Synopsis: Last week focused on Mom and Dad. This week it was Evie’s sister who gets the attention. Will everyone finds somebody to love?
Evie’s work adventure this week involves trying to get that big fancy job with Cyberhugs. You know, the one she’s been talking about all season? Her dream job? Roger Bart makes a guest appearance as the company’s CEO, Corrie Casey. Evie envisions herself making a smart, impressive 30 second pitch that makes Mr. Casey offer her a job on the spot.
But in true Evie-fashion, the interaction is awkward, unintelligible, and a terrible first impression. Then again, how was she to know that Mr. Casey would come in on his own hover board and have some smart-glasses distract him. He’s a busy man, Evie!
And Evie and Xavier’s relationship quandary of the week is brought to you by the title: I said it first. What is said are those three little words “I love you.” Technically Evie says it first. But Xavier is brushing his teeth, so maybe he doesn’t respond because he can’t hear her. I mean, if a tree falls in the woods, but the only person there is brushing his teeth, does it make a sound?
And lastly, Evie’s family adventure. Last week, we looked at Gloria and Greg’s relationship. This week, we focus on Mary Anne, the sister. Mary Anne hasn’t quite warmed up to Xavier yet. Not after his apocalypse outburst at Evie’s birthday party. She even has a special smile reserved for Xavier and his antics. So in Xavier’s attempt to get in with Mary Anne, he offered to paint her house. Not a bad solution.
Mary Anne, in case you haven’t guessed, is a perfectionist control freak. She’s also shady as all get out. For example, when she says she’ll see Xavier first thing in the morning, and he shows up at 10:45am, she passive-aggressively mentions that she and her adoptive son Tucker have been far more productive than he.
In her fashion, she manages to condescend both Xavier’s intelligence and lifestyle in one fell swoop. Xavier gets cracking on the paint job (white with fuchsia trim) Apparently, fuchsia is Mary Anne’s favorite color. it was her hair color in college when she fronted a punk rock band.
Elsewhere, Evie has already mucked up her pitch with Corrie Casey. And at the big staff meeting she finds out her dream job is kaput. No more. Fini. Casey cuts Cyberhugs because he can’t cut jobs. And in the process he cuts away Evie’s dreams.
While some might take this as a sign that it’s time to leave this (obviously terrible) company, Evie takes it as a sign to persevere. She puts together all the data she needs to persuade Casey to reinstate Cyberhugs. If only she can get some time with him.
The good news is that Casey is throwing a company party, complete with a 1960s space rock band. The bad news is that Deirdre is the only one invited from the warehouse. But Evie has an idea. She’s going to Devil Wears Prada Deirdre, despite Deirdre having no clue what that pop culture reference means. Basically, Diedre can’t remember anyone’s names, so Evie plans on being the plus one.
Back to Xavier and the house painted pink. That’s right, he painted the outside of the house bright flaming pink. Which is certainly against the rules of the home owner’s association. Mary Ann is, understandably, pissed.
This is something Xavier does repeatedly. He did it with Evie when he quit her job for her. From what I’ve seen from next week’s preview, this same attitude will rear its ugly head again. It’s the pig-headed idea that his philosophy works best for everyone. Maybe it’s because of his belief in the upcoming apocalypse. Maybe it’s because of his innate privilege. Maybe it’s because he’s really, really, really, really, really good-looking so no one tells him no.
But no matter what it is, Xavier winds up causing more trouble than hindering it. Mary Ann not only has to repaint the whole house, she also has to fight with her son because Tucker thinks, “Xavier’s fun and you’re not.”
The problem is that usually, Xavier’s right. Does he show that in probably the worst way possible? Yes. But Mary Ann knows it’s true. She would love to be fun, care-free, and spontaneous. Except she has a child to take care of and a husband who’s been MIA since episode 1. This is what she tells Evie, when Evie find her in the bathtub with a half-empty bottle of booze. To make up for it, Evie and Xavier take Tucker for a day and Mary Ann gets 5 full hours of uninterrupted sleep. Mary Anne and I have the same day off dream.
What’s going on with our other compadres? Hank and Dierdre are attempting to stay a part by at least 5 feet to keep their libidos in check. And Timothy (Sweet T, T Swizzle, TJ Maxx) is doing a Stephen Schpiel (basically a Ted Talk) about the intersectionality between sex, technology, and the animal kingdom.
He’s feeling confident now that his sex life with Fern has finally picked up (“I’m gonna prune that Fern!”). But his mutter has come back from episode 1. In fact, he’s so nervous that he falls off the front of the stage. Whoops! Good thing Evie shows up in time for him to focus and finish in style.
Evie’s work schemes have done about as well as Timothy’s. After Dierdre figures out her true intentions, she un-invites Evie. At Xavier’s suggestion (of course) Evie and crew dress up as the band in order to crash the party. This plan doesn’t work out once Diedre find them and outs them as imposters. (In other news, Mr. Casey catches Diedre demanding that Hank leave her alone, and he assumes it’s because she’s racist. If only he knew.)
Evie is finally able to make her 30 second pitch, which winds up becoming a heart-felt plea for Cyberhugs. Evie’s learned a lot from hanging out with Xavier: how to speak up for herself, how to ask for what she wants, and how to chase her dreams. With a touch of her finger, Mr. Casey reinstates Cyberhugs and gives her a job in that department. Dreams can come true!
Or maybe not. Diedre, still mad at Evie, dumps a pile of papers on Evie’s desk. Turns out Evie hasn’t gotten promoted. She’s gotten a second job. And then Timothy comes to tell her that they can’t just be friends. Even though Evie is totally cool with Timothy dating the Fernberger, Timothy is still not 100% over Evie. The best thing they can do is go their separate ways.
And our final Cyber glimpse this week? Hank and Diedre go to their sensitivity training for Diedre’s alleged racism. And they wind up making love on the floor of the office. “That’s a whole different set of paperwork.”
Let’s get back to the title question: Who said it first? Xavier, who’s been trying to sell his artwork, decides that Evie needs a grand romantic gesture. Using rain activated art from a secretive Seattle street artist, Xavier shows Evie the road, which says “Though the end is nigh, you and I are forever. I love you.” Ohh, only Xavier could make a statement of love involving the apocalypse. Til next week!
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