My Name Is Earl: Larceny of the Kitty Cat

(S02E04) Although I am a big fan of this show, I was never high on the Randy character. Except for a few moments here and there, I thought his non-sequitors and otherwise sheer "dumbness" brought each episode down or notch or two. That is, until last night's episode, where Randy shined like the noonday sun.

I mentioned in an earlier post where I expected to see more character development this season, and we're already seeing it with a good chunk of time devoted to Joy and Catalina. However, last night we saw the spotlight on Randy, and we learned that despite his "Baby Huey" persona on the outside, he really is a sensitive soul looking for love and respect. (Aren't we all, on some level?)

Yes, Earl was trying to right a previous wrong by returning a prized cat (Sebastian), but we saw Randy follow his heart and try his best to have a relationship with Judy, Sebastian's owner (played by Amy Sedaris). Of course, the twist was that Randy is allergic to cats, and wasn't crazy about them anyway, but he was blinded by love and would do what he could to grow close with Judy.

It really was a nice little story, and Randy actually came out looking better, and I as a viewer will have to look at his character a little more differently. There were some truly great laugh-out-loud moments, especially Randy dressed up as a "Hay-sidic Jew", a Black Power militant, and an artsy type. Plus, his emotional rendering of Cyndi Lauper's "Time After Time" actually made me a bit watery around the eyes! :)))

Of couse, Randy and Judy break up because Randy just hates cats and doesn't want to be treated like one, but He showed a maturity on some level and maybe we'll see it grow as the season moves forward. We can only hope.