Syfy’s Happy!
Season 2, Episode 7: “Arlo and Marie”
Directed by Wayne Yip
Written by Noelle Valdivia

* For a recap & review of the previous episode, “Pervapalooza” – click here
* For a recap & review of the next episode, “A Friend of Death” – click here
More of Blue’s (Ritchie Coster) homestead dreams, like he’s in an old Western taking place on a picturesque ranch. He heads inside the house, where his other self, Orcus, is playing banjo by the fire. The demon commends Blue for his deviousness. And he explains things didn’t go exactly as planned. See, Blue’s the one who “had to die” while Orcus would remain on Earth. Doesn’t help the gangster he’s down there with his dead family, including Isabella (Debi Mazar).

At Shine Tower, Nick (Chris Meloni) runs into Amanda (Medina Senghore) in the midst of the leather-furry orgy. He’s trying to figure out if she’s dosed with PCP or something. Then she reveals she’s pregnant, and he remembers a quick night on the floor with his estranged wife on New Year’s Eve.
Mr. Bug a.k.a Sonny Shine (Christopher Fitzgerald) calls the Wishies out to deal with Sax: “Keep him away from the baby.” They attack Nick. He’s able to grab a gun and take Amanda hostage with the barrel against her belly, citing “pro–choice” political opinions.

“Don’t throw an orgy
if you’re not willing to get fucked”

Nick’s able to get Amanda out of there. He finds Happy (Patton Oswalt) at home, just having seen Bo Peep (Jaimie Elizabeth Kelton) off after their sexy night. The imaginary friend feels grown up— getting some “stank on the hang down,” according to his pal, and smoking cigarettes. Sax is more concerned with all the insanity, so he catches the little dude up on everything before trying to deal with Amanda downstairs. She’s reminiscing on their life together, the potential life they could’ve had eventually.
They’re interrupted when their daughter shows up. Hailey (Bryce Lorenzo) is shocked about the news of the baby. Mom tries to assure things will be better now. They all sit down for a family dinner afterwards. Amanda tells the “Arlo and Marie” story, about when she lost her wedding ring and Nick wound up tracking it down at a pawn shop— a tiny piece of their history that isn’t tainted.

In prison, Merry (Lili Mirojnick) goes to see Assunta Bianchi. She wants to know about why the old lady killed Isabella, and how the deaths of the sons are connected to everything that’s been happening. She already realises there are supernatural things going on, after her experiences with the Wishies.
We get a sequence here about “the God of Death” Orcus, whose targets included some of the great idols: John F. Kennedy, Princess Diana, Dr. Martin Luther King, among others. These idols were visited in moments of dire need. We see Orcus’s “lamoraes“— Wishies, the “strange, shapeless creatures from the Underworld“— visit JFK. They’re folklore creatures. They turn up when idols “shine the brightest” to do the dark bidding of Orcus and take away hope. Easter Day is when the next idol will be taken.
Oh, and the prison’s having trouble: Orcus and all the inmates are gone.

At home, Sonny finds Orcus at his piano playing a tune. There’s nobody to help Mr. Bug right now. The demon announces Blue’s gone. He pours champagne and starts to ask about the “mother–to–be” who’s escaped. They need to find her, because the baby’s obviously a significant part of their plan. Should give them an advantage with all the violent prisoners at their disposal.
Nick discovers Amanda’s been taking more of that weird cloudy liquid she was given by Sonny. When he confronts her he gets attacked, and she goes wild in the kitchen on him. “It‘s like being married to Johnny Depp,” Sax quips. He fends her off, nearly getting stabbed in the process. He manages to subdue her with “tough love.” They’ve got to keep her tied up in the spare room. Hailey’s got to watch her while dad goes out.

Poor Happy’s dealing with not getting a call from Bo Peep. He gets advice from Nick, who discovers the little blue dude had a rough time in bed, from premature ejaculation due to “too much candy” to lots of teeth while he was trying to go down on her. The imaginary friend gets foolish advice that simultaneously hits close to home for the former hitman. Right now, Sax tries to get Happy’s focus on helping with his current troubles.

Back at home, Nick and Amanda both have to start facing the truth with Hailey. Dad admits to his daughter, “Sometimes bad guys don‘t get caught,” and she finds out that Sonny was behind her kidnapping. It all comes down to Hailey running out on her parents. Lucky, too. She’s gone before the inmates arrive to kill Nick. Another fantastic fight scene courtesy of Happy! sees our main man fending off a ton of big angry men as Amanda’s carried away, back to Sonny. Such a stylish sequence.

Jump back three months ago.
We see Wishies hovering above someone on a surgeon’s table. Sonny comes over to look upon Smoothie (Patrick Fischler) with his new bright red eye— like a “big bunny.” He had plans for the man. Ironic to hear Smoothie call another person insane. That’s when he met the Wishies for the first time. They told him about Orcus, sending him to see the God of Death.
It’s all connected. Worst of all, Hailey’s run straight into Smoothie’s arms. Although Happy has an eye on her, and Nick’s in one piece, so maybe there’s hope for the little girl after all. Especially with the old Sax suiting up again.

“Guess this means we’re off the wagon”

“You’re goddamn right”

Another stellar episode. Not only that, we’re starting to see things come together, and all those weird, wild threads in Happy! are suddenly weaving into an awesome, exciting, and terrifying tapestry. The end of this season in the last several episodes is going to be a sight to behold. “A Friend of Death” is next time.