Summary
“Mood Vibrations” is the best episode of Loot this season, and maybe ever, paying off multiple subplots with laugh-out-loud humor and genuine emotional sentiment.
There’s a lot going on in Episode 9 of Loot Season 2, and not all of it is positive. It’s a simple thing to say, but this penultimate outing feels a bit more serious than prior episodes have; it has some big emotional swells and some nice payoffs and also a bit of downbeat drama for good measure.
Not that Loot has been entirely frivolous until now, but you know what I mean. If nothing else, though, “Mood Vibrations” is a reminder that this is one of the better comedy shows airing right now and it deserves a lot more respect than it gets.
Anyway, let’s break this down.
Isaac and Sofia Split Up
We’ll start with Isaac and Sofia since the episode’s title, “Mood Vibrations”, is referring to his former jazz band that Sofia didn’t know anything about.
On its own, this isn’t really an issue. Sofia knew Isaac played the saxophone. She didn’t know he played in a group, but that’s fine. Everyone has a past.
The problem is that Isaac wants to make his past his present. He decides quite suddenly that he’s going to go on a sabbatical from work and pursue music as a career, and this alarms Sofia. At one point she dismissively refers to it as a midlife crisis. And while Isaac defends his point of view well enough, it’s hard not to see Sofia’s point.
This isn’t like the earlier episode in the season where Sofia was scared of commitment. Here, she sees the fundamental differences between the two of them. Dropping your entire life to play weird festivals in New Orleans is something that Sofia would never do; it’s completely contrary to her entire personality.
This is a fundamental impasse. Today it’s music, but tomorrow it’ll be something else. That’s just how Isaac is, and how Sofia isn’t. So, she decides they should part ways amicably before they hurt each other down the line.
John Tries To Win Molly Back
Meanwhile, Grace, who we met in Episode 8, comes to “work” at the Wells Foundation, which mostly just consists of walking around with a binder and then taking a break. But the success of Space For Everyone doesn’t last, and the coterie of billionaire donors that Grace helped to attract are immediately put off by John’s latest shenanigans.
Finally returning to the space launch plot teased in the season premiere, John is on the cusp of launching his rocket, Molly-1. During the build-up to that event, he publicly implies that he and Molly are back together. Since most of the Space For Everyone donors hate John, this causes several to refuse to work with Molly, whom they think pulled the wool over their eyes.
Later, Molly-1 explodes during takeoff, presumably killing John. But he reveals to Molly that he orchestrated the disaster to try and win her back. This would be an absolutely deranged plan at the best of times, but he also chooses a moment when Molly has just had a personal realization. She’s in love with someone else.
Molly and Arthur Almost Kiss
That “someone” is, of course, Arthur.
When the press starts swarming Molly following John’s suggestions that they’re once again an item, Arthur helps her sneak out of the building through the freight elevator. Once again, they’re forced to spend some quality time together, and they’re seconds away from kissing when they’re distracted by their phones.
This has to happen in the finale, right? Fingers crossed.
Nicholas Saves Howard’s Wrestling Show
While we’re returning to plots teased much earlier in the season, “Mood Vibrations” also gives us a beautiful payoff to Howard’s attempts at running a wrestling league.
Everything about the event goes wrong from the get-go. There are no hotdogs, no speedos, the venue is double-booked with a veteran’s improv group, and the main attraction drops out after trying to negotiate more money.
Nicholas is on hand for logistical backup, but Howard is defeated. He wants to cancel the event entirely, but Nicholas won’t let him. He has put too much effort in to give up now, and if he does, he’ll never forgive himself.
The payoff to this is that Howard and Nicholas main event the show themselves, putting on a fun match with all of the Wells Foundation crew in attendance. But more to the point, Nicholas shows a much softer – though no less hilarious – side to himself and is a true friend to Howard on the way.
What more could you want?
