With all the dinner parties, drug trips, and canine agility events in season 2 of Wilfred, things at time have felt a little more erratic than the more-contained first season. It’s made the show an interesting watch every week, but at times, plots have felt like they’re running in circles, tiptoeing around their resolutions instead of taking a more direct narrative path to their conclusion. For that reason, ‘Resentment’ is a very scattered episode, one that’s not particularly funny, with an ending that feels like it came an episode too early -and more importantly, feels unearned.
The first third of ‘Resentment’ appears to set things up to finally deal with the jealousy Ryan’s been feeling since his meddling led to Jenna and Drew’s engagement in the season 1 finale, but takes a jarring shift halfway through when it suddenly becomes about Wilfred’s own resentment towards Jenna. The reason they don’t work when used as parallels to each other – they reach a simultaneous conclusion about needing to “get over it and let go” – is because Wilfred’s relationship with Jenna is a lot different than her and Ryan. When Wilfred sees her petting other animals, he feels betrayed because those moments are the special ones he shares with his owner. Ryan doesn’t know what it feels like to be loved by Jenna – and no matter how much Amanda keeps coming around, a part of Ryan is hanging onto this idea of being with Jenna.
Remember earlier in the season when he said he was moving on from Jenna? She seemed to fade into the background, but as soon as Amanda was out of the picture, he was back on his passive pursuit of Jenna. Unlike Wilfred, Ryan may be jealous of the attention (and garage make out sessions) that Drew gets to share with Jenna – but he certainly can’t relate to what it feels like. Their simultaneous resolution of their feelings just doesn’t feel like it was earned, and until Jenna’s no longer a character on the show, I’m not believing that Ryan’s heart really lies anywhere else but with her.
Running through both of these is the sitcom trope of “friend losing the precious family wedding ring”, which brings nothing but some jokes about shitting, one of the less appealing attempts by the writers to Wilfred-ize traditional comedy story lines. At some moments, the ring does provide some bits of humor, but the ring that gets lost by a person who only finds out how valuable it is afterward is one we’ve seen many times before, and this episode doesn’t really stray from the formula at all.
But I can deal with unfunny half hours of Wilfred – it usually manages to create some solid emotional moments at the end of its episodes, although again, in season 2 this has been a problem at times. I don’t really see any convincing evidence as to why Ryan would offer to throw Jenna a wedding – it’s only a scene before that he’s complaining of being in charge of their happiness, yet is willing to jump right back in so he can torture himself with the sight of Jenna’s smiling face. Earlier this season, Ryan said he was over Jenna, but on many levels, it’s clear he isn’t, and not only do I not see the reason why he’d want to commit to that – and more importantly, why it leads him back to Amanda at the end of the episode.
That really should be an important moment of the show – and fitting in with the end of last season, closing the finale out with Ryan opening a door would give the two seasons a small sense of symmetry I feel they’ve been missing in some key sections. But closing out tonight’s episode with it – with almost no real sense of momentum towards that moment in any sense of the word (save for a mention of her once early on), it feels constructed to get everyone in the same room for next week’s finale.
If we’re going to believe Ryan’s change as an audience, now’s the time for us to start seeing moments of progress, not regression. I’m not saying I want Ryan to go and sweep Jenna off her feet – that would feel just as forced as the closing moments of tonight’s episode. And it’s hard to criticize it – Amanda and Ryan’s warm smiles when they see each other is a great touch, but one that’s robbed of its heart because of the complete silence on anything related to her for the majority of the episode.
‘Resentment’ is another uneven episode of Wilfred in a season that’s been all over the map in terms of its cohesion and direction, taking big swings at emotional moments at the end of episodes, and whiffing on more than one or two of them – although there’s been a couple really touching endings, I don’t want to completely rip on the show. But it hasn’t been as funny or as consistent in its voice or direction as the first season, and because of it, cracks are beginning to show in some of the seasonal arcs, that are losing steam as we head into the final episode.
Grade: C
Other thoughts/observations:
– Jenna cheated on Drew? With who… and is this something that will really matter, or just something to stir up a little drama in this episode? The show is making a big point all season that their engagement is less than perfect, and it seems a little heavy-handed at times.
– the foreshadowing of Wilfred eating the ring with his popcorn tricks was a fun little touch, one that reminds us even in mediocre episodes the talent of the creative team.
– nothing about Ryan’s father? Does this mean he appears next week?
– The most important question of the episode is one Wilfred asks about Jellybean, but one Ryan never asks himself (in regards to Drew): What does he have that I don’t?
– Wilfred was being all meta with the ring and the “ring bearer” quote. Almost too easy.
What did you think of ‘Resentment’? Feel free to leave your thoughts below, and stop by next week to talk about the season finale!
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You know, I read your reviews of Wilfred and I scratch my head. Maybe you should just stop writing these because you STILL don’t get it. You seem to always want the answer to everything, wrapping up the show and that’s not going to happen. Ryan IS over Jenna which is why he went back to Amanda. Resentment is perfectly titled. Ryan resented Drew and Jenna’s relationship because he could have had the same with Amanda. Ryan has done a lot of progressing this season and going back to Amanda as well as offering to throw the wedding are huge for him. Plus, he doesn’t play so many games at the hands of Wilfred anymore. Yes, Wilfred still gets a lot in, but Ryan is constantly fighting him back.
I think you’re far too hung up on the “Ryan and Jenna” part of this when that idea was over a long time ago.
I realized this morning the version of my review that published was not the final version – and a large chunk that’s missing deals with some of your points.
I think every single point you make is valid – there is a strong possibility I’m wrong, and Ryan really is moving on from Wilfred as the show wraps up his second season and moves into the third. But you can’t help but notice the different tensions between Jenna and Drew detailed heavy in any episode where Drew shows his face. Their relationship is far from functional, and is essentially built on a lie (she only got engaged to him because she thought she was pregnant).
Now, consider the title of next week’s episode, “Secrets”. There’s a good possibility we’re going to find out more about who Jenna cheated on Drew with, and I wouldn’t count out the reasons for their engagement being exposed for what they really are at some point. Ryan’s made many mistakes overstepping his mental progress before, and I don’t think going back to his recent ex and throwing the girl he obviously still loves a wedding, a great recipe for “moving on” success.
But again – I could be wrong, but there’s been a lot of foreshadowing, or at least suggestions, that Jenna’s relationship with Drew is never going to work. If that’s not the case and they’re going to have a happy ending together, than I’d feel a bit betrayed by the way their relationship’s been presented thus far. We’ve seen no signs (outside of physical attraction) that they really love each other for who they are – and the secrets that Jenna (and maybe even Drew) are having are going to play into this.
In other words, the difference between you and I is I’m not buying the direction the story is taking us (something I realize I’m in the large minority about), and Amanda’s seemingly open acceptance of Ryan back into her life doesn’t feel like an honest development. That being said, we’ll see what happens next week!
Either way, I appreciate you stopping by and leaving a comment – anything that brings more discussion is fantastic. I hope to hear your thoughts on ‘Secrets’ next Thursday, and don’t worry: after next week, I won’t have any more episodes to write about for a year. So in an indirect fashion, you’ll get your wish of me not writing about Wilfred anymore. Thanks for reading!