Second Look: Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place Season 2, Episode 22 – “Two Guys, a Girl and an Engagement (Part 1)”

Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place Season 2, Episode 22 “Two Guys, a Girl and an Engagement (Part 1)”
Written by Keith Bickford (story), Casey Johnson & David Windsor (teleplay)
Directed by Michael Lembeck
Aired May 26, 1999 on ABC

It’s no surprise that a series like Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place, which was always upending its own status quo to experiment and pursue new identities, would struggle with endings; after all, season finales (especially of the era) are meant as statements of what was, with a major hook for what might be to come – which as you can imagine, often leads to series abandoning who they are for a bit of short-term buzz, be it with a flashy guest star, a particularly buzzy, unexpected plot twist (in sitcoms, usually a pregnancy), or an unnecessary disruption to the status quo that forces the series to fundamentally change what it is. “Two Guys, a Girl and an Engagement (Part 1)” is absolutely one of those episodes – and although it ends the season on a low note, actually works to highlight what has worked in the show’s ambitious second season as it draws to a close.

After Sharon suspects Johnny is cheating on her, Pete and Berg investigate (aka hide in the bushes outside the apartment building) and quickly discover what Johnny’s been trying to hide: he is preparing to propose to Sharon, a decision that has sprawling effects across the core ensemble of Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place in its second season finale. Which is perfectly fine, except “Two Guys, a Girl and an Engagement (Part 1)” never really follows through on any of the ideas that spring from this premise; despite an episode of emotional choices and surprising reveals, Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place ends a confident sophomore season with a strangely noncommittal season finale.

At least with Berg, it’s expected to be unsatisfying; though Ashley’s reveal that she’s not only been proposed to, but married and divorced before she met her previous boyfriend, doesn’t lead to them breaking up, it certainly presents a version of Berg that’s beginning to hedge his bets, and start to take a step back and examine the person he’s spent all season infatuated with – if she’s willing to obfuscate and joke about hiding the truth from Berg (she even jokes about never telling Justin during their four-year relationship), how much can Berg truly trust her?

It’s an interesting question, but one the episode uses for comedy before quickly discarding in the episode’s final few minutes, opting for peaceful, if temporary, resolution in order to clear the deck for the ‘big’ final scene at the pizza place, where Johnny surprises an angered Sharon (who thinks Johnny’s been blowing her off all episode) and proposes to her… to which she responds by crying, muttering “oh no” and running out of the restaurant, taking a brief pause to exchange eyes with Pete before she runs off into the night to places unknown.

In its attempt to have a dramatic, cliffhanging season finale, Two Guys, a Girl and a Pizza Place has to push itself into a really uncomfortable place; make Pete desperate and ignorant as he tries to push Johnny out of the way at the very last minute, compromising his friendship with her and Johnny, throwing their relationship into turmoil (at what should be the happiest moment of their young adult lives), all for what appears to be just more impulsive, desperate behavior from Pete, whose spiraling personal and professional lives have been an integral backbone to season two. While his reaction isn’t unexpected, his lack of self-control and sudden willingness to compromise every important relationship in his life takes his character to a new, lower level – after all, who would try to undercut sweet, simple Johnny, who spends the episode panicking as he confides in the guys about how badly he wants to propose to, and eventually marry, Sharon?

Even without knowing how this plot eventually resolves at multiple points in season three, it just doesn’t feel like the juice is worth the squeeze; it just feels weird when Pete is telling Sharon that “you’re everything a guy could ever want” or, when later in the episode, he’s called on by Johnny to keep Sharon busy, so he pretend-proposes to her using a Pop Ring at a local wishing well. At best, it makes Pete seem incredibly desperate to maintain a status quo that he’s spent most of the season challenging – and at worst, it makes him look like a total scumbag who pushes himself to the brink of breaking up his best friend’s happiness, stopping only when she confides in him how much she really does love Johnny, despite their inherent differences.

In a season full of low moments for Pete, this may be the lowest – and following such a strong personal journey in “Two Guys, a Girl and Barenaked Ladies”, it marks a disappointing end to the season’s most interesting character arc. Through most of the season, it’s felt like Pete’s journey has mirrored the show’s own, trying on different identities while committing to random aspects of them all in unison – so to end it like this feels like a series suddenly being weirdly evasive about looking inward as it gets ready to push forward into its upcoming third season.

Given all that, it’s not a surprise “Two Guys, a Girl and an Engagement (Part 1)” ends on an ambiguous note, leaving Pete and Johnny both hanging in mid-air as Sharon runs off into the night to consider whether she wants to get engaged to the man she clearly loves, or throw it all away on the chance one of her best friends might just happen to be the guy of her dreams. Without a word from Sharon (she literally cries, says “oh no” and runs out) before the season ends, it tries to leave the season on a cliffhanger – but after sidelining her so much in her own story for the whole episode, that abdication of responsibility just doesn’t land, and it feels like a cheap tactic regimented by the necessity of a season finale, not what ultimately makes sense for her character (in both the short and long-term).

So while “Two Guys, a Girl, and an Engagement (Part 1)” is good for a few laughs and a mild amount of intrigue, it feels like an oddly regressive episode to end the season with, especially after strong recent entries like “Barenaked Ladies” or “Two Guys, a Girl and a Graduation”, which offered much more dynamic, interesting ways to challenge its characters and their own preconceptions. More importantly, episodes like those (and “Two Guys, a Girl and a Psycho Halloween” or even “Two Guys, a Girl and a Fighter”) showed a willingness to challenge its own genre, to push at the bounds of what a Friends-esque sitcom could look like unbound from the formulas of the sitcom genre. “Two Guys, a Girl and an Engagement (Part 1)”, with its predictable plot points and flat cliffhanger, is not a great representation of what the series was, it, or would be – and because of that, makes it one of the more disappointing entries of the season, and a bit of a low note for the series to finish out a wildly successful, expansive second season.

Grade: C

Other thoughts/observations:

• Berg: “Are you just threatening the bread, or are you just waiting for a call from the governor?”
  
• Johnny, running out of time: “I still have to throw up everything I’ve eaten in the past three days!”
  
• Berg, listening to Sharon’s engagement story: “If this story doesn’t end tragically, I’m going to be very upset.”
  
• “Of all the pizza joints in all the college towns… how does the rest of that stupid thing go?”
  
• Ashley: “What’s a better basis for love and marriage than friendship? Berg: “Sex, money, an alliance between kingdoms?!”
  
• Johnny’s impression of Sharon when he proposed… gold. Also – as someone who proposed only a few days after watching this for review, maybe don’t watch this episode if you have an engagement ring sitting in your desk? Just a bit of advice (though she said yes!).
  
• And that’s a wrap on season two! Episode rankings will post later this week; for now, here’s a link to season one reviews if you’re still catching up – and if you’re sticking along for the ride, Two Guys and a Girl (and its new title) will return for season three reviews in June. Thanks for reading!