How amazing is it that one name can instantly tell you what this
Flight of the Conchords episode is going to be about? Bret (
Bret McKenzie) is dating Coco (Sutton Foster), who we met in Episode 2 – she is one of his fellow sign holders. The entire episode revolves around how Bret's dating her affects Jemaine (
Jemaine Clement) and the band. This kind of sounds familiar. Oh, that's right -- it is similar to the plot of the pilot episode "Sally." It is only the fourth episode of
Flight of the Conchords – that's a bit soon to recycle a plot line.
Without focusing on the duplicative plot (for now), Bret and Jemaine still successfully bring the funny every week. The episode opens with Bret and Coco complimenting each other. She likes his eyes; he compares her lips to eggs. Yes, eggs – because they are both delicious. After a few minutes of the camera focusing on their rather intimate conversation, we pan back to reveal that Jemaine has been sitting there the whole time.
Next we find Bret and Jemaine sitting outside their friend Dave's (
Arj Barker) store. Murray (
Rhys Darby) walks up in a ridiculous pair of red shorts and asks if they are ready to go on the walking tour of rotundas and band shells. Bret tells him that he can't go because he has a date. Murray is upset, even more so after Jemaine tells him that he's not going either. Jemaine claims to have a date as well, but Murray knows he is making it up. Murray leaves in a huff.
Back at their apartment, Bret tells Jemaine that he wrote a love song for Coco. He begins to play it on his guitar, and the song ends up going on for two hours. Bret asks what Jemaine thinks of it, and he tells him that it is kind of long. Then he picks up the lyrics, which are written on a yellow legal pad, and flips through page after page; periodically stopping to criticize the verses. Bret used a lot of metaphors about how he would climb a mountain for her, but admits that he would never actually do that. Jemaine tells him to make it more real, less metaphor.
At Murray's office, he is meeting with Mel (
Kristen Schaal) for the 2nd annual fan club meeting. They go through the agenda items, which includes the newsletter that Mel has been working on. Murray gives her some photos that he took from Bret and Jemaine's apartment. As she is going all fangirlie over them, she comes across one of Murray without a shirt on (and obviously taken by himself). He feigns ignorance as to how it ended up in the pics, and then asks if she wants to keep it. She looks a bit squicked out by it, as are we all, and says no.
The next item on the list is how the fans will feel about a bandmember having a girlfriend. Mel looks startled and asks if one of the boys has a girlfriend. Murray claims it is just conjecture, but then admits to Mel that Bret has a girlfriend. Mel claims it is great, but breaks her pencil and is obviously upset. Her questions about Coco are great: Is she stupid? Does she look anything like me? Hilarious.
Bret is sitting with Coco at a park of some kind and he plays her the watered down version of his love song. This is the real first music video of the episode, entitled "If You're Into It," and it crosses over from being "real" to being a bit perverse. Jemaine shows up to join in the song. "In the nude" comes up quite a bit. And this verse may cross the line just a touch: "And then maybe later/We get hot by the refrigerator/In the kitchen next to the pantry/You think that might be what you fancy?/In the buff/Being rude/Doing stuff/With the food/Getting lewd/With his food/We heard that's what you are into." When it's finished, Coco thanks him, but you can tell she's a bit startled by the lyrics.
Jemaine decides to tag along on Bret and Coco's dates – much like Bret tagged along on Jemaine's dates with Sally in the pilot episode. As funny as it was that first episode, the regurgitation of it in this episode makes it lose a bit of its brilliance. They do take it further than they did with the Jemaine/Sally relationship though. After a week of dating as a trio, Jemaine complains to Bret that the dates are "too girlie." He suggests more manly type dates, but Bret tells him Coco doesn't like going to sporting events and the strip club (again). Jemaine says she doesn't have to come – then realizes that her not being on the date would make it weird. Bret finally steps up and tells Jemaine that he can't come on the dates anymore.
Jemaine is now with Murray on his band shell/rotunda walking tour. Jemaine confides in Murray that he thinks Coco may turn into the Conchords' Yoko Ono. Murray tells him he's crazy and that he just got his feelings hurt. Murray starts asking whether or not Coco is an artist, if she stays in bed a lot, if she likes peace, etc., evidently believing these are signs of whether or not she is a Yoko.
At the next band meeting, Murray tells Bret he can't have a girlfriend. Of course, then he turns around and asks how they're doing. Bret says he's in love and Murray says he should keep a hold of her since love is such a rare thing. Coco shows up and she has brought them all lunch. She also made a poster for the band. Jemaine keeps insulting her and trying to blow her off, but she continues to be nice. Jemaine pretends to cough and it comes out "Yoko" -- Bret hears him. Jemaine admits he said Yoko and says that is what Coco is – she's the Yoko that will break up the band.
Murray tries to retain order. He says that Jemaine's problem is that he feels Coco is splitting up the band. Bret says Jemaine's just mad because he won't let him come on their dates anymore, and he feels it is their friendship that is breaking up. Jemaine says, "Oh no I didn't" – but it comes out like "Ono." Bret gets mad and Jemaine says it again. Bret tells him if he says it again, he's going to hit him in the face with his sandwich. Coco decides she had better leave and Jemaine asks if she is on her way to break up another band. Bret hits him in the face with his sandwich.
Murray says that Jemaine is being a dickhead. Bret quits the band again, and Jemaine reminds him that he quit last week, too – he's a quitter. Bret storms out and Murray calls him the dickhead as he leaves. It's just Murray and Jemaine at the meeting now. Murray comments that girlfriends and bands don't mix, but they won't have to worry about that with Jemaine because he'll never have a girlfriend. They try to go to next item (band uniforms) but they both miss Bret. Murray asks Jemaine to go ask Bret to come back. Jemaine gets home and Bret has left his yellow note pad – Jemaine flips through the pages, just like he did with the lyrics, and we only hear parts of it. Basically, Bret has gone to be with Coco.
The second song begins, "Sello Tape," which compares love to tape. As funny as the song is, there is a bit of truth to it: "Love is like a roll of tape/It's real good for making two things one/But just like that roll of tape/Love sometimes breaks off before you were done." Wow, that's kind of deep for the Flight of the Conchords. Jemaine is singing it as he jumps on a bus that he sees Bret and Coco get on. During the bridge, he asks Bret to come back to the band, but he has to end it with Coco. Bret says no. Jemaine asks him to choose. Bret chooses Coco (even though she tells him that he doesn't have to chose her). Finally, Jemaine tells him its okay -- he can stay in the band and still be with Coco.
All three of them get off the bus and continue the song, Coco included. As they are walking and singing, Dave and Mel join them (and if you look close, you can see Mel yank Coco away from Bret – hee!). Then a whole crowd is behind them as they sing: "Brown paper, white paper/Stick it together with the tape/The tape of love."
After seeing the previews for next week, there may just be a reason that this episode is similar to the pilot episode – Sally returns. At least, that is the name of the July 15 episode: "Sally Returns."
-Amy J. Johnston, BuddyTV Staff Writer
(Image and video courtesy of HBO)