Sweet, sweet Wilfred

“Anger as soon as fed is dead — tis starving makes it fat.”
– Emily Dickinson

It’s been well documented in my previous posts: I’ve been on board/perplexed/in awe/frustrated/more Wilfred-wise.

Why? Easy. The writers. They’ve been all over the place during the course of the eight episodes aired. (Kind of hard not to follow their lead, you know?)

And here they go again. This time they gave us the sweetest, sappiest, cutest episode of the show to date.

Yes, you read correctly: Sweet … sappy … cute.

Words you don’t necessarily associate with Wilfred right off the bat, do you?

You see, our resident man in a dog suit, with his sometimes unorthodox methods of madness, ends up giving Ryan one of the greatest gifts he could possibly bestow — the gift of release. Release from angst and worry and pent up remorse. Or did he?

Remember: Ryan’s got some real issues going on in his life, starting with his attempt to off himself in the premiere. That’s not something to be taken lightly. So, to see a little glimmer of relief — if indeed and in fact that’s what we witnessed during the final scene of “Anger” — could be a huge leap for him. But I wouldn’t give too much credence to it. The shenanigans will surely raise their mischievous heads again soon enough, and the writers will once more toss in yet another haul of monkey business.

It seems Ryan has reservations about his childhood dog, Sneakers. You see, as a kid he left the pool gate open at the house one day and Sneakers apparently crept in, ended up in the pool, and drowned as a result of Ryan’s forgetfulness. (Question: What dog do you know drowns in a swimming pool? Rather odd …) But as it turns out it was Kristin — Ryan’s sister — who was the real culprit in the demise of Sneakers. It was a calculated move on her part over the jealousy of her brother: Sneakers was supposed to be her dog not his, after all. Bottom line: I expect to see a better line of communication/different dynamic/more understanding/something (anything!) in the relationship between Ryan and Kristin.

At the last, we get Wilfred (in the guise of Sneakers) suggesting Ryan give him a hug. Resistant and hesitant, he finally gives in. Turns out it’s Sneakers he hugs, not Wilfred. *oooooooowaaaaaaaah!*

If you didn’t smile or swoon or verge on tearing up during that scene:

A) You fell asleep during the episode,
B) You are a cat lover, not a dog lover,
C) You were “in the library” or refilling your bowl of Cheeze Doodles, or;
D) I don’t have a “D.”

Good episode, and I enjoyed it. Don’t faint.

Notes:

• We discover in this episode that dogs have no concept of time per Wilfred. Rather the oxymoron, when you think about it.
• We discover a big reason behind Kristin’s attitude toward her brother. Their folks liked Ryan more than her. That explains just about everything that’s come before on the show.
• Ryan’s anger toward Kristin — and his reaction to it — was to date the best advice Wilfred has given Ryan. It opened doors.
• Nestor Carbonell (Lost, The Tick, more) played Kristin’s employer, Arturo Ramos.

Quotes:

• “Ryan? Remember when I told you a few weeks ago that you were a total pussy? Well … I just want to apologize for not emphasizing that enough …” – Wilfred
• “Cold black heart … dead eyes … nice tits.” – Wilfred, describing Ryan’s sister
• “Ryan? Anger is like herpes — you’re not meant to keep it to yourself.” – Wilfred

Clacked by Michael Noble
on Aug 12, 2011 @ 09:00 EST5EDT