Summary
Loot exchanges some gags for more earnest sentiment as the relationship between Molly and Arthur develops even further.
Loot is designed to make you laugh, and thus far Season 2 has been firing on all cylinders in that regard. But Episode 5 is the first outing of this go-around that felt quite legitimately warm and moving, with the evolving relationship between Molly and Arthur being given plenty of time and space.
“Mally’s” might not have quite the same gag rate as Episode 4, but it trades in some jokes for real, genuine sentiment, not just between Molly and Arthur but also between Nicholas and Howard and the rest of the Wells Foundation crew. There’s an odd, almost unique pleasure to a sitcom later in its run when the characters start to feel like old friends, and that’s the vibe I got here.
Molly’s Birthday
It’s Molly’s birthday in Loot Season 2 Episode 5, and in true smug scumbag fashion, John has sent her a wildly over-the-top and self-aggrandizing gift. Anytime John crops up it’s a reminder of the Season 1 finale, so it’s only right that Molly spends the rest of the episode with Arthur.
Arthur accompanies Molly to meet with a Swedish billionaire named Emil, who is purchasing her superyacht and whose assistant, Bjarke, is apparently twelve years old (this is a joke that, hilariously, is never brought up again or clarified.) Because he’s a ridiculous rich-guy archetype, Emil needs several hours to walk around the yacht before he buys it, leaving Molly and Arthur to kill time in the local mall.
Mally’s
Some of this is just slapstick fun — like Arthur running up the down escalator to prove how rebellious he was in his youth since he thinks women like a “bad guy” — but a lot of it is earnest character development. We see how Molly’s wealth has isolated her from normality; how much she misses everyday things, and how Arthur, in his bumbling way, is representative of those things.
We also see that both characters are clearly into each other. But, tellingly, Molly is warmest about Arthur when she sees him helping an old lady, not when he’s running up the wrong escalator.
Molly lies about how long Emil is taking to sign the contract as an excuse to spend more time with Arthur. They continue to mess around in the mall until they’re eventually taken into the back room by security, presumably for a stern telling off. Luckily, when you’re a billionaire, these things don’t really apply. Molly just buys the mall instead. Arthur suggests calling it “Mally’s”, the title of the episode.
Boys vs. Girls
Elsewhere, the rest of the Wells Foundation gang hit the streets to drum up signatures in support of the Space for Everyone hotel, which is due to open. Sofia wants to make it a competition between the boys and the girls, with ice cream as a prize for the winners.
Everyone eagerly accepts the terms, but Howard underestimates quite how many relationships Nicholas has had with good-looking local business owners. They can scarcely enter a library or a juice bar without one of Nicholas’s flings accosting them, and they all seem to follow the same pattern — Nicholas broke up with them out of nowhere, in a wildly insensitive way.
This is a good opportunity for Howard to illuminate Nicholas on the value of apologizing and taking accountability for one’s actions, which he starts to do — though admittedly overshares a little about why he’s like that in the first place. Still, it’s a start!
Loot Season 2 Episode 5 Ends With Hope for Molly and Arthur
At the end of the episode, the gang decides to do something for Molly’s birthday after all. Nicholas had a backup plan to see Mariah Carey in concert.
Arthur, though, is missing, since he has to pick up his daughter. And it’s a shame since you can see Molly’s affection for him swelling, and their burgeoning relationship is becoming very compelling. Time will tell how this develops over the remainder of the season, but fingers crossed that John stays well out of it.
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