Mindy starts this episode by performing a successful in-vitro procedure, which seems more bringing-it-full-circle-y than the average Mindy Project. More of a Sopranos-style foreshadowing. But I’m getting ahead of myself.
Mindy’s doing really well in Palo Alto, killing it professionally and making friends. Danny, on the other hand, doesn’t care for the place one bit, as summed up by this commentary: “There’s no movie called Escape From Rikers. You know why? Because you can’t.†He even starts exaggerating his New York/Staten Island accent, which is never a bad thing, at least for us. Despite the lovely montage of the two of them doing San Francisco stuff — hiking, taking the trolley, drinking wine — Danny doesn’t seem completely won over. And then the earthquake really does him in.
Presumably this means Mindy will have to go back to New York sooner rather than later; the show is nothing without Mindy and Danny together, regardless of the title. Honestly, it might as well have been called The Mindy and Danny Project, but we didn’t fully comprehend how awesome Danny would be at the outset. Maybe that’s because we hadn’t seen his wonderfully, sexily graying hair yet. We have now, as of this episode, so we know. I don’t miss her dating life one bit, especially whenever I’m looking at Danny Castellano.
However, there is a catch: Dr. Gurgler wants to start a fertility clinic with Mindy when her fellowship ends! Right there in San Francisco! It could be called Lahiri, Castellano, & Gurgler — which does not exactly roll off the tongue, but I do appreciate that he put her first.
Back in New York, other changes are afoot: Lauren, whom we never actually got to know as a real character, is moving to Texas. This development serves several purposes. First, Peter (that is, Adam Pally) needs to leave, and he can now follow her to Texas. (Jeremy: “Which one is Texas? Is that where Boston is?â€) Second, Peter can make his grand gesture at an airport gate, thus ticking off another major rom-com trope on The Mindy Project’s to-do list. (We used to have these a lot more when people could get past security without a ticket. Peter makes it clear that he had to buy a thousand-dollar ticket to Winnipeg.) The boarding-group jokes, incidentally, really punched this scene up a notch: She’s group one, which gets to board early, because she has a kid. But Peter’s declaration of love delays her past even the philharmonic boarding with their instruments, all the way until the flight attendant addresses the couple directly: “This is the final, final boarding for people having a moment.†I’m still a sucker for airport kisses. He’s definitely going to Texas. Yay for them.
Meanwhile, Danny has bought a brownstone for himself and Mindy in Harlem, which does seem like a huge gesture, given his gorgeous, sleek condo. Mindy sums up the real estate correctly: “Wow, it’s like the brothel that Don Draper was raised in.†There is, at least, a backyard. “Right now it’s a pet cemetery,†Danny explains, “but not the haunted kind. They gotta disclose that.†There is also a slight rat problem. To be fair, they look like really cute rats, but I say that as a New Yorker who owns a dwarf hamster and lives with someone who loves rats. (Mindy herself said on Twitter that they were cute, like from Ratatouille.) I understand, though, that others don’t care for rats much.
With Peter leaving, Mindy suddenly feels like she can’t even discuss the San Francisco possibility with Danny; it would mean the New York practice losing three partners at once. And, in fact, no one’s too thrilled to lose even the one; worse, they’re blaming Mindy for encouraging Peter to go as he gave her an annual exam. “It was a pap smear,†she protests. “I was just focusing on not farting.†Yep, who’s been there? Luckily most of us aren’t asked to dispense life-changing advice to our gynecologists while they give us our exams. Jeremy, for his part, has one very Jeremy reaction to the news: “The gall of him, leaving us all in the lurch. Who does he think he is? Father? Mother?†I love Jeremy best when he’s giving us hints of his crazy, sad little life that we’ll never actually see. Which reminds me: I’m sad to see Peter go. When he first joined the show, I wasn’t sure the cast needed yet another straight, white dude. But Adam Pally did bring something special to the mix. He could, for instance, deliver lines like the one in his going-away-party speech: “A group of really cool vaginistas took me in.â€
Gurgler shows up from San Francisco in an unlikely move that he somehow sells anyway. (He’s always seemed a little unhinged, and he did quit his job to start the practice.) The jig is up: Now Danny knows about the possible West Coast plan. I loved the very New York reaction of the entire party crowd, courtesy of Beverly: “San Francisco is the worst … †(Crowd: “Yes!â€) Beverly: “ … because of all the Chinese.†(Crowd: “No. Wait. What?â€) After that, things move incredibly fast. Peter’s out, to the tune of Simon & Garfunkel’s “April Come She Will,†which I found really lovely and touching in an old-school–New York–y kind of way. (Props for not choosing the more obvious “Only Living Boy in New York.†Kaling said while live-tweeting the show that Simon & Garfunkel are her “all-time favorite band.â€)
It seems that everything is up in the air, but in typical Mindy fashion — Mindy’s back in San Francisco without Danny, but can it stay that way? — we get sideswiped with the news via a phone call with Peter: Mindy’s pregnant. And no, he doesn’t appear to be kidding.
I have no idea where this could go.