Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt Season 3, Episode 3 Recap: “Kimmy Can’t Help You!”

I was happy with the first two episodes of Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt’s third season. Episode 3, however, is a little more of a mixed bag.

In episode one, we learn that Richard Wayne Gary Wayne is pressing Kimmy to sign the divorce papers that will allow him to remarry. Kimmy almost does, until she learns that contesting the divorce could get her money for college.

Laura Dern guest stars in this episode as Wendy Hebert, who initially just seems like a lawyer delivering the divorce papers for Kimmy to sign. She’s put together, she has two graduate degrees, and surely she isn’t the one wanting to marry Richard.

We all quickly learn that Wendy is the one who wants to marry Richard.

Kimmy and Titus are, rightfully, confused by this. Their questioning of Wendy reveals that she teaches poetry at prisons, and Richard was one of her students. (The reverend’s poetry is intense and deeply creative: “The next time I see you / bring $100 / for a thing I need / or I’ll be mad”).

The dialogue between the characters is constantly dropping red flags that Wendy has issues. She only teaches male prisoners. She wants to get married to Richard on Fried Chicken Night (even though he hates fried chicken night and only likes the sides). She currently lives in a Hampton Inn.

This episode brings Kimmy and Titus back together as roommates, and Titus is the one who pushes Kimmy to leave the apartment and let Wendy deal with her own decisions. Kimmy is uncomfortable with going along with Wendy – “It feels like we’re letting a blind person go to sleep on a stove!” – but Titus physically has Kimmy leave to keep her from engaging.

After Titus pushes Kimmy out, he talks with Wendy more. She feels like she needs to “lock Richard down,” scared that he’ll move on to someone else. She’s had bad relationships in the past (surprise). Richard can’t cheat on Wendy with her neighbor or throw cereal on her –  abuse her – like her other partners.

Though he kept Kimmy from trying to “fix” Wendy, Titus himself then feels responsible. Wendy is tragic. Kimmy resists, and Titus compels her to have a flashback to her bunker days to remember her true nature – she helps people.

Kimmy remembers when Donna Maria was brought to the bunker. She sacrifices herself, marrying the Reverend so that Donna Maria doesn’t have to. Kimmy’s instinct is to take a burden on herself, that she knows she can handle, before letting someone else suffer.

The way that this storyline shows the two sides of trauma – it can lead us to make destructive decisions, like Wendy, or remember our empathy, like Kimmy – is really great. Wendy leaves without the papers, and Kimmy checks off “Community Service” on her college application.

We also return to Jacqueline this episode. So far this season, we’ve mostly been seeing Jacqueline help Kimmy or work on her campaign to clean up the waterfront in East Dogmouth. Here, we return to the “changing the Redskins team name” storyline, as David Cross is back to play her boyfriend Russ.

Their plans go awry, of course, and Russ unexpectedly reveals that Jacqueline is Native American. Then somehow Russ gets slowly run over by a car. I’m guessing that this is mostly so Cross doesn’t have to be so present (he’s in a full body cast post-accident), but they way it plays out is pretty odd.

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At one point in the hospital, Jacqueline says, “What’s new the plan? I’m so confused! I feel like Kimmy at a drug store self-checkout!” Same, Jacqueline.

So, anyway, Russ’ family brings a priest to the hospital, their reasoning being that having a Native American in the family will make them “bulletproof.” They get married, and Jacqueline will try to take down the mascot from the inside.

Dern is great in this episode (as per usual). Titus gives Kimmy an acting lesson while drinking out a jar of marinara sauce. Kimmy and Titus have an imaginary dog named Lucifer that Wendy totally believes in. Kimmy goes around the city checking extracurricular boxes on her college application in some wonderfully zany ways.

These things are fun, and I’m mostly on board with this episode, with the slight exception of Jacqueline’s storyline. It seems disconnected from the others on the show right now, but these writers do have a knack for bringing threads together. We shall see.