Now that the bizarre but funny scenario has been established, the second episode of Wilfred picks up steam. This episode is all about trust; when to give it, and when to break it. We also learn that dog/man Wilfred can play dirty, and he will get revenge on anyone who betrays his trust.
This episode starts off innocently enough. Ryan is lounging around in his backyard looking at his iphone and sees that his ex-girlfriend is engaged. At that moment, Wilfred breaks through the fence from next door (of course refusing to use the gate). Soon the conversation turns to why Ryan can’t keep a girlfriend, and Wilfred points out that the spurious excuse Ryan gave for breaking up with his ex was ridiculous.
With happy oldies tunes playing in the background, Wilfred and Ryan go out to enjoy the day on the boardwalk. Though there’s a No Dog policy on the beach, but Wilfred begs Ryan to let him go and Ryan finally relents. This costs him a ticket. When the day of fun is over, they return home and find Jenna waiting.
As she greets Wilfred, she notices his breath is terrible. Ryan, trying to score some points, offers to take him to the vet for Jenna. While Wilfred is washing his mouth out, Jenna tells Ryan that Wilfred hates the vet more than anything, and that getting him into the car is next to impossible because he always seems to know. She jumps on the idea of Ryan taking him, because Wilfred trusts him.
At this point in the episode, the friendship aspect between Ryan and Wilfred has really been established. Wilfred is much more likable, playful, and even refers to Ryan as his best friend. With the promise of seeing a Matt Damon movie, Ryan gets Wilfred to the vet. And it’s no surprise that once Wilfred discovers he’s been taken to the vet, he is far from happy.
Besides having a funny conspiracy theory about the vet and secret implants, Wilfred starts sharing some secrets as he begins to go under for his teeth cleaning. Ryan admits that he brought Wilfred to the vet to score points with Jenna. Wilfred spills it that Jenna already likes Ryan, quite a lot, but that Jenna has a big flaw, a huge flaw in fact. Wilfred is fading fast, and right before he passes out he tells Ryan that Jenna has a dick. This scene is a great moment poking fun at those silly melodramatic films where a dying man is about to tell a secret and then croaks.
Naturally this causes some major concern for Ryan. When Jenna comes over to Ryan’s house later to pick Wilfred up, she brings some beer and stays to hang out. Ryan starts acting very strangely, asking her questions to try and discover if she was born with both male and female genitalia. It ends up weirding Jenna out and she leaves in disgust.
Luckily Wilfred is there to say the right things. Ryan realizes he’s been sabotaging all of his relationships, and with Wilfred’s encouragement to “carne diem” (a funny canine take on “carpe diem”), Ryan goes next door to talk with Jenna. High on Wilfred’s pep talk, Ryan tells Jenna that he’s awkward, and that he got nervous and he asks for forgiveness. Then he gives Jenna flowers, and at the moment he’s about to tell Jenna that he’s interested in her, a man walks into the frame and puts his arm around her.
Jenna introduces the strapping guy as her boyfriend, and as Ryan says his goodbyes awkwardly, Wilfred starts closing the door with a triumphant look. Then he says that he forgot, he meant to say “Jenna has a dick…for a boyfriend.”
Wilfred got his revenge for having his trust betrayed, but in typical dog style he’s ready to extend the olive branch again. Wilfred tells Ryan that the door between them is still open, and Ryan has to slink back to his house with his proverbial tail between his legs.
This episode saw the same great meek integrity from Elijah Wood as Ryan, and Jason Gann is more obnoxious and fun than ever as Wilfred. We do get to see more about Jenna in this episode, and she’s shaping up to be a girl-next-door type with a little tom boy mixed in. Fiona Gubelmann does a good job playing her, though we haven’t seen enough of her character to get a feel for her acting style/talent.
I’m looking forward to next week’s episode, and what philosophical or existential questions Wilfred and Ryan will tackle. How do you feel about this series? Is it funny, or too bizarre and gimmicky?
