Spoilers for “All My Relationships End in Pain” within.
In a surprisingly sentimental, emotional episode, “All My Relationships End in Pain” put the patented Jonathan Ames spin on what could just as easily be another raunchy Seth MacFarlane-produced comedy. The third episode of Starz’s freshman comedy turns the spotlight toward Walter’s staffers – mainly Jim (Timm Sharp), Celia (Dolly Wells), and Rosalie (Jacki Weaver) – and gives us significant insight into their personal lives and struggles while Walter goes to great lengths to pick up a sex addict from a support group.
Walter’s story here is rather typical and familiar, but there are still laughs peppered throughout. His opening duel with Harry is great and his genuine curiosity with which he greets attending AA is charming. While picking up a sex addict from therapy isn’t the most ethical thing to do, Patrick Stewart sells it with such gusto that one might consider, briefly, that maybe he’s in it for the right reasons. Spoiler: he’s not, and his new lady friend’s husband rightfully chases Walter out of his house and providing us the value of a brief chase through the canals of Venice, California.
Jacki Weaver and Ed Begley Jr. in Blunt Talk
But Walter is overshadowed here, and not by accident. More important is the focus on the staffers; only Martin (Karan Soni) and Shelly (Mary Holland) are left by the wayside. But given how much time we get to spend with Jim, Rosalie, and Celia, I’m betting that the others will get their time in the sun in the future.
The best of the three is hands down Rosalie, whose story starts as an oddball pseudo-affair with Martin (he likes to smell her perfume by heaving his face into her chest). Admittedly, it was a very odd, out-of-nowhere scene, but was soon made clearer when we meet Rosalie’s husband Teddy (Ed Begley Jr.) and learn about their open marriage.
Things quickly turn from humorous to heartbreaking over the course of the episode, as it’s implied that Teddy has the early stages of Alzheimer’s; first he forgets to put Vermouth in their drinks and soon he’s repeating the same story over and over like it’s the first time and is completely oblivious.
The show paces these moments perfectly, playing them for laughs at first and then progressively making them more uncomfortable. Assisted by Weaver’s stellar performance in her reactions, Rosalie and Teddy easily stole the episode and instantly endeared us to these characters, never mind introducing a whole new dramatic dimension to the show.
Building off of Celia’s comments about sleeping with her teachers in the previous episode, we get a glimpse into her unhealthy dating life. Her story features the best gag in the episode – a British version of Tinder called Bangers & Match – but is tinged with a sort of delusional sadness. Perhaps it’s Celia that should be attending the Sex Addicts Anonymous meeting instead of Walter, as we watch her climb into bed with a man she knows is married (and a magician, no less) seemingly without regret.
There’s a clear theme exploring different levels of infidelity – both encouraged and unwanted — in this episode, maybe tying into the title: “All My Relationships End in Pain,” at first a funny line of Walter’s but after a viewing of the episode, a declarative statement about life itself. Walter’s unwelcome intrusion on a marriage falling apart, Celia’s indifference to being “the other woman,” and Rosalie and Teddy’s acceptance and encouragement of exploring other partners all appear to be different sides to the same coin.
Last, Jim’s ambiguous story about buying fancy high heel shoes is the weakest of the subplots (though his FaceTime with his parents was sweet and probably the most honest moment in this episode). One option appears to be that he’s buying shoes for himself, which would make sense given his rejection of sexual norms explored in past episodes (masturbating in his office).
The other, probably more interesting — and definitely more depressing — option, is that he’s just lonely and buys these things in an effort to appear otherwise. This is an episode about delusions, to some degree, so this interpretation could fit. In any case, I appreciate the trickle of storytelling that Ames is taking with all of these plots.
