What I’m Watching: Casual

Casual: Season 1, Episode 6 “Biden” (B+)

This was a great episode, with a particularly strong plotline involving Valerie. Letting go of her old home wasn’t so easy, and she externalized that by locking her rude and resentful ex-husband in the garage when he didn’t treat her particularly well or adhere to the guidelines she set out about how to help sell the house. The highlights of their time spent on opposite sides of the door were Valerie calling Alex to figure out whether she should order him a pizza and then passing him the soy sauce under the door. It was an important process for Valerie, and one that helped to get them to a better place than swearing at each other and just generally being angry. Alex had himself a wonderful and very affirming date with the perfect girl for him, Emmy, played by Eliza Coupe, alumna of “Scrubs” and “Benched,” a very fitting actress for that role. Unfortunately, Alex isn’t just looking for casual fun, despite what he might say, and therefore the unsubtle revelation that Emmy dates around and isn’t into monogamy is immensely problematic for him. Laura filming her own sex tape to get Michael’s attention was bold, and he played into it in just the way that she wanted. I can only imagine how pissed she is going to be when she finds out that her mother is going out on a date with him, though to be fair he’s the one to blame rather than Valerie, who honestly couldn’t have possibly had a clue that her daughter was interested in that inappropriate romance.