What I’m Watching: Enlightened

Enlightened: Season 2, Episodes 5 and 6 “The Ghost Is Seen” and “All I Ever Wanted” (A-/B+)

I love it when supporting characters get the chance to take charge, and after having Levi be the focal point for a recent episode, it was great to see Tyler take center stage. Having him narrate and explain that being a ghost has its pleasures has a marvelous introduction, and I loved the casting of Molly Shannon as Eileen. Seeing the two of them experience genuine happiness as Amy and Dougie schemed to use her to hack into Szidon’s e-mail was refreshing, and I like that Eileen chose Tyler over Dougie after his seemingly successful approach in the gym. Tyler bragging about being able to download music illegally was fun, and Eileen telling her to look at him before they had sex was sweet. Ending the episode with his struggle to place the flowers correctly and announcing that “The ghost is happy, he is found” was wonderful. Episode six brought things back to normal, showing that Amy too might be able to achieve happiness with the apparently wonderful Jeff, who has proven to be quite romantic despite his questionable level of affection for and interest in Amy. Levi showing up at Amy’s door shortly before Jeff was set to arrive really threw Amy for a loop, and her ensuing panic attack upon returning home was difficult to watch. Levi does seems sincerely changed by his experience in Hawaii, but it looks like Amy is ready to move on. Having him watch Amy drive away was melancholy, and she definitely has a dilemma on her hands. I enjoyed a Helen moment more than I have in a while in this episode, which was her extraordinarily unhelpful suggestion for Amy to get a haircut when she thought Jeff was at the door.