The Odd Couple Episode was a Disappointment. Agree or Disagree?

[BookishBiscuitHead]

This will be a rather long post, but please read till the end:

Personally, I was quite disappointed.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1k5WnhGROag

The premise is promising: Florence was unlucky in love and thought she could find romance in Mr. Bentley. It would have been a chance to learn so much about the friendship dynamics between two characters we never really see interact that much. We even find out after so many seasons that Bentley is all-talk when it comes to his “lady-friends” and is just as unlucky in love as Florence, giving a hint of vulnerability and depth he was rarely afforded in the show.

Instead, the whole episode just wasted my time. The first half of the episode is just telling the audience what we already know from the past 9 seasons: Florence has a hard time getting a date. It's literally 10 or so minutes of her moping around and her friends doing next to nothing to comfort her. It's only 12 minutes in that Florence decides to send out the romantic ad and we find out she's been matched with Bentley. By this time half the episode is already over.

The second half is just as poorly paced. The actual date lasts less than 3 minutes on-screen with Florence and Bentley sitting in near-silence in a movie theater while the subtitles (though funny) TELL us they wouldn't make a good couple rather than actually SHOW US WHY they they don't. The best example is Bentley's first subtitle where he thinks their dinner was "a disaster." The #1 rule of storytelling is SHOW, DON'T TELL. We should've SEEN the dinner where we could've learned their incompatibilities (different life-goals, different hobbies, different ways of viewing the world, etc.). That way there would be an explanation as to why they feel so awkward together in the theather afterwards.

Furthermore, the writing is just so mean-spirited and cruel towards Florence and Bentley. Rather than SHOW us why they're not compatible through their interacting during the date, the script just keeps TELLING jokes about how undesirable each one is by themselves. Florence is repeatedly told throughout the first half that nobody wants her and only gets ONE response for her ad. Bentley literally has his previous date make out with another man right in front of him and the whole theater laughs at him as he puts his arm around Florence. The cruelest joke has to be at the end, when George shudders at the thought of what Florence and Bentley's children would look like.


Here's how I would've written it: The episode should've started with Florence having already sent out the ad in desperation to find a man and then discover that Bentley responded within the first 5 or so minutes of the episode. Then we see the awkward conversation where they discuss how they've been friends for so long and all the things they have in common, eventually agreeing to try out a first date. Then a dinner scene where things go wrong, then the movies and ultimately they decide they're better as friends than lovers in the last 5 minutes of the episode. That way, we spend the whole episode seeing and learning more about both characters and their friendship dynamic. Instead, what we got is "let's laugh at these two goblins who don't even like each other... her her her..."


On a side note, I wouldn't mind if Florence and Bentley got together as a romantic couple, BUT NOT over the course of just 1 episode. That would've been too forced and unbelievable. If it was done, they should've probably been done over the course of 1 season. But if they stayed great friends, that's fine as well. But this episode certainly didn't convince me they EVEN ARE friends.

Let me know what you all think. Please comment if you have thoughts.

[TVFactFan]

this episode reminded me how much I hate dating. And it also showed how two people who knew each other for years became uncomfortable once they entered the dating universe

[dee2364]

I hated that episode because it didn't feel genuine and came across as a mean-spirited jab at fans of the two. By that I mean that it felt as if the writers wrote it to shut down viewers who were shipping the two of them, as in, "No, we're totally not putting them together. NOW LEAVE US ALONE." It really wasn't necessary to have them tell each other that they didn't like each other, even as a joke. They could've done the old joke about the two of them maybe having over the top fantasies about what it would like to be married to each other and it turns out so ridiculous that we get that they're better off as friends. Having them have a miserable date and then ending with them saying, "Haha, I don't like you" felt nasty.

It reminded me of a similar episode in Taxi, the one where the writers made sure to have Alex, the most open-minded and considerate character on the show, express so much over the top contempt towards a coworker and even mention that he didn't like her because they were from two different races. Like, Jesus, okay, we get it. You didn't want to hook him with a black chick. Geez.

[Fallon97]

Actually, this is one of my favorite episodes. And I loved the ending.

[hch]

I completely agree with your assessment. You’ve hit on exactly why "The Odd Couple" (Season 10) feels so cynical compared to the show's earlier heart. By this point, the writers were leaning heavily into "mean-spirited" humor to mask the fact that they were running out of organic ways to use the supporting cast.

Your "Show, Don't Tell" critique is spot-on for several reasons:

The "Goblin" Trope: You nailed it—the episode treats Florence and Bentley like they are biologically repulsive rather than just two quirky people. This was a common late-series trap for The Jeffersons; they stopped writing Florence as a sassy underdog and started writing her as a desperate loser, which stripped away her dignity.

The Subtitle Gimmick: Using subtitles in the theater was a "lazy" writing shortcut. It allowed the writers to avoid crafting actual dialogue that revealed character depth, opting instead for cheap "inner monologue" jokes that reinforced the idea that they couldn't stand each other.
Wasted Potential for Bentley: Paul Benedict was a brilliant comedic actor. Seeing Mr. Bentley vulnerable and "unlucky in love" could have been a series highlight. Instead, they made him the butt of a joke where a woman makes out with someone else in front of him. It wasn't funny; it was just uncomfortable.

Your Proposed Rewrite: Your version is significantly better because it focuses on relationship stakes. Seeing them realize their "neighborly friendship" doesn't translate to "romantic chemistry" over a disastrous dinner would have provided actual character growth. It would have humanized Bentley and given Florence a moment of realization that she deserves more than just "the only guy who replied."
The episode ultimately feels like a filler episode where the writers had a "funny" idea (Bentley and Florence on a date!) but didn't want to do the actual work to make it a meaningful story.

Since you mentioned they'd be a "forced" couple in one episode, do you think the show missed a major opportunity by never giving Florence a long-term love interest, or was her being "happily single/independent" at the end of the series the right move?