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"Looking" Recap 2.09: Tolerance Butterflies

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Hello, guys and dolls! Welcome back to Looking, the promised land where men can be men, and men can also be bears. When last we left our Three Musketeers, they were categorizing the gays, spring cleaning the chicken window, and giving stress ulcers to the Standards and Practices department.

“Looking for Sanctuary” begins with Patrick (Jonathan Groff, fresh off his Glee cameo as totally straight Broadway star Jesse St. James, who likes girls) opening the blinds in a Ken & Ken Malibu Dream Apartment. He remarks to Kevin (Russell Tovey) that he’s always had a fantasy of power topping him against a high-rise window and giving all the neighbors a show. Kev growls in appreciation, and a realtor steps in from the shadows to comment on the apartment’s cozy charm and durable window panes.

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Patrick feels no shame about being overheard, having exhausted his lifetime supply of embarrassment over the past few episodes. The realtor says that the couple will be very happy here, but Patrick is quick to make it clear that only Kevin will be living there, though he will be visiting quite a bit. Kev had better stock up on Windex.

They head out to the curb to await their Uber driver. 2015, y'all. Apps. Patrick is nervous for Kevin to meet his mother, especially because his sister Megan is on the warpath against their relationship. She’s a good friend of Jon’s and a devout member of Team Richie, so she hasn’t exactly been on speaking terms with her little brother.

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Over at the chicken window, Doris (Lauren Weedman) pays Dom (Murray Bartlett) a visit. He attempts a snide, passive aggressive comment about her spending too much time with Malik, but it bounces right off of her impenetrable snark shield. He should have known better than to mess with a pro.

Doris comes bearing bad news. Her uncle is contesting her father’s will, so the money she promised Dom will be tied up for another three to four months. He snaps at her, because he already spent all his own money in the expectation that he would be refunded. Doris explodes, shouting about how she’s always been there for Dom and that this isn’t her fault. She storms out.

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It’s not like this fight was unexpected after the last episode, but POW! That hit hard. Dom and Doris have had the longest-running relationship on the show. With a Season Three renewal still in HBO’s crosshairs, it’s about time for that bond to be tested before it’s too late. But this close to the finale? It’s worrisome, my friends. I hope those two crazy kids can make things work.

When Kevin and Patrick finally arrive at dinner, Dana (Julia Duffy) is already working on her second pineapple royale. Kevin charms her with a bit of nimble British wordplay. By that I mean he calls her “Dana Banana,” triggering severe PTSD flashbacks in anybody who survived American Horror Story: Asylum.

After dinner, Patrick and his mom sit at the bar alone, Kevin having slipped away to the restroom to do stall pull-ups or whatever it is he does in his spare time. Dana invites Patty to the zoo with her and Megan in an attempt to get them to patch things up.

The next morning, Patrick and Kevin shop for mattresses and briefly transform into giggling teenagers, bouncing on the bed and joking about how Patty likes it hard. They take turns adjusting their sleep numbers to dangerous extremes (95?! I hope you stretched first, Kevin), then talk about Patrick’s upcoming zoo adventure.

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He’s nervous about how his sister will treat him, but Kevin assures him that the whole thing will blow over in 3 or 4 years. At the thought that they could possibly be together for that long, Patty’s jaw drops clean off and rolls under the bed with a clatter. He says he wasn’t sure Kev was in it for the long haul because he didn’t ask for them to move in together.

Considering that they’ve only been dating in earnest for a couple weeks and that’s only because Jon finally grew a pair of eyes and saw the porcelain doll-sized handprints on Kevin’s ass, this shouldn’t come as a surprise. But Patrick is nothing if he’s not eight steps ahead of the curve. One gets the feeling that he was a straight-A student in grade school. That really screws you up good.

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Kevin, evidently, was also a straight-A student in whatever the heck passes for elementary school in Britain. (An unreliable source tells me it’s “crumpet university.”) He says that he got the apartment for them, and that he was just nervous that Patrick would think it was too soon.

He clearly has no concerns for my feelings about the matter. Rude. Anyway, he takes his chance to formally ask Patrick to move in with him. Yay? A few fireworks sputter confusedly in the background.

Over at the homeless youth center, Agustín (Frankie J. Alvarez) totally exists. Eddie (Daniel Franzese) and Nameless Coworker dither about how the artist for the shelter’s new mural backed out at the last minute. A huge neon Dora the Explorer arrow appears onscreen and points at Augie, who obliviously continues to eat his lunch.

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Agustín tells Eddie that he’s thinking about going on PrEP, and Eddie gets a little huffy about his sudden decision. But it seems like he realizes that this means that Augie is really trying to make this connection work. He gets a small revenge in forcing him to paint the mural, but seems mollified. After he walks off, Agustín asks friendly neighborhood trans teen Sammi if they want to help him out.

Also, maybe it’s just the sunburn around my eyes, but Augie is looking hot today.

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Over at the zoo, we see quick shots of gibbons, penguins, and a hairless baby koala. Oh wait, that last one is Patrick. He’s touring the grounds with Dana and Megan (Kelli Garner), who is passive aggressively excluding him from the conversation. He snaps when she goes off to get their mother a hot chocolate without asking him if he wants any. First world problems, am I right?

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Meg makes a snide comment about how Patrick is probably watching his weight. And really, if his comments around food during any episode this season are any indication, that’s actually a pretty fair assessment. His mom offers him a Xanax. Maybe he should pocket that and save it for the next time he feels a Big Speech coming on.

Meanwhile, Eddie and Agustín have coffee at the Mission Café, where Augie shows off Sammi’s design for the mural. Eddie marvels that "Miss Havana Nights" might have a soul after all. His heart grows three sizes and fills the black hole that used to occupy his chest, but the ensuing force magnetically draws in his ex, Frank (O.T. Fagbenle - really), who is in line nearby.

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Frank throws so much shade Augie’s way, it sucks off his tan lines. But eventually he has to admit that he’s changed for the better. Augie introduces Eddie as his “friend,” which we all know from experience is exactly the best way to go about things.

At the zoo, Dana feeds quinoa chips to the animals, which might be a metaphor but is definitely hilarious. Patrick and Megan finally have a frank conversation about Kevin, where she accuses Patty of being a careless homewrecker, and he makes a case for his happiness.

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He lets it slip that Kevin asked for them to move in together, and just about everybody who isn’t him says that it’s probably too soon. The lions nod along in agreement. Dana remarks that it’s different when two men are together, and Megan expresses her frustration with the gay double standard and that Patrick is allowed to do whatever he wants just because he’s different.

It’s a really interesting character development and I’m kind of sad that we’ll probably never see Megan again. She calls it like she sees it, and while she may be stubborn and hot-headed, I admire that. Patrick needs more people to be honest with him about their feelings and intentions. At least, until he finishes his remedial course on Human Interaction at the Learning Annex.

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Dom shows up at the apartment with a frozen yogurt peace offering. He’s broke, so diamonds are out of the question, I guess. Doris denies the gift, saying that she has finally realized how unhealthy their relationship has gotten. She feels an immense obligation to Dom, so much so that it has affected her relationship with her boyfriend, and thinks that they both need to learn how to be real adults. She leaves to spend the night with Malik while they think things over.

Now this is getting interesting. Being the only recurring straight woman on the show, Doris and her snarky barbs fill the role traditionally performed by the Sassy Gay Friend. In a world almost entirely composed of gay men, it only makes sense that she took the sassy reins, being the “minority.”

It’s terrifically exciting to see this archetypal character face the fact that her entire life has been in service to another person, who doesn’t appreciate her as much as he should. She has finally grown tired of her role as a comedic foil, and after her gangbusters performance in the funeral episode, she has learned that she deserves her independence.

It’s about as metatextual as a show can get and it is fascinating. I can’t wait to see where this goes. I love Doris so much, you guys.

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Back at the zoo, Dana tells her kids that the reason she’s hoping they reconcile is that she is thinking about leaving their father. She has been having an emotional affair with another man, and she is yearning for something more. Patrick balks at first, but realizes that in order to reconcile his feelings about his parents with his feelings for Kevin, he must support his mother’s decision.

Over at the homeless shelter, Agustín is admiring the currently un-muraled wall. Eddie walks in to complain about being called his “friend,” but Augie says that he can’t have it both ways. He can’t say they’re only messing around and be upset when he doesn’t acknowledge their relationship to others. This is the wisest thing that has ever come out of the man’s mouth. His looooooong arc to becoming a real human being is finally complete and I’m so proud.

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Eddie realizes how much Augie is hurting and officially asks him to be his boyfriend. They kiss. Fireworks. Also, he screws up Agustín’s middle names and it’s adorable.

Outside Dana’s hotel, Patrick sits with her and talks about his dad. He asks if she ever actually loved him, or if her whole life has been bullshit. She breaks down a little, saying that she’s not proud of all the choices she’s made, but she’s the one who made them. Those choices led to her two beautiful kids and thus couldn’t possibly be bullshit. I’m not crying, I just have a branch in my eye.

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Dana admits that she has no clue what she’s doing, and bolts into her car when it arrives, eyes welling with tears. Patrick watches her go, bewildered.

He walks into Kevin’s apartment, where he’s using a measuring tape to measure things that totally aren’t his penis, I promise. He says, yes, he wants to move in together. Team Keviners have the best night’s sleep of their lives.

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Fin.

Grade: All in all, I had a good time this episode. Things are coming to a head because the season finale is next week, and the drama was sizzling, that’s for sure. It couldn’t help but feel a little rushed after the much more low-key plot workings of the past few episodes, but the shot of vigor did the ep well.

Our characters are all at a turning point in their lives where their core relationships are transforming, for better or for worse. Dom is realizing the strain he put on his best friend, Augie is learning what he really wants out of life, and Patrick is coming to terms with the consequences of his decisions. Really, we couldn’t be at a better place to cap things off.

But where the hell was Richie? Jamming him into the episode may have complicated the storylines a bit, but he’s a key player this season. It’s odd that he’s not around for the lead-up to its swan song, especially after all those Meaningful Glances last week. He must be cooking up something big in the wings, because I have a strong intuition that the showrunners aren’t keen on letting this love triangle die just yet.

B+

MVG (Most Valuable Gay): This one goes to Agustín. He’s been making bad choices for two seasons, but this episode really showed how much he’s grown since his Wicked Queen phase in season two.

Champion Dialogue: “F**k you. F**k you! I hope all your dreams come true!” - Doris

Assorted Nuts

*Reinforced Bang Windows should be a universal feature in California apartment buildings. Although at this point, I’d settle for something with an air conditioner.

*I have a question for urban Uber users. If you’re in a big city like San Francisco, is the app a superior alternative to a taxi service? I live in L. A., which is essentially an automotive swamp, so I haven’t had the opportunity to use either.

*I admire that Patrick is open enough with his mother to discuss Leather Daddies with her at the dinner table. His triathlon of debilitating embarrassment really did wonders for his confidence.

*According to Patrick, they didn’t do the Top Trumps app for the money. That’s great news, because it was never going to make any.

*Meg cheated on her SAT’s, so she’s clearly the real villain here.

*I would sell my left foot to see Kevin and Patrick try out that zero gravity bed that’s apparently in the mattress showroom.

*You may have noticed my not-so-subtle remarks about SoCal’s unseasonable heat wave. Send happy thoughts. I just need to survive until the finale next week. It’s all for you guys. You give me strength.

*Dana’s repeated insistence that the animals should be eating her quinoa chips because “they’re from Whole Foods” is my background comedy moment of the night.

*Whatever Agustín’s real middle names are, I still don’t think they can beat “Javier Cristober.”

*Obviously, I’m not a huge fan of Kevin. Other than for aesthetic purposes, I mean. But recently, Team Kevin supporters have been crawling out of the woodwork left and right. I’d like to hear from you guys! What draws you to the man with such magnetizing force? Our differences only make us stronger, and I’m enthused to hear from all your different perspectives.

*For the record, I’m Team Doris.

*Now that Patrick is moving in with Kevin, where the hell is Agustín going to live? Maybe he can fill Doris' spot in Dom's apartment. Otherwise, it's a lucky thing he works at a homeless shelter.

So what did you all think? Are you guys looking forward to the season finale? What do you think will happen to our beloved Three Musketeers?

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