The heart wants what the heart wants, and for Phil Miller, the heart wants more than it can get – or so it seems. That’s what a dunking booth, a megaphone, and an acoustic fireworks display, have to decide in what could be last courtship on earth, because Phil’s chances in the bedroom aren’t looking any brighter in Dunk the Skunk. That is, until nature and duty call for the sake of the human race. But are two women two too many for the last family on earth?
Spoilers Follow
By now, it’s all too apparent that Phil’s becoming more and more unhinged and not for want of companionship. Phil hasn’t exactly kept his head on straight since last week’s unexpected guest, and if there weren’t neon-lit signs pointing to what his motives were then, they’re even brighter now. His creepy pursuit of Melissa knows no bounds and from his front-door “save humanity” pitches to his candlelit hearts, it’s clear who the skunk of the show is.
I might be difficult then to root for the man that made the show only so many episodes to go. Phil, it seems, is at his wits end when it comes to real people, exemplified by the fact that the most he can do is retreat to his man cave when things go awry – namely the one woman that won’t have him and the woman that (for Phil) unfortunately will. In that sense, at least the show’s owned up to how obviously reprehensible Phil’s become and relegated him to something of a hilarious self-indictment.
While Last Man strays from the striking uncertainty of its initial premise, its priceless dialogue’s a hilarious consolation, especially as it relates to all things Carol. With all his outlandishly selfish conviction, Phil’s egregiously manipulative speech to Carol on mating with Melissa and her both to stifle future incest among their children sold just how pathetic he’s become, if not with a wide spectrum of science between the two of them. If Last Man‘s destined to become little more than another sitcom, that at least it can be a fairly amusing one.
One question I do have: What does everyone do all day when they’re just in their houses? Shouldn’t they have a big work project in progress to get the electricity up and running again? Might be more fun to play some video games again than blow-torching toilet paper.
As much fun as it is watching Phil squirm, it’s a trifle disappointing that he really should be rewarded for his hijinks with the offer of a one-night stand to save humanity, even under the most “not fun” pretenses. As improbable as it is that Carol imagines Phil as anything of parent for the human race, I never seemed to get any telltale signs that Melissa cared anymore than Phil. But it all did give us the world’s creepiest Bachelor romance under Phil’s congratulatory recordings.
Just when you might’ve thought Last Man was about to get boring, the series threw another hat into the ring, or rather, another shot of testosterone. And who, you ask? Not Brad Pitt, and no, not Chris Hemsworth. Driving up in a flashy red sports car with “EXOTIC” on its license plate, it’s the big, beaming face of another average joe who steps out to crash Phil’s party with a single line. “Hi, I’m Todd!” What?!!!
With the arrival of our odd man out, Dunk the Skunk drove up the population of Tuscan to four, it’s impossible to think of Last Man as anything close to, well, a show about the last man on earth. What it does to is shake up the prospect of Phil, Carol, and Melissa’s incestuous triumvirate with, as Phil describes in blunter words than mine, “Some frigg’in fat guy.” Like Phil initially pleads to Carol: “Do you want our babies to have sex with each other?!” He’s got a point, but not one in his favor now.
The Last Man on Earth isn’t the barrel full of laughs it once was, but it sure as heck renewed its potential with another refreshingly big twist to throw into the mix. While Will Forte’s Phil is gradually spiraling into something all too uncomfortable to watch at times, it’s good that he should be in for some much needed competition. Last Man‘s always kept me on my toes for its past five episodes, as remarkable as that is to say, and come six, maybe our skunk can wash out his stench – or at least find some deodorant.
The Last Man on Earth airs Sunday night on FOX at 9/8 Central. Catch all the latest episodes at FOX.com and all the latest reviews here at BagoGames.