The second season of “You’re the Worst” starts off where the first season finale ended: Jimmy Shive-Overly (Chris Geere) — an insensitive and narcissistic writer — and Gretchen Cutler (Aya Cash) — a cynical and sarcastic publicist — have professed their affection for each other and moved in together. These romantic actions may have left some concerned that Jimmy and Gretchen would become soft and lose the biting edge that made “You’re the Worst” such a welcome surprise last summer.
But the FX/FXX’s rom-sitcom’s second season premiere, “The Sweater People,” makes it clear early and often this is not the case. The show is still quick, funny and daring — after all, Jimmy and Gretchen move in together after Gretchen’s vibrator started a fire burning down her apartment. For every sweet gesture from the couple or their friends Lindsay (Kether Donohue) and Edgar (Desmin Borges), there are five more moments to remind you these people are seriously flawed — and you wouldn’t want them any other way.
What the premiere does well is build off the finale organically. Despite moving in together, Jimmy and Gretchen have not forgotten the reasons they didn’t want to before. In “The Sweater People,” these fears manifest themselves through excessive drinking and drug use, though all either one wants to do is read a book in bed or get a cozy nine hours of sleep.
The couple’s anxiety about becoming “normal” is intensified by their friends. Lindsay, who is suffering through a divorce, pushes strongly in favor of keeping the party energy alive, while Edgar urges Gretchen and Jimmy to save money by investing in a “Family Plan.”
Watching Jimmy and Gretchen repeatedly abuse their bodies — including taking a Belgian drug used to “chemically sterilize horses” — is exhausting, as is watching Lindsay’s post-divorce decision-making. “You’re the Worst” is far more interested in pushing its characters to the edge and dissecting the reasons behind their flaws than it is in providing the safe, comfortable ending found in most sitcoms. For that reason it not only remains one of the best shows on television but one that, unlike its characters, just gets better.
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