The beginning of freshman year, and the beginning of a relationship are very similar: both offer us the opportunity to present specific, controlled versions of ourselves, adopting a certain identity in order to project an image. Monkeys do it in a grosser fashion by “presenting” themselves, but the concept is the same; in any social situation, we tend to take on a role of some sort, be it assigned, created, or, in the cases of early relationships, alluded to.
College and a new relationship also offer us the most idealized version of hope: here’s where we’ll find our place and the people we’re meant to be friends with, and in the case of the latter, a chance at eternal happiness. We’re all romantics on some level, let’s be honest: plus love and reinvention at college are two things heavily marketed to us as important, although that’s a conversation for another day. The important part is the emotions these things evoke – and as a byproduct, our abilities as humans to be salespeople, to hide the parts of ourselves we’re most ashamed of, for as long as possible.
For Lizzie and Steven both, “The Perfect Date” puts a massive pin in that bubble of hope, bringing our protagonist back with a wonderfully awkward episode about young love, and how infatuation causes us to blind ourselves from some unsavory truths. When Steven’s younger high school friend Theo (Martin Starr) arrives unexpectedly on campus, he interrupts the Perfect Night of Love Steven’s planned for Lizzie – otherwise known as Steven’s Desperate Attempt to Save His First Girlfriend. And as Undeclared has had a propensity to do in recent episodes, it captures these moments in a bottle so beautifully. Whether it’s intercutting Theo’s drunken adventures with the “romantic” (aka awkward) night in Steven’s room in a hilarious montage, or the moment Lizzie admits she was a slut in high school, “The Perfect Date” nails so many different moments in the lives of young college students, all in the confines of a single half hour.
Think about it: Ron has to party with a massive pimple, Lloyd gets rejected by a beautiful girl, Theo bats out of his league for a little bit, Steven plans a romantic night, Lizzie’s ex-boyfriend haunts her… there are so many moments of “The Perfect Date” that are infinitely familiar, yet still filled with the unique touches of humor and pessimism that made Undeclared what it was – especially rejecting conventional romanticism, when the player with the heart of gold strikes out, and Lizzie reveals that maybe it’s not so nice to be constantly doted over and spoiled, like Eric used to treat her. Simultaneously, Undeclared embraces typical, cliche-filled college experiences (Marshall puts makeup on his zit! Steven gives a bad massage!) while rejecting conventional wisdom, leading to little third act twists on standard formulas that make the episode, in its finest moments, revelatory, like Steven telling Theo “we’ll always be friends”; even as he says it, Steven knows it isn’t true (same goes for Lizzie saying she’d never date Eric again).
And “The Perfect Date” does this so effortlessly, guided by the comedic energy of Martin Starr (even if that comes at the cost of Rachel and Tina, who are mostly background dressing in this episode), traveling the emotional gauntlet from love to anger, from hope to despair. Steven’s beginning to learn how complicated relationships and life can be once you step into the world and make friends: people are flawed, even our “dream girl” or our former best friend – and until we accept that, we’ll never be able to appreciate them for who they are. At its heart, “The Perfect Date” understands this simple truth, and as it plays out before, during, and after the infamous Around the World party, Undeclared once again reminds us how easily it can tug at our minds and hearts when all the pieces are in the right place.
[Photo via FOX]
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