(Spoilers follow). One of 2015’s best surprises has been FOX’s
new comedy The Last Man on Earth.
What began as a look into the antics of one lonely individual in Tucson,
Arizona has managed to change its identity weekly, and to often hilarious
effect. The “last” man Phil Miller (Will
Forte) travels the country for almost two years after a virus hits the earth,
but we see him alone for only about 30 minutes of the series.
CAROL
Coming
dangerously close to giving up on his life, he discovers the “last” woman on
Earth Carol Pilbasian (a lively and enjoyable Kristen Schaal), and they mix
together to create an excellently contrasting odd couple. Phil wants to keep living like he’s the only
person in the world (going to the bathroom in his swimming pool and bowling for
fish tanks), and Carol wants to strictly adhere to social norms from the “old
world”.
MELISSA
One
of these rules that Phil chooses to ignore (stopping for STOP signs) introduces
the couple to a new character when Phil runs a STOP sign and crashes into a
limousine. Emerging from the limo is the
beautiful Melissa (January Jones), not but one day after Phil begrudgingly
marries Carol in order to start re-populating the Earth. (One of Carol’s biggest rules is no sex
before marriage, even when society as we know it is completely over). This sparks Phil’s very long obsession with
Melissa. Though he is now wed to Carol, Phil
cannot stop himself from pursuing Melissa for what he would call “re-population”. Phil finally convinces Carol that he must sleep with Melissa, though he is completely depressed by the thought,
fake tears included. Phil’s reasoning is
that their future children will eventually have to have babies with themselves, unless Phil has a child with
another woman.
TODD
Right before Phil is about to get more familiar with
Melissa, he decides that a fireworks show would be a great way to celebrate the
occasion. This attracts a mysterious
figure in a red sports car. This figure
turns out to be Todd (Mel Rodriguez), a big new friend with an even bigger
heart. Phil certainly doesn't feel the
same, as he cannot fathom how the gorgeous Melissa begins to fall for the
goofy, overweight Todd.
“She
Drives Me Crazy”
Todd’s arrival starts to reveal Phil’s true colors, and
they aren’t pretty. In the previous
episodes, Phil tries his hardest to keep Todd and Melissa apart, in hopes that
he can stop them from falling for each other.
He does everything from insulting Todd’s weight to attempting to sabotage
a tennis date to cut down on their time alone together. Phil’s jealousy is so palpable that it’s somewhat
uncomfortable to watch. “She Drives Me
Crazy” opens with a Phil dream sequence in which Melissa confesses her love to
Phil, and they are blissfully in bed.
Too bad Todd is in the bed too, and Phil wakes up screaming in a great
moment to start the episode. In the
morning, Phil learns that at least half of his dream was a reality, as a
beaming Todd reveals that he is in fact sleeping with Melissa. The eternally jealous Phil literally cannot
believe the news, and falls face-first into his margarita kiddie pool, a great
callback to the first episode.
A great detail of this episode is how the Fine Young
Cannibals song “She Drives Me Crazy” can be heard booming from Melissa’s house to
signify the numerous times that Todd
and Melissa are “doing it”. This
certainly drives Phil crazy, and drives him to create a “grievance board” to
complain about Todd and Melissa’s very loud time they spend together. An awesome little touch is how Todd shakes
his head when Phil suggests a ban on loud sex.
The upside of the grievance board is that the gang votes to have Phil
FINALLY clean his decrepit swimming pool/ toilet.
Phil still cannot get over Melissa, particularly how close
he got to sleeping with her, and he resents Todd for it. He is consumed by regret for making the
fireworks display that drew Todd to the group and lost him Melissa. For a comedy character, Phil often surprises
me at how jealous, bitter and mean-spirited he can be. Phil takes Todd for a three hour drive and
considers leaving him in the middle of the desert multiple times before picking
him up. The look on Todd’s face while
Phil is repeatedly driving away and coming back multiple times is calm if not a
bit confused. Todd never really believed
that Phil would leave, and I find him far too trusting. This is explored more in the next
episode.
“Mooovin’
In”
We open up around the campfire, as group favorite Todd has
made a sculpture featuring the members of the crew. Phil is fed up with everyone being so
enamored with Todd, so he cruelly drops the sculpture by “accident”. In a nice visual metaphor, the only figure
that breaks off of the sculpture is Phil himself. Melissa quips that it looks better that
way. Ouch.
While hanging out alone at his favorite bar, Phil comes
across a cow, the first animal that he has seen in the world since the
virus. Phil figures that this cow will
make him a hero and take some attention away from Todd. He offers hamburgers to the group, but
everyone else would rather have a wealth of milk and cheese than to kill the
cow. Turns out, Todd is also an expert
at milking cows! It seems Todd can do no
wrong, and this further infuriates Phil.
In a scene in which Todd teaches Melissa and Carol how to
milk the cow, I noticed a great little detail.
Phil’s beard has been growing back ever since he missed his chance with
Melissa. The only time he ever shaved
after the virus was when he first met her.
This is a funny touch, but it also shows how little he cares about his
wife Carol.
Next, Phil steals the cow from the field that Todd tied it
up, in order to look like a hero once again for returning it. Unfortunately, Phil actually loses the cow. As
could have been expected, Todd instead finds the cow. Todd is such a great guy that he offers to
tell the women that Phil was in fact the hero that brought the cow home. He does this to thank Phil for everything
that he (accidentally) did for him. In
an honestly touching moment, Todd explains that he went from being completely
alone to having the girl of his dreams, three great friends and a cow that
makes him milkshakes. Todd is such a likable person, and he is a great contrast to the bitter, miserable Phil. In the last four episodes, I have gone from seeing
Phil as a jealous bully to genuinely feeling sorry for him. Two years roaming the country alone talking
to volleyballs has drastically damaged his social skills.
Ending on a lighter note, Carol is pushing the issue of
moving in with Phil throughout the entire episode. She finally devises a plan to lead the cow
into her house through her never fixed door, and Phil is forced to allow her to
move in.
I
really do love this show as it is often hilarious and changes its cast and
structure nearly every episode. Here is
to hoping our main character Phil (hero, anti-hero, other?) can find the kind
of happiness that has changed Todd and Melissa’s lives. Of course we can’t forget about Carol, and I’m
looking forward to learning more about her backstory and how she feels about
her marriage and personal day to day life.
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By Jesse Quigley
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