The Mindy Project Recap: Season 4, Episode 21

An almost bottle episode that’s not at all a bottle episode was exactly what we needed this week! With the Jody and Mindy plot running in circles, it was lovely to take a break from the “will-they or won’t-they 2.0” and find ourselves in Texas with the always wonderful Peter Prentice (who I miss on this show more than I can express).

Apparently Mindy booked a trip to Texas the last time Peter was in town visiting her so with a helpful reminder from Peter and a healthy amount of guilting, Mindy decides to head to Texas for five glorious days. This of course means that Mindy has to drop Leo off at Danny’s (and they have to show it so people on the internet don’t harass Mindy Kaling).

Instead of Olga the nanny answering the door, Eliza (ugh, why does she have a perfect name), Danny’s hot new girlfriend does. Okay, I immediately don’t like this chick. And isn’t it weird that she gets to watch Leo before Mindy’s ever met her? Mindy is (shockingly) mature about it for the moment, but arrives at Peter’s mansion totally distracted and obsessed.

You know, for real you can get a mansion in Texas for what I used to pay in rent in New York. Just saying, maybe we should all move to Texas (okay, no, stop moving to Texas, it’s too crowded).

Peter’s house comes complete with a formal living room you’re not allowed in (yep, classic Texas), a succulent garden that is full of cacti, and a pool with a grotto (anyone else have to look up what a grotto was?).

Peter tries to cheer her up by suggesting that they find Mindy a little fling in Texas, an Under the Tuscan Sun type situation with a rancher. And Lauren (who’s hair has gotten bigger btw) (thank you Texas for giving me an unhealthy obsession with big hair) evens wants to be friends with Mindy! I mean, only to find out why Peter is being weird, but it’s a step forward.

The next day while Peter and Lauren are (supposedly) off at work, Mindy sees a handsome pool boy outside. Diego, who we will soon learn is NOT a pool boy, and Mindy have a little chat before Mindy falls into the pool to avoid a bee.

She of course moves in for a kiss after this, a perfectly acceptable meet-cute for her track record, but Diego freaks out when she calls him a pool boy. Which, why is she mentioning that out loud anyways?

Depressed, still in her wet Dartmouth shorts, Mindy is sent to the store to buy more popsicles when she finds Peter chilling watching Grey’s Anatomy in a beach chair. He tries as best as he can to act like nothing weird is happening, but of course he’s actually quit his job to hang out with Henry. Poor Lauren hasn’t seen Grey’s Anatomy (okay, but we all know some of those ridiculous plot lines, TV or no) so Peter tells her story lines and acts like it’s real life.

Trying to hear Grey’s Anatomy story lines as real life makes it strikingly clear how nutso that show is (hey, I’ll never forgive Shonda for killing McDreamy).

Mindy convinces Peter to tell Lauren the truth, but this quest gets interrupted by news that Diego has quit building their pool grotto because Mindy has sexually assaulted him. Okay, this is extreme. Check your ego, dude. Sure, you may have a MacArthur Genius Grant for a hot tub in Santa Fe, but you don’t need to be so flighty.

Lauren convinces Diego to come to dinner for an apology from Mindy and Mindy tells everyone she’s just feeling pathetic since Danny has a new girlfriend. Girl, exes should never be able to date anyone new, in my opinion. They all deserve to be sad and alone forever, right?

Diego understands, having had his own rough divorce, and agrees to stop being a little baby and build the pool grotto. But Diego also ruins Peter’s work drama ploy because of course he is a Shondahead and knows all of the plot points Lauren keeps asking about.

Lauren freaks (which is fair! You can’t quit your job as a doctor (hello $$$) and not tell your wife) and asks Mindy to leave so she can scream at Peter (also fair, although I would just do it in front of her, but that’s just me).

Out on the walk, Diego picks Mindy up and they connect over how hard it is to have a kid with an ex. They’re heading to flirty town when Peter calls Mindy back to help. As Lauren goes on about how complicated things are and how a grotto is a lot of responsibility, Mindy realizes that Lauren is actually talking about being pregnant. For some reason, Lauren was scared to tell Peter which is nuts, because Peter LOVES babies! Duh, that’s the whole point of him quitting work! They make up and get excited and all is well in their weird marriage.

Diego stops by to see if Mindy wants to go have sex (casual), but instead, Mindy decides to follow his previous advice and hang out with the people she loves, the two weirdos being terrible hosts to her. Solid choice, Mindy! Although I feel like you could fit both in, but that’s just me.

I can’t wrap without mentioning that the credits roll to “Deep in the Heart of Texas,” the best song ever that when I was younger, I used to think was our state song. Have I mentioned I’m from Texas? Sorry, it’s law for all Texans to announce this when speaking of our great state.

Anyways, even though we didn’t get a ton of plot movement in this episode, it was exactly what we needed. See, we don’t have to repeat story lines to have fun!

Some important weekly things:

Outfit of the Episode:

  • Okay, I took issue with all the jackets she was wearing in Texas. Trust me, you almost never need a jacket. But I’m going with this festive red dress:

*Image source: instagram.com/MindyKaling

 Favorite Jokes I Almost Missed

  • Literally the way Peter says anything makes me laugh. Casa de Prentice aka the Tex-mex sex-plex!”
  • The he went to Yale/Jail running bit was a treat!
  • “Don’t kill me yet, I’m not caught up on my shows!”- a legitimate reason to want to live longer.

*Feature Image source: Originally seen on The AVClub; Hulu

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