I’ve been a bit waylaid this week (why doesn’t anyone tell you the minute your Saturn returns is when the back problems only depicted for 60-year-old men in 2000s sitcoms hit like a ton of bricks?), hence the tardiness of this post. And I’ll admit, sometimes I don’t want to be a Woman Of The World who can endure pain without breaking a sweat, nails painted, cosmo in hand, village tended to.
Sometimes you just want to be babied by the world, spoonfed the smoothest course of action; weighty responsibilities extracted, nourishment catered at your bedside (you know, like when a man has a cold). It’s thrilling to be thoughtless for a few business days. But it’s also dangerous.
The Cut dropped a brilliant thinkpiece (as they do) about how to recover from being a Baby Woman using Amanda Batula (as well as fictional wimps Hannah Horvath and Ava Daniels) to illustrate the archetype. But Manders isn’t the only one IN THE CITY seeking asylum for the full gamut of adulthood, this week showed. The Cut points out that the patriarchy benefits from a woman’s self-infantilization, but I’d add that seeing this behavior from women is alarming in great part because society has actively coerced us to the other end of the pendulum to be anything but (caretakers, mothers, sexual bottomless pits).
Maybe Baby Women strike such a chord because they’re so unfinessed in the practice of serving themselves, while men led the term “manchild” to be coined about a century ago. That’s why dudes like Kenny manage to maneuver in manchildish ways like it’s a professional sport. And why wouldn’t he? Working on Wall Street is the Manchild Olympics.
IN THE CITY S1 E4
Rated M for Murky
Genre: Edutainment
Starring: Andrea’s idioms, Lindsay’s libido and Whitney’s gluten-free bread
Rating: ⭐⭐⭐/5
Act 1: Baby’s Day Out
As mentioned, Kenny’s elite manchild abilities include the skill of making CNN’s SPIN ROOM look like child’s play to avoid accountability. He seemingly off the cuff convinces Whitney he wasn’t talking about the spark between them, but rather about his spark for a monogamous happily ever after following the loss of his mother. This could be a genuine, real feeling, but the fact of the matter is Kenny never said any of that when talking to Kyle.
And worse, a partner calling outside criticism “noise” is more often than not a surefire sign they just don’t like what’s being said about the relationship, regardless of the volume. When did noise get such a bad rep anyway? Sure, maybe it’s distraction, but often it’s a much-needed, even life-saving warning.
Whitney should be asking herself what’s more important: Kyle streamlining a ten-minute conversation where Kenny also said other things about their dynamic that are positive? Or that from a ten-minute conversation about his feelings for Whitney, what stood out most was Kenny’s concern that they don’t have the gas to go very far? And when gas is so expensive these days!
Over in Mandyland, she’s telling Lindsay the same song and dance she told Kyle — she had no choice but to get a year-long lease because of the “insane outdoor space” (thanks editors) but that doesn’t mean she has one foot out the door just because she’s taking half of their stuff past their tangible threshold in boxes. Is there anything more childish than flagging to take the $30 paper towel holder while simultaneously admitting you haven’t really thought any of this through?
At this meet-up, the guest of honor is the infamous Katie, getting her first bout of true screen time. Gemma, objectively, is more of a scene stealer.
Also debuting his first scene with full sentences, Nick explains that he’s basically the (slightly smaller) Aiden figure of this SATC crew, restoring vintage furniture for Super Bowl performing celebrities. I giggled at the thought of Adam Levine banging down Nick’s door for a refurbished MAD MEN style office set-up to write the next Payphone in.
At Danielle and Eoin’s perhaps more IKEA-friendly (but well-tidied) place, Danielle further clarifies their timeline. Apparently, her Irish lad had been separated from his wife for four whole months before he entered his new forever with her. Kindly, bring the receipts to the reunion or keep it on the playground.
To her credit, Danielle’s prescient discernment outside of herself strikes again. Amanda and Kyle should’ve been worried about what they had going on behind closed doors at this time, and it rhymes with Pest Nillson.
Act 2: Sweet Home Tennessee
I’ll never understand the Hubbhouse Haters because of acts like Lindsay introducing a guest character from the middle of the country just to give us more of her dating life. Dustin is a man who was supposed to sing at her wedding that never happened, and if that isn’t the makings of a romantic Blockbuster, I don’t know what is.
Linds unabashedly admits the door is open now that her new life as a mom is settled, and she might just let Dustin walk through it if he plays his guitar strings just right. Dustin does seem like a gentleman, and he got the green flag of rightfully crediting the act of wind to Beyoncé, though the podcast THE GIRLFRIENDS has ruined the concept of a plane date for me (give it a listen, it’s a heartbreaking whirlwind).
It’s disheartening to see that Amanda and Kyle’s first date as ex-roommates has about half of the chemistry between them compared to the last scene after all these years. In this scene, it seems like Amanda at least believes what she’s saying her half-hazard plans have the power to do: moving out could bring them back together if they both want it bad enough.
But when Kyle confesses they’ve missed multiple therapy sessions, reality sinks back. This Titanic ship has sailed, even if both (or one) of them doesn’t know yet.
Act 3: Off The Wall
I feel confident that date two with Lindsay Hubbard would involve meeting all of her closest friends, whether they were being filmed for national television or not. Dustin game for the experience, and still coming off quite charming, even as he admits he’s not like other girls and loves science.
While Yvonne wing womans Lindsay into Act 2 of her romcom, the rest of the gang arrives, including Kenny sans Whitney, Lexi sans Andrea, Georgina sans scrubs, a beautiful Black couple that is apparently with the group and yet goes totally unintroduced (??), and Gavin, freshly rejuvenated to be Kenny’s roll dog.
Where is Whitney during this pivotal confrontation about her one-year-no-spark-thanks-Raya anniversary dinner? Struggling to articulate the process of toasting gluten-free bread into content. You know, I’ve felt a bit of guilt about my constant influencer jokes, but consider this guilt assuaged. Plus, she’ll be laughing all the way to the bank with the 20K she likely stands to make off of barely contessa-ing snack time, and more power to her for it.
Kenny confronts Lexi about what she relayed to his girl, but Lexi makes it clear she can hold her own, and not just because she’s literally towering over the entire group including Kenny. She only said what Andrea, her husband, told her because that’s what being a friend to Whitney — something Kenny demanded this group do — required.
So Kenny springs on the opportunity to take it out on Andrea sans Kyle. Lindsay’s right, we haven’t seen spicy Andrea much, but I’d like to personally welcome him to the main stage. His interpretation of Kenny’s conceptualization of his future with Whitney is correct, even if Kenny didn’t use that exact word. His name is Andrea, not Merriam-Webster, ffs, but Kenny is hellbent on making word choice the issue in an attempt to absolve himself from his truth.
Kenny may have a right to be pissed that Kyle (not Andrea) “ran his mouth”, but realistically, this is a TV show about a close-knit friend group. What did he expect? Owning that he is patient zero would be the most reassuring thing he could do right now for Whitney. But instead, Kenny goes on a Hooked on Phonics loop and Andrea, as he so eloquently says, leaves because he is not a wall.
Act 4: The Little Words
After taking Georgina’s crime scene photos at the pickleball court, Lindsay spills that she and Dustin had romantic sparks that night but not full-on fireworks. More importantly, Kenny has the group heated up, especially Lexi. The girls hit home what the Wall Street wunderkind seems to not want to understand.
If Kenny had simply focused on his excitement for where things could go with Whitney rather than highlighting the understood notion that nothing is certain, no one would believe his concerns are more elevated than his affections. I’m not sure he’s earned Lindsay’s title of narcissistic manipulative gaslighter (but that might just be because I’m still shell-shocked from Pest Nillson’s disturbing deflections revealed in Jesse Solomon’s timeline).
Across town, Kenny is doing his own debrief with Gavin, who drops his sword on Kenny’s behalf when he learns that Kenny did in fact say the other word of the hour (spark). There’s nothing horrible about Gavin’s astute observation that Kenny’s painting a picture of a perfect relationship to mask insecurity…except for the fact that he’s saying it in front of Whitney’s face and with absolute certainty instead of concern.
I imagine it’s not nice having to defend boring allegations, but if Whitney wants to win that war, she’s going to have to do more than defend herself by basically saying “no I’m not” in monotone.
By the end of this episode, Kenny is unclear if Gavin is his best friend or his biggest opp. Gavin is giving a little bit of Ramona Singer with his delivery, which is to say he’s possibly both.
Best IN THE CITY Performance Of The Week:
Lexi ⭐⭐⭐/5
Okay, unexpected TALL GIRL sequel.
Outstanding IN THE CITY Flop Of The Week:
Eoin ⭐⭐/5
Danielle’s doing so much talking about his timeline. The horse’s mouth needs to neigh in.