Every dog is supposed to have his day but perhaps today is not quite that day for Wilfred…
As Ryan is starting to realise that loving someone sometimes means setting them free, Wilfred has decided that Drew has to go.
Every week I am taken aback by the quality of this programme; so hard to pigeon-hole the show, Wilfred is a master class in surreal comedy with some real life lessons thrown in. I actually realised today that Jason Gann could walk past me in the street and I wouldn’t recognise him, so committed to his art – I can’t imagine him as anything other than a huge dog man, who just goes to show how truly talented he is. I would love to see him in other shows to admire his acting talents further. Elijah Wood is great too as the cute and intelligent but continually baffled Ryan with potentially bigger problems than the ones he currently appears to have.
This week Ryan visited Jenna to see Wilfred for the first time in months and to see if her relationship with Drew had degraded enough to offer a glimmer of home for his own future with Jenna. Ryan was dismayed to see that Jenna was engaged and Drew was moving in and he was further troubled as Wilfred was now best friends with Drew. Fearing that Wilfred had forgotten who he was, Ryan was shocked to find that not only was Wilfred snubbing him but he considered him to be selfish. Seeing how disappointed Wilfred was when Drew believed him to be a failure, Ryan offered an olive branch in agreeing to train Wilfred up for a dog competition. There were some hilarious moments as we found out how Wilfred really sees other dogs and Ryan’s attempt to buy illegal steroids was almost an extremely uncomfortable situation as the dealer requested sexual favours in return for the drugs. When Ryan refused to acquiesce to the dealers request Wilfred reiterated the fact that he considered him selfish and Ryan ended up hugging the dealer as a compromise which turned out to be desperately uncomfortable for him anyway.
Wilfred’s attempt at the dog competition was poorly received and while Ryan decided to let go of his feelings for Jenna after seeing she and Drew happy, Drew’s derision at Wilfred’s performance merely fuelled Wilfred’s desire to rid himself of his new friend. Meanwhile, a pretty and warm colleague from Ryan’s office asked him out and after some soul-searching Ryan decided to go on a date with her – one can only imagine how Wilfred will meddle with this situation considering that Wilfred coming along on a date in the past has led to some pretty disturbing behaviour for everyone involved!
Wilfred’s manipulative nature appears to know no bounds and that’s what makes this dark comedy so deliciously enjoyable. This is a dog that would not only eat your homework but re-work it into something appalling and submit it under your name, yet all the same; this is a pooch that Ryan still desperately wants to know, despite his antics. In fact, perhaps it is because of his antics that Ryan really gets the chance to vent his anger and naughty side to the world – like a Tyler Durden of the canine world. As sitcoms go, it is certainly one of the most interesting I have watched and though not for the faint hearted it never fails to raise some interesting questions about the nature of being and the meaning of friendship. Regardless of the fact that I have no idea why Ryan sees Wilfred as a chain-smoking, drug taking man and I really want to know the truth behind Wilfred, I still want to keep the mystery going a little longer to watch the tantalising dynamic between the two characters. Simply amazing television.
