3x23 The Unnatural

7.3/10. This is a mixed bag of an episode, where the good is so good that it raises the rest of the proceedings. On the one hand, the story is kind of frustrating, with Linda giving away something of Bob's without his permission to do something Bob is against (and which, Bob is right, is a scam). The show tries to give her an out, both with her motivation from Louise and her statement that the espresso machine was a waste of money and if they're going to waste money, she'd rather waste it on her kids, but it's never fun seeing the Belchers do underhanded things to each other or be mad at each other. There's also a lot of Gene in this episode outside of his best role/use as an occasional one-liner machine.

But there's a great deal of stellar comedy that makes the episode fun. Almost everything involving The Deuce is a riot (the bunt into a homerun clip from his video in particular cracked me up) and seeing Gene, Regular Size Rudy, and Andy & Ollie "flourishing" under his tutelage was a hoot. Also, Tina's B-story with her coffee addiction was the comedic gift that kept on giving. And Teddy was his reliably funny self with his resistance to espresso. There were a lot of good laughs even if the plot of the episode doesn't feel like it doesn't get the heart of the show just right.