This season's plotline involving Margaret has been a mixed bag for me. I thought Mordecai kissing Margaret in front of CJ was extremely lame, and the episode after that wasn't great either. However, then came "I see turtles," one of the best and most well written episodes in the whole show. The character development for Mordecai, Margaret and Cj was incredibly satisfying. I naively believed that this arc was starting to have a payoff. But all of that is thrown out the window in this episode.
The first 2/3s are actually very good. CJ is a good girlfriend and she lets Mordecai go to Margaret's party without expressing jealousy. Then at the party, the writers set up a compelling arc for Mordecai. One, he has to make things right with Margaret's dad, and two, he has to finally get over his awkwardness with Margaret. The episode was going perfectly: there was a central conflict, and now a resolution. Mordecai is finally in a situation where he can talk openly with Margaret and have a good time. It's a wholly satisfying finish to his character arc... and then CJ comes to the party.
There are so many layers to why I despise what happens next. I don't think they could have possibly taken the story in a worse direction. So CJ "catches" Mordecai and Margaret laughing together, and she gets mad. Okay, let's disregard the obvious contrivances of this story beat, and remember that this exact same situation has happened four different times! In season 3 CJ gets mad at Mordecai for accidentally going to the movies with Margaret. In the christmas episode, CJ gets mad at them kissing, and in the next episode, she gets mad at Margaret calling him and then Mordecai hugging her. This storyline can't get any more repetitive. Have the writers just run out of ideas? Or do they enjoy constantly repeating story beats? But this time it's even worse. In the christmas episode, it was Mordecai's fault CJ got mad. This time, the writers felt like making CJ the villain by having her get mad for no reason. In the span of one episode, CJ's character has been completely assassinated just so that this awful love triangle can be dragged out. Wasn't CJ fine with Mordecai hanging out with Margaret in this exact same episode?!? Her outrage wasn't just irrational; it was 100% out of line for her character.
This storyline should have ended with this episode. Mordecai no longer feels awkward around Margaret, and then CJ comes to the party and the three of them are able to have a good time together. Instead, JG Quintel decided to have CJ almost kill Margaret and her dad. Yep, that's right! I have no idea what JG is doing, man. Maybe he's trying to make CJ as irredeemable as possible so that Mordecai gets back with Margaret. I guess not, since apparently she has a boyfriend. This was such a stupid "twist", and the boyfriend was obviously only there as a plot device to end the conflict. By the way, it's hilarious how the only thing that stopped CJ from killing Margaret is learning that she has a boyfriend. No, who cares about having an organic and natural way of resolving the conflict. Also, what would CJ have done if Margaret didn't tell her she had a boyfriend? I don't even want to think about it. Whoever that was, that was not CJ. CJ is a likeable character who is considerate of other people. She would not try to kill people. JG Quintel, shame on you for ruining the best new character in the show, just to drag out this pointless love triangle. You've really let me down.
The first 2/3s are actually very good. CJ is a good girlfriend and she lets Mordecai go to Margaret's party without expressing jealousy. Then at the party, the writers set up a compelling arc for Mordecai. One, he has to make things right with Margaret's dad, and two, he has to finally get over his awkwardness with Margaret. The episode was going perfectly: there was a central conflict, and now a resolution. Mordecai is finally in a situation where he can talk openly with Margaret and have a good time. It's a wholly satisfying finish to his character arc... and then CJ comes to the party.
There are so many layers to why I despise what happens next. I don't think they could have possibly taken the story in a worse direction. So CJ "catches" Mordecai and Margaret laughing together, and she gets mad. Okay, let's disregard the obvious contrivances of this story beat, and remember that this exact same situation has happened four different times! In season 3 CJ gets mad at Mordecai for accidentally going to the movies with Margaret. In the christmas episode, CJ gets mad at them kissing, and in the next episode, she gets mad at Margaret calling him and then Mordecai hugging her. This storyline can't get any more repetitive. Have the writers just run out of ideas? Or do they enjoy constantly repeating story beats? But this time it's even worse. In the christmas episode, it was Mordecai's fault CJ got mad. This time, the writers felt like making CJ the villain by having her get mad for no reason. In the span of one episode, CJ's character has been completely assassinated just so that this awful love triangle can be dragged out. Wasn't CJ fine with Mordecai hanging out with Margaret in this exact same episode?!? Her outrage wasn't just irrational; it was 100% out of line for her character.
This storyline should have ended with this episode. Mordecai no longer feels awkward around Margaret, and then CJ comes to the party and the three of them are able to have a good time together. Instead, JG Quintel decided to have CJ almost kill Margaret and her dad. Yep, that's right! I have no idea what JG is doing, man. Maybe he's trying to make CJ as irredeemable as possible so that Mordecai gets back with Margaret. I guess not, since apparently she has a boyfriend. This was such a stupid "twist", and the boyfriend was obviously only there as a plot device to end the conflict. By the way, it's hilarious how the only thing that stopped CJ from killing Margaret is learning that she has a boyfriend. No, who cares about having an organic and natural way of resolving the conflict. Also, what would CJ have done if Margaret didn't tell her she had a boyfriend? I don't even want to think about it. Whoever that was, that was not CJ. CJ is a likeable character who is considerate of other people. She would not try to kill people. JG Quintel, shame on you for ruining the best new character in the show, just to drag out this pointless love triangle. You've really let me down.
