Emmy Episodes: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend

It’s always my policy to watch every Emmy-nominated episode each year, which leads me to sample a handful of shows that I don’t tune in to on a regular basis. For the fifth year in a row, I’m making a special effort to spotlight each of those installments to offer my perspective on shows that I don’t review each week.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Kimmy vs. the Reverend (B)

I recently watched the last three episodes of this show, which netted no Emmy nominations last season, so that I could screen this interactive special, which did earn a bid for Best TV Movie and for supporting actor Tituss Burgess. In some ways, I’m not sure that this movie needed to exist because the show had a decent enough ending, but I did appreciate its interactive nature. It does seem hard to assess its quality since I definitely experienced a slightly different version than other people who watched it, and I’m not even sure if the default choices that Netflix makes if you don’t click something are standard or if they’re random. I liked that, when the clearly wrong picks were made, characters appeared onscreen to tell you that this isn’t how things were supposed to end. My favorite part was when I clicked “Skip Intro” and was punished with an even longer remix. As usual, there’s a tendency for this show to be wholly ridiculous, whether it’s in a slapstick way like the Reverend crawling under the glass and waving to Jack McBrayer’s clueless guard or in a much more society-critiquing manner like Jacqueline being shown to be a liar making it so that women can no longer be trusted and men will do whatever horrible things they want to again. Daniel Radcliffe was well-cast as her prince fiancé, relegated mostly to his own absurd plotline with Lillian. I think the MVP was indeed the nominated Burgess, who indulged in trying to avoid exercise as much as humanly possible and feasted on not one but two spontaneously-appearing, hallucination-induced woodland buffets. I imagine this show might return again for another special like this, and while it’s hardly something the world needs, I wouldn’t mind watching.

Netflix Catch-Up: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Series Finale)

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 4, Episode 12 “Kimmy Says Bye”

It’s weird to watch this series finale knowing that there’s a TV movie reuniting all the characters that’s already been made. It’s also not as if it took all that long, like, say, the “Deadwood” movie did, but instead just over a year passed between when this episode premiered in January 2019 and the TV movie debuted in May 2020. I’ll look at that Emmy-nominated movie shortly, and will instead try to consider this as the real wrap-up to this show. Titus had the most dramatic choice of all, opting not to kill the woman he was understudying to make sure he could get the coveted role in “The Lion King” and missing Mikey’s wedding as a result. It was great to see Mikey show up to confess his feelings for Titus after earlier eating his meat pocket square, and I’m glad the two of them ended up together with adopted babies to show off on the red carpet. Kimmy’s misunderstanding of concepts like the oldest profession being dinosaur lawyer and hooking for it meaning being a pirate meant that it took her longer to achieve the success she always wanted, and there was no better way for her to realize that than by discovering that Xanthippe, whose name she had no idea how to spell, was reading and quoting from her book. Opening a theme park where people were supposed to be good was a perfect resolution for her, and a far better fate than the confusing mole woman on mole woman celebrity cam videos. Eli revealing that he was blind was a surprise and a truly weird turn, but he and Jacqueline were indeed good for each other, both professionally and personally. And Lillian surviving an explosion after meeting Artie and Roland’s ghosts resulted in her being deemed the ultimate representation of New York, resulting in her hilariously becoming the new voice of the MTA. This episode was typically strange but fun, and I guess I’m glad that there’s a little bit more of it to look forward to with the interactive special.

Series finale: B
Series grade: B
Season MVP: Ellie Kemper as Kimmy
Season grade: B
Series MVP: Ellie Kemper
Best Season: Season 3
Best Episode: “Kimmy is a Feminist!”

Netflix Catch-Up: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Penultimate Episode)

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 4, Episode 11 “Kimmy is Rich*!” (B-)

This episode leaned a little bit too much towards the ridiculous, but I don’t know why I expect anything different from this show. I’ve never actually seen “Cats,” and it’s funny that this episode came almost a year before the film was released that was received terribly by critics and audiences alike. This show would come up with a concept like this, and naturally Titus managed to ruin his newfound Broadway success by immediately spilling the beans to Jacqueline, who used it to her advantage to win back Greg Kinnear, a previous guest star on this show, as a client. I was excited to see Paul Walter Hauser as a guest star, and didn’t remember that he appeared in the second episode of this season. I think that’s because it aired all the way back in May 2018, which was before I knew him from anything but “I, Tonya,” and before he starred in “Late Night,” “BlacKkKlansman,” and “Richard Jewell.” Zachary Quinto from “Heroes” was the horribly chauvinistic Eli Rubin, who was eager to quash all of Jacqueline’s dreams and not ready for her very long but somehow effective catchphrase. It’s pretty incredible that Kimmy lasted at her job when she calls a website one of those “internet buying places,” and it was smart, if a bit twisted, that she managed to use her own sexual harassment complaint to blackmail Zach into helping to sell her books to kids who weren’t creeps just yet. Being evicted from their sideways tugboat was an unexpected ending, and I guess I’m curious to see how things play out in the finale.

Netflix Catch-Up: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 4, Episode 10 “Kimmy Finds a Liar!” (B+)

It’s been months since I last watched this show, even though I’ve just posted those reviews, and while it’s undeniably bizarre, it’s also weirdly appealing, particularly in this new reality that exists today. The way Kimmy behaved at the year-round Halloween store, including being trained to defecate in a pumpkin, was typical of the return to normalcy that most people expect will be difficult following this pandemic’s prevalence, though admittedly a bit exaggerated. Busy Phillips, who we met in the final episode of the first half of this season, was fun as Sheba, who engineered an elaborate deception to get Lillian to give her money that was allegedly for bail, and Lillian responded in kind by hiring her own stripper to pose as a judge so that Sheba could admit that she wasn’t a good person. Fran didn’t have quite as solid a defense, and I enjoyed the women’s protest to get Eleanor Roosevelt’s statue torn down because she never came out as a lesbian, as well as the intonation of their “Fran is a girl’s name” chant. Titus’ new gig was perfect for him, and I liked seeing Rob Huebel from “Transparent” and “I Know This Much Is True” as Tad, the man who was trying hard to appear gay when he was actually married to a woman. Titus’ plan went very awry, however, when the entirely gullible Mikey was inspired by Titus’ apparently successful relationship to propose to his boyfriend rather than break up with him. I’m intrigued to see what’s going to happen with Kimmy’s impending fortune, which she’ll surely want to use for good.

Netflix Catch-Up: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

I actually watched these first few episodes was back at some point in 2019 and wrote my reviews to put them up when I finished the whole thing. I’m now finally posting them and watching the show to get to the Emmy-nominated follow-up TV movie.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 4, Episode 9 “Sliding Van Doors” (B)

I wasn’t expecting an hour-long episode since we’ve never before seen one of those on this show, but here it is. I also haven’t seen the film “Sliding Doors,” but I think I understand enough of the premise even if this representation is presumably a bit altered for zany purposes. This episode was undeniably absurd, yet I sort of liked it since it paid tribute to its characters’ established traits and had fun with them by imagining how things could have gone differently. There’s a tremendous amount of suspension of disbelief needed to stomach even a few minutes of this show, and that was true in this installment with the familiar, if unbelievable, premises that explained these characters’ origins. This episode felt most fun for the way that Kimmy ended up as a headstrong, horrible woman who emulated Jacqueline more than anyone, and who ended up meeting Titus way later than they did in the universe we know. Kimmy may not have gotten into the van and been trapped in the bunker, but she did still miss some of the world thanks to her coma, a sign that she’s just not supposed to experience everything. Any chance to see Mikey is so welcome, and I love that he ended up having multiple children with Jacqueline while also conducting an affair with big-time closeted star Titus. Lillian becoming a mob boss was predictably ridiculous, though I guess that’s not quite as far from her current status given that she remained in the same neighborhood and still acted as a sketchy landlord to tenants who thought they were getting something else. I wonder if the remaining three episodes will feel more or less absurd than this hour.

Netflix Catch-Up: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

I actually watched these first few episodes was back at some point in 2019 and wrote my reviews to put them up when I finished the whole thing. I’m now finally posting them and watching the show to get to the Emmy-nominated follow-up TV movie.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 4, Episode 8 “Kimmy is in a Love Square!” (B-)

I watched this episode shortly before the Emmy nominations were announced (last year - in 2019) and, for the first time since it started, neither the show nor supporting actor Tituss Burgess were honored. In fact, the show didn’t get any nominations, which I don’t really mind since I’d hardly cite it as the best comedy on television, and the underrated Ellie Kemper, who earned two best actress bids, is its strongest asset. This installment chose to poke fun at sexual harassment and abuse scandals with the puppet whose puppet penis Tituss was apparently forced to touch, and I suppose the only part of it that felt worthwhile to me was that the puppeteer was voicing other puppets who came to his defense in evident mockery of how some in reality seek to defend the actions of those they have enabled. The appearance of Ronan Farrow as himself was unexpected, but this show does attract some bizarre and unusual talent I could never possibly predict. It made sense that Kimmy would cling to the notion of a doting parental unit in Josh’s parents, played by Mark Linn-Baker and Joanna Gleason, and that Josh, played by Dan Byrd from “Cougar Town,” would end up feeling left out when they got together behind his back to play games, eat food, and just generally be a happy family. Towards the end of the episode, I thought that I recognized Terrence Mann as Mr. Whispers from “Sense8,” and it turns out that it was him! I don’t know him from anything else, but it was nice to see another totally random and unexpected face.

Netflix Catch-Up: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Season Premiere)

I actually watched these first few episodes was back at some point in 2019 and wrote my reviews to put them up when I finished the whole thing. I’m now finally posting them and watching the show to get to the Emmy-nominated follow-up TV movie.

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 4, Episode 7 “Kimmy Fights a Fire Monster!” (B)

While I know this is technically the seventh episode of the fourth season, it’s really the first of the six final episodes of the show, which premiered at the end of January (2019). I’m just getting to them partially because I’m still catching up on other streaming shows and also because I didn’t feel the need to stream them all right away because this show has never been my absolute favorite. I was excited when I saw Jon Bernthal, the star of “The Punisher,” in a role that felt completely different from that one, and it was amusing that Titus kept making “Daredevil” references since that’s the show that launched his spin-off character. As soon as I heard him speaking Hebrew with a Russian accent, I remembered seeing criticism about the automatic and unnecessary implication that all assassins must be Israeli, and while I do agree that it was probably not needed, I feel like this show is such an equal-opportunity offender that it didn’t surprise me at all. Its irreverence in this episode merely wasn’t as charming and productive as it has been in other cases. Kimmy sneaking books she wrote with positive themes into bookstores is far more entertaining, as was her determination not to have anyone correct her mistaken belief that “DTF” stood for “digging true friendship.” Running into Donna Maria and clinging too much to her bunker past was nothing new, though Kimmy does seem to be maturing a bit in terms of how she looks at the world. Jacqueline’s Home Basics/Pervatory visits were just the latest utopia turned horror show, and this one wasn’t nearly as entertaining as the likes of Nick Kroll’s spin instructor on the toilet.

What I’m Watching: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Season Finale)

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 4, Episode 6 “Kimmy Meets an Old Friend!” (B-)

And just like that, we’ve reached the end of what ranks as the shortened television season ever to be nominated for a best series award at the Emmys. Though it’s technically only the midseason finale, I think these six episodes will stand on their own as compared with the remaining six installments that won’t be available to stream until late January 2019. Just one of these half-hours actually impressed me and showed me the best of what this show is capable of, and this final installment didn’t leave a particularly good taste in my mouth. I didn’t need an entire episode devoted to Kimmy saying goodbye to her talking backpack, and I often wonder why it is that this show is so juvenile when it’s capable of much grander things that still speak to Kimmy’s simplistic, naïve outlook on the world. The highlight of this episode to me was Jacqueline helping Xanthippe get some deserved revenge on the boys who made fun of her, cementing her place after she realized that she just wasn’t doing much as Titus’ agent and couldn’t stand not being rich. Titus stealing Kimmy’s manuscript seems to have worked out since he wowed the son of the executive who has to be in the room to prevent sexual harassment, so we’ll see if that goes anywhere. While I do think that Busy Phillips is funny, I’m not too sold on the introduction of her as Artie’s daughter from hell who Lillian now has to babysit. The Jewish humor employed was questionable, and ending the episode with a mysterious Israeli assassin (?) taking photos of Kimmy just felt weird and unnecessary. I’ve enjoyed this show on occasion and do laugh (and roll my eyes) at least a few times every episode, but I’d hope for better in the final slate of episodes coming in January.

Season grade: B
Season MVP: Ellie Kemper as Kimmy

What I’m Watching: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 4, Episode 5 “Kimmy and the Beest!” (B)

This half-hour wasn’t quite as good as the last one, but it did still contain its share of (mostly) controlled ridiculousness. The idea that Titus was a jock in high school who never did any of the things that we now see him do on a regular basis, like act and sing, has been absurd all along, yet we know all he really wants is the spotlight and therefore he was more than ready to do the exact same thing and suppress the hopes and dreams of rising star Hudson. I'm not surprised that this is Tituss Burgess’ Emmy submission since it does give him a pretty superb showcase, though new viewers to the show might find his performance hard to relate to given that it’s a deep dive into his highly contradictory background. It’s funny seeing Bobby Moynihan as man’s man Fran Dodd now that his cancelled show, “Me, Myself, and I,” is dropping its remaining episodes since it’s a completely different role. I like that Kimmy easily beat him in an arm-wrestling competition and got so angry at every single thing that he said which made absolutely no sense. It’s funny that Jacqueline and Lillian both use Kimmy’s office as if they work there when they really don’t, and they managed to pull off a great feat when they didn’t blink in front of the parents and instead got an entirely different audience to attend the (pubic) school play at an incredible premium, with the trauma they inflicted on the kids an added bonus to their victory.

What I’m Watching: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 4, Episode 4 “Kimmy Disrupts the Paradigm!” (B+)

After that questionable mockumentary installment, it’s nice to see an episode like this that highlights what this show does best. Kimmy’s outlook on the world has always been impossibly naïve, and therefore it’s great to watch her figure out how to live within it. Heading to a conference where she was operating a booth that she couldn’t hope to understand was a fun setup, and naturally she gravitated towards the one guy who also thought that all this technology nonsense was bogus. I was pretty sure I recognized actor Drew Gehling, who played Danford, and after looking up his page on IMDB and finding nothing, I realized my initial hunch was correct: he was in the Broadway version of “Waitress” in a far more noble and likeable role. Kimmy exposing him by having him fail to define “disrupting the paradigm” was fantastic, and Lillian did her best to make her own realizations after trying to find a replacement for Artie in elder holograms and other absurd inventions through all the technobabble from Fred, playing by Jason Jones from “The Detour.” The back and forth between Jacqueline and Titus are great, with Titus’ reaction of “Gross!” to Jacqueline telling him she was going to give it to him straight as a particular highlight. Titus speaking up for the nerds and hitting the principal with the football was a nice win, and I’m sure his antics as a schoolteacher working on building up his acting resumé are going to be well worth watching.

What I’m Watching: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 4, Episode 3 “Party Monster: Scratching the Surface” (B-)

This is one outrageous episode, but that’s the point. This show has always mocked society and how it is by showcasing a character who is hopelessly innocent that she wouldn’t be able to recognize depravity or evil even if she came face-to-face with it. Sometimes, this show is just plain stupid, and there are parts of this episode that felt a lot like that. DJ Fingablast is clearly an idiot, but that’s the point. The fact that he would go to the trouble of creating an entire documentary about the search for a DJ for his wedding is absurd, and naturally he would be manipulated by Richard Wayne Gary Wayne into trying to get his case overturned. Bobby Moynihan’s crusader for the Innocence Bro-ject was also an unsubtle parody of the way in which men who are accused of mistreating women often try to defend themselves. Having Titus act out a few of the flashback scenes was entertaining, and I suppose that he’s the most consistent, if consistently absurd, element of this show, dismissing his participation in this project as a paid gig he just didn’t understand. I guess this was moderately more bearable and entertaining than the similar mockumentary “American Vandal,” showing up these pursuit-of-truth exposés that get to the heart of some deep secret and often take themselves too seriously. This half-hour was enough for me, so let’s hope that the next and last three episodes of this half-season are more straightforward, as much as this show can be.

What I’m Watching: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 4, Episode 2 “Kimmy Has a Weekend!” (B-)

Here we have a sharp return to this show’s more absurdist tendencies, playing up the real world in an extreme way rather than with slightly subtle humor. Somehow, Kimmy has managed to keep her job after the sexual harassment scandal she very innocently created, and now she wants to make sure she’s living an educated and active life. Thinking that she’s judged by others for her time in the bunker helped to explain why she couldn’t see her white privilege, something that was harped on with plenty of exaggeration when she and Titus when shopping together. Walking into the salon and demanding that all of the employees be referred to by their actual names was a winning moment for her, helping to undo the damage done by those who ate salads off the heads of the women working there. Jacqueline is also a major offender, doing exactly what Kimmy hates, and now she’s trying to help an incredibly dumb shlub become an actor just so that she can get him out of her apartment and pretend for her son that she’s not actually so poor that she’s currently living with Kimmy after being discovered in her office. I’m not too into all of this fake television and film that everyone is watching, and it looks like that may continue based on how this episode ended. The best line in an otherwise lackluster episode came from Titus, referencing himself in the third person in typical fashion: “Titus Andromedon doesn’t deliver, he Digiorno’s.”

What I’m Watching: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Season Premiere)

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 4, Episode 1 “Kimmy Is… Little Girl, Big City!” (B)

This review comes considerably after this show first dropped on Netflix, and while I always watch streaming shows one episode per week (much later than most), it’s usually my plan to review the first episode right after it airs, but time got away from me recently. Here’s the first episode of the final season, only it’s actually the first half of the final season, and we might get a movie or two to wrap it all up, so no reason to say goodbye to Kimmy just yet. Starting with a fake credits sequence was moderately entertaining, but this episode ranked more on the bizarre side of things than the entertainingly irreverent one for me. Kimmy’s HR fiasco might not have been so over-the-top had she not thought that dropping her pants would be unobjectionable, and continuing to work there isn’t going to be good for anyone. Titus trying to win Mikey back by pretending to be on a show with Greg Kinnear seems to have actually worked, at least in the genesis of “The Capist” with the actual Kinnear starring on it. It’s good to see Jacqueline in a role that allows her to do something productive, even if she’s still saying all the wrong things when given the opportunity. Leave it to Lillian to help Artie find his eternal resting place by getting his ashes into the members-only club in disguise as cocaine, giving Lillian a huge chunk of cash that she didn’t even realize she would get.

What I’m Watching: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt (Season Finale)

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 3, Episode 13 “Kimmy Bites an Onion!” (B+)

I love the way that this show sees the world, as expressed through Kimmy’s eyes. I’ve often found this show to be the most ridiculous thing on television, but this season I think it embraced that just the right amount to be truly effective. Kimmy putting on mittens before she puts on her jacket just because she wants to is just one of the many things that make her who she is, and I love that she went to go take a test to become a crossing guard, which of course pitted her against the robot. Her selflessness in defying the challenge of the trolley problem to sacrifice herself rather than the kids or the businessman was impressive, and of course a simple background check that showed that she was married to a sex offender was enough to get her booted immediately. Her Vidalia onion analogy was fitting, and I like that Lillian, who claims to be able to time-travel, showed up with Zach in a DeLorean. Zach’s job offer was perfect for her, and I look forward to seeing what she’s like in her new position next season. Jacqueline has also discovered her calling – talent agent/guidance counselor bather – thanks to her featuring Titus in her story. Titus did a pretty great job performing “Boobs in California” and then pouring his heart out very publicly to Mikey, who I suspect might end up coming back next season. This has been the best season of this yet, and I look forward to more!

Season grade: B+
Season MVP: Ellie Kemper

What I’m Watching: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 3, Episode 12 “Kimmy and the Trolley Problem!” (B+)

I’ve been watching this show for a while now and as a result I wasn’t paying attention to the fact that there’s only one episode left this season. It’s already been renewed for a fourth go-round, so I don’t feel like I’m going to miss it when it’s over the same way I do other shows. That said, I do feel that this season has been very strong, and I like the way that it tackles societal issues and preconceptions. In this episode, Kimmy learned about one particular worldview – Unitarianism – and latched onto it wholeheartedly as the only way to live her life. Deciding not to tell her story on Xanthippe’s new show was a smart choice, and she let Titus start to act his heart out instead, not that it worked out all that well for him. Lillian got an offer of a trip to Europe, something that I don’t think will suit her at all, but she also thought that she killed her new husband-to-be who isn’t even planning to propose anytime soon and could, as she or he might say, kick the bucket at any moment. Jacqueline is the one who’s actually achieved the most growth, with a clear indication of just how far she’s come from when Russ was all bandaged up and unable to communicate. She’s no longer the selfish one, completely unaware of all the problems in the world, and she was able to realize that Russ was embracing the affection of his family because he had never got it but they were still evil. His transformation was pretty hilarious, but it seems like this may be the end of them as a couple.

What I’m Watching: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 3, Episode 11 “Kimmy Googles the Internet!” (B+)

I like how this show explores some complex concepts through the simplicity of Kimmy’s understanding. Kimmy does live in this bubble where she thinks that she’s anonymous, and finding out that she was invited to her professor’s dinner party just because she was a mole woman dealt a harsh blow to that perception of things. Her reaction to everyone pulling out their phones in class when Perry was performing was great, and I love that she went up to help him salvage his rap act, which was decidedly terrible. It was fun to see Tina Fey’s destructive non-therapist Andrea again, both in video form and in person, and I’m always a fan of Xanthippe, who apparently pooped her pants during a spelling bee and then just kept on going so that she could still win. Rachel Dratch playing two characters who were living together was fun, a strong use of her signature strangeness. Jacqueline practicing on Mimi before Russ got his bandages off was quite a misdirect given the totally ridiculous facial transformation he appears to have undergone. I couldn’t figure out where I knew actor Billy Magnussen from, and I realize now it’s from his role in “Ingrid Goes West,” which I saw at Sundance. Of course Titus would need to end his relationship with Ruben because of something so absurd as not being able to get past the fact that he named his daughter Linda. The best part was that Titus went to go talk to HR and get advice from the multiple Lindas who were there who all insisted that they didn’t adopt that name until adulthood.

What I’m Watching: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 3, Episode 10 “Kimmy Pulls Off a Heist!” (B+)

Of course Titus would be someone who refuses to poop at home yet has no problem going into a public bathroom for free. Ray Liotta was the perfect person to cast as Paulie, the gas station owner who chastised Titus for only having one rule and who insisted on making him buy something if he wanted to use the bathroom. I enjoyed Kimmy’s attempts to act cool when she was actually just providing a distraction for him to sneak in to do his business, and this show is never at a loss for absurd concepts (Eli Manning clones, anyone?). Titus running into Mikey in the back of the store just as he was trying to rush past Paulie while Kimmy provided the ultimate distraction was fortuitous and also didn’t seem to go anywhere, since the very gullible Mikey is sure to now think that Titus isn’t interested in him since he’s happy with his sandwich. I love how everyone at the meeting had to stand when they heard the national anthem, in whatever inappropriate form, and that the lone woman in the room had to open up her shirt so that they could see her star-spangled bra. Jacqueline’s idea, made possible to present thanks to Titus’ eagerness to croon the national anthem, was a brilliant one: naming teams after things people hate so they’ll buy merchandise just to burn it. The Washington Gun Takers was clever, but I much preferred the Seattle Raisins You Think Are Chocolate Chips. Oh, and I guess we won’t be seeing much of Duke anymore since he got framed as a terrorist so that he would no longer present a problem for his family.

What I’m Watching: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 3, Episode 9 “Kimmy Goes to Church!” (B+)

Every once in a while, this show actually makes a decent point about humanity without being quite as ridiculous as it usually is. Kimmy being open to the idea of church after reacting poorly to the news of her would-be boyfriend’s impending reverend career made sense since she’s insatiably curious, yet also prone to linking normal things in the present with bad associations from her past. Titus reliving his own church-related anxieties was far from serious, but it was nice to know that the gossipy Clara was actually trying to set him up with her gay nephew, who just happened to be the choir director. Watching Kimmy learn that the church isn’t all it was cracked up to be, and that even a female churchgoer didn’t like the idea of a woman reverend, was tough, and thankfully her passionate attempt at a moral takedown of Clara, timed poorly after she confiscated her phone, which had Titus’ clarifying text on it, managed to impact the then overly-honest members of the congregation in a positive way even if its specific message was far from accurate. Lillian coming to Jacqueline for help trying to seem fancy made some sense, and while it all ended predictably for Lillian, I’m sad that we didn’t get to see how it actually played out on her end. Jacqueline, on the other hand, mustered up some courage and managed to take down Deirdre, played to perfection as always by the incomparable Anna Camp, owning up to her shortcomings while inadvertently disclosing a good deal of information about Buckley’s medical diagnoses.

What I’m Watching: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 3, Episode 8 “Kimmy Does a Puzzle!” (B+)

This episode was decidedly more absurd than even this show usually is. I think we can all agree that no one aside from Titus thought that he had actually eaten Dionne Warwick, played to excess by Maya Rudolph, clearly having fun hamming it up and going way beyond any sort of impersonation is meant to. The real story turned out to be far more believable if still inspired by this show’s totally ridiculous nature, and made to seem all the more extravagant and dramatic thanks to the style of Titus’ telling. If there’s one thing that he’s easily susceptible to – and there are many – it’s the allure of fame, and therefore his first thought upon finding out that Dionne had recovered from exposure to hot tub water was to get some more and make sure that she got sick right away again. Poisoning literally everyone on the ship but him so that they all threw up on stage during the performance was quite a powerful accident, and I think it’s safe to say that Warwick turned out to be fine, unlike those who live between exits 1-82 in New Jersey. My favorite part of this episode was actually Peter Riegert’s Artie, who was more than willing to accept Titus’ argument that a shell could be pasta and has just generally done a superb job of acclimating to this show’s distinctive style, helping to make this episode about a funker truly entertaining despite its insanity and token detachment from anyone’s sense of reality.

What I’m Watching: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt

Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt: Season 3, Episode 7 “Kimmy Learns about the Weather!” (B+)

This show is weird enough on a regular basis, and the sight of a purple cartoon that talked exactly like Titus didn’t feel any more abnormal than most of the other stuff that happens on this show. Casting Scott Adsit, a dependable “30 Rock” player, as the man who stole his voice, was a great move, and I enjoyed his reactions to being intimidated by Titus and being physically attacked by an overeager Kimmy. I like that everyone on this show knows each other’s roles and their strengths, with Titus ready to get Kimmy to rush immediately to his side when he knew he could use her help. Titus was never going to get the credit or back pay for his likeness that he deserved, both because he didn’t actually put much work into it and because that’s not how things work on this show. The other notable guest star of the episode, one that we haven’t seen in other episodes like Peter Riegert or Jon Hamm, was Michael Torpey, better known as the sadistic, evil guard Humphreys on “Orange is the New Black,” as the appropriately-named Drench Thunderman, who I imagine must have met Nathan Fillion’s Rainer Shane from “Modern Family” in the television weatherman universe. Kimmy rightly wasn’t okay with someone telling her to seek shelter in a bunker when it wasn’t necessary, since she’s been through that once before and had her life ruined for over a decade as a result. Lillian was a fitting ally to get Kimmy pumped up in her aggression towards a lying weatherman.