Every relationship suffers at a 'You're The Worst' wedding
When did a TV wedding not prove pivotal for its attendees? In You're The Worst Season 3, episode 11, a celebration of Shitstain's nuptials becomes a shitshow for every couple invited.
On the heels of last week's treehouse-induced identity crisis, Jimmy starts analyzing everything in his life to calculate "The Inherent, Unsullied Qualitative Value of Anything." The episode's opening is positively whimsical compared to last week's bleak conclusion, with Gretchen steeling herself for analysis.
“Just know that this is gonna be a waste of your time,” she says, unable to hide her nerves.
You May Also Like
The rest of the episode unfolds masterfully at Shitstain's elopement party, through three single-take sequences architected by cinematographer Mike Berlucchi, who expertly executed Edgar's standalone episode earlier this season. The camera slides smoothly between storylines: Lindsay and Paul, Gretchen and Jimmy, Edgar and Dorothy, and the fractured trio of Sam, Shitstain and Honey Nutz.
Lindsay prepares to divorce Paul, but they have a pre-nup which Lindsay misunderstood because she's Lindsay. The only way for her to ensure security after the divorce is by getting a job, and she ends up accidentally schmoozing a stylist who likes her eclectic sense of fashion (and everything else).
Sam shows up late and incorrectly dressed for the party, provoking Shitstain to the point that he reassigns the best man speech to Honey Nutz. Nutz, a.k.a. Zachary, panics profusely at the prospect of improvising a speech, but Shitstain trusts him. The fight plays out with the heightened humor and volatility that the trio balance so well, especially after their ongoing Season 2 feud that went from staged to very, very real.
Gretchen spends the party trying to see Jimmy's lists of pros and cons about her, but he refuses. Irked by his caginess, she decides to start her own pro/con list, and she doesn't hold back. She even enlists the drug-smuggling waiters, the sleeper stars of the episode (it's worth a rewatch just to track the trajectory of their cocaine).
Edgar and Dorothy arrive late, and he promptly ditches her to find sketch material for his new comedy writing job with Doug Benson.
It turns out Sam is acting out because he's terrified of losing his squad, a conclusion he comes to with Gretchen and acts upon entirely out of self-preservation. That only amplifies when Shitstain's wife Jaclyn discloses their plans to start a family, and Sam, in a moment of blind panic, tries to kiss her.
“I’m sorry, I’m just highly upset!” Sam cries out. He later concedes: “I’m just afraid I’m losing my best friends.” They resolve it with the sweetness of a '90s sitcom, even if Jaclyn doesn't want them to be friends anymore.
Dorothy's swallowed bitterness about Edgar's budding comedy career finally bubbles to the surface over Brian Posehn.
"If there's one thing I know, it's who's who in comedy," Dorothy says with a thin facade of confidence.
Edgar approaches Posehn at the party, and Dorothy wedges herself into the conversation to prove she's an established comic and talk about the one time they met, which he doesn't remember. The encounter is relentlessly awkward, and Dorothy heads home, leaving behind a bewildered Edgar.
Through her own inadvertent networking, Lindsay learns that the stylist's job requires travel, which leads to Paul finding out that Lindsay had an abortion. In that moment, Lindsay's glibness cuts Paul much like her knife recently did. Remember that Paul also gave up a whole and healthy life to be with Lindsay -- he took a huge risk without realizing it because he believed so much in the promise of his dream over its pitfalls.
Jimmy and Gretchen start reading their lists to each other, and it goes from zero to an emotional gut-punch real quick.
“I can’t see having kids with her,” says Jimmy to a stunned Gretchen, who somehow manages to regroup.
“I’m afraid you’ll never be successful,” she replies.
Sam and Honey Nutz (Zachary) share the best man speech, which Sam handles with dignity and Zachary blunders through. As the camera pans around, it stops to linger on the faces of characters who look very different from when they arrived at the party.
Gretchen and Jimmy share a cigarette outside, just as they did at Becca's wedding on the night they met. But unlike those nuptials, this time, they leave separately. Their cars pull away in parallel lanes, never crossing, their eyes not meeting. In sync, but not together.
Proma Khosla is a Senior Entertainment Reporter writing about all things TV, from ranking Bridgerton crushes to composer interviews and leading Mashable's stateside coverage of Bollywood and South Asian representation. You might also catch her hosting video explainers or on Mashable's TikTok and Reels, or tweeting silly thoughts from @promawhatup.
