You’re The Worst Season 3, Episode 5 Recap: That’s Just Impossible

The name of tonight's episode is "Twenty-Two," in reference to the 22 veterans who die by suicide on average in a day, according to a report by the Department of Veteran's Affairs. You're the Worst takes us back to last week's episode as seen through the eyes of Edgar. Since he stopped his drug regimen, in part to be able to have penetrative sex with his girlfriend Dorothy, Edgar has been less and less like himself. This episode, entirely from his point of view — a device the show has not yet used, even during Gretchen's downward spiral into depression — gives us an idea of how disturbing his reality has become. He can't sleep and instead endlessly dances or jogs at night while listening to music. In his mind, every piece of trash on the highway might be an explosive device. He hallucinates snipers and sees threats everywhere. He sees guns all the time — that is, when he can see straight at all; his world frequently seems to slow down and speed up for no reason, turning much of his experience into a blur. And he finds it difficult to relate to other people; in his foggy-minded state, he comes very close to holding Dorothy down and forcing her to have sex with him. We also see how irritating and self-centered Jimmy and Gretchen are now that they're back to normal, as they make demands of Edgar without acknowledging anything he's going through — and, in a particularly callous moment, have sex in the backseat of his car while he's driving. Edgar's loosening grip on reality comes undone when he meets with a doctor at the VA who offers him a spot in a trial therapy, only to take it back once Edgar tells her he is off his meds. The show walks a fine line here, painting the VA as a nightmare of bureaucracy but not taking away from the responsibility Edgar has to take care of himself. He hits a low for the day when he sees a deflated balloon pointing to a hole in the fence and nearly takes it as a sign that he should kill himself by walking into traffic. Edgar finally receives some empathy when he learns the driver who is towing his car is a fellow vet suffering from PTSD. They have a heart-to-heart about finding ways to deal with the diagnosis and its stressors, whether through medication, some other form of release, or companionship (the tow-truck driver has a fierce, 20-pound terrier). Well, presumably Edgar is soothed by both the conversation and the joint they smoke. We know from the end of the previous episode that Edgar got it together and found some happiness, but we still don't know from this episode whether he'll go back on his drug regimen, if the relationship with Dorothy is going to work, or if this is even the right situation for him. Edgar is going to have to learn to deal with himself for sure, but there's still another potential explosion waiting in the wings: Having to deal with his crew of friends.