It’s really a shame Selfie got canceled when it did: like last week’s episode, “Imperfect Harmony” is another strong half hour, one that takes a traditional sitcom story and gives it real pathos for both of the show’s protagonists, keeping Henry and Eliza separated for large chunks of the episode to explore each character’s problems with relationships. It leads to a surprisingly emotional half hour, an episode that shows off the emotional range of the two lead actors and sets up an intriguing conflict heading into the final three episodes.
Part of the charm in Eliza’s balls-to-the-wall pursuit of Henry is how naturally the show was able to fit it in: after the first few episodes teased the idea with great hesitation, the impending end of Selfie has released the show from its earthly tetherings, allowing it to push Henry and Eliza together as a couple, just as quickly as it did mentor and student. What’s even more stunning is how well the show’s gone to justify this sudden change in story: it’s molded Eliza’s personal growth with her pursuit of Henry, her first attempt as an adult to have something “real” in her life, something that’s not a celebrity reference or a hashtag waiting to happen – and when Henry openly resists her advances (and the very idea of dating her), it pushes “Imperfect Harmony” to a level most comedies wouldn’t even attempt to achieve.
In addition, Eliza’s pursuit of Henry has pushed Henry’s faults to the front lines, a nice change of pace from the heavy critique he’s laid on her character since the pilot. There’s always been this undercurrent of mutual self-improvement as Eliza teaches Henry a bit about the finer, more superficial pleasures in life – but “Imperfect Harmony” flips the tables and points out Henry’s put-together personality is also his emotional body armor, allowing him to play it safe in life situations, rather than take risks and experience the unknown (hence why he’s torn between Boring Julia and Overwhelming Eliza for the entire episode). Henry’s just as flawed as Eliza, and she’s perfectly willing to point that out to him during “Imperfect Harmony”, catalyzing what stands as the strongest sequence of the series – I’m talking about Karen Gillan’s affecting performance of Sia’s “Chandelier”, a song that is certainly cheesy and on-the-nose, but fits perfectly in the context of scene and the development of Eliza’s character (plus it reminds us that musical performance still has a place in sitcom, something only Selfie and Ground Floor seem to embrace).
Isn’t her performance the highlight of the series? It puts the juxtaposition of Eliza’s character as she comes to an internal crossroads in wonderful perspective: and it’s all enhanced by Gillan’s knockout performance of the song, delivering emotional, deliberately imperfect vocals that didn’t feel overwrought or melodramatic, but meaningful in the context of where Eliza was in that moment, overwhelmed by Henry’s kind-of rejection, and powered by the journey she’s taken in recent weeks to find meaning in her life. Like Henry’s own karaoke performance over the closing credits, the scenes exist not only as actor showcases, but as existential markers for both characters as they try to figure out just what they want from life – or more accurately, their plans and excuses to run away from it.
Although the sudden change in narrative has jarred the entire construction of the show, “Imperfect Harmony” almost suggests this version of Selfie is better than the original, uncanceled version: it maintains the idea of personal improvement through enlightenment, but throws the idea of mutual attraction underneath it to really kick the self-explorations into high gear. And even though it’s made everyone else on the show unimportant, “Imperfect Harmony” still finds stuff for people to do, like Stan’s “mandatory” karoake party (which he performs the same song at each year) and the absolutely hilarious (and continous) showdown between Bryn and Charmonique, which had me laughing harder than anything else I’ve seen on TV this fall. Sure, Selfie turned into a love story the second it saw the writing on the wall: problem is, it looks like the show’s actually really good at telling a love story, skills front and center in “Imperfect Harmony”.
Photo via ABC
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