Togetherness – “Not So Together”

Season One, Episode Eight

Grade: B+

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Is it strange that a show called “Togetherness” has its characters breaking apart at the end of the first season? Not really, because as our four main characters are all splitting up in their own ways, there will always be a part of them that is comforted by being together. So what does that exactly mean?

The marriage between Michelle and Brett has been the central and most important story-line of the first season, despite Tina and Alex being a lot more fun. There was obviously things wrong with their marriage before the show even began, but we pick up when they’re sexually frustrated and fed up by their lack of communication. Is this what is supposed to happen when you’re married? That mentally is what keeps them together because they assume they just have to weather the storm, but as they slowly drift further apart, the chances of them finding their spark becomes thin.

Brett has always been distant with Michelle, but you can’t accuse him of not trying. When Michelle wanted to go to the beach, Brett attended even though he didn’t want to. When Michelle wanted to try something new, sexually, Brett obliged. Brett even tried the whole spur of the moment, dinner-date thing with Michelle, but to disastrous results simply because he knows she’s not into it. It’s generous of Brett to be doing all of these things, but to Michelle she needs things to go further than just being nice and supportive. She needs that flame to be burning bright with Brett, but unfortunately that fire burnt out a long time ago.

Brett goes through something during “Not So Together” that he hasn’t gone through all season long. He legitimately enjoyed being with his family. It’s concerning that he enjoyed it so much without Michelle being there, but something that he dreaded at the beginning of the season (going to the beach) he absolutely loved. Has Linda and the mushrooms awaken a new version of Brett who loves life and wants to share his passion for it with his wife and family? Possibly, but it might already be too late.

Michelle attends an important meeting with David to try and get a charter school in their district. She winds up saving the day and all of this is just another scoop of ice cream in her David-crush bowl. With David, Michelle feels reinvented. She feels important, happy, enthusiastic, and most of all she shares an energy between them. You just know something is going to happen between them. As the audience and also as a human being, when there are feelings between two people and they go away together for a night, I would say with confidence that more times than not (even if it crosses boundaries), you’re going to hook up. Tina knew it before Michelle even leaves. We all did. But then again, how intense (is that even the right word to use here) was the hand-written letter exchange under the adjoining door? That scene right there worked incredibly well, and it’s all due to the sexual build-up from the lack thereof in Michelle marriage.

Meanwhile, Tina is moving in with Larry, something that does make sense for her. She doesn’t seem to have much self-esteem, she’s not successful, and with Larry she can be taken care of and live the glamorous life that she craves. The problem? Alex knows that she doesn’t love him and he’s offering his love to her on a freaking platter! This was a particularly gut-wrenching scene because Alex just exposes himself to her in such a vulnerable state, only to have her reject him. Sure, Tina is certainly out of Alex’ league when it comes to looks, but the two of them have something I don’t believe Tina has ever had before: actual friendship. But Tina is willing to give that up to be with Larry. Can you foresee that backfiring on her? I sure can.

It’s sort of cruel to see in one case, Alex rides a bike to express his feelings for Tina, only to have them crushed. But at least he was able to ask her. The timing was off because she already seemed to have made up her mind, but you can tell that even though Tina made that decision, she’s still searching for something better. And then there’s Brett and his newly discovered excitement for life. With Alex’ suggestion, Brett’s driving to Michelle to share his energy and passion with her. He’s coming at her with so much positive emotion I’m not sure how Michelle would receive it. But inevitably, Michelle and David break down the doors (not really, they just slowly open them but I think my way is a lot more dramatic) and hook up. We’re not exactly sure how far they go, but we do know that Brett is too late.

The first season was a roller-coaster ride, but what I loved most about it was how it portrays such flawed characters in an environment we can all relate to. We don’t have a cast of only beautiful people. They’re not thrown into stereotypes or cliques. The main cast are rich, deep, and troubled people who are trying to figure out themselves during a very critical time in their lives. Who can’t sympathize with that? Well done, and I can’t wait for the second season.

Togetherness – “Party Time”

Season One, Episode Seven

Grade: A-

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So Brett gets high and it’s amazing. Togetherness isn’t that show that brings out comedy easily between its characters and situations. It’s a lot more invested in its commentary about a married couple going through a valley in their relationship, along with a friendship between two very different people that looks wrong but feels right. With this being said, when Togetherness is able to actually make you laugh, it achieves something quite impressive. I’ll always have a spot for the kick-the-can episode, but “Party Time” gives us a version of Brett we’ve never seen before, and it’s great.

While it did cross my mind that Brett was making a terrible mistake to skip out on the children’s play day that Michelle was throwing, it actually did a lot of good that he visited Linda, got high, and then returned home. As the two of them continue to grow apart, they only really give each other fragments of truth. I wonder if it’s the same way during their therapy sessions, which I would love for them to show. But as Brett is standing in front of Michelle, high as hell, he’s able to say everything he wants to say without worrying about the consequences. And he does it in a way that isn’t mean or confrontational, but instead softly informs her of his feelings and hopes she understands. Does she understand? Maybe, but probably not.

Michelle has been mostly a miss for me during this first season of Togetherness. She starts out as a woman who is sexually frustrated with a husband who wants to have sex with her. She then skips out on her husband’s screening to see if she can get picked up at a bar. Then she suggests getting therapy to try and save their marriage, all while having the hots for David. Is there supposed to be a reason why we should like her? Because if there is, I’m not seeing it very clearly. Can I at least understand her? I guess, but that doesn’t make it much better.

Meanwhile, Alex and Tina are giving each other the silent treatment because they’re still mad at each other. Alex actually has a right to be, as he’s become Tina’s bitch since he has a serious crush on her. Tina, on the other hand, needs to be reminded like a child that she should treat Alex like a friend, who is someone who listens, understands, and is nice to. I admit, it was sweet seeing Tina struggle so much with the bouncy house but in the end Alex helps her out. Larry is on a different level and his power and confidence is certainly something that Tina finds attractive. His, “take it or leave it” attitude puts Tina in a short-lived dilemma, because it makes all the sense in the world for her to move in with him. But I think inside, she knows that there’s not much of a chanced they’re going to work out. And if she moves in with Larry, what does that say about her feeling for Alex?

With only one episode left of the first season, it seems like it’s going to end with Brett and Michelle either splitting up or one of them asking the other for a divorce. Isn’t it true that sometimes the only way to understand how much you need someone is to spend some time apart? Maybe it will do them some good, but the problem is that they have children. I would also like for them to explore their past a little bit more, since the present obviously isn’t working and the future looks bleak. Hopefully, they find out that in a chaotic world all you need is togetherness with someone you love.

Togetherness – “Houston, We Have a Problem”

Season One, Episode Four

Grade: A

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From the get-go, Togetherness has been about the struggling marriage between Brett and Michelle. They’re both good parents who are raising young children successfully, but there is a lot more involved that isn’t all fine and dandy as it may seem. In the bedroom, they’re not having sex and that’s a fear that everyone has when they get married. Sure, everyone thinks, “that won’t be us,” but as the tale as old as time goes, it’s not as easy as it sounds. Every episode, Brett and Michelle are trying to break out of their cold spell and do new, exciting, different things for each other to arouse them. Michelle tried to take control and spank Brett while he was on all fours, but that backfired. She then went out to a bar trying to see if she still had that magic touch she once had when she was younger. But up to this point, it was Michelle who seemed to be fighting with herself trying to work up the strength to have sex with Brett once again. In this episode, we see a bit more inside with how Brett’s feeling.

Keeping up with their spontaneous attempts to excite each other, Brett and Michelle go out to a fancy dinner and he even surprises her with a hotel room for the evening. Sure, it’s not very spontaneous to plan the entire evening, but it’s a great gesture that Michelle can appreciate, except for the fact that once this all begins to happen, she starts dreading the fact that they’re going to have sex. She dreads it to the point where she calls her sister from the bathroom to maybe brainstorm a way out of it, but Tina advises her to get in the bedroom and screw her husband. Michelle finally forces herself back to the bedroom. She’s walking on egg shells, fearing what’s going to happen next, but Brett senses her tension and assures her that it’s fine if they don’t have sex and just watch television all night long. Michelle’s reaction absolutely killed me while watching it. It was like a huge boulder was thrown off of her shoulders as she sighed in relief, with remarks of how amazing an idea that was. How could you not feel for Brett at this moment?

But to Michelle’s credit, she does attempt to have sex with him because she feels it’s important. And we know it is, so they try their best but it was like watching a couple have sex for the first time. Everything was awkward, there was no rhythm, and Brett was so nervous that he couldn’t finish the deed and jumped out of bed in a rage. To his defense, Brett has every right to be frustrated and angry. His wife isn’t attracted to him anymore, they haven’t had sex in however long, and he knows that it’s more of a chore than a desire for her at this point. But then Brett drops the bomb on Michelle that he’s not even into her anymore either, and how he just wants to get it done because it’s what should happen. He admits it’s not easy having sex with the same person for ten years. It’s a lot to take in and it’s a seriously painful discussion for any married couple to have, but at the end of the day they’re going to do everything in their power to avoid divorce.

I very much like Brett and Michelle a lot. They’re good people and it’s clear they’re both trying their best to keep their marriage afloat, but they’ve hit such a speed bump that it’s going to take a lot for them to get past this obstacle. Can a sexless marriage succeed? Up to this point, they haven’t really addressed the problem head on, but now it’ll be interesting to see how they deal with it. Are they going to seek therapy? Some self-help books? Will they be open to the idea of change or are they going to be stubborn and hope things get better without much attempts. I feel like they’ll give it a legitimate shot to seek therapy, but this might be a lot tougher to solve than they suspect.

Meanwhile, Alex and Tina travel to Texas to pack up her things, which means they get to spend a night in her hometown where they hang out with some of her friends. Alex is still going through the phase of getting over his crush for Tina, and the best thing possible happens to Alex: he immediately hits it off with Tina’s friend Pam. And the friends were right, they made a really cute couple together while they danced on the floor and held each other close enough to show their affection, but stuff enough to show how they were both a bit nervous. What they had seemed genuine, but Tina’s not the kind of girl to have her thunder stolen. As Alex put it, she performed the biggest cock-block in history as she tried to out-dance them on the floor with a stranger, and then got so drunk she dragged Alex to drive her home instead of spending the evening with Pam.

At this point of the series, Tina is the least likeable of all the characters. She’s selfish and she uses people for her own gain without thinking of the consequences. She brings about chaos wherever she goes, but she always gets bailed out by her sister or by the goodwill of people, like Alex. But the end of the episode was sweet when in her own way, Tina apologizes to Alex for ruining his chances with Pam. Tina’s not the kind of person who has a lot of friends because of her personality and the way she’s able to burn bridges based off of her bad decisions. Does she realize that Alex might be the best person in her life? Probably not, but for the time being she does realize she was wrong to hurt a friend. This is growth in baby steps.

So is there hope for our characters on Togetherness? Is George Harrison’s wife right when she said the trick to staying married is just not to get divorced? Can Alex and Tina find romance in the future? You have to assume her thing with Larry isn’t going to last and who’s going to be there for her when it all goes to hell? It’s going to be Alex. Right now, I say there’s more hope for those lost ducklings than for the Michelle and Brett.

Togetherness – “Family Day”

Season One, Episode One

Grade: B

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Here’s a new HBO comedy from the Duplass brothers about a married couple, Brett and Michelle, who have two young children and are going through some problems, like not having sex. It’s nothing revolutionary to show on television, but it’s necessary to display where they’re at in their marriage. Then there is Alex, Brett’s high school friend, who is a failed actor and has just gotten evicted from his apartment. His depression leads him to eat all the time and he’s simply not in a very good place in his life. Rounding out the main cast is Tina, Michelle’s older sister who is somewhat of a trainwreck. She hastily moved from Houston to L.A. to be with a guy who obviously wasn’t that into her, and when that doesn’t pan out she ends up crashing at Brett and Michelle’s house.

Yes, the premise is that simple, but I have a feeling things are going to pick up real quickly for these characters. My favorite moment of the episode was at the end with Michelle and Alex, who sit on the deck, eat cookies, joke around, and laugh with each other. These are two people who just had a horrible day, but are able to find a way to smile while being together. If this is going to be the heart at this show, then I think I’m going to enjoy Togetherness thoroughly.

The show looks like it’s also going to explore the difficulties of marriage through Michelle and Brett. While they’re certainly a healthy family, something has changed that they cannot explain or understand. The episode’s first scene has Brett wanting some morning sex, but Michelle is too exhausted to oblige. Later on in the episode, Brett walks in on Michelle touching herself (and with clothespins on her nipples), which upsets him. Their sex life has hit a brick wall, but both of them are still craving the release of sex, so why aren’t they doing it together? Michelle doesn’t know and it’s not something she’s doing purposely. It’s a really sad moment between the two because it seems like their attraction for each other is drifing away. Will they be able to remain in a sex-less marriage?

I’m sure these characters are going to clash more than not, but I’m looking forward to the small moments between the four characters where they understand that they’re not alone no matter what kind of conflicts they have. Because when you think you’ve hit the bottom, there’s nothing like a friend to make a scene, act like a monkey, and assist you in covering a jerk’s house in toilet paper.