Review: Ben Folds crashes a crowded ‘You’re the Worst’ funeral

A quick review of tonight's You're the Worst coming up just as soon as I bring some of my famous pork shoulder…

As You're the Worst has expanded from a romantic comedy focusing almost entirely on Gretchen and Jimmy to an ensemble piece where Lindsay and Edgar are nearly as important (and other characters like Paul, Vernon, Becca, Sam, and Dorothy need time as well), the show has struggled at times to find time to service all the stories and characters. Episodes focusing on only one or two of the regulars (like the Edgar PTSD spotlight) or that tell one story featuring the entire group (like last week's farewell to Sunday Funday) usually work very well.  Episodes like “The Only Thing That Helps” – with individual stories for all four leads, plus moments for many of the recurring players – tend to be more of a mixed bag, collecting interesting or funny moments but never fully coming together.

Given how much darkness the show has dealt with over the last couple of seasons, I don't blame Falk and company for not wanting to do a full episode of Jimmy finally having an emotional catharsis about his father. But this version felt like it needed more time, especially given how strong Chris Geere was in the closing sequence where Jimmy squatted outside Tony Shalhoub's house and told the cremains what he really thought of his old man.

The other stories probably got the necessary amount of time – Ben Folds' self-mocking cameo would have exhausted itself in another few minutes, while the Edgar and Lindsay subplots were about advancing their stories (and showing that Kether Donohue can quickly vault over a couch) – but I'd have sacrificed one or trimmed all to give the Jimmy story more room to maneuver.

What did everybody else think?

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