It’s all about love!
All four plots on Blockbuster Season 1 Episode 5 revolve around love or attraction.
Some are definitely more successful than others!
Carlos’s plotline felt disjointed at first, which was probably the point, but it turned into something really funny and even poignant.
It shows how much this little Blockbuster family is bonded. It can be hard not to feel deeply emotionally invested in your co-workers’ love lives sometimes.
I can’t believe you dated someone who married themselves. Or listened to Modest Mouse.
Hannah
However, it still felt like they were respecting Carlos’s boundaries and having fun with him, trying to figure out what he finds attractive in a partner.
Carlos’s revelation was a gut-punch for him, but once he came to terms with it, he figured out how to embrace this attraction to narcissists and be the best version of himself going forward.
(Side note: Of course, it’s Leonardo, hands down!)
We’re “turtling” the playing field.
Hannah
Kayla and Percy start the episode trying to help Timmy get on with his life and move on from his crush on Eliza.
You look like a cool English professor with an unorthodox but exciting approach to teaching.
Carlos
The “market” (if you want to call it that, though maybe therein lies the issue) is inundated — there are over 1500 dating apps out there right now, so it stands to reason that many of them are specialized or hyper-specific.
You may not have as many options within the app you use, but the idea is that the ones you’d get will be better matches.
How does anyone find love these days? Most of the apps Kayla lists off are made up, but they all sound like they could be real, which is wild in and of itself.
Timmy: Does normal Tinder still exist?
Kayla: It does, but people just use it to buy and sell used furniture.
Timmy is naive to put his trust in Kayla, but he makes the best of the awkward situation in which he ends up. Though he doesn’t connect with any of his dates, at least he has a fun night.
I’m not sure how to feel about Rene. On the one hand, she’s reclaiming the label of “Tramp,” and more power to her for that. But her most defining characteristic is that she’s sexually aggressive.
Did you wanna get another straw? We can Tramp and Tramp it.
Rene
It’s uncomfortable to have the “cute stalker lady” trope played for laughs because reverse the genders and it would be considered harassment (and should be in this instance, too).
Though Rene seems harmless and doesn’t physically engage with Timmy until he’s accepted her date, it’s still unsettling, particularly since she says she’ll never stop asking.
That said, Rene seems to mellow out a bit when they are on their date, though she’s upfront with her desires and her past.
It is odd that a show that’s progressive with its casting and LGBTQ+ representation would use these weirdly outdated gendered tropes.
Percy: That was so gross and hot at the same time. It’s not often you see a cheek kiss with tongue.
Timmy: Tongue was rough. Like a cat.
Still, it redeemed itself at the end with the camaraderie of the women — there was no big blowout, no “catfight” over a man, and these women found that there was fun to be had in good female company, too.
Kayla and Percy would have to find fireworks someplace else.
(Side note: What would a Winnie-the-Pooh tramp stamp look like, anyway? A pot of “hunny,” maybe?)
Sometimes you gotta jump your ass out the car and hope the semi behind you slows down in time.
Percy
It’s hard to dispute now that Percy sucks as a human being.
He supposedly loved his best friend, Timmy, but can only go so long before actively sabotaging him. Percy is torn between loyalty to his best friend and his desperation to connect with Kayla, the daughter he loves.
As for Kayla, it’s clear she views him with thinly-veiled contempt. She’s right to call him on it — he’s at Blockbuster all the time, so who’s running his party store? For someone with so many responsibilities, he’s sure at Blockbuster a lot.
I’m not sure anymore whether Percy deserves Kayla’s cruelty or not. What else happened between them? Did he do something unforgivable to her and her mother that he’s trying to atone for?
It was intriguing to see more of Eliza’s relationship with Aaron, and it’s hard to pinpoint where this is going.
Obviously, we’re meant to feel the chemistry between Eliza and Timmy (which is palpable and genuine), but Aaron is doing his best.
Though he cheated on her, Eliza decided to recommit to him. She sees him trying, but it’s almost as though she’s expecting him to fail, as if that would give her a free pass to leave him for good.
But he hasn’t failed, and it’s muddling her view of what she actually wants.
Melissa Fumero does well portraying Eliza’s uncertainty as a woman who’s not quite sure where she wants to be in her life, who she wants to be with, and what would make her happy.
Timmy is there to be her friend, but he’s clearly a gentleman and will not step in where it’s inappropriate. It will need to be Eliza’s decision.
How did you feel about Timmy being the king of queens? Which TMNT is your favorite?
Drop your thoughts in the comments!
Mary Littlejohn is a staff writer for TV Fanatic. Follow her on Twitter.
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