Wilfred: "Resentment" Review

Note: Full spoilers for the episode follow.

Wedding bells were ringing on Wilfred this week as Drew and Jenna prepped for their big espousal. Of course, to keep things relevant, Wilfred was assigned the title of ring bearer, with Ryan as co-ringbearer -- or rather "associate" ring bearer. Meanwhile, Ryan was still down in the dumps over Amanda after the emotional revelation we were given in the last episode.

As always, it was fun seeing Drew again, just as dopey and clueless as ever. His toke-up scene with Ryan was pretty hilarious, particularly Wilfred's irritation with Drew, who kept lobbing chips in Wilfred's direction as Wilfred instinctually caught them in his mouth.

However, it was also interesting to see Drew opening up to Ryan again, especially in regards to Jenna's cheating on him. At this point, it's almost pathetic how trusting Drew is, despite his shallow and often bro-tacular conventions. I don't think I ever expected to sympathize with his character, but he and Ryan definitely share a unique friendship themselves, even if it is largely one-sided.

The wedding ring dilemma, on the other hand, was a bit more predictable and wearisome, although it had its moments. Wilfred's jealousy of Jenna was a nice counterbalance to Ryan's own mixed feelings in regards to the wedding, and the moment when Wilfred literally had the s*** scared out of him was a pretty awesome conclusion.

Of course, the absolute greatest scene was Ryan's meeting with Amanda in the final few moments of the episode. It's difficult to say with a show like this, but it feels like they might actually be straying away from the Ryan/Jenna romance after all. That doesn't necessarily mean things will pan out with Amanda, but Ryan certainly appears to be breaking down some deep-seeded emotional barriers romantically this season.

It was also a nice touch to have Drew's injury result in Ryan playing host to Jenna's wedding. Naturally, this sounds like a horrible idea, but what better platform for some inevitable and devastating hijinks?

Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love on Twitter and IGN.

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Wilfred: "Service" Review

Warning: Full spoilers from the episode to follow.

After last week's incredibly depressing (albeit engaging) episode, it was nice to see "Service" work to get Wilfred and Ryan back to the basics again. Of course, this couldn't happen without the spectacular finish to Ryan's working life. I have to say, of all the ways for Ryan to lose his job, I did not foresee his boss's public suicide pinning the last nail in the coffin. Hats off to Steven Weber, whose inspiring monologue offset his final moment perfectly.

And just like that, Ryan was off the hook once more to smoke pot in his basement full-time, freeing him from all ties both romantic and professional. However, there was still the matter of Kristen and her unborn baby, as well as Ryan and Kristen's mentally unstable mother (reprised by Mary Steenburgen). Following the death of her kitten, it was up to Ryan to raise his mother's spirits.

While it was great to see Steenburgen's return to the show, the whole road trip aspect didn't really ebb with the rest of the episode. There were a handful of funny moments -- the policeman encounter at the forefront -- but it was really Wilfred's own antics before and after the journey that delivered the lion's share of the laughs. His bloody-teethed interactions with Ryan and his passive-aggressive paw-over-hand bit were easily among the story's greatest bits.

I think it was the ending with Kristen going into labor that really elevated the arc to new heights. Some of the best moments between Wilfred and Ryan are when Wilfred lucidly convinces Ryan to achieve his unspoken goals. The final painting scene with Ryan and his mom was also a pleasant way to close out the episode -- a far cry from last week's melancholy conclusion.

In a way, it was kind of nice to see the show hit the reset button on a lot of the events that transpired this season, especially considering Ryan's breakup with Amanda last week. Wilfred's time at the office was also beginning to reach the end of its schtick, anyway. However, it will be interesting to see where this takes Ryan next, if anywhere.

Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love on Twitter and IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Wilfred: "Truth" Review

Warning: Full spoilers from the episode to follow.

In this week's episode of Wilfred, we got to see a side of the show that we only occasionally catch glimpses of every now and then. This series constantly walks a fine line between situational comedy and hard emotional drama, and "Truth" definitely leaned more towards the latter. But it's a testament to the characters that this story was just as riveting -- if not more so -- than last week's goofier, lighthearted fare.

From the moment Amanda asked Ryan, "What's your biggest secret?," you knew the episode was setting itself up for another heady mind trip. Wilfred's doomsday predictions were also a signal of the madness to come. Unfortunately, as is usually the case, Ryan ignored Wilfred's warning and instead decided to ask Amanda to move in with him; and to Wilfred's credit, the very idea of Amanda moving in at this point in Ryan's life did sound a mite preposterous. After all, the dude still has no earthly idea whether or not he actually has a basement -- and by extension, neither do we. I'd say that's the mark of an unstable individual.

Of course, the real fun began when the earthquake struck. Here, we saw the return of Bruce (Dwight Yoakam), the mysterious man from Wilfred's past. I have to say, as stark and dreary as this episode was, the montage of ridiculous challenges between Bruce and Ryan were pretty hilarious. Just the utter insanity of the rules were enough to break up the tension.

However, it was the phone call to Ryan's dad that clinched the arc here. Season 2 has continued to hint at a confrontation between the two at some point, and it makes me wonder if that is the disaster Wilfred is talking about. If that's the case, we may be moving towards something huge, especially since we've been given the red flag this much ahead of time.

But the heartbreaker this week was Ryan's final scene with Amanda. Their breakup was thoroughly gut-wrenching. A part of me wished Ryan had just told her the truth about his relationship with Wilfred, if only so he could finally confide in somebody. Alas, I fear we've seen the end of our dear Amanda. True to Wilfred form, we had to wait until Ryan had reached his highest point before we could nosedive to the worst possible outcome.

Again, this was definitely one of the darkest episodes of the season, with only a handful of laughs to latch onto. Nevertheless, it also gave us plenty to chew on in terms of Wilfred's existence and where Ryan is at emotionally. It actually felt appropriate to have the credits over black this week, as Ryan and Wilfred's conversation at the beach really said it all. Something horrible is about to happen, and it sounds like there's no stopping it.

Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love on Twitter and IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com

Wilfred: "Now" Review

Warning: Full spoilers for the episode to follow.

In this week's episode "Now," Ryan and Wilfred came to yet another crossroads in behavioral philosophy. While Ryan prepared to set up a new investment opportunity with a bigwig friend of his co-worker Kevin's (Rob Riggle), Wilfred tried to convince Ryan to slow down and live in the moment. However, a traumatic run-in at gunpoint soon led Wilfred to lose his sense of smell, gradually breaking down his entire way of life.

These last few episodes in Season 2 have been largely focused on Ryan struggling to balance his working life with his personal one. We've seen a lot of Ryan taking initiative and contemplating his own methods of experiencing reality. However, in this episode, it was Wilfred's turn to suffer from an existential crisis. Without the use of his nose, we finally saw what it was like for Wilfred to lose his grip on meaning and purpose.

It's interesting, too, because the episode was initially set up to be another play on Ryan's own misplaced priorities. Wilfred's original plan to convince Ryan that he had a brain tumor offered a pretty good setup to explain his ongoing anxiety, blackouts and hallucinations -- although, to be fair, this was the type of thing we'd seen Wilfred try to do to Ryan in the past. But from the moment Wilfred said, "Gotcha," it was game over for our clueless canine as he was sentenced to a life without scent.

I think one of the most entertaining recurring bits throughout the episode was Wilfred's constant stream of epiphanies, including, "So there’s more than one UPS guy... Of course! It’s all so clear to me now. The uniform changes guys!" His increasingly broadening intellect was a nice touch. This, of course, eventually led to Wilfred's deeply seeded ennui and nihilistic depression. It was a fun process to watch, especially for a character that's usually portrayed as aloof and sage-like.

However, this didn't mean Ryan was left out of the loop completely. While his prospectus storyline wasn't quite as entertaining as Wilfred's, his few scenes with Rob Riggle had their moments, particularly Kevin's diatribe on his son. ("Ah, K.J., what have you done to your beautiful little scrotum?") Also, Ryan's scenes with Wilfred near the end -- the emo ones -- were pretty solid. It also provided a neat little bow for the conclusion.

The overarching narrative for the episode wasn't quite as strong as the others' this season, but it was definitely an interesting way to change things up for Wilfred. If nothing else, it offered a nice breakup from Ryan's usual onslaught of tedium, which can sometimes get become formulaic. However, the general lack of auxiliary characters made this episode feel a bit vacant. That's not to say an episode featuring only Ryan and Wilfred can't be good, but the absence of characters like Jenna, Kristen and Amanda this week left an overall hollow impression for the episode.

Max Nicholson is a writer for IGN, and he desperately seeks your approval. Show him some love on Twitter and IGN.

Source : ign[dot]com