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The Power of the Cuteness. Review: Wilfred, S2, Ep.202 – “Dignity”

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Review: Wilfred, S2, Ep. 202 – “Dignity”

Air Date: Thursday, July 5, 2012 10:00PM E/P on FX.

Rating: ★★★★★

“Let not a man guard his dignity, but let his dignity guard him.”  – Ralph Waldo Emerson

I love Wilfred, I do. But “Dignity” left me wanting, at least until the surprise ending. I can only hope things will get funnier with each new episode. Maybe “Dignity” is an introduction to the issues Ryan (Elijah Wood) has with his absent father. It certainly seems like his daddy issues will be prevalent throughout the season.

I kept trying to figure out where Ryan works, and now I get it. He works for a pharmaceutical research company as a legal advisor of sorts. As you may recall from season one, Ryan was a hot-shot lawyer. What I am not sure of — and hopefully will find out — is what made him decide to take this job? Were there no other offers and this is the best he could get? He obviously needed to get back to work as I’m sure Wilfred (Jason Gann) ate (and smoked) him out of house and home. Marijuana isn’t cheap, ya know.

Ryan’s boss Jeremy (guest star Steven Weber) has been putting a lot of pressure on him to produce quality work in a ridiculously short amount of time. And the question that Jeremy constantly repeated throughout this episode was “Possible?” I’ll admit, seeing Weber did make me smile. He’s just a good actor and really has great comedic timing. If you’ve never seen Wings, in which Weber co-starred with Tim Daly, it was one of my favorite shows in the 90s. (Hilarious show, go rent it.) Jeremy seems to be adamant about the deadline for a project he assigned to Ryan but when Ryan is forced (or, shall I say, coerced) into bringing Wilfred to the office, it is to his advantage. Jeremy can’t seem to get enough of Wilfred but that belly rub on the floor did look a bit awkward, even by Wilfred’s standards.

After only two days, Wilfred has worn out his cuteness. The insanity of him trying to come up with new ways to be cute is amusing but not enough to make me laugh. Usually, Wilfred’s antics make me split my seams, but despite the attempted humor, there just weren’t many guffaw moments. But, I won’t give up hope. I know Gann and Wood (and the writers) will make me laugh again. I can feel it!

Ryan (Elijah Wood) and Amanda (Allison Mack) finally get some alone time at happy hour…with Wilfred (background) talking to pigeons

I’m intrigued by Ryan’s new relationship with Amanda (Allison Mack). She doesn’t seem to be his type but I think he’s drawn to her because she’s very smart, which can be a huge turn-on for guys. She’s attractive as well, but I think Ryan is trying to forget about Jenna (Fiona Gubelmann) so he’s venturing out and dating someone new. But a red flag went up, for me at least, when Amanda proclaims that she’s a sex addict in last week’s episode, “Letting Go.” She nonchalantly mentions she’ll just go have sex with whoever happens to be in the bathroom when Ryan turned her down for a lunch date. Either Amanda is desperate for attention, or she needs to go see Dr. Drew for some sex addiction therapy. Just saying. But then again, maybe Ryan will finally get some action. He can’t wait for an engaged Fiona forever, can he?

Despite the lack of funny moments, there is a surprising twist at the end of “Dignity” that made my jaw drop! When Ryan, after some counseling from Wilfred about standing up for himself, barges into Jeremy’s office, Ryan tells Jeremy he won’t have the proposal ready by the deadline and Jeremy will just need to deal with it. Though Ryan has poor observation skills, you can totally tell by the way Jeremy is acting that someone is under the desk. But it’s WHO that person is that will shock you!

As an aside, I hope the writers will make better use of Rob Riggle. He has terrific comedic skills and should be better suited than just being the guy in the office who eats the jalapenos off someone’s bagel.

Also, I’m anxious to see how it plays out with Ryan’s father, and if we’ll see Ryan’s mom Catherine (guest star Mary Steenburgen) again. Remember, she also has a special friend similar to Wilfred, a cat named Mittens (Rhea Pearlman). But the question weighing on my mind is this – is Wilfred…real?

Tune into Wilfred, Thursdays at 10PM E/P only on FX.

For more on the show, go to http://www.fxnetworks.com/wilfred/.

Follow Wilfred on Twitter @FXNetworks #WilfredFX.

Like Wilfred on Facebook http://www.facebook.com/WilfredFX.

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Photos © 2012 FX Networks, LLC. All Rights Reserved.

Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.

Judy Manning

Dream chaser extraordinaire! Judy tends to be a tad sarcastic and kind of goofy! She is an avid admirer of all things supernatural, paranormal, celestial and mystical. She loves to read, write, and watches way too much TV. She enjoys many genres of film and music (and let's be honest, most music from the 80s). She also has a wicked sweet tooth. Cupcakes beware.