The Heart is a Dumb Dumb: The Top 5 Anti-Rom Com Moments from You’re the Worst

“Have you tried You’re the Worst? It’s surprisingly great,” is a sentence you should have heard at this point in your life. With two season behind it, and the Season Three premiere ahead, we’re here to drive the point home. Yes, You’re the Worst, created by Stephen Falk, really is a great show.
What makes it so enjoyable is that it’s the antithesis to a romantic comedy, even though it’s a comedy about romance. And so, let’s not call it romance—let’s call it love. That latter of the two words encompasses the ugly, uncomfortable, painful side of partaking in a partnership involving sexual relations. The show centers on Jimmy (Chris Geere) and Gretchen (Aya Cash) who are both “the worst”—they drink too much, smoke too much and don’t seem to care for anyone’s feelings but their own. After meeting at a wedding and participating in a surprisingly hot one-night-stand, they fall for each other—never mind their “I don’t really do relationships” mantra.
The series unfolds into an honest look at what it means to be in a modern relationship and marriage. It’s refreshing to see characters breaking down societal expectations in a way that feels relatable. Everyone is selfish—and it’s hard not to be when the next hook up is a swipe away and you’re thirty-something and don’t really know what you’re doing with your life. The show finds both humor and poignancy in its bold take on the disintegration of romance and the rise of reality. And sure, there are romantic moments—but that’s not really what we’re here for.
So, in celebration of Season Three, airing on FXX on August 31st, here are the 5 best anti- Rom Com moments—consider it a hot shot of whiskey to cleanse your pallet of all things warm and fuzzy.
1. I have sleep apnea! (Episode 1.01, “Pilot”)
What a way to end a successful one-night stand: a CPAP machine. After Jimmy and Gretchen meet at a wedding—the bride being Jimmy’s ex girlfriend—they unexpectedly go home together. Gretchen goes so far as to admit that she’s not attracted to Jimmy while they’re in bed. Jimmy doesn’t seem to think it matters. And clearly it doesn’t because the two spend the entire night together talking and laughing… amongst other things. As they lay in bed, Jimmy reaches out to put his hand to Gretchen’s face—it’s sweet. But as she rolls over to sleep, Jimmy interrupts, “No! There are no sleepovers!” To make the whole ordeal even less sexy, Jimmy admits to having sleep apnea and puts his CPAP machine on. It looks like a gas mask. Did we even know this was a thing?
When the two fall asleep—on opposite sides of the bed—it offers a realistic look at sleeping habits. Not everyone has to fall asleep spooning, to show they care.
2. We’re not a Couple (Episode 1.06, “PTSD”)
Jimmy scores an interview with Hollywood “it girl” Megan Thomas, and when Gretchen asks him to send her pics, Jimmy quips, “Nudes?” Gretchen challenges him, “If you think you can get Megan Thomas naked, more power to ya.” Jimmy, indeed, is able to get Megan in bed, which launches Gretchen into a race to sleep with someone else, too. What we expect to be an episode about jealousy in relationships, leads to a sex Olympics of sorts. Gretchen hooks up with a barista, which makes Jimmy believe he needs to bed an ex to get even. It’s not romantic, it’s not passionate; it’s purely competitive. It could be cheating—but it’s not. To quote Gretchen, “It was totally legal for you to do that. We’re just two chill people… being totally cool about stuff.” Their relationship however unromantic is unique. By the end of the episode, the two do choose exclusivity, but not because of jealousy—because they realize, out of all the people they’re sleeping with, they like each other best.