Episode Review: HAPPY ENDINGS, "The Ballad of Lon Sarofsky" and "Un-sabotagable"

After taking a week of due to breaking news, Happy Endings was back and this double dose wasn't the show at its very best, but there were enough laughs distributed between the two episodes to keep my happy.

In "The Ballad of Lon Sarofsky," Penny rebounded with the Car Czar in spite of his piggish behavior while Alex and Dave coached Max to win a gay male beauty pageant. The craziness continued in "Un-sabotagable" which saw the return of Chase (Mark-Paul Gosselaar) who made it his mission to ruin Max's life but couldn't because it already sucked. Meanwhile, Dave challenged Alex to use all of her Groupons to curb her impulsiveness, and she roped in Brad and Penny to help her.

"Un-sabotagable" was by far the strongest of the two episodes because it brought back the amazing duo of Jane and Max as she helped him get his life together, and also leaned on the chemistry between Dave and Penny without taking things to the "will they/won't they" zone. Plus, it was just funnier.

From the get-go, "The Ballad of Lon Sarofsky" was not my cup of tea because it relied too heavily on the Car Czar, who's one of my least favorite minor characters but that's because I don't find Rob Corddry funny, and Penny hooking up with him never made sense. Granted, most things on Happy Endings don't make sense, but this one was a pretty big misstep. Also, the whole "Brad and Jane act like they're Penny's parents" gag was too Sitcom 101 for my liking. That said, the Mr. Super Gay Chicago pageant was worth a few chuckles.

Other Odds and Ends:

• Why is it that Alex getting excited about Max buying a frog costume makes her even cuter?
• So, Dave won pageants as a young adult? That explains a lot.
• Was that Sonny Bono and Lady Gaga? I'm so confused.
• Puppy party!
• Max does clean up nicely.
• Is it too soon to start a Guest Star Emmy for MPG campaign? He does have this Happy Endings stint AND his Apt. 23 cameo. Think about it.
• "You should take him to Bone Town. You know, that rib joint on Holston? I love that place."
• "This is the first time I've been attracted to a woman. I want to put a baby in you."

While "The Ballad of Lon Sarofsky" and "Un-sabotagable" weren't anything special, they did make me laugh thanks to some classic Happy Endings antics, and that's enough for me.