From: The Scene Blog
"The Mindy Project" Recap: The Lyin’ Queen and Beer Pong King
LWYANG, FLICKR
NOTE: This post contains spoilers for season three, episode five of “The Mindy Project,” entitled “The Devil Wears Lands’ End.”
Over the past three seasons, Dr. Mindy Lahiri’s (Mindy Kaling, “The Office”) compulsive lying affected nearly every member of the Shulman and Associates office, causing both major and minor conflicts.
This episode’s lie-driven controversy appeared in the form of Mindy accepting a kiss from the hospital’s newest employee Dr. Jean Fishman (Niecy Nash, “Clean House”). Fishman is married, as it turns out, and her wife overhears the fight between Dr. Danny Castellano (Chris Messina, “Made of Honor”), Mindy and Jean. Until Mindy tells the truth, Jean threatens to change the hospital’s calendar so that Shulman and Associates’ doctors will be forced to work the graveyard shifts.
Meanwhile, Dr. Peter Prentice (Adam Pally, “Happy Endings”) struggles to find a beer pong partner in an annual Dartmouth tournament. In an attempt to dethrone Shonda Rhimes (yes, that Shonda Rhimes, creator of “Scandal,” “Grey’s Anatomy” and “How to Get Away with Murder”) Peter chooses Dr. Jeremy Reed (Ed Weeks, “The IT Crowd”). The two reconcile over the Lauren (Tracy Wigfield, “30 Rock”) incident, and Peter gets a new frat boy nickname.
I’m surprised Mindy’s constant lying took this long to cause a major problem in both her work life and in her relationship with Danny. Usually, the white lies are played for humor, but they usually have very real consequences, so I liked seeing Mindy struggle with her poor life choices. I was also delighted by Chris Messina’s performance reading Mindy’s pantomimed lies in the end sequence. This season of “The Mindy Project” continues to make me laugh out loud and feel attachment to the Danny-Mindy relationship. I’m hoping the season continues with this consistency.
Commentary:
*Lying and crying is how Mindy gets out of everything. This is a potent combination.
*Peter on Shonda Rhimes: “Yeah, but she’s successful like a man.”
*Mindy’s ringtone is “Fancy” by Iggy Azalea. This fact further validates my claims when I say “MINDY IS ME” in conversation.
*Jeremy, Peter and Beverly (Beth Grant, “No Country for Old Men”) all share a “work toothbrush.”
*Peter to Mindy: “You asked me to help mail yourself to Chris Hemsworth.” Ambitious and creative celebrity stalking, Mindy!
*Some of the Dartmouth frat boy nicknames: MLK, Ted Bundy, Barf.
*Jeremy’s American accent is almost as funny as Peter’s British accent.
*Peter after beating Shonda Rhimes at beer pong: “Am I the new mayor of Shondaland?”
*Mindy to Danny, thanking him for lying for her: “I will do the thing I hate the most to you. That’s love.” This quote isn’t terribly funny or noteworthy, just very relevant to me since I saw “Gone Girl” today. Highly recommend!
Tune in to “The Mindy Project” on Tuesdays at 9:30 p.m. on FOX.
