You're the Worst season 3: Desmin Borges recaps episode 5

Every week, the cast and crew of FXX’s sharp, raunchy, cult comedy, You’re the Worst, is taking EW behind the scenes. For each episode, one member is recapping, sharing thoughts on what went down, and walking us through the ins-and-outs of the show. This week, Desmin Borges, who plays Edgar Quintero, brings us into the fifth episode of season 3, “Twenty-Two.”

What’s up my EW Recap Readin’ People!! I’m Desmin Borges, otherwise known as: D-Dawgs, Dezzi Wezzy, 2 Take Dez, the better looking Ross Geller, or my personal favorite: Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Evil Twin. I have the privilege of playing Edgar Quintero on FXX’s You’re the Worst, and I am recapping episode 5, entitled “Twenty-Two,” written and directed by our very own, Mr. Stephen Falk. Let’s do this yo!

Last night’s episode was a bit different than anything we’ve ever done. Not only are we exclusively following one character’s storyline this week, but we are basically seeing the same episode from last week, “Men Get Strong,” solely through the warped lens that is Edgar Quintero’s POV.

*Side note: For those tuning in for the first time, Edgar has recently gone cold turkey off of his prescribed PTSD medication, and is slowly falling apart at the seams.

We open on him battling an intense case of insomnia. His first remedy? Breakdance himself into exhaustion. This, of course, fails miserably. Next? Go for a late night jog. This “jog” quickly turns into a bout of Fight or Flight, as Edgar encounters a mysterious van speeding around the corner and coming to a screeching halt. He instantly goes into stealth mode, but transitions just as speedily into a deer caught in headlights as the van races toward him…only to realize it’s just the paperboy. Eeeesssshhhh…

We revisit the “Pan Butt” breakfast scene from episode 304 with the Worst-ie foursome. Only this time, we find a despondent Edgar battling a hand tremble and a soul-piercing internal noise. As Edgar attempts to steel himself away by preparing the soapy dish water, he notices something out of the corner of his eye. There’s an electrician working on a light pole. But as Edgar takes a closer look, we find the electrician is staring right at Edgar. Reporting into his walkie talkie. Reporting Edgar’s whereabouts. This undoubtedly freaks Edgar out.

*Side note: We will refer to this electrician as Edgar’s “Tormentor” from this point forward.

After breakfast is where the myriad of symptoms really begin to gain traction…

In the British Specialty Store, we see a calm Edgar crippled by a hallucinatory influx of paranoia as the store goes from being completely empty to maddeningly full in a matter of seconds. Next, we find a nervous and agitated Edgar forcing himself on Dorothy, which turns out to be a pitiful attempt at procrastinating the inevitable. He has a meeting with the Chief of Staff at the VA and he’s afraid — this might be his best last chance, and what if they can’t fix him?

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Cut to Edgar chauffeuring a gyrating Gretchen atop Jimmy’s lap. Edgar sees an oncoming vehicle parked at a weird angle, panics, and makes a hard left, sending Gretchen flying to the other side of the car, which results in Jimmy almost “breaking his wang.” To calm himself, Edgar puts in a Yacht Rock cassette tape that he got from his brother. After dropping Jimmy and Gretchen off, Edgar spots his Tormento again, only this time he’s cutting the lawn at the cemetery. What the f—?

Edgar finally makes it to his meeting with the Chief of Staff at the VA. All seems to be going well until he discloses he’s stopped taking his prescribed meds. The Chief then withdraws her Virtual Reality Treatment offer, sending Edgar down an emotional spiral. In a moment of intense anger and sadness, he attempts to flip her desk (which happens to be bolted to the ground), and instead, swiftly breaks one of her chairs. Reeling from the disappointing news, he gets into his car and the world starts to morph around him. His comforting Yacht Rock audio tape slows to a distorted level. His soul piercing internal noise returns, more intense than ever. He braces for impact every time he passes trash bags on the side of the road. He hears helicopters following above him. His Tormentor is back again, in the form of a State Trooper, perched on the overpass pointing an assault rifle at him. The hallucinatory cacophony concludes when Edgar cuts off three cars and swerves four lanes over to the nearest exit.

Cut to a broken Edgar drinking at the L.A. River. Falling deeper into an unstable state, Edgar hears a noise in the distance and spots a balloon on the freeway fence. He climbs up to look at it and notices all of the cars are passing him at incredible speed. He thinks to himself, “It wouldn’t even necessarily seem like it was on purpose.” As he contemplates this, a sparkle off the (minuscule) L.A. River pulls Edgar’s focus away from the oncoming traffic and he follows what looks like a handmade paper boat down the river. A young d—-ish film student yells “Cut!!” and chastises Edgar for ruining their take. Edgar finally stands up for himself — albeit to a 21-year-old d— head.

Cut to a happy, free, and really high Edgar driving home… or is he? As Edgar takes his hands off the wheel and stands up through his sunroof, we find he’s being driven home on the flat bed of the tow truck. He turns up the volume on his Yacht Rock audio tape and grabs the cassette case. He looks closely and finds that his Tormentor is actually the lead singer in the Yacht Rock band. Edgar finds this hilarious, and finally, for a few minutes, feels calm and at peace. Hopefully he’ll get some sleep tonight.

Some additional thoughts:

• The Yacht Rock band is called Starlight Tidepool.
• The other two members in the band are Franklin Hardy (one of our writers) and Adam Blau (our musical composer). Cool points will be awarded to anyone who can recall which other YTW musical group Adam Blau has guest starred in.
• The silent film at the end of the episode has probably been my favorite scene to film thus far. I’m a huge fan of Buster Keaton and Charlie Chaplin, which started when I did a play called Reeling at The Children’s Theatre Co. in Minneapolis.
• The song in the breakdance scene was originally supposed to be “Scenario” by A Tribe Called Quest, but them rights be expensive yo! Imagine Edgar floating in the air to: “Watch, as I combine all the juice from the mind. Heel up, reel up, bring it back, come rewind. Powerful impact BOOM! from the cannon…”
• After reading this script, I’ve said, “Shoulda let me get at dem titties” at least once a day, every day, and it still makes me chuckle.

You’re the Worst airs Wednesdays at 10 p.m. on FXX.