Wilfred - "Avoidance"/"Truth"

Season 2, Episodes 7-8

If Wilfred were a more tightly plotted show, I might be more inclined to read into the fact that there existed back to back episodes with the titles “Avoidance” and “Truth”, which would seem to indicate thematic parallels, if not an outright two-parter. That of course wasn’t the case, but it is interesting to note how these two episodes served as a dialectic of the show’s two extremes: raunchy humor and high-minded storytelling.

Wilfred - "Letting Go"/"Dignity"

Season 2, Episodes 2-3

It now becomes pretty clear why the episode of Wilfred that aired two weeks ago was hidden, promoted only as a “special preview episode”, while last week’s episode was labeled as the season premiere. (At least that’s what my cable box guide referred to it as.) Even though the show originally premiered to some of FX’s highest numbers, it quickly lost a large portion of its audience, perhaps the result of being too weird. “Progress” was too weird to bring back any viewers who had left the show in season one, and it certainly wouldn’t appeal to any first-timers. Yet while it might be tempting to see the show as selling out or chasing the broader audience (especially in light of the audience boost theshow got last week thanks to the premiere of Anger Management), it’s important to note the subtle changes that exist in the second and third episodes of the season, and how they point a way forward for the show.

Wilfred - "Progress"

Season 2, Episode 1

“Discontent is the first necessity of progress.”

                                                                        - Thomas Edison

For reasons unknown, FX decided to release tonight’s season premiere of Wilfred, an episode that deals with the fallout to last season’s excellent finale, a week early on the internet, and label it has a “special preview episode”, which would imply that it would be much less serialized than it actually is. And even though they went through the motions of making sure it aired, they also did it with very little promotion, airing it a week before the much higher-profiled Louie is set to premiere, and even placing it in a slightly later timeslot. It would seem as if FX is trying to kill the show, and given how tonight’s premiere seems to have shifted it from a stoner comedy to something much weirder – but much better – I wouldn’t be surprised in the slightest.

Wilfred: "Identity"

Season 1, Episode 13

A fantastically dark finale shows what the show is truly capable of

Wilfred: "Sacrifice"

Season 1, Episode 12

It’s all been building to this

Wilfred: "Pride"

Season 1, Episode 7

A new way forward

Wilfred: "Conscience"

Season 1, Episode 6

For once, a conscience that shouldn’t be followed

Wilfred: "Respect"

Season 1, Episode 5

Darkness done right

Wilfred: "Acceptance"

Season 1, Episode 4

The moral queasiness of dog-rape

Wilfred: "Fear"

Season 1, Episode 3

Expanding beyond Wilfred results in a higher quality

Wilfred: "Trust"

Season 1, Episode 2

Working out that dog/man/conscience dynamic

Wilfred: "Happiness"

Season 1, Episode 1

A comedy that deals heavily in self-examination