What I’m Watching: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 3, Episode 3 “Kimmy Can’t Help You!” (B-)

This show is taking irreverent to a whole new level this season, though I’m sure I’m projecting that since this show has always been pretty zany. I liked the casting of the always terrific Laura Dern, last seen in a far more stable if equally intense role on HBO’s “Big Little Lies,” as Wendy, the woman who was ready to commit and get married to none other than the Reverend. Kimmy has a complicated enough relationship with the Reverend and what happened with him that she’s not really in a place to give advice to someone else who has fallen under his spell. Titus, who actually got along somewhat well with her and gave her the guidance she needed, was smart to try to trigger a bunker flashback, which helped to set her on the right track. I enjoyed Wendy’s reading of the Reverend’s poetry, which alternated between requests for him to bring her stuff and just lashing out at Kimmy with petty insults. Russ’ devotion to Jacqueline was strong, but unfortunately he managed to be so pathetic that he got slowly run over by a smart car whose driver didn’t even realize that he had gone over him. Getting married to a mostly non-communicative, completely cast-covered Russ was probably a poor idea, and almost immediately her new status has managed to make her an unwilling endorser of the Redskins’ negative name. Something tells me that, as much as it may bother her, she’ll prefer a return to the limelight and a life of luxury to standing up for her morals.