Adults<\/a><\/p>\nVote for Paul Baker<\/p>\n
\n Season 2<\/p>\n
Episode 8\n <\/p>\n
\n Editor\u2019s Rating<\/p>\n
4 stars<\/p>\n
****\n <\/p>\n
\n Photo: FX\n <\/p>\n
There\u2019s a prevailing sentiment among critics right now that the second season of Adults has been a significant improvement on season one. And I\u2019m generally inclined to agree, even if I\u2019m not quite as effusive about every episode as some of my colleagues. This season has been a level-up; there\u2019s no question. But there\u2019s also still room to grow, and certain structural issues as a result of this eight-ish-episodes-per-year format. That particularly becomes clear when it comes to romance.<\/p>\n
We\u2019ll get into that. But despite any issues I have with the plotting choices, \u201cVote for Paul Baker\u201d largely works really well as a conclusion to the season leading up to it. This time, the occasion bringing the house together is a local election. It makes sense that Paul Baker, of all people, would run for president of the homeowners\u2019 association, even if he doesn\u2019t know much at all about policy or bureaucracy. He has the good looks and charm of a politician, like a long-lost bisexual Kennedy nephew who was raised in Canada and grew a mustache to disguise himself. It\u2019s not all that hard to believe that he\u2019d be neck and neck with incumbent Sandy Adler (David Paymer).<\/p>\n
Everyone in the house gets involved in the election, phone banking and going after the 80 or so votes still up for grabs. A returning Julia Fox even shows up to help out. But then Sandy stops by for a friendly chat, and his daughter Nina (Zosia Mamet, ice-cold and slightly underused) gets serious. The HOA means everything to her bored old father, she explains, and he can\u2019t lose that. If Paul Baker wins, Nina will report the zoning violation that is their household.<\/p>\n
Paul Baker actually has no problem dropping out, but voting has already begun. That means Nina is basically forcing him and his team to go out of their way to stop the remaining voters. And that\u2019s exactly what Issa and Anton do, heading to the library and individually speaking with neighbors they already called or met earlier in the day. And here\u2019s where we get to the real focus of the episode, beyond the unlikely \u201cwill everyone be forced to move out?\u201d framing. Twice that day, Issa hears about earnest stuff Anton said to win voters over to Paul Baker\u2019s side. She\u2019s finally starting to understand that he has real feelings for her ex-boyfriend.<\/p>\n
While this is going on, the mission to tank Paul Baker\u2019s campaign continues on multiple fronts. Billie has the idea to call in his straight male friends from the season premiere, an inspired choice; I could totally see these guys coming back every season. They get in on the reverse-canvassing, and of course it all comes down to a Swing Vote (2008) situation: The one vote up for grabs is Mr. Lee, an old friend of Sandy\u2019s who ended their friendship for good after Sandy fucked his wife. (They drifted apart first, to be fair.) It\u2019ll be nearly impossible to get him to vote for that guy.<\/p>\n
But Paul Baker and Billie\u2019s intervention isn\u2019t what changes Mr. Lee\u2019s mind; in another inspired turn, he\u2019s moved to forgive his old friend and vote for Sandy after overhearing Issa\u2019s support of Anton going after Paul Baker, live on the TV broadcast of the polls at the library. Their close friendship is most important to her, and nobody will get in the way of that, even an impossibly lovable Canadian like Paul Baker.<\/p>\n
So the announcement arrives that Paul Baker lost the election, meaning nobody has to move out, and Anton and Paul Baker share their big kiss. Not a jokey-yet-surprisingly-real make-out following a green-card marriage, and not as part of a threesome that nobody truly wants \u2014 it\u2019s a real kiss, and it implies that these two will be fully dating in a potential season three. It\u2019s a sweet conclusion to the love triangle arc of this season, and it \u2026 mostly works, even if I really wish the storytelling could\u2019ve been more incremental here, a true slow burn. Imagine if we\u2019d gotten episodes to more fully process what Issa and Paul Baker\u2019s breakup means for each of them, both before and after it actually happened. Imagine if we saw Anton going on dates with other guys, making Paul Baker jealous. Imagine if the show let us yearn for just a bit longer.<\/p>\n
I\u2019m also a bit thrown by the big turn with Samir and Billie at the end of this episode. Most of his story in this episode rings true to me, though, and not just because I\u2019m also in a long-distance relationship (though mine is more \u201cParis-London\u201d than \u201cParis-Barcelona,\u201d to use Julia Fox\u2019s example). He\u2019s committing fully to his relationship with Carly and wants to make it work while she\u2019s in Seattle for her dental residency, but they can\u2019t even FaceTime for more than a few minutes without cutting out. \u201cIt said my connection was unstable,\u201d Carly says miserably, and I know that feeling very, very well, my friend. (But also, good pun.)<\/p>\n
Carly herself seems to understand that this won\u2019t work between them, since Seattle-New York is more like London-Moscow than London-Paris. But Samir still can\u2019t stop committing, even claiming he\u2019ll move to Seattle to be with her. This is his first and most meaningful relationship, and he won\u2019t let it go until Carly reminds him that he can\u2019t abandon his life here. If he leaves his life behind for her, or if she misses school for him, or if they continue on long-distance, they might grow to resent each other, or even just lose the perfection of the connection they had. Neither of them wants a watered-down version of this dynamic, and both of them understand why it needs to end.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s sad, and in general this is probably the most I\u2019ve ever felt for Samir. His ill-advised hook-up with Billie is \u2026 a little much this early, though, even as an impulsive act while both are feeling lonely and\/or celebratory. These two have been a potential will-they\/won\u2019t-they pairing since the beginning of the show, a childhood friends-to-lovers arc, but I\u2019ve also enjoyed them as two codependent friends, so it\u2019s hard to tell if I\u2019d dig their vibe as a real romantic item yet. They do have decent chemistry, though, and I could see them working as a couple in the right context. Regardless, the messiness of the twice-broken \u201cno group-cest\u201d rule should create some good drama and excitement next season, if we\u2019re so blessed.<\/p>\n
So ends a rock-solid season of Adults. I\u2019ve had my quibbles with the plotting this year, and I\u2019ll admit that sometimes my ideal version of this show isn\u2019t totally aligned with the creators, even if I remain grateful for its laughs-first ethos. But I\u2019m impressed by the confidence of the eight episodes that dropped this summer. Really, when it comes down to it, my biggest issue with this show is that there aren\u2019t more episodes of it. That\u2019s a good spot to be in two seasons in.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Issa gets a little love story of her own with Margaux, the strict librarian who turns out to be neurotic and silly just like Issa, turning into a \u201cweird little guy\u201d and doing accents to deal with her own anxieties. Curious if she\u2019ll stick around next year, or if this is just a fun one-episode fling to show that Issa really is over Paul Baker.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Billie\u2019s season-long unemployment arc doesn\u2019t really reach a conclusive ending, but it does come into play with her ability to tank Paul Baker\u2019s campaign. She proves her usefulness in knowing how not to get a job.<\/p>\n
\u2022 \u201cI once organized an entire front row at a Marc Jacobs show.\u201d \u201cFor what cause?\u201d \u201cJust to get dinner after.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 \u201cShe\u2019s House of Cards-ing us.\u201d \u201cShe touched you?\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2022 \u201c\u2018Mar-gaux\u2019? Like chateau?\u201d \u201cOr \u2018Mar-gox,\u2019 like no name we\u2019ve ever heard?\u201d<\/p>\n
I get what Julia Fox means when she says that Samir\u2019s relationship will devolve into sending Instagram memes, but memes can be an important cornerstone of a relationship, not just a crutch when you have nothing else to talk about. In my humble opinion.<\/p>\n
\u2022 Also, Julia ends up leaving because she\u2019s too turned on by Paul Baker\u2019s bro friends.<\/p>\n
\u2022 The ASL interpreter bit was very good.<\/p>\n
\u2022 \u201cKiss him like a slut, then kiss him like a princess, and then kiss him like both.\u201d<\/p>\n
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