It was too good to be true. Poor Ben has sic transited his way out of Mindy’s life, or at least it looks that way. His time as Mr. Right has come to an apparent end and The Mindy Project aka Mindy Lahiri has lost out on love again.
“Revenge of the Nurse” was, despite the somewhat downbeat ending, quite funny. Mindy’s fascination with all things celebrity oriented was the stumbling block in this episode. That and Ben feeling like being a nurse was not good enough for Dr. Lahiri, ended her almost perfect romance.
The episode starts with Mindy reflecting on her good fortune. Ben is a “normo” not like all the losers and weirdos she dated before.
The episode could have been called “Mindy’s Ex Boyfriends” as she and Ben bump into a slew of them. Mindy and Morgan see Jamie, a former boyfriend, on the subway and he reveals that after she broke his heart, he went to Rome and became a bestselling author.
(Although he initially went there to kill himself. Instead he reinvented himself as a Dan Brown clone.)
He invites Mindy and her colleagues, as well as Ben, to his book signing party. There are a number of celebs in the crowd. Gillian Flynn is there and Mindy tells the author she needs to read her version of “Gone Girl.”
Before the party she invites the office, including Dr. Ziev. At the book signing, Jamie reads from his novel and Mindy talks to Anna who makes it her mission to name drop and denigrate Ben.
Jamie thinks that Ben is a doctor, because of the ambiguous way Mindy introduced her newest boyfriend. Another celeb, The Today Show host Cameron Winters, needs a nurse for a segment on the show and after striking out with Tamra, Mindy volunteers Ben.
She talks Ben into doing it although he does not want to be on TV. When he tells her that, she slaps him and asks if he is out of his mind. Ben reluctantly agrees but only if she comes along.
The segment goes very well and Cameron wants Ben to come back for another one. Mindy is overjoyed that Ben is a TV personality and that Cameron wants him to come back. Mindy accepts for him and one again, Ben reluctantly agrees.
While the two are on a date, an old boyfriend comes by and she introduces Ben as a TV personality. She later explains how important her former boyfriend Casey is.
The next day, Ben is a no show and Morgan stands in for Mindy’s missing boyfriend.
Morgan’s segment is hysterically funny because of his stage fright. While Ben got a meme from his appearance, Morgan has become “internet” famous.
Ben is not answering Mindy’s calls and she has been banned from The Today Show. Ben stops by the clinic and learns about the party Morgan and Collette are throwing from Morgan.
Mindy gets drunk by drinking 23 capfuls of booze and Jamie shows up. They share a romantic moment and kiss. Ben sees their romantic clinch and is not happy. He leaves and Mindy follows.
She confronts him on the sidewalk and while they argue another ex boyfriend shows up. After yet another awkward moment, Ben realizes that Mindy wanted him to be more than he is.
Angry and hurt, Ben tells Mindy that while she wondered if he was good enough for her he now realizes she is not good enough for him. Ben stalks off while Mindy stands watching.
This episode gave us another look into the mind of the reality TV obsessed Mindy. She may be an ob/gyn but she worships television personalities. Ben was never going to fit her dream and now he is gone.
Kudos to Rebecca Rittenhouse as Anna Ziev, she is a perfect fit in the Mindy-verse and her comic underplaying of the ice queen doctor is perfect.
The Mindy Project airs Tuesdays on Hulu.
Cast:
- Mindy Kaling – Mindy Lahiri
- Chris Messina – Danny Costellano
- Ed Weeks – Jeremy Reed
- Ike Barinholtz – Morgan Tookers
- Beth Grant – Beverly
- Osha Roquemore – Tamra
- Fortune Feimster – Colette Kimball-Kinney
- Garret Dillahunt – Jody Kimball-Kinney
- Bryan Greenberg as Ben
- Rebecca Rittenhouse – Anna Ziev
Guest starring Gillian Flynn as Gillian Flynn, Tommy Dewey as Josh Daniels, B.J. Novak as Jamie,Ben Begley as Cameron Winters and Anders Holm as Casey Peerson.
Mikes Film Talk 