What I’m Watching: Hung

Hung: Season 2, Episode 3 “Mind Bullets or Bang Bang Bang Motherfucker” (B+)

I love when episodes on this show have themes, and this one definitely gets off to a strong and meaningful start with Ray jogging backwards while talking to his children about getting in shape and debating whether he would have been friends with his kids in high school. Citing Tanya as a high school friend he still hangs out with and bringing her along to a movie with his kids to prove it emphasizes the fact that he likely wouldn’t have, a fact which seems to disturb him quite a bit. Tanya taking them to see “Battleship Potemkin” was hilarious, and I enjoyed Ray’s comment about how “people are trying to sleep in here.” Tanya really has it rough with her obnoxious coworker becoming her boss and forcing her to get a free date with Ray in exchange for keeping her job. I am happy, however, that Tanya is having trouble because that forces her to meet up with her pimp friend played by the fantastic Lennie James, who spews ridiculous and awesome ideas like “mind bullets.” I hope he sticks around for many episodes to come. Tanya’s going to need some help, because Lenore is one crazy woman. Stealing Tanya’s sweater to make her think she’s nuts is one thing, but replacing the dog Tanya stole is absolutely crazy (Ray’s comment about them looking like twins didn’t really help matters). I’m hopeful that Ray will wake up to her insanity after realizing that she’s been befriending Jessica. Jessica turning to Ray for comfort is very interesting, and I definitely want to see where that goes. There were three terrific memorable dramatic lines in this episode from three different characters: “I’m not going to climb into any box, or climb out of any box” (Ray’s son), “sometimes being a good guy has its price” (Ray), and “I’m so confused. Marriage is so confusing.”