'Man Seeking Woman' season one finale review: 'Specter'

Showcreator Simon Rich had an unenviable task when it came to a season finale to his high-concept, ultra-weird new sitcom Man Seeking Woman. With the stakes always high and the possibilities always endless, to have to go above and beyond is to go out of orbit.

And while this new episode, "Specter," has a shaky start, it quickly comes into its own once again. It provides an immensely satisfying finale that's lovably extreme and yet still tender, heartfelt and briskly funny at every corner.

We begin by seeing Josh (Jay Baruchel) and Mike (Eric Andre) seemingly the end of the Earth, as it is revealed Josh has officially struck out with every available woman he could find. His last resort is a lovely young woman who likes Josh as both a friend and as the God he says he is, but can't see herself going out with him. Thus continues the cold, hard slump into the seemingly-endless single life, where he feels he is truly doomed to live the rest of his days alone.

Before he can wallow in self-pity for too long, however, he gets a call from a familiar face, his ex-girlfriend Maggie (Maya Erskine) who invites him for a bite to eat. Ecstatically believing his soul mate has come back into his arms, he rushes to her side only to discover she's came to him with the news that she's now engaged to her boyfriend Graham (Miles Fisher). This results in Josh's heart literally bursting from his chest and their casual conversation continuing, while Josh bleeds all over the restaurant and then reluctantly receives proper attention from an instantaneously-arriving ambulance.

This is at the heart—no pun intended—of what makes Man Seeking Woman so special. For all the wackiness and balls-to-the-wall insanity, there's always some relatable and humble in Rich's show. Even when he trends familiar waters like he did in the cold opening in "Specter," he and his team, including this week's writer Ian Maxtone-Graham, crafts pulsating and extraordinarily inspired comedy while still speaking to topics which are also down-to-Earth and realistic.

When we've had our hearts broken, we have felt like our hearts combusted out of our chest, even though the people around us feel only mildly concerned at best. When we are single, we feel like we are at the cold heart of the world looking for the love of our life. When we can't find it, we feel we'll be alone for the rest of our lives. It's prime millennial conflicts of hyperbole and over exaggeration.

And this is all before Josh finds a series of time-traveling pills, a conveniently priced $2.50. This is where our protagonist goes on a series of two-minute trips to the past to do everything from making his year-earlier self buy Maggie a necklace instead of cheap flowers, changing his major from philosophy to economics and also making sure he has great facial hair. Now he and his love are married, Josh's a wealthy, golf-loving, Meet the Press-watching man—who, oddly enough, still lives in his old apartment—and now the alien supreme leader Trackanon rules the planet.

As one can see, this is an absolutely bonkers and high-minded finale, and it has enough closure to where Rich easily sees it as both a season finale and as a possible series finale should he had not gotten a second season. This is not to worry, though, as FXX renewed Man Seeking Woman for ten more episodes. Because "Specter" is so well-paced, astutely focused by director Jonathan Krisel and able to raise the stakes at an agreeable rate, everything is crazy but it's never off-putting. It's a bleeding heart conclusion where our characters grow, our set pieces thankfully get crazier and yet Man Seeking Woman never loses its message and original intentions. It proves Rich's program is the real deal, and very well could be the best new show of 2015.

Thanks for reading everyone. To read more of my TV reviews, check out my Girls and The Last Man on Earth recaps on Sundays and then my Better Call Saul coverage on Mondays.

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