This episode seemed more filler than most Mindy Project episodes we’ve seen lately, but sometimes filler is a necessary evil. We can’t have pregnancy bombshells and tearful goodbyes in every episode, can we?
Mindy heads back to San Francisco after revealing her pregnancy to Danny, who agrees to quit Shulman and Associates to move to California and help Mindy achieve her professional dreams. She and Dr Gurglar (guest star Tate Ellington) apply for a loan to help start their business, but the bank informs Mindy that her terrible credit rating makes her ineligible for a loan (“I have exquisite credit. I have 25 credit cards!”). As it turns out, Mindy co-signed a lease with her brother Rishi (an always welcome Utkarsh Ambudkar), who hasn’t paid his rent in some time.
Mindy tries to help Rishi get back on his feet, but she soon finds out that he’s a drug dealer working for someone named “Big Murder”. Mindy confronts Big Murder, only to find he’s suave businessman Greg (guest star John Cho), and that Rishi is doing quite well in his business. Despite this, Mindy forces Rishi to quit and get a respectable, and legal, job. She also decides to chase her dreams of owning her own fertility clinic, but instead of setting up in California, she tells Cliff (guest star Glenn Howerton) that she wants his now-vacant office space back in New York.
This episode definitely felt like we were treading water. With a major reveal at the end of last episode, and a pretty major one at the end of this episode, you can’t blame the writers for taking things down a notch. It was great to see characters such as Rishi and Cliff again, both welcome sights for this viewer, but it was a complete waste of the always awesome John Cho, who is relegated to two minutes of screen time in a one-off guest spot. Now that Rishi knows about Mindy’s pregnancy, I’m hoping that we soon get to meet Mr and Mrs Lahiri, who by the sounds of it would disapprove of Mindy having a child with a white man out of wedlock than they would disapprove of Rishi being a drug dealer.
Despite my everlasting love for Peter Prentice (and Adam Pally), one silver lining of his departure is that more of the focus is back on other supporting players like Ed Weeks, who is slowly but surely getting more and more screen time every week. I’m also hoping that Tate Ellington sticks around as Dr Gurglar, whose neurotic straight man is the perfect foil to the outrageous Mindy, and would be a welcome addition to the cast.
This episode may have dragged on but it has set up some promising plotlines as we head towards the end of season three. With Mindy pregnant and succeeding in her professional life, the Mindy Lahiri that we saw in season one is on her way to having everything she’s ever wanted. I hope there continues to be just as much focus on her professional goals as there is on her romantic life and pregnancy, because since the show has started focussing on Dr. Lahiri as well as Mindy the romantic lead it’s gone from strength to strength, and the show has had a more concise direction and purpose.
Review Score: THREE STARS (OUT OF FIVE)
The Mindy Project screens in Australia on Channel 7
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