“The Mindy Project” continued the severe relationship drama between several characters in “A Romantic Decouplement.” Could it be more appropriately titled?
Mindy and Ben are obviously going through marriage issues. They’ve been seeing a couples counselor who seems to have a soft spot for Ben and his eyes. (side note: can we blame her!). It’s been two months but they seem to be stuck in the same spot. Ben continues to be the dutiful husband, Mindy continues to be the independent wife.
The therapist correctly “diagnosed” Mindy: she’s always putting her independence first, even before Ben. When it comes to small things, it may be okay, but how will she react when they have to go through major issues? Mindy’s response is simple, that their love will take them through it. Ben, however, is silently processing this.
At work, Mindy asks her coworkers if they think she’s a bad wife and Jody is the only one who tells her the truth: yes! She talks with him about it later on and he makes her take a quick test, one she fails miserably because, each time, she put herself first. She didn’t really Ben into consideration.
That day, Ben goes over to her office and informs Mindy that he’s up for a great job in Philadelphia as head nurse. “That’s almost a different state,” she replies. “That’s definitely a different state,” Ben educates her. Anyway, Dr. L is super supportive of Ben’s possible new job and encourages him to go for the interview. She tells him that if he does need to move there, they’ll make it work and commute to see each other when they have to. She agrees with the idea little too easily and without any fight to live in different cities from her husband.
Morgan, who overhears their conversation, decides to apply for the head nurse job and tells Tamra (who’s obsessing over what she’d name her baby but she ain’t even pregnant yet) about it. Clearly, this upsets her because I don’t think she realizes it yet, but she still has feelings for her ex.
After unsuccessfully calling up Penn Hospital’s customer service to get an interview appointment, Morgan shows up dressed in his best suit (which makes the nurse think he’s here for a janitorial position) for an interview. Also, turns out that the nurse he’s speaking to is the head nurse and has no intentions of leaving her job. So, did Ben lie about the new job? Why?
Meanwhile, after dating for ten months, Anna and Jeremy decide to mutually uncouple, which Mindy declares is the Hollywood way of saying they’ve broken up. Jeremy, while really sad, is quicker to move on then Anna and has the hospital nurses all over him. She’s surprised at how difficult it is for her to get over Jeremy, so she invites Mindy and Tamra and by default, Beverly, to a girl’s night out.
The four of them go to a club where no one is over the fact that Anna, ridiculously hot Anna, has only ever dated three men. Tamra even proclaims that she’s got three dates lined up for tonight in case their night goes south, which isn’t the worst backup plan, to be honest. As Anna worries it might get awkward between her and Jeremy because they’re now exes who work together, Mindy is gracious enough to remind her of her own breakups (Danny Castellano, Jody, and even Jeremy because they did hook up!). Let’s not forget Tamra and Morgan. Beverly chimes in to remind them of her and Dr. Shulman.
Tamra denies her close friendship with Morgan but as she hears herself talk about just how close they actually are, you can see the flashlight just like turning on inside her head. She does realize her true feelings for him!
Some rich dude at the bar sends over four drinks for Anna and tries to impress her all night but all she can talk about is Jeremy. For her, too, the realization dawns that she’s in love with him. Instead of continuing the party, something Mindy desperately wants, Anna and Tamra both leave to go tell their respective exes about their true feelings.
Tamra learns from Morgan that he isn’t moving to Philadelphia after all and rewards him by planting a huge kiss on his face. Anna isn’t as lucky because she finds Jeremy with another woman. Instead of admitting her love, she asks him to return a Queen Victoria bust she’d gifted him.
Mindy returns home to find Morgan (before the Tamra hookup) and learns about Ben’s lie about the job. When confronted, he tells her the truth right away. Ben lied to her to see how she would really deal with a major hurdled and she just...did not care as much? She was easily alright with living away from Ben for the foreseeable future. He makes her realize she married him because she just loved the idea of marriage (something we’ve known for a while, now). She thought Ben is a good man and good father and eventually, she’d grow to love him for it. Instead, her priority has always been her freedom. And just like that, Mindy and Ben are getting divorced!
I’m not sure how I feel about this whole divorce storyline. Maybe, M and B shouldn’t have gotten married this early. Or, maybe the point of this final season is for Dr. L to finally realize that her fairytale rom-com notion of a relationship is the one she has with herself?
The episode ends with Mindy approaching everyone’s favorite lawyer and her ex-boyfriend, Cliff! That’s right, she wants him to represent her. I can’t wait to see how this turns out.
What did you think of the episode? How do we feel about Mindy and Ben’s divorce? Anna and Jeremy’s breakup? Tamra and Morgan’s reunion? Are you excited by Cliff’s return or just dreading it?
