Michael is in shock as he recollects when Colin and Tyler first met. He was the one who introduced them and they even looked at Tyler’s Instagram that night. Michael has a showing tomorrow – an important one – but has trouble going to sleep as he finds more and more imprints of Colin in his apartment. He has a nightmare about Colin and Tyler, together, making love against the glass window opening up in the street. When he wakes up, Michael realizes he is running late.
Michael is struggling to keep his emotions in check as he watches the couple move into the apartment next door. They are both from different cities and are moving in together to start a new family, and Michael can’t help but feel emotional seeing them together. ..
He recalls the day Colin moved out and how everyone in the building condoled with him. He remembers going to a charity event where he was forced to confront Tyler. But the young realtor reveals that he is not in a relationship with Colin. The only communication he had with him was getting him an apartment and what Suzanne saw through the windows was just a courtesy he extends to all his clients.
Michael should stay away from Claire as Tyler is the only one in the running. He is even seated next to her at the party. ..
Claire tells Tyler that she is not interested in him and that he should move on. Tyler, heartbroken, follows her to her apartment building. He shouts for her from the back of the cab, breaking the “no shouting in the lobby” rule. But Claire asks Freddy the lobby man to calm down. Michael begs Claire not to list her apartment with Tyler and explains how he can understand what she is going through.
Claire is impressed by Michael and agrees to wait and consider him. He promises to do everything possible to get her the best price and also have fun in the process. As he walks past his mailbox in the apartment building, Michael scratches out Colin’s surname, “McKenna”, from it, possibly looking at a new chapter in his life.
The Episode Review
The parallel falling apart of lives is a nice touch in episode 2 that becomes the central focus. Michael recuperates from the heartbreaking splitting up as remnants of Colin threaten to haunt him for the while. We always knew somewhere that Tyler could not have been the partner Colin left Michael for. The show would have devolved into being too shallow if that was the case.
The question of Colin’s departure from Michael is still a mystery, and more contextualization of the current circumstances would have been better. The show seems to be more focused on “what next” instead of “why previous.” I enjoy seeing something unique in this way.
The creators have to be careful not to mix the two. They can quickly lose focus, as they did on a few occasions in episode 2, and the project can derail into mediocrity. Until now, it has stayed away from the territory, defining itself with newfound archetypes around the queer community. Just seeing the path ahead and how it is sculpted seems like the right choice for Uncoupled to make at this point. The breaking over the phone was probably a bit backhanded swivel by Colin. He better have an explanation for that or else!
