“…tapped it and scrapped it” Review: Wilfred, S2 “Service”

Review: Wilfred, S2, Ep. 208 – “Service”

Air Date: Thursday, Aug 16, 2012, 10:00PM E/P on FX.

Rating: ★★★★★

“The thing that lies at the foundation of positive change is service to a fellow human being.” – Lee Iacocca

“Service” is a bit better than last week’s episode, but just barely. While there were early chuckles, thanks to the much underutilized Rob Riggle who plays Kevin, one of Ryan’s (Elijah Wood) co-workers, the rest of the humor, or shall I say attempts at humor, were sort of lost on me. Perhaps in a later episode, we’ll learn the reason behind Wilfred’s (Jason Gann) strange…diet, if you will. Munching on the splattered brains of Ryan’s very recently deceased boss and eating part of a cat’s corpse—not just any cat mind you, but Mittens, the cat that belonged to Ryan’s mother Catherine (guest star Mary Steenburgen)—tell me, what was the point? To completely gross me out seeing Wilfred’s bloodstained teeth as he coyly tells Ryan “someone” (insert innocent shoulder shrugs from Wilfred) might have eaten these things? Well, mission accomplished. I was thoroughly disgusted. If this strange diet doesn’t lead somewhere in a future episode, I may have to write a letter to the writers and ask, “What. The. Fuck?”

All is not lost, however. Seeing Steenburgen reprise her role as Ryan’s sweet but mentally unstable mom was a treat. Her portrayal is so wonderfully done, you may possibly think Steenburgen has a screw loose, too. And what Ryan discovers in *Catherine’s purse is kind of weird and sweet but disturbing at the same time. I mean, didn’t Mittens wear a collar that Catherine could have kept as a memento instead? I did find it a bit farfetched that Ryan would be so gullible as to be swayed enough by his mother’s words to take her out of the institution on an unsanctioned road trip. Hello, Ryan? Your mom has been in the loony bin for over 20 years and she’s on medication. Did you think one moment of lucidity was going to wash away her mental illness? I feel for Ryan. He’s desperate for someone to understand him as a person but seeing this behavior from him—seeing him interact with Catherine—made it clearer to me that perhaps Ryan, too, is mentally unstable. Probably not as bad as Catherine, because she’s pretty messed up, but I think Ryan needs the services of a shrink too.

Kristen (Dorian Brown) is probably the worst…well, ok, not the worst, but she’s a terrible sister. Here she is, knocked up and not sure who the baby daddy is, and she’s passing judgment on Ryan’s way of coping with being laid off work and other woes. Sure, two weeks may seem like a long time to some people to be blazing up the bong in your basement, but everyone has their own way of coping. Right? I love how she calls and reams Ryan a new one for missing her doctor’s appointment. She’s incredibly selfish! I love her but I kind of want to choke her. I will give proper credit to Brown; she does a fantastic job being a total bitch at times. However, having met her in person, she’s very humorous, friendly, and warm. There is a happy ending (not that kind)…Ryan becomes an uncle.

Funny moment/lines:

At a morning meeting in Ryan’s office, Kevin asks about the absence of Amanda (Allison Mack):

Kevin: “Where’s your ex?”

Ryan: “She’s been out sick all week.”

Kevin: “Oh. Oh I get it. She’s all embarrassed to show her face now ‘cause you tapped it and scrapped it, right? You down with O.P.P?”

Seriously? Why isn’t Riggle featured more? He’s absolutely hysterical! Love him. Hint-hint writers.

So, I’m still not completely happy with the way Wilfred is going, and though this episode wasn’t that bad, it wasn’t that great either. I’ve never wanted to muzzle Wilfred, but his backseat driving drove me nuts. Let’s hope the rest of season improves by giving us some answers about Ryan’s daddy issues; maybe the reason behind Wilfred’s (barf) eating habits; and who the baby’s father is.

*GIVEAWAY-Check out our Wilfred Season 1 DVD giveaway here!

Tune into Wilfred, Thursdays at 10PM E/P only on FX.

For more on the show, go to http://www.fxnetworks.com/wilfred/.

Follow Wilfred on Twitter @FXNetworks #WilfredFX.

Like Wilfred on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/WilfredFX.

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Photos © 2012 FX Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

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Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.

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