User blog comment:Mattalamode/A Second Opinion: The Egg/@comment-26215750-20170928215736/@comment-31194372-20170929190459

Huh, that's an interesting position to take, calling "The Egg" a satire. I can definitely see strands of that in how much of a caricature Felicity is, but there's such a universal, underlying message to it all with the whole notion of being content with the person that you are and refusing to conform to what other people want while compromising your own integrity - that strand reigns true over both Nicole, in her refusing to play by Felicity's rules, and even Anais in her ultimate rejection of Billy. And you're also very right about how the show's characters are so distinct that they actually carve out what gags get employed - here, especially, the humor is much more character-based than eliciting some general vibe that all of the characters are cast under - good catch!

And yeah, the larger problem people have with "The Egg" is exactly that, too - the fact that the antagonizing forces at play aren't exaggerated to some cartoonish degree. Everybody's had an interaction with a person like Felicity before - I fondly remember by 8th grade math teacher telling me I'd never be like my brother - so that hatred to the personality type is so ingrained in our minds that seeing it dropped at our feet, unrefined, practically triggers a kneejerk reaction of disgust. But again, that's the point, and the show does an incredible job at it. I love episodes like "The Egg" that don't shy away from showing Elmore's and its citizens' imperfections because of how real it feels and how much it almost defies that sense of escapism - it makes you think beyond simply laughing along.

As for "The Roots"... it's been a while since I've talked about Darwin, and it should be pretty interesting to tackle him and how "The Roots" epitomizes the role he plays in the show. Thanks for reading along, dude!