The Michigan Daily — michigandaily.com
Arts
Wednesday, November 23, 2016 — 5A

FXX

“Didn’t you die on ‘Orange is the New Black?’ “

The characters on “You’re the 

Worst” are best described as, 
well, the worst. 
These disaffected 
Angelenos are by 
turns narcissistic 
and 
callous, 

disinterested 
and 
egotistical, 

bitterly 
cruel 

and 
relentlessly, 

hopelessly broken. 
In the stellar part 
one of the season 
three finale, “You 
Knew It Was A 
Snake,” Gretchen (Aya Cash, 
“Easy”) says as much to Jimmy 
(Chris Geere, “Urge”): that the 
two of them are fundamentally 
splintered and subdued souls, and 
there’s not enough space in this 
wheel-spinning relationship for 
that much chaos.

The exchange could serve as 

a sort of thesis statement for the 
series as a whole. “You’re the 
Worst” is interested not so much 
in human relationships as it is in 
the futility of trying to be in one 
at all.

How much will we endure, 

really, to be with the ones we 
love? The underlying toxicity of 
the three principal relationships 
has never been more explicitly 
rendered than in “You Knew 
It Was A Snake.” The episode 
functions like a twisted Edward 
Albee 
play, 
tracking 
the 

downward spirals of Lindsay 
(Kether Donhue, “Pitch Perfect”) 
and Paul (Allan McLeod, “Life 
After Beth”), Edgar (Desmin 

Borges, “Preacher”) and Dorothy 
(Collette Wolfe, “Interstellar”) 
and Jimmy and Gretchen in 
cross-cutting scenes of flared 
tempers and aggressive hostility. 
It’s riveting — and excruciating — 

to watch.

Dorothy’s 

jealousy 
and 

resentment 
over 
Edgar’s 

instantaneous 
success 
is 
a 

somewhat 
odd 

pivot, 
especially 

given the weight 
of 
his 
storyline 

earlier 
in 
the 

season. 
But 

Lindsay 
and 

Paul’s standoff is a marvel of 
dark comedy. Their storyline 
this season ranged from comic 
absurdity — it’s easy to forget that 
Lindsay both microwaved a used 
condom to inseminate herself and 
literally stabbed her husband in 
the back — to the most nuanced of 
scenes, as the show’s treatment of 
her abortion was one of its more 
successful moments.

But if theirs was the most 

outright 
hilarious, 
then 
our 

principal couple’s devolvement 
was 
the 
most 
devastating. 

Gretchen and Jimmy haven’t 
traversed 
the 
traditional 

television rom-com route: they 
got together, and then stayed 
together. And in that subversion, 
the show has become more brutal 
and unsparing in its depiction of 
their relationship.

“You’re The Worst” is not an 

easy watch. It’s a comedy, and a 
romantic one at that, but it also 
rejects the idealization of love 
and monogamy that we so often 

succumb to. Creator Stephen 
Falk (“Orange Is the New Black”) 
takes no prisoners: Gretchen and 
Jimmy need each other, and it’s 
impossible to imagine them apart, 
but it’s also inconceivable that 
watching their relationship won’t 
be akin surveying a car crash on 
the side of the road.

Take, for example, the closing 

shot of the finale. It’s an explicit 
callback to the final shot of the 
penultimate episode: a split screen 
of Jimmy’s and Gretchen’s faces 
as they both drive in separate 
cars, right next to each other, but 
still separated by a barrier they 
can’t breach.

The finale ends on a strikingly 

similar note. Jimmy, having 
just 
proposed 
to 
Gretchen, 

is completely shaken by her 
casual use of the word “family.” 
In perhaps the show’s coldest 
moment, he immediately leaves 
her, newly engaged, and drives 
away. The left side of the shot is 
Jimmy’s panicked face; the right 
side is Gretchen’s signature pout, 
fireworks incongruently bursting 
behind her. I’d call it cliché if I 
weren’t so emotionally shaken.

The show is full of dramatic 

ironies like these, but at what 
point do we stop praising the 
show for its subversiveness and 
simply commend it for being its 
own entity? “You’re The Worst” 
is constantly defined by its 
relationship to other rom-coms, 
but it’s defiantly singular in its 
willingness to stand, unflinching, 
and stare down the barrel of the 
emotional difficulty of human 
connection. 
Intimacy 
and 

warmth and genuine meaning — 
these take grueling work. But the 
alternative? That’s the worst.

NABEEL CHOLLAMPAT

Daily Arts Writer

‘You’re the Worst’ finale explores 
the difficulty of human interaction

Season Three of FXX show unflinchingly tackled deep emotional issues

TV REVIEW

I 

was taught growing up that 
if someone was bullying 
me or hurled a hurtful 

comment toward me, I should 
ignore it and not let the malice 
get to me. I did 
my best to follow 
that 
mantra, 

but I sometimes 
retaliated against 
those who would 
provoke me.

In 
retrospect, 

it 
makes 
sense 

that 
I 
didn’t 

always 
react 

in 
the 
mature, 

level-headed way 
that 
I 
should 

have when it came to those 
kinds of harmful situations. 
Nevertheless, 
it 
seems 
like 

that pattern of retaliation still 
exists today, but in a virtual 
form that intensifies its impact. 
With the anonymity of the 
Internet, social media users 
can say whatever they please 
almost without consequence. 
Simultaneously, 
the 
online 

deindividuation makes people 
much more susceptible to being 
offended by and easily drawn 
to 
provocative 
comments, 

particularly on Twitter.

This kind of instance in 

particular is relevant to the 
most recent Twitter controversy 
with Donald J. Trump, 
(a 

well-known 
cyberbully) 
and 

our 
President-elect. 
Last 

week, Trump caught flack for 
bashing the cast of Broadway’s 
acclaimed 
hit 
musical 

“Hamilton” 
for 
allegedly 

“harassing” his running mate, 
Indiana 
Gov. 
Mike 
Pence, 

who attended a showing of 
the musical. In reality, the 
“Hamilton” cast did not harass 
Pence, but one of its stars, 
Brandon Victor Dixon, offered 
a rather powerful, sensitive and 
respectful message to Mr. Pence 
about protecting the rights 
of American minorities and 
people from all races, creeds 
and orientations.

Still, that didn’t stop Twitter 

users from firing back against 
Trump, as hundreds flocked 
to respond to his message with 
snarky, vehement comebacks. 
Admittedly, Trump deserved 
the hate he got for brewing such 
a malevolent tweet against a 
cast of Broadway actors who 
gave the American people a 
statement 
about 
embracing 

diversity and love. It’s also 
ridiculous how the man who 
will be running the country for 
the next four years continues to 
fall back on hiding behind the 
hollow, vindictive shell of his 
Twitter account.

However, 
the 
fact 
that 

Trump’s controversy against 
“Hamilton” received way more 

attention 
from 
mainstream 

and social media is absurd, 
especially considering that the 
much bigger story of Trump’s 
$25 million fraud settlement 

for his fake Trump 
University 
was 

downplayed 
tremendously. Even 
such 
a 
notable 

publication like the 
New 
York 
Times 

made the “Hamilton” 
story 
bigger 
than 

the 
$25 
million 

settlement 
story 

on 
their 
Saturday 

online front page.

Most of Trump’s 

online strategy — and I’m 
assuming this may be the 
strategy of many other Internet 
trolls as well — is intended to 
provoke people who he knows 
will get offended by his tweets. 
This 
strategy 
only 
works 

depending on how willing we 
are to retaliate and to let his 
malice get the better of us.

Though many Twitter users 

were 
affected 
by 
Trump’s 

“Hamilton” tweet, some were 
undeterred. 
“Silicon 
Valley” 

star, comedian and avid Twitter 
user Kumail Nanjiani retweeted 
an 
article 
from 
Politico, 

regarding how the American 
people are so easily vulnerable 
to Trump’s deceptive, taunting 
Twitter clickbait. In an even 
more direct response, Little 
Miss Flint posted a tweet, 
reminding people that there 
are way bigger issues than the 
“Hamilton” debacle, like, I don’t 
know, the Flint water crisis.

A similar situation occurred 

earlier this week when Trump 
denounced 
NBC’s 
“Saturday 

Night Live” on Twitter for 
being “one-sided” and “biased,” 
implying 
that 
there 
should 

be “equal time.” Actor Alec 
Baldwin, who has impersonated 
Trump since the 42nd season 
premiere of the late-night sketch 
show, responded with a series 
of brutal tweets that put the 
President-elect in place about 
focusing on the responsibilities 
of his impending job and not 
on trivial pursuits like Twitter 
bashing.

And while it was sweet to see 

Baldwin take down Trump, the 
irony was that it still didn’t solve 
the real issue at hand, which 
is that Trump’s tweets should 
not be the forefront of national 
issues in the media. To tell the 
President-elect that what he’s 
saying is stupid or wrong is just 
giving him more incentive to 
continue making provocative 
statements. Pushing back and 
retaliating 
against 
hateful 

online comments is juice for 
Trump and online bullies alike.

It’s not entirely unjustified, 

though: 
Baldwin 
had 
the 

total right to call out Trump 
for continuing to give every 
single pissed off Twitter user 
an aneurysm, especially since 
he is literally about to become 
president of the United States. 
However, regardless of how 
articulate and witty your tweet 
comeback against Trump may 
be to you and your followers, 
Trump will proceed to make a 
plethora of politically incorrect 
tweets unless his presidency 
somehow 
reforms 
him 
to 

become a more conscientious 
human 
being, 
if 
that 
ever 

happens.

Twitter often acts as a liberal 

echo chamber, and users like 
Donald 
Trump 
rattle 
that 

chamber and consequently grin 
about the worthlessness of our 
complaints. Whenever people 
are filled with strong emotions 
about something, they often 
go to Twitter to share their 
unfiltered thoughts, whether 
to vent about Trump or say 
something clever about life, 
pop culture nostalgia or the 
brokenness of society.

I’ll admit that I’ve definitely 

been 
guilty 
of 
retaliating 

online to stuff Trump has 
said, especially when he wrote 
his infamous “Appreciate the 
congrats” tweet after the tragic 
shootings at a gay nightclub 
in Orlando last June. This 
was 
when 
then-Democratic 

presidential canidate Hillary 
Clinton retaliated with the 
phrase, “Delete your account,” 
a comment that, while fantastic 
in execution, didn’t end up 
swaying 
Trump’s 
Twitter 

followers to unfollow him.

What, then, are we supposed 

to do as the 21st century 
members of a flawed democracy 
verging on a fascist regime? Do 
our tweets, Facebook statuses 
and YouTube videos possess 
any positive influence against 
the pushback of the alt-righters 
and trolls of the Internet? 
How can our passionate online 
venting create any change if our 
audience is predominantly like-
minded?

I’m not sure. I fear that 

social media has become too 
toxic at this point for anyone 
to take down radical online 
contrarians. Though Trump’s 
tweets may continue to be 
laced with veiled and direct 
misogyny, racism, sexism and 
blatant stupidity, the best way 
to react to a taunting cyberbully 
like Trump is to ignore him and 
show him that his words cannot 
get to us. 

Rosenberg is still trying to 

make Google Plus happen. To 

add him to your circle, email 

samjrose@umich.edu.

The artful deception 
of Trump’s Twitter

HAMILTON

“When people say they hate you / Don’t come crawling back to me”

SOCIAL MEDIA COLUMN

When a cyberbully is our next president, social media has become too hostile

SAM 

ROSENBERG

ALBUM REVIEW

I’ve never felt more conflicted 

than I did when 
Gerard 
Way 

first 
announced 

Hesitant 
Alien 

in May of 2014. I 
was dying for the 
chance 
to 
hear 

him 
sing 
again 

and 
immensely 

proud that he was 
exploring 
music 

in ways he wasn’t 
able to before, but 
at the same time, 
the fact that he was releasing 
solo music made it clear that 
My Chemical Romance would 
never create together again. The 
same feeling overcame me upon 
my first listen to former MCR 
guitarist Ray Toro’s debut album.

Remember 
the 
Laughter 

comes three-and-a-half years 
after MCR’s split, with little 
fanfare; Toro has hidden almost 
completely out of the public 
sphere for the entire period. 
The 
work 
lies 
somewhere 

on the softer, sweeter end 
of 
the 
musical 
spectrum, 

and is especially impressive 
considering that Toro sings and 
plays instruments for almost 
everything on the album.

“Requiem” 
starts 
out 

tenderly, with steady plucked 
notes that hover as the piece 
unfolds, gradually transforming 
into a nostalgic look back at 
good things passed. Toro’s voice 

is especially soft 
in the beginning, 
when 
he 
sings 

“You 
can 
run 

away / From all 
the things that 
hurt you in the 
past / And you 
can hide away / 
Or face the truth 
and live your life 
at last”

The album is 

extremely diverse 

from song to song. “We Save” 
is heavily inspired by the blues, 
with prominent, strutting bass, 
short yet expressive lyrical lines 
and dexterous guitar. As he 
sings “Gunshot, black like a stain 
/ It don’t wash out these veins,” 
Toro’s voice possesses a swelling 
attitude that’s never really come 
to light before.

Remember 
The 
Laughter 

has several short instrumental 
numbers interspersed within 
the 
greater 
album, 
each 

of which act as a unique 
introduction to the songs that 
follow. The transitions between 
the instrumental pieces and 
subsequent songs are so fluid 
that I didn’t even realize the 
two were separate tracks until 

I had a closer look at the album 
list. “Wedding Day,” “Ascent,” 
“Father’s Day” and “Eruption” 
all contain audio recordings that 
conjure up very specific images 
when played in conjunction with 
their counterparts.

The combination that struck 

me the most was “Eruption” and 
“Hope for the World.” Police 
sirens, gunshots and frantic 
screaming are overlaid with the 
voices of an emergency operator 
and a news broadcaster, who are 
both talking about the city of 
Ferguson, Missouri. Toro’s voice 
breaks across the chaos suddenly 
as he sings “Turn off the sound 
of war and hate / Honor the cries 
for a world that decides on love, 
not race.” The contrast between 
the two is especially striking in 
light of recent events.

“Take the World” is another 

positive, 
encouraging 
piece 

that comes just at the right 
time. Toro is passionate but not 
overbearing as he sings “Let’s get 
ready / To fight for what is ours 
/ We can take the world / And 
make it our own.” Faster paced 
instrumentals and thrumming 
bass 
lend 
the 
piece 
vague 

whispers from Toro’s rock past.

Remember the Laughter is a 

testament to Toro’s bountiful 
artistic ability, proof of not only 
his masterful guitar talent but 
also a reaffirmation of his vocal 
prowess.

SAMANTHA LU
Daily Arts Writer

Ray Toro strikes out on his first solo 
project since My Chem’s break-up

The guitarist explores softer and sweeter work on diverse debut

B+

Remember the 

Laughter

Ray Toro

We’re All A Little 

Crazy

A-

“You’re The Worst”

Season Three Finale 

(Parts 1 and 2)

FXX

Tuesdays at 10 PM

 

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