TVSquad

Despite its overall mediocrity thus far, those of us out there who have been sticking with Bored to Death in the hopes that it would get less, well... boring, were finally rewarded. Not only was "The Case of the Beautiful Blackmailer" the best episode of the season to date (I know I've said that before, but clearly I spoke too soon), but it definitively justifies the show getting a season two renewal. This episode proved that the ensemble can actually work well together, and it also made one other thing very clear -- individually, Schwartzman, Danson, and Galifianakis are funny guys. But, together? Comic gold.

First things first -- up until now, the private detective aspect of the show has been lacking, to say the least. Simply put, Jonathan's second job is the real selling point of the show. It's why I tuned in. However, most of his "cases" haven't really felt worthy of that premise, but that changed here. "The Case of the Beautiful Blackmailer" had mystery, a thug, injured parties, and, even though it sounds clichéd, real lives hung in the balance. If Jonathan didn't come through, his client's marriage would have been over. The reality of the stakes brought much more tension to the situation.

At the same time, George and Ray being left alone in the Subaru to smoke pot and doodle each other on sketch pads, relieved all that tension. The A and B plots really merged together quite well, and as exciting as Jonathan's ordeal in the motel room was, George and Ray really stole the show here.

The highlights:

• George's lack of common knowledge is amazing: "What's a Subaru?"
• The opening scene at the diner as Jonathan got out of the car really set the tone for the episode -- he seemed more confident.
• Jonathan's client hired a hooker he found on Craig's List, and that obviously didn't work out well for him. So... he goes back on Craig's List to find a private detective?!?
• George in the surveillance store -- amazing. Patton Oswalt, as the store owner, should have been the highlight here, but Danson was just too good. The night-vision goggles, looking at the cameras, wanting to shop there all the time. Very funny scene. Oh and don't forget the voice box - made me think of Scream.
• Janet, the unicorn. "She extends!"
• Glad to see that Jonathan's big nose has become a running gag.
• Ray wears his diver's watch in the bathtub... suddenly, the fact that he's selling his sperm to a lesbian couple isn't so tragic. This might actually be the best he can do.

The set-up for the final two episodes is also quite good. Now that George has hired Jonathan and Ray to collaborate on a comic for the magazine, it really changes the group dynamic. First off, despite Ray's constant complaints about money, he's clearly just looking for someone to take an interest in his talents and this satisfies that need.

George also gets two things out of this. One, he's a slave to his job and this helps the magazine, and two, he's taking Jonathan and Ray under his wing so it assuages some of his guilt about the daughter in Seattle he never calls.

Most importantly, though, as we learned from Jonathan's conversation with Sophia, the blackmailer, he's not over Suzanne and this gig with Ray gives Jonathan steady income. He can try and win her back now. Assuming he can kick the white wine.