Billy and Stanley push their friend, Michael, to get back on Grindr and meet new people. They feel this is the best way for him to get along with his life. Michael doesn’t want his next “sexual encounter” with an anonymous person and let it be. Anyway, a late-night “pick me up” message from Claire will keep him busy the next night. Michael wonders if the lonely life will get him but Stanley comforts him. People have started noticing Michael’s condition. Diane from the building tries to console him but Michael readily understands her “concern.”
Michael thinks about the Grindr app and in the morning confirms his plans to Stanley to look out for a prospective partner. But he is not initiated with the new norms of dating. These modern sensibilities baffle him but the game is the game. Suzanne and Michael discuss the opening for Claire’s house’s listing. Although the commission would be huge on a sale, they will have to spend to attract buyers to the house. The former gets a call and informs Michael that Paolo Forella, an Italian furniture importer, is interested in staying in New York. He picked out their agency to set up viewings for him. Suzanne is excited to meet the handsome divorcee, while Michael still can’t understand why he picked them.
Claire is about to go out with her friends when she gets a text from her husband. He tells her that he is going to visit his daughter at college and that he will be back in a few hours. Claire is upset because she doesn’t want to leave her son alone, but she knows that she has to go out with her friends. She decides to stay and keep an eye on her son.
Claire lets Michael know that she appreciates his genuine efforts to connect with her and be emotionally present. The next morning, Suzanne and Michael await Paolo’s arrival. Suzanne calls for a car to take them to a place Paolo selects from the gallery.
The two men are already in contact with each other on Grindr under different aliases. Suzanne blabbers on innocently sitting in the middle, trying to woo Paolo. The Italian hunk asks to be dropped at his hotel and Michael soon. follows. Although he is reluctant to engage sexually with Paolo, Michael is convinced when he takes his shirt off. Michael is proud of his worst venture out into the world of being single and a free bird. He lets his friends know. Billy is out of town but can not meet up. Stanley is just finishing up with a viewing and calls him to the gallery.
Michael is upset with Stanley for going to Colin’s dinner party last week. Stanley tries to explain that he went only to find out what happened, but Michael is not ready to listen. ..
The Episode Review
This episode was a return to form for the creators of “Uncoupled.” The Claire-Michael dynamic is picking up and will be an important emotional thread in this season. Uncoupled proudly parades around a certain boldness in the way it has represented a gay single man exploring the dating world after a long relationship. These types of incidents are not easy to find on television, and it has an elusive quality that makes the experience of watching the show more enjoyable. ..
The showrunners of “Stranger Things” have set up a high standard for their characters, but the casual dating/sex between Michael and the strangers is also a ruse to really allow him to confront the fact that he is longer a prisoner/spectator of his previous life. With all the encounters, he must realize he takes a step further to move on from the memory of Colin in his life.
The reimagining of Uncoupled will be difficult, but it must be done if he wants to ensure that his life does not stagnate. This episode is another building block and an uncharacteristic anomaly in the way Uncoupled will eventually behave.
