Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt‘s eighth episode zeroes in on Kimmy’s bonds with both Jacqueline and Dong, which was endearing to watch. In the case of her boss, Kimmy is finally able to open up about her past, while when it comes to her GED classmate, their relationship is one of mutual self-development, which intrinsically means what they learn is feeding their future with potential. In both instances, it is evident that Kimmy is not merely unbreakable; she is able to make her resilience contagious.
“Kimmy Is Bad At Math!” fleshes out Kimmy and Jacqueline’s relationship as a result of the latter being on the brink of getting a divorce from the cheating Julian Voorhees. Naturally, the trophy wife’s first instincts are to file for her marriage dissolution, which makes complete sense given Jacqueline’s impulsive nature; however, when it is clear that her prenup is not as fair as she originally believed, she starts getting cold feet. Kimmy, who herself, was literally held captive by a man, finds some connective tissue between her boss’s situation and her life in the bunker and is, therefore not able to accept the fact that Julian might get away with his infidelity. In various ways (bringing Jacqueline to her apartment being the funniest of the bunch), Kimmy makes a case to convince the blond socialite that she is strong enough to leave her husband.
Ultimately, Jacqueline comes clean and explains that the money settlement she would receive if she were to divorce Julian would, as she calls its, “peanuts.” However, it is not Jacqueline’s financial situation that is keeping her from dissolving her marriage; instead, fear is the culprit. At this point, Jacqueline is the most vulnerable the audience has ever seen her, and she becomes very relatable. Seeing how Jacqueline is being transparent, Kimmy pays her with the same currency and admits that she is one of the Mole Women, which serves a the mother of all arguments of why the Voorhies shouldn’t stay together. The storytelling is compelling because both Kimmy and Jackie are being stronger than ever by letting themselves be fragile for once. They are not pretending, and they bond as a result. In fact, Jacqueline is basically traumatized at the sight of Kimmy’s apartment, but not at all to find out the girl’s past. Considering the woman traits, this is 100% plausible.
Intertwined with Kimmy and her employer becoming closer, Kimmy and Dong go from just classmates to friends, to potentially something else, at least on his end. This relationship is one of the cutest things to watch blossom. Kimmy often feels like an outsider, and Dong, being an immigrant, is by default one. They are both underdogs, and they have different shortcomings: she is terrible at math, and his English is less than perfect. However, by spending time together, they, somewhat osmotically, pass knowledge to one another. The way both Kimmy and Dong practically apply their newfound knowledge doesn’t simply just work in real life, every day situations, but it also comes to them quite organically.
That being said, making fun of Dong, and using the stereotype of the Vietnamese immigrant, is not one of the show’s stronger strategies. As an immigrant, it does bother me; it is hard enough to feel like the underdog sometimes, but it is even worse when there is a preconceived notion following you around. However, I do appreciate the fact that Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt shows Dong as a hard-working person who has a big heart. His struggle rings very true; that’s why it’s too bad that, more times than not, it’s eclipsed by the jokes about his name. The day I see a show with an immigrant who is not someone who struggles with the language, has fake papers to work or, in the opposite case, is well-off and hits little children (The Slap, I am looking at you) but is instead a character who is middle-class, decently educated, and a legal citizen (and you know, not monstrous like Harry from The Slap), I will be happy with the representation. Why is it that immigrants are either the punchline or the villain?
Back to the stereotypes, Titus is a good example of a conversation about race being brought up in a meaningful, funny, and poignant way (now I am looking at you Starbucks!). Trying to go to his new job, while in costume as a werewolf, Kimmy’s roommate makes the discovery that he is less feared and better treated as a creepy creature than he normally is as an African American man. Given this funny (but also devastating) realization, Titus decides to actually go about his day as a werewolf, before becoming a combination of both his own self and the monster as a way to scare away people who, according to Lillian, are trying to gentrify the neighborhood. This was, like many other times, when I truly wished the show ran for more than 20 minutes, in order for that story arc to develop more.
“Kimmy Is Bad At Math!” was very well-written and well-executed. As Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt continues to develop, it seems to be embracing its own voice and style to the fullest. However, what is even more satisfying about following Kimmy and co. in their crazy adventures is that there is always novelty in the way their stories are approached. More importantly, there is a lot of heart and witty jokes to boot.
Highlights:
– Lillian’s appearances are very brief, yet they make an impact. Carol Kane is outstanding, and I cannot help but think that her character should definitely meet Shameless‘ Frank Gallagher so that they can fight gentrification together. Someone make that spin-off happen, please!
– The ongoing theory about the Olsen twins being quartuplets is comedy gold.
– Jacqueline trying to “go upstairs” at Kimmy’s place still has me in stitches. Jane Krakowski wins the year.
[Photo via Netflix]
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