How Much More Complicated Could Mindy's Love Life Get?

When Mindy and Danny broke up actual seconds after they'd finally gotten together, it felt...fast. I mean, Mindy was still trying to figure out what had actually just happened with the closing credits creeping up underneath her heartbroken face! Danny was down in the street, looking up longingly at her apartment clearly wondering if he'd made a mistake! The relationship may be over FOR NOW, but these two still have unfinished business.

Pre-emptively breaking up with Mindy out of fear that he would lose her friendship was a smart move for Danny if you adhere to dude logic. But the reason it's called "dude logic" and not just "logic" is: that shit is full of holes. Other than the exigencies of their shared workplace and the years they've spent together, Danny had NO REASON to think that Mindy would still want to be friends after he dumped her. Can she be cordial with him? Sure, probably. She can probably keep things professional so that she doesn't make things awkward for their colleagues. But finally, in the latest episode, Danny runs up against the limits of dude logic, and God, it's about time.

What happens is: Mindy droops into work and ends up lying on the floor of her office, in distress over her current dating misadventure. And as much as Danny's persona is world's youngest grandpa, part of which has made him gruffly chastise her for all her romantic nonsense, he invites himself in to help her sort through it. And when she dismisses him, it's clear how disappointed he is. He's dying to dig into/judge someone else's drama, so much that he invites his other colleagues to lay all of theirs on him. (Betsy's spider story, unfortunately, doesn't scratch Danny's itch.) He even inserts himself into Tamra and Morgan's affair (well, go 'head, Morgan!) and tries to mentor her like he has Mindy. But this is just drama methadone, and Danny knows it.

Meanwhile, Mindy's got a whole new Danny, and his name is Peter. Being the only person in the office to know about Danny and Mindy's relationship when it was still happening gave Peter new stature for Mindy, so he's a reasonable substitute for her to vent to. And after what we're meant to understand have been their many years (platonically) together, Mindy's already imbibed plenty of Danny's dating advice, and has had plenty of opportunities to filter his young-fogy perspective for any actually helpful tips she can apply to her life. What she hasn't been hearing is the affable-dirtbag point of view, which is where Peter comes in.

At first, Peter hews pretty closely to the sorts of things Danny might tell Mindy. He disputes her claim that she can't break up with Phil because she's "too nice": "I saw you bring a girl to tears because she asked if you were registered to vote." (Mindy: "I've been asked that a million times, and the answer is always the same: I DON'T KNOW.") Then he switches it up, getting real by saying that since Danny broke her heart, Mindy thinks Phil is the best she can do. But then he gets into the lessons learned at his Dartmouth frat. He shows Mindy how to blow off this goon Phil that Betsy set her up with: she can just ignore his texts. Mindy is horrified when Peter takes her phone to keep her from answering Phil's texts, protesting, "He'll think I'm mean! I obviously am, but no one can know!" When Peter's gambit totally works, she takes him on as her new dating sensei, following his instructions to hit on Lee, a cute guy at the bar they visit for Fleet Week...and then ignoring his recommendation that she not go home with him the same night and running into trouble as a result -- to wit, he takes off before she gets up, and she tracks him down at the school where he teaches first grade to get closure. (Lee: "You're not a parent here, are you? Of one of the children? 'Cause six strikes and I'm out.")

There's a whole bunch of business with Lee -- he's played by Max Greenfield, so I am not complaining -- but the upshot is that Mindy and Peter each learn something from the other's dating philosophy. She figures out that it's okay to be a little more selfish; he thinks he could stand to be a little more romantic. Through it all, as Danny pines for his former role in Mindy's life, Peter seems to be edging him out not just in terms of giving hard-headed advice, but maybe falling for her in the process. I mean...right? Am I crazy?! Early on, he tells her, "You deserve someone great. Or at least someone kind of rich. Or at least someone fun. ...Probably gay." Sounds like Peter to me (minus the gay part (though it's not like this character is a huge acting departure for Adam Pally post-Happy Endings, except that he's successful)). He tells her more than once that Danny is an idiot for breaking up with her. He looked hot as SHIT when he dressed up and took her to that wedding. And, for only knowing her a comparatively short time, he's got her figured out almost as well as Danny has.

The reason Mindy thinks Lee's secretly into her despite the evidence presented by his fleeing into the night is that when he goes, he leaves behind his scarf, which she interprets as a clue he's left that he wants her to find him and return it; she tells Peter it's a Cinderella move she does all the time. And as we close on the episode, with Danny watching TV with Sally, the camera shows us that Mindy Cinderellaed Danny: her earrings are still on the floor next to his side of the bed for him to find. But now one guy has the clue, and the other knows what it means. With only a few episodes left in the season, if this is a real triangle and not just the ravings of a fevered brain (hi!), I kind of think it could go either way! And let's face it, any one of these three participants is so full of dumb ideas about love -- as demonstrated in this episode alone -- that they're more than capable of stumbling into a good situation by accident OR totally cocking everything up.