Youāre the Worst -LindsayāsĀ āAboboā
(Photo: FXX)
āTalking to Me, Talking to Meā S3 E10, Nov. 2, 2016
āThe Inherent, Unsullied Qualitative Value of Anythingā S3 E11, Nov. 9, 2016
āYou Knew It Was a Snakeā S3 E12, Nov. 16, 2016
WRITTEN BY: Alison Bennett, Franklin Hardy, Shane Kosakowski, Eva Anderson, and Philippe Iujvidin
SYNOPSIS
Best friends Gretchen and Lindsay (who is pregnant) are having lunch at a diner. At the end of their meal the waitress brings three pieces of pie to Lindsay, who says to her friend, āAw, Iām eating for two for the last time!ā Grabbing the pie as she gets up up to leave, Lindsay turns to Gretchen and says, āLetās go get this abobo.ā
We next see the ladies parking in front of a clinic. Gretchen asks her friend if she wants company. Lindsay says sheās fine going in alone and will return in 45 minutes. But on her way into the building, sheās distracted by adoring text messages from her unwitting husband Paul. She then stares at the clinic sign with an ambivalent expression. A friendly woman on the street offers to chat with her about her difficult decision so Lindsay sits with the woman, not noticing the anti-choice protest sign at her side. Gretchen spots this interaction from the car and dashes over to disrupt the protester. Lindsay tells Gretchen she isnāt sure she wants to have the abortion and divorce Paul because sheās afraid of no longer having a family. Gretchen assures her friend sheāll help her so she doesnāt have to stay in a terrible marriage. Walking Lindsay into the clinic, Gretchen sneers at the protester and claims this as a victory for womenās rights. But after hearing about Lindsayās extremely dysfunctional marriage, even the protester agrees termination is the wisest choice.
After the abortion, Lindsay has no regrets but struggles to break the news to Paul. At a friendās wedding, she schmoozes with a successful fashion blogger in the hopes of landing a job so she can leave him. The blogger offers Lindsay a gig on the spot, warning her that it will involve lots of international travel. Paul politely informs the blogger that his wife is expecting, which is when Lindsay tells him ā in front of the blogger ā that she had an abortion and wants a divorce.
Lindsay crashes at Gretchenās place that night. The next day, Paul comes over to have it out with her. He admonishes Lindsay for making the decision without his input, to which she blithely responds, āMy body, my choice.ā As their argument builds, Paul mentions the many terrible things she did to him (such as stabbing him with a kitchen knife and pressuring him to watch her have sex with other men), to which she eventually responds, āYou knew who I was. You donāt get to act surprised now.ā Accepting that their marriage is over, Paul later tells Lindsay he hopes she finds a more fitting mate but also warns her, āYou better lawyer up, bitch.ā
KEEPING IT REAL QUOTIENT
In writing this blog, Iāve encountered several well written shows featuring extremely hard-to-like protagonists (standouts include Girls, Transparent, and Crazy Ex-Girlfriend). Youāre the Worst is certainly not one of my favorites, maybe because Lindsay in particular is so very terrible. But I love this story for really going the distance in its depiction of a woman aborting with absolutely no regrets.
Lindsay is the kind of woman people whisper about when theyāre explaining why they donāt always āagree withā abortion. Sheās the epitome of a selfish bitch who killed a fetus just as carelessly as she created it. A wickedly hedonistic wife who pushed her kindly husband into a humiliating ācuckā role, Lindsay chooses termination without consulting or even warning him. Though her pregnancy was accidental, they had consciously agreed to stay married (despite their obvious incompatibility) and raise their offspring together. Hers is the classic example of a ābadā abortion. I can just imagine gossipy acquaintances criticizing her for killing Paulās child, after all heād done to make her happy.
But just as the activist at the clinic figured, we viewers know Lindsay would be a terrible mother stuck in a toxic marriage. Not only does her decision make sense, itās kinda weird she waits as long as she does to have her abortion. She isnāt excited or eager to be a mom. She resents Paul and his dull vision of their domestic future (hence the stabbing incident, which happens in the first episode of the season). Itās obvious she only wants the baby so she can stay with him, but why is she so set on maintaining their marriage? Once it becomes clear she has almost no job skills, I could understand why sheād stay married for a piece of his hefty income. But itās only after she has the abortion that she realizes sheās gonna lose everything in the divorce.
When Lindsay does change her mind about the pregnancy, her resolve is pretty steady (not counting those outside-the-clinic jitters). Deciding to terminate can be a complex ethical choice for some people, yet for many of us itās a pretty simple decision. I chose to have an abortion immediately upon learning I was pregnant and never regretted it. But I felt like I had to be really secretive about it at the time. I was so afraid of being judged, so ashamed for having gotten pregnant by accident. Thatās why I love seeing a character like Lindsay who has zero qualms about the way she handled her unwanted pregnancy. Thereās this great scene after the abortion when she and Gretchen return to the diner. Lindsay chews her pie thoughtfully and Gretchen asks very sweetly what sheās thinking about. Lindsay says, āPie.ā Then this exchange occurs -
Gretchen: You just had an abortion, youāre divorcing your husband, and youāre literally only thinking about whatās happening in this moment?
Lindsay (shrugs): Guess so.
Instead of judging her friend, Gretchen determines Lindsay is a mindfulness guru and starts taking notes so she can follow her example.
Lindsayās termination is just one of several thoughtful, funny, non-stigmatizing TV abortion stories that have aired in the past few years. But this one stands out for me because even though we arenāt expected to judge her negatively for her choice (aside from the shitty way she goes about informing the fetus father) neither are we expected to feel sorry for her. Lindsay doesnāt feel sad, confused, or guilty about any of her terrible behavior. As she tells Paul in the last fight scene, this is just who she is. So why would she feel sad, confused or guilty about her āaboboā?
GRADE
A- Again, I couldnāt understand why Lindsay waited so long to abort. But I love that when she finally does, both she and Gretchen are as blasĆ© about it as we would expect these characters to be.
- by Tara















