The thing about this show is that it’s all in the title, You’re the Worst. Both of the main characters are the actual worst. They would be nightmarish in a relationship – emotionally distant, slovenly, filled with intimacy issues, and then some. And yet… there’s something relatable about them.
Yes, they’re both the worst, and no, being together doesn’t mitigate their awfulness. But there’s something almost endearing about watching these two hot messes stumble through the awkward stages of navigating turning a one-night-stand into an actual relationship. The fact that the show is hilarious and charming helps.
You should catch up on Season 1 now, because Season 2 premieres on FXX Wednesday, September 9th.
Overview
The show revolves around Jimmy, a struggling English novelist, and Gretchen, a publicist. They meet in the pilot at a wedding, that of Jimmy’s ex-girlfriend/Gretchen’s best friend’s sister. Instead of celebrating the happy couple, Jimmy insults the bride and gets kicked out of the reception, where he runs into Gretchen, who is charmingly stealing a wedding gift.
From the very first moment, Gretchen and Jimmy have chemistry. They’re two awful people drawn to each other’s awfulness. At the end of their wild night, Jimmy settles down for bed, expecting Gretchen to go home. Instead, she turns over and promises to be out by the morning. There’s a blatant disregard for each other’s feelings, but it works because they’re not malicious. It’s a fine line to walk, making the characters relatable and likable while still exhibiting the worst parts of ourselves. It’s the least romantic rom-com I’ve ever seen and yet it’s also one of the most accessible relationships I’ve seen depicted.
Gretchen is a slob with a truly disgusting apartment, a revoked driver’s license, and an inability to please her parents. Jimmy is narcissistic, lacks empathy, and has a boatload of daddy issues.
Each of them has a sidekick, as well. For Jimmy it’s Edgar Quintero, an army veteran who struggles with PTSD and lives in Jimmy’s spare room. Gretchen’s is her best friend Lindsay who suffers a boring husband and monotonous life. Both of them are fully realized characters, but nothing makes you sympathize with them more than the moment they realize that they are the sidekicks in Jimmy and Gretchen’s lives. Even so, acting sometimes as foils of their friends, they have their own flaws and dickish behavior that makes you understand why they don’t abandon Jimmy and Gretchen once and for all.
We also have occassion to see one of Gretchen’s clients, a rapper named Sam Dresden who is DELIGHTFUL. He is crude, full of himself, and truly hilarious. He also has a keen eye for interior design. His entourage all have dumb names like Shitstain (he takes good instagram pics #nofilter) and Honey Nutz. When he realizes that Jimmy is dating Gretchen, he gives the other man a shovel talk.
What I’m saying is, this is a good show. It’s a funny show. It’s mean, but in a way that you absolutely can be when you’re with your friends. Basically, it shows the worst side of people whom you like despite their flaws. And it manages to do it in an amazingly funny way.
Highlight Reel of Awfulness
- They steal a cat from a bookstore
- Gretchen burns her apartment down because of a faulty “back massager”
- Gretchen sleeps with an old flame just to steal his cocaine stash for her client
- Jimmy only befriends his neighbor, a 9 year old boy, because he gets advanced copies of video games. Jimmy never remembers Killian’s name.
- Jimmy and Gretchen believe that Cameron is the villain of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off.
Molly Kasperek 