Netflix ‘Nobody Wants This’ Season 2 Review - Kristen Bell and Adam Brody Trapped in Mediocrity

There's this wonderful thing Justine Lupe does, as Morgan, in Nobody Wants This — she moves the hair around her face with her hands, as if trying to display her countenance in all its glory. Then again, Morgan is someone who isn't ashamed of calling herself sexy. She enjoys complimenting herself and likes receiving compliments from everybody. Tell her she looks hot, and she will probably say, "I know, darling." Well, maybe not "darling," but I hope you get the point. Morgan —and, by extension, Lupe— has become my favorite thing about Nobody Wants This. Even when she isn't actively speaking, she thrums with an infectious vivacity. Case in point: the scene where Noah (Adam Brody) delivers a heartfelt speech during a baby naming ceremony, and Morgan twists her body like a bored child. The camera wants you to focus on Joanne's (Kristen Bell) reaction to the speech, but your eyes tell you to see whatever the hell Morgan is doing. She has such a sweet, funny, fragile presence in Nobody Wants This. Her armor of toughness—evident in the way she takes most nasty comments with a pinch of salt and keeps her head held high, like when acknowledging Sasha's (Timothy Simons) remark about her being nothing—actually makes her more appealing.

It's a pity, then, that she's trapped in a show (or, more accurately, a season) that wastes her strengths, her qualities. What you learn about Morgan after finishing this second season is that she got into a relationship with her therapist, Dr. Andy (Arian Moayed), and then broke up with him at her engagement party. If you end up remembering less about the show, the characters, and what happened to them this time, don't worry. I think Season 2 is designed to be forgettable, mediocre, uninteresting. It doesn't have much meat on its body. Take Esther (Jackie Tohn), for instance. She notices the fun vibes between her husband and Morgan and realizes how "not fun" her life is. The result? She, too, breaks up with Sasha eventually. Now the problem: the Sasha-Esther and Andy-Morgan threads are utterly thin. It's very obvious that these characters are merely keeping the show busy — a two-hour movie can easily wrap up their storylines by keeping things palpable, urgent, weighty. This second season, though, stretches their conflicts for as long as the ten 20–30-minute episodes allow. They are a pleasant distraction, not dramatic beats that keep you invested in the story. Here is another example. In one scene, Sasha tells Noah that he has sorted out his issues with his wife. Well, what did he do exactly? What conversations did the couple have? What gave Sasha the confidence that he achieved his objective?

The phrase "pleasant distraction" applies to this second season of Nobody Wants This. Watching it is like hearing your friends gossip. Most of the talk is trivial, but you relax and smile while they are talking. However, after all the discussions are over, you struggle to remember most of it. If you don't retain much information, that's because the gathering was informal and light. There was nothing serious about it. Even the series forgets many things about itself almost immediately. Bina (Tovah Feldshuh), at one point, mutters that she has scissors when a character mentions how closely attached Noah and Joanne are to each other. At first, I rolled my eyes because I grew tired of Bina's "I still hate Joanne" behavior, which surfaces just when we are led to believe she has accepted Noah's girlfriend. But then, Bina actually doesn't use those "scissors." It's as if the line was delivered more for the audience than for the characters. Is this supposed to be a "fourth wall-breaking" joke or something? Noah, in one episode, tells Joanne that he spoke with a man about relationships and marriage, and the subject was approached from all angles. I wanted to see the actual conversation; I wanted to know how the topic was addressed from every angle. Season 2, though, merely says that something happened without showing us the very thing that happened. This is why, in a show that relies heavily on dialogue, all the talk here ultimately feels inconsequential. The important stuff has simply been omitted. In its place, the spotlight is given to conversations that merely move the plot forward or underline the obvious.

My jaw dropped when I realized Season 2 would end the same way as the first season. Is the creator, Erin Foster, suggesting that she is out of creative ideas, that she is tired of this series? The only aspect of the story the show takes with some gravity is this: Will Joanne convert to Judaism for her boyfriend? The other elements, meanwhile, just exist. They don't necessarily demand your attention and don't reveal any new dimensions. I missed the witty exchanges between Noah and Joanne. Their conversations, this time, are nearly devoid of humor — humor that made the couple so exciting to watch in the first season. Season 2, instead, chooses to take you through outdated tropes and routines, like the one involving an old rival who turns out to be a secret admirer of Morgan and Joanne. Listen closely, and you might hear Foster sighing in the distance. That sigh is followed by her confession: "Guys, I am out of fresh ideas; I am exhausted." My reply? "I agree. Nobody wants this."

Final Score- [4/10]
Reviewed by - Vikas Yadav
Follow @vikasonorous on Twitter
Publisher at Midgard Times