he explains, “I got out of it, but they’re still here.” He feels responsibility too, to the veterans like him who haven’t been as fortunate when they got back home. Edgar’s history as a veteran is really fertile ground for this show. I really hope they get deeper into it this season.

Lindsay and Paul

The first glance we get at Lindsay and Paul this episode is an extremely graphic shot of Lindsay pulling gauze out of Paul’s knife wound. It quickly becomes clear that Lindsay passed the

Kether Donohue (Photo by Greg Doherty/Getty Images)

intentional stabbing off as an accident; Paul “backed into [her] knife.” It also quickly becomes clear that Lindsay is hoarding Paul’s medication for herself and getting refills before he’s had the whole bottle. I literally said out loud, “Lindsay is full-blown sociopath right now.”

But Lindsay, who spends the entire episode in a sexy nurse costume, has found a way to absolve herself. She is with Gretchen when she hears her talk about responsibility with Justina, and she decides to take responsibility. Which is to say, she decides that taking responsibility means being pardoned entirely for her transgressions. When she gets back home to Paul, who clearly needs severe medical attention, she apologizes for being out all day, taking “full responsibility,” and asking if he can forgive her. He says of course, and she expresses relief that it’s all in the past and forgotten. So the responsibility lesson isn’t quite hitting Lindsay yet. It could sometime in the future, I guess? Can’t say I’m going to hold my breath for it, though.

Next: Pamela Adlon Stars in FX’s First Female-Fronted Show

I realize that the way I write about Lindsay doesn’t accurately depict how incredible and hysterical Kether Donohue is in the role. Lindsay, though she’s by far the worst, is probably my favorite to watch. I promise, the horrible is hilarious, and I love it.

You’re The Worst airs Wednesdays at 10pm on FXX.