Great, great season.

I admire this show a lot. It walks on a lot of lines very well and that makes it very unique. The entire cast is great and everyone is a very distinct character. They each bring a different section of heart to Chip’s world and setting it in Bakersfield, CA gives the show a distinct look that looks like it could be happening in a few different decades. The production is smart and the writing even more so.

Chip (and Dale, really) is one of my favorite TV characters. He’s a sad guy but it never feels like it’s his fault or that he deserves it. He can be pigheaded and obnoxious at times but when you learn about his childhood and see how his twin Dale turned out, it makes sense. He actively tries to make something of his life and it just never comes together. He’s a good person (I especially like what they did with him and Trinity). When he gets dumped his courage comes out and it’s usually really funny. The highlight this season being his circus fight.

The first half mixes things up a lot by putting Dale on the road. We left him at a real low last season and he runs from it all. Watching him navigate things by himself and running into the Matrix drifters was a significant experience for him. He hit his stride and also got put into uncomfortable situations that pushed his ethics and made him question himself. In typical Baskets family tradition, he finds himself forced back home after a tragedy. The season changes there too. Chips arc this year is pretty intense. The scene when Mrs. Baskets finds where Chip has been staying since she kicked him out? “I know I’m a burden.” After watching what he’d been through all season that line (and how ZG delivers it) got to me.

Family is an integral aspect of the show. Brotherhood especially but this season they expanded Mrs. Basket’s role, gave her a lot more time and space to become fully realized. Louie Anderson is brilliant, he should win another award for this season. He works incredibly well with Zach Galifianakis, it’s totally convincing that Mrs. Baskets has been worried about Chip for 40 years.

Baskets plays everything straight which I think is why it works so well. In quick succession, they can go from introspection to comedy, to drama, in any order multiple times. The really funny stuff is often very subtle and whips by quickly. It’s some of the best dry humor around.

I got a job in a Russian circus.

Do they have tigers?

No…they have poodles from Moscow.

Communist poodles? How did they get into the country?

I’ll be there for Season 3.