"Blunt Talk" Recap: "All My Relationships End in Pain"

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM...YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK...

When we last left Walter Blunt, it seemed as though the wild and crazy events in his life were about to become a distant memory. He still had his dream job at UBS, thanks to the fact that the hurricane story he was supposed to cover dissipated along with the storm and because he seemed resolved to the fact that a second chance finally arrived. 

But what would Blunt Talk be if Walter and his band of friends settled all the drama in their lives? Well it would be awful so thankfully, despite the lull in Walter's life, last night's episode, "All My Relationships End in Pain" continued the hilarity that I've come to know and love from this show and at the same time, surprise all of us with an in depth look at the supporting characters that surround Walter as well.  

In fact, as I mentioned before, there really was a sense of normalcy for this episode with Walter settling back in at UBS nicely but still feeling a certain sadness, one that as it turns out relates to loneliness after another visit with the network's psychiatrist, Dr. Weiss. The "good" doctor doesn't prescribe cocaine to help out Walter this time, instead pointing out that it's okay for Walter to go out an meet other people. But before Walter can return to the dating world, he receives some magnificent news...there will be no felony charges for the nutcracker suite he performed on an L.A.P.D. officer, because as it turns out, he didn't shatter the man's testicles.  

However, with misdemeanor charges on the horizon dear Walter will have to attend AA meetings and that's where the episode takes an unexpected turn as we learn so much about the people around Walter as Mister Blunt attends his first meeting. We learn that Rosalie and her husband (played by the always delightful Ed Begley Jr.) are in an open relationship and she has been fooling around (letting him smell her chest really) with young Martin. Celia is lonely and willing to strike up a one night stand via a dating app with a magician, which by way yielded some of the biggest laughs for me of the night and Jim...well Jim is on a journey of self discovery as he purchases and admires a pair of women's shoes. 

Of course Walter skips the AA meeting and spends his time with the sexual addiction group, where he meets someone and goes home with her in disastrous fashion, but I was really taken aback by the humanity on display in this episode. Already the show has shown signs of being a smarter than average comedy but those moments with the people around Walter were stunning to say the least, specifically that they were all like Walter...lonely and searching for something. Celia could care less about the one night stand, she simply had a need to satisfy and seems to regret it a bit after and Rosalie loves her husband but clearly is missing something in her relationship and Jim...Jim is desperately searching for some meaning as to who he is in life. 

I knew from the first episode we would be a getting some depth and meaning to go with Walter for certain, but I never expected this kind of exploration of the supporting characters and I love it. There's something magical to making this a heartwarming and also hilarious ensemble piece, and I'm starting to get the feeling the show may be building toward something more important story wise. I was already hooked, but last night's episode actually managed to make it worse and I look forward to seeing where all of this is going. Until next time. 

---