Mr. Mayor Review: Hearts Before Parts (Season 1 Episode 8)

Trivia Night tries to save the episode, but ultimately Mr. Mayor Season 1 Episode 8, “Hearts Before Parts,” turns out to be just trivial.

I love a good trivia battle on a sitcom. It highlights the characters’ strengths and weaknesses in pointedly funny ways and reinforces or sheds light on preconceptions the viewers may have formed. 

It is a situation that teems with opportunity for plenty of jokes. Mr. Mayor doesn’t take full advantage of this, but it does provide some entertainment and enjoyment which, for me, had been seriously lacking. 

The first dynamic of it being Arpi (Holly Hunter) and Tommy (Mike Cabellon) versus Mikaela (Vella Lovell) and Jayden (Bobby Moynihan) works really well. I would’ve paired them up this way, too; it feels natural and expected. 

Also expected is the path the storyline takes—the team that you think would so easily win loses to the other. This is an instance of a predictable plot device improving the overall story.

And the way it builds on this in unexpected ways is refreshing. The in-fighting among the teams is fun to watch as is the way they all break off and play individually. Mr. Mayor even sticks the landing here, bringing them all together as one team to work on the budget that they had forgotten about in their quest for trivia night glory.

Arpi and Jayden are the standouts on this episode.

It is nice to enjoy Jayden again, especially after the last few episodes that made him solely to be the butt of the jokes. Fortunately, Mr. Mayor avoids resorting to stale buffoonery, for the most part, when it comes to Jayden on this episode, showcasing Moynihan’s comedic talent. 

Holly Hunter as Arpi continues to be the best part of the show—not the titular character played by sitcom veteran, Ted Danson. I don’t even know how such a thing is possible, but here we are.

The character of Deputy Mayor Arpi Meskimen is interesting, Mayor Neil Bremer …just isn’t. Danson is trying to inject that quirky charm into the role which worked so well on The Good Place, but it’s not translating to Mr. Mayor. It could be the writing, the concept of the show itself, or a combination of both factors that lead to a bland and unexceptional main character.

This is made clear on Mr. Mayor Season 1 Episode 8, “Hearts Before Parts,” when the B story far outshines the main one which focuses on Neil’s dating life and how it affects his daughter, Orly (Kyla Kenedy).

It’s possible that the family aspect and the life lesson stuff doesn’t fit with what Mr. Mayor is trying to be—and whatever that is I still have no idea.

What I do know is that the Neil/Orly storyline is a flop. And while the trivia aspect succeeds, the balance is off, and the episode as a whole is unsuccessful.

Stray Observations:

• “The whole tableau is gross!” My thoughts exactly, Arpi.
• “Oh, a man telling me to relax and listen. That’s some fresh lemonade.”
• “Also saying ‘I knew that one’ after every question is not helping our score.”
• Maybe I should change “Stray Observations” to “Arpi Quotes.”
• “Chocolate babies” is a reference to the classic Saturday Night Live sketch, “Jackie Rogers Jr.’s $100,000 Jackpot Wad.” Admittedly, it is very funny—Maya Rudolph has said it’s one of her favorites from the show—however, it features Billy Crystal doing his recurring impersonation of Sammy Davis Jr. in blackface. Of all the random quotes to reference from SNL, it’s interesting that Mr. Mayor goes with that one. 
• Is there really a Canter’s Deli Two in Torrance?

What did you think of this episode of Mr. Mayor? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Mr. Mayor airs Thursdays at 8/7c on NBC.

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