What I’m Watching: Casual

Casual: Season 2, Episode 4 “Big Green Egg” (B+)

This was another episode that started out at a point of the height of awkwardness for both adult protagonists on this show, but I think both of them managed to come around to a better place by episode’s end. Valerie being set up with a guy at Jennifer’s game night shouldn’t have been a big deal, but the fact that Jennifer had told everyone ahead of time is what made his bringing a date into a major conversation piece. Her immense knowledge of trivia helped her to overcome any of that, especially as she trounced the date, who happened to be particularly terrible at the game. It’s nice to see Valerie come out ahead after going in with such terrible odds. Alex, on the other hand, created an uncomfortable situation all by himself when he missed an entire meeting at work and then decided to invite everyone over to taste his amazing grilling, a skill he embellished since he didn’t even own a grill. That didn’t turn out to be his biggest problem, as a psychotic ex-girlfriend is now dating Vincent Kartheiser’s Jordan. That fact didn’t come to light, and ultimately I think Alex managed to impress everyone. And Laura had a great time bonding with Aubrey, and the two of them definitely have the same twisted sense of humor even though they come from very different households. What they did to the poor guy offering them cookies was tough to watch but hilarious and definitely deserved by the wannabe flirt.