Mindy's attempt to liven up her maternity leave leads to excitement, danger and a big fight with Danny. Tamra spreads some hot gossip about Jeremy's new girlfriend (Cristin Milioti).
The Mindy Project's exploration of what parenthood means for Mindy and Danny has been a really strong story engine for the fourth season so far. Leo Castellano has changed the dynamic of the show. But it still feels very much like a natural progression for the characters. Mindy is still Mindy and Danny is still Danny. A baby has just been thrown into their relationship in order to shake things up. They are a strong and distinctive couple. But they also have different views when it comes to a raising child. They are committed to being there to work on these problems as they come up. But it's also a fantastic place to find comedy.Danny and Mindy are just coming home for the first time since she gave birth. Leo is kind of a perfect child. They aren't sleep depraved and falling over backwards in order to protect him. Their new neighbor, Chelsea (a fantastic Eliza Coupe), mentions that Leo's crying has kept her up at night too. But that isn't something that is seen on screen. Sure, it probably makes these early days of parenthood more optimistic and hopeful than they actually would be. But that's fine for this show to do. The emphasis of the story is still squarely on Mindy and Danny. Leo is able to sleep while his parents are elsewhere in the room struggling with what to do. He's fine but the parents are somewhat lost. That is also very true of this situation.
Danny wants to be overly cautious with Leo in these first few days. He has completely baby proofed the apartment by getting rid of all the screens. He wants to be present in these glorious days with Leo and Mindy. He wants Mindy to be engaged as well even though she does have a short attention span and can get distracted by things. He has to go back to work. He can't afford to take a paternity leave - though it is respectable that the show brings up that option. Leaving Mindy alone in the apartment with nothing to entertain her is a hilarious premise for an episode. Leo doesn't require a ton of her attention while Danny's box of things to keep her entertained is just filled with books. Mindy doesn't like books. She finds something wrong with all of them.
Mindy wants to take Leo out into the world. She is proud to be a mom but she is still very obsessed with the pop culture world around her. She has no problem exposing Leo to the world and all the various viruses and diseases out there. She takes the opportunity to meet Maggie and Jake Gyllenhaal at their book signing. It's not until afterwards that she has to deal with any consequences and that's only because she foolishly locked herself out of the apartment with Leo inside. It's hilarious watching as she climbs from Chelsea's balcony into the apartment. It's broad hijinks that works because it is executed so well with the added pressure of Danny being on his way home.
Mindy and Danny are both extremes when it comes to parenting. And yet, there's always an understandable reason why they do the things that they do. Danny putting a nanny cam in the apartment could feel like he's spying on Mindy because he doesn't trust her to be alone with Leo. Instead it's just so he can see his son whenever he wants from work. That is sweet. All of their secrets are exposed when they overhear Chelsea and Morgan having sex through the wall. They each have a right to be furious with each other. Mindy is freaking out because of all these limitations on her life. And yet, she is grateful that she has a baby daddy who wants to be present with the parenting. Neither one of them is the person who goes to the bar in order to escape. She's the person who comes home later and apologizes with understanding. That's what makes Mindy and Danny such a great couple. They fight a lot of the time. But they still respect and understand each other. Leo does complicate a couple things but they are still so very committed to this family.
Some more thoughts:
- "Leo Castellano Is My Son" was written by Charlie Grandy and directed by Alex Reid.
- Because she's Danny and Mindy's neighbor, I'm expecting to see much more of Eliza Coupe as Chelsea this season. She's funny but also wants to have the kind of relationship that Danny and Mindy have. I could easily see a future where she and Mindy are best friends. She has to get past Mindy setting her up with Morgan though.
- Also, Chelsea is a publicist for Justin Bieber. So, her life isn't as easy as Mindy thinks it is.
- Morgan freaks out about being the only single guy at the office right now. That's a hilarious prospect. He is able to have sex with Chelsea. But it's uncertain if there will be any future there considering she slams the door in his face while he's wearing nothing but a robe.
- Tamra does the right thing for once and tells Jeremy that she overheard Whitney on the phone and thinks she might be cheating on him. It's for very selfish reasons. She just wants to keep TLC Tuesdays at the office. But she still did something good for one of her co-workers for once.
- However, it's not that surprising that Tamra was completely wrong about Whitney. And now, she's more determined than ever not to get into anyone else's business. So, she gets some character progression only for things to likely go back to normal afterwards.
- Adrian has also officially left the practice in order to go back to his wife full time. That was always an expected twist for the season considering Dan Bakkedahl is now committed full time to CBS' Life in Pieces. He's pretty great there too.
- I love that the show is keeping Tamra and Sheena's dynamic alive this season. It is literally just a text conversation between the two. But it is just so funny! Apparently, Sheena works at the White House and finds it boring.
- Danny in Italian: "How can such a beautiful boy come from such a crazy mother?"
- Mindy: "Okay, you're getting very Italian and very emotional this morning."
- Mindy: "Wait, that's the minimum wage?! Nobody tell Morgan."
- Sheena: "You're job is interesting. I hate working at the White House."
