With part one in the books, all that’s left is to recap the best episodes of Two Guys, a Girl and Pizza Place‘s second season – so what are we waiting for? Enjoy!
11. Episode 11 – “Two Guys, a Girl and a Limo”
“Adam Carolla guest stars as Adam Carolla in a limo Pete drives” isn’t the most enticing premise for a sitcom episode, whether 1998 or 2026; thankfully, Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place uses his presence to take a beat and reflect on the many changes at the heart of season two. Specifically, Carolla finds himself examining the two romantic pairings of season two (Sharon & Johnny, and Ashley & Berg), turning an otherwise middling affair with a few decent punchlines, into a rather timely reflection on what was (and wasn’t) working as season two neared its halfway point.
10. Episode 13 – “Two Guys, a Girl and a Gamble”
“Two Guys, a Girl and a Gamble” plays like a slightly evolved version of Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place‘s first season, highlighting the immaturities of its main characters while ever-so-slightly nudging them towards more adult, mature versions of themselves. For Pete, this comes from realizing that cosplaying Dad to Kaitlin’s son comes with some risks; for Sharon, it’s letting Johnny see her for her true (disgustingly unkempt) self. And while these themes don’t manifest in particularly exciting or profound ways, it is a fun microcosm of what the series was, and what it was clearly now aspiring to be.
9. Episode 19 – “Two Guys, a Girl and a Fighter”
Berg takes a night job as a ringside doctor, and Johnny finds himself at odds with Sharon after an unsavory comment, in one of the more combative (both physically and verbally) episodes of season two. One’s mileage with the relationship histrionics in the episode will vary – Johnny and Sharon being more interesting than anything happening with Pete and Ashley (though an interesting preview of a dynamic that would continue to evolve in the show’s third and fourth seasons). Most interestingly, perhaps, is that “Two Guys, a Girl and a Fighter” is an episode that works largely with Berg on the sidelines, showing that the larger lens and richer characters of season two was a change worth making.
8. Episode 4 – “Two Guys, a Girl and an Elective”
Pete’s attempts to find a career path remains one of the best, reliable story wells of Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place, once again on full display in the entertaining, if slight, “Two Guys, a Girl and an Elective”. Honestly, Pete’s brief time as a sports broadcaster isn’t even the best part of the episode – the romantic spark between Sharon and Johnny definitely is, with a scene-stealing third act moment between the two in the pizza shop, that provides the foundation for the show’s most enduring, rewarding romance.
7. Episode 8 – “Two Guys, a Girl and a Wedding”
Pete’s ex-girlfriend (no, not the one from season one) is getting married, which gives Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place a good excuse to dress everyone up for a fun wedding reception episode. More importantly, it gives the series a fancy excuse for a litmus test of its major season two themes; Pete’s disillusionment, Berg’s infatuation with Ashley, and Sharon and Johnny’s romance, challenging them all in the course of a rather entertaining 22 minutes. And though other episodes would tackle some of these individual character ideas from more interesting lenses, seeing them all work in concert with each other, and not falter, was a strong sign season two was really onto something with its creative overhaul.
6. Episode 21 – “Two Guys, a Girl and Barenaked Ladies”
Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place’s best quality is by far its experimentative side; the more the series strays from the traditional trappings of the multi-camera sitcom and the expectations of its era, the more dynamic and exciting a comedy it became. Take “Two Guys, a Girl and Barenaked Ladies”, which uses Pete’s continued identity crisis to interject a series of fun runners featuring the Barenaked Ladies (costumed as to be a natural part of each scene they’re seen in), performing original song bits about the happenings of the episode. And not only is it another strong Pete-focused episode, but one of the more memorable guest starring gimmicks of early 21st century sitcoms, in what eventually becomes one of the most important endings of the series when Pete bids the pizza place adieu.
5. Episode 21 – “Two Guys, a Girl and a Vacation”
With Fred Willard guest starring as a doddering, racist old executive Pete interviews with, how can “Two Guys, a Girl and a Vacation” go wrong? After a strong premiere, “Two Guys, a Girl and a Vacation” keeps the momentum going with a funny episode of Pete, Berg, and Sharon trying to enjoy their arrested development just a little bit longer (via a free weekend in Aruba via Sharon’s company). It’s also an early, rare moment of professional angst for Sharon, whose disillusionment with the makeup pollution industry begins to take nascent shape in this episode, one of a few seeds planted in the show’s sophomore season to be seen in seasons three and four.
4. Episode 14 – “Two Guys, a Girl and a Proposal”
Come for Sharon’s discovery of Berg’s past as an underwear model, stay for Pete’s surprisingly somber breakup with Kaitlin in “Two Guys, a Girl and a Proposal”, one of the best examples of the balance and breadth of storytelling season two offers when it’s firing on all cylinders. Sure, Berg and Sharon’s little side story is a light, funny distraction for the main story – but without it, Pete’s somber breakup with both Kaitlin and his son would be a rather dour episode, in a season full of personal lows and tribulations for Pete. With Berg’s glamour shots running underneath Pete’s story, though, “Two Guys, a Girl and a Proposal” hums right along, raising expectations for what the show was capable of in the confines of just a single episode.
3. Episode 6 – “Two Guys, a Girl and a Psycho Halloween”
The most fun episode of Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place‘s second season comes from its Halloween episode, a fun, Simpsons Treehouse of Horror-esque tale of a murderous Berg clone making a bloody trail through Boston. Not only is it just a great episode, full of blood spurts and fourth-wall breaking punchlines, but it’s one that breaks the series free of its sitcom trappings for but a moment – something that clearly sparked something in the show’s writers room, paving the way for episodes like “Two Guys, a Girl and Barenaked Ladies”, but future endeavors, like season three’s Halloween episode or season four’s “The One without Dialogue”.
2. Episode 1 – “Two Guys, a Girl and Someone Better”
Following an uneven, if intriguing first season, Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place opens its second season with a completely different attitude, both towards its characters (who are a little more developed in their individual arrested developments) and itself, in what amounts to an almost-flawless transition from late 90’s-esque frat boy comedy, into early-2000’s quarter-life crisis rom-com. Thanks to the introduction of Ashley, who immediately challenges Berg’s self-assumed greatness (both in medical school and life) and a hilarious plot of Pete and Berg’s individual perceptions of second place, Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place capitalizes on the best parts of season one, expanding on itself while quickly excising the more aggressive, annoying parts of its freshman outing, for an incredibly impressive season premiere.
1. Episode 15 – “Two Guys, a Girl and a Graduation”
Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place‘s penchant for terrific flashback episodes (following season one’s “Two Guys, a Girl and How They Met”) continues with the best episode of season two, which traces an old parking ticket debt Sharon trusted the boys to resolve on the week of their college graduation. But, in the vein of season two’s more experimental, diverse storytelling, “Two Guys, a Girl and Graduation” takes a simple premise and turns it into a 22-minute exercise in narrative onion-peeling, slowly revealing the intricacies of its central mystery as it reveals the many twists and turns that lead to Sharon’s educational crisis in the present day. A fantastic episode that highlights the best of its central trio, marrying the show’s established comedic rhythms with the experimental spirit and improved storytelling of season two.
And that’s a wrap on season two – see you in June for season three!
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