Judd Apatow’s ‘Love’ returns, and Mickey & Gus are messier than ever

Halfway through “A Day” — the fifth of twelve episodes in Season 2 of Netflix’s “Love,” released in its entirety Mar. 10 — there’s an unexpected revelation that will may strike viewers. It struck us, at least, as Mickey and Gus stood in the center of a bridge in Venice Beach, that this episode really shouldn’t work.

Aptly titled, the half-hour installment follows Mickey (Gillian Jacobs) and Gus (Paul Rust) through an entire day of their lives — from when they wake up, to when they say goodbye at the end of the night. There is no drama, no intrigue or conflict of any kind. We, as viewers, are simply following the two as they spend the day together: Eating breakfast, going to a movie, all while revealing new facts about themselves to the other.

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By traditional storytelling rules, “A Day” should fall flat — but writer Mason Fink and director Lynn Shelton trust that getting to see Mickey and Gus through a drama-free day, fueled by the inextinguishable chemistry between Jacobs and Rust, will be enough. Their faith pays off, and “A Day” ends up one of the best episodes out all 22 installments to date.

“Love” avoids storytelling norms like that left and right, though: That’s the mandate, and it’s what made the first season so remarkable. Coming from the Judd Apatow camp, “Love” was praised right out of the gate for its commitment to telling as real a love story as possible, giving both of its central characters more than their fair share of baggage by the time they crossed paths with each other.

Inevitably, those respective burdens came head-to-head in the first finale, when Mickey tracked Gus down to the gas station where they first met so she could tell him for once and for all about her alcoholism and sex and love addiction, and apologizing for how she had treated him. And in perhaps one of its more brilliant digs at the disingenuity of most rom-coms, the season ended with Gus interrupting Mickey just as she was telling him that she wanted to take a year off from relationships, by kissing her.

The moment itself drew criticism at the time, but luckily it’s addressed — hangs like a shadow, in fact, over the whole second season — as we follow Mickey and Gus navigating the woes of committing to each other, even through their own irritating neuroses and problems.

One of the greatest joys of watching “Love” is just how accurately it manages to depict the minefield a conversation between two very proud, self-involved people can be. Just watching Mickey and Gus talk sometimes can be as stressful as if they were racing to stop a bomb from going off. He’ll say something he believes to be good-natured, but she takes as condescending, and all we’re able to do is watch and hope above all else that they’ll simply move past it.

The first season featured more than its fair share of those encounters, notably evident in “The Date,” an early episode that focused entirely on a date between Gus and Bertie (Claudia O’Doherty), Mickey’s optimistic Australian roommate (who continues to be a scene-stealer in the new season). But since most of “Love’s” first season was dedicated to just letting Mickey and Gus get together, there wasn’t as much room for the passive-aggressive conversations that all couples — but especially these two — are capable of having.

If the first season of “Love” was a trial run for Mickey and Gus’ relationship, then, Season 2 is the full-fledged ride fans may or may not have been waiting for. And from that opening moment with Gus interrupting Mickey, to the final moments of the season, “Love” takes Mickey and Gus on a journey of self-discovery — both together and separate — that ends on a similar, morally-gray conclusion.

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We didn’t quite think it was possible, that a second season of “Love” could end up being even messier and more frustrating than its predecessor. But despite starting off fairly hopeful, Mickey and Gus’ relationship slowly spirals more and more out of control, culminating in a final episode that’s filled with a kind of slapstick, evasion-style of humor that the show hasn’t quite ever attempted before. In fact, it’s hard at times to remember why we even rooted for Gus and Mickey to get together in the first place: Why do we want these two polar opposites, meeting each other at very inopportune moments in both of their lives, to spend even spend one minute together, let alone a lifetime?

In episodes like “A Day,” Mickey and Gus seem so in sync with each other that everything just falls away. Reminded of moments like their conversation at the end of “Shrooms,” where they talk only about how beautiful they think the other is, it becomes clear that even through all of the cheating, fighting, and passive-aggressive bs that they put each other through, Mickey and Gus could be like those happy couples they see all the time in the movies… The same ones “Love” is so clearly trying to tear down.

“It’s funny, though,” says Gus, “When something like this is going really well I get super nervous, like, Oh, when is something bad going to happen, and it’s all going to end?”

Anyone who can remember the beginnings of an intense relationship has felt that nagging feeling — and maybe that’s why it permeates throughout the entirety of Season 2, as Gus and Mickey edge closer to having to be completely vulnerable with each other. It’s a large demand to make of anyone, after all: With that kind of commitment come the sunny days on the beach, dipping your toes in the sand and learning to love each other, but also the misunderstandings and big blowout fights.

“Love’s” second season succeeds because it presents both sides of that reality in equal measure, with no clear favoritism or judgement. It’s a luxury we rarely give ourselves, and yet the show’s warts-and-all compassion for these two is the heart of this love story — and the most crucial element in making it feel as real and honest as it does.

“Love” season 2 is available now on Netflix.

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