Two Takes: The Mindy Project Series Finale 

Here we are. It’s the end of the road for Hulu’s The Mindy Project.

At the start of this episode, Mindy’s a single mom with a fertility clinic that’s in danger of shutting down after Jody took his equity and left for his happy ending with Ana Ortiz’s noble doctor in Africa. Plus, Mindy’s been helping take care of Danny’s mom, taking her to her chemo treatments.

Jeremy and Anna are together living their best uptight life. Tamra and Morgan are getting married. And Beverly, we as we found out earlier this season, is a mom to an all grow’d up son who has a family of his own.

Colette’s just happy because she’s not going to Africa with Jody.

In our final Two Takes on The Mindy Project, we discuss the series finale, “It Had to be You.”

Tina: Cortney, it’s all over and I’m curious to know your thoughts. I’m going to be a little bit greedy with my wants. First and foremost, I wish I knew that Jody wasn’t going to be in this episode. I mean, the writing was on the wall with the way things ended for him in “Danny in Real Life.” But, still, I wanted him in the this one, too. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye last week. I thought I had more time.

My second wish? That the series finale had been an hour long. Because even though it ended the way I thought it was going to end, I wanted the show to take its time getting there.

But I digress. Should we start with the happy ending? Or the happy beginning when Morgan turned the practice into what amounted to a no kill dog shelter? I’ll leave it up to you.

Cortney: Hmmm, I’m going to say let’s start at the beginning — first off, because it’s my DREAM to work in an office full of dogs (what could be better than going to work with Tiny, Penelope and Christy Brinkley — the dog, not the model, of course). And second, since this is our last ever Mindy Two Takes, I think we should follow in the show’s footsteps and end where they ended. It only feels right.

So back to the dogs. Yep. Loved this. Every second of it. Well, except that Tamra is making Morgan give up his dogs…I mean, I get it, the apartment is probably a little crowded, but she better not go changing Morgan. He’s weird, he’s quirky but he is who he is and we love him for it. Aside from the oh-so-adorable floppy ears and wagging tails, this scene also gave us another nugget of gold….well, not us as so much as Jeremy, who’s apparent tears of sorrow turned to tears of joy when he learned his father had passed.

We know he never got along with dear ol’ dad, but I have to admit, I definitely didn’t expect his death to turn uptight-opera-loving Jeremy in to frosted-tip-cockney-going-commando Jeremy. That being said, Mindy was digging it. Morgan was digging it. And I have to say, while it clearly wasn’t genuine and I’m glad it didn’t last too long, I was amused by it for a bit too. What’d you think of the new Jeremy and his reaction to his father’s death?

Tina: I kind of felt like Anna. I wanted the old Jeremy back a.s.a.p. I mean, don’t get me wrong. It was fun to see him be this other version of himself. But a little bit was good enough for me. I ultimately liked him embracing his old self. I prefer uptight, repressed, musical-loving, Jody bromance-having, Jeremy. He’s such an odd character but he grew on me. Although, it was kind of cute when Anna said the one thing she did like about his brief transformation was his earring. Awwww….

Cortney, Morgan and Tamra’s wedding included the return of Morgan’s crazy criminal cousin Lou Tookers (It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia‘s Rob McElhenney). His officiating was, of course, inappropriate, which as it turns out, is appropriately Morgan. What did you think about the wedding and reception? Is it wrong I’m a little upset that even though Morgan trusted Mindy with the big speech, he didn’t include her in the choreographed dance portion of the evening? I was insulted for Mindy.

Cortney: I agree! Especially because I think Mindy probably has some killer moves that we need to see. So my two questions here are: 1. WHY wouldn’t Morgan include Mindy in the dance?! His world pretty much revolves around Mindy and impressing and including her so I don’t even get why he wouldn’t. 2. When the heck did they all practice and learn this dance without Mindy noticing?! I don’t get it, but that being said, I LOVED it! Normally I am not one for big choreographed dance numbers, but this was fantastic! I love how seamlessly everyone transitioned into it and I have to say, Morgan is much smoother and slicker than I expected! He actually looked cool! He isn’t so good with words (or at least not PG ones), so this was a perfect way to showcase his love for his “new cellmate” for their “life sentence”. lol.

Now on to Mindy’s speech. I’m not entirely sure what to say about it. It was sweet and on point (Tamra really did used to think she was better than everyone! And Morgan really has matured!), but it also, as many things do, came to be too much about Mindy. Yes, I get the epiphany was necessary (which we’ll discuss more later), but I still feel like she could’ve delivered more for Morgan….normally I wouldn’t expect that, but this is the series finale and his big day, so I feel like a little more from Mindy about what a good friend Morgan has been or that he is a good guy (although I *guess* fixer-upper is a compliment!) would have been nice. That being said, Morgan seemed to love it so I guess that’s what matters!

Also, can we briefly discuss the “dork fest” that was Mindy’s table at the wedding — hot hot hot! Normally Mindy would’ve been all over that! And of course, she was only there because Beverly’s son ended up showing up with his kids and evacuating Mindy from the practice seat she tried to hijack. What did you think of the wedding?

Tina: Again, why was Mindy excluded from the table where all of her coworkers were sitting? Is it because Morgan wanted to give single Mindy a chance to score? I mean I wouldn’t have minded sitting at that table. At all. But much like the awesome choreographed dance, she was excluded. But it didn’t really matter, she didn’t stick around the reception for too long.

Mindy already knew Danny saved Later Baby by buying the equity in her fertility clinic. They had a great conversation about how this wasn’t him trying to control her. Because if it was, she wasn’t here for that. (Go Mindy!) I do think you’re right, Cortney, and this is where my wish for more time comes in. I would have preferred the speech for Morgan be about Morgan and not help wake up Mindy to her feelings for Danny. But there was no time, so I guess I’ll have to just be happy with the fact that the end of the series finale was rom com-tastic. She had to get to Danny who was at his mom’s bedside, drugged up with the good stuff, thanks to her mastectomy surgery.

Loved Mindy riding the bike, hopping a subway, and when a NYC cab wouldn’t stop for her (which is so very realistic), she ran the rest of the way to the hospital, where Danny was tres clueless. Now Cortney, here’s the million dollar question. Did Danny do enough for you to forgive his past transgressions and controlling ways and be satisfied with Mindy and Danny as end game?

Cortney: Tina, you know I’ve had issue with Danny for the past two seasons and as much as I hate to admit it, I didn’t feel like they gave us enough to want them back together. Yes, he bought equity in her fertility clinic and claimed it wasn’t to control her, but then practically every other word out of his mouth was an attempt to change or control her (more on that later).

On the flip side, I also don’t feel like Mindy’s feelings were genuine…the “realization” came out of the blue and I feel like in order for me to believe it, I needed to see the stirrings of these feelings or a hint of connection beforehand. Yes, there were one or two nice moments in the past few weeks, but overall, it just felt too rushed for me. I wish they had taken longer to build this up. Mostly because the rest of the episode, he was kind of a jerk to her.

Don’t get me wrong, I loved Ma & Richie telling Danny that he was being a total idiot and not getting that her leaving the wedding was a romantic gesture, but then even after she admitted that she never stopped loving him, he immediately started complaining about complaining about cupcake shops in the West Village and insisting she change her last name.

Yes, Danny is a curmudgeon, we all know that, but still, if he and Mindy are going to end up together, I expect him to compromise and soften a bit…Mindy is a strong, smart woman and she shouldn’t have to bend to all his crazy, old-school Italian expectations (and I can say this because I’m Italian)! What did you think? And how did you feel about her admission of never having stopped loving him?

Tina: I think with the Tribeca vs. West Village too many cupcake shops argument they were trying to show that Danny’s still a curmudgeon, but at the same time, he’ll budge for the love of his life. I mean, he did say the ‘cupcake shops are fine.’ I don’t begrudge you your opinion, however, because had this been a regular season I wouldn’t have forgiven so easily.

Quick Aside: Um, do you like how I use ‘curmudgeon’, ‘budge’ and ‘begrudge’ in the same paragraph? No? Just me?

Anyway, I wish there had been another couple episodes for Mindy and Danny Part Deux to happen. At the very least, I would have settled for an hourlong series finale. I just needed a little more time for these two to come together more naturally.

Having said that, I still like that they were endgame. I still think the chemistry is there. I like knowing these two are back together. I don’t think they really mentioned Leo at all but I’m sure he’s happy his parents are back together. Probably as happy as I am.

All in all, I’m super sad The Mindy Project is over. It did give us a definitive ending, albeit rushed. I’m sad that this group of actors won’t be working together on the same project again. I mean, Mindy Kaling and Anders Holm are working together again, on a show called Champions, and that makes me happy. But I’m sad this entire group of actors and behind-the-scenes crew won’t be working together like this again.

Speaking of which, I may be wrong, but I think executive producer / co-Mindy Project showrunner Matt Warburton made a cameo in this finale. He was one of the potential doctors looking to buy into Later Baby.

Ultimately, what I’m excited about is to see future Mindy Kaling projects, the ones she produces like Champions and the ones she simply stars in like A Wrinkle in Time.

What are your final thoughts on The Mindy Project?

Cortney: I don’t even know how to put in to words how much I’ve enjoyed watching this show and how grateful I am that Hulu gave us a chance to enjoy a few more seasons. I’m a tough cookie when it comes to comedies, but this one won me over hook, line and sinker.

You are absolutely right, the actors/characters are really what made this show and I’m going to miss them. A lot. But mostly, it was Mindy. Her quirkiness, her ability to make fun of herself and ultimately, the fact that she made what could otherwise be a not-very-likeable character in to someone we totally adore is what made this show. She was funny, she was embarrassing, she was selfish, she was loving, she was offensive, she was caring but most of all, she was genuine. She was who she was she and she didn’t ever apologize for it, which is what I think really made it work. I loved everything about her, including her friendships, her relationships and her unabashed love of food.

As you stated, she started as a single woman desperate for love and ended as a hardworking mom who was comfortable enough in herself that she no longer needed love and in that, found it anyways. While I’m sad to see Mindy go, I will still believe she’s out there somewhere, living happily with Danny and Leo and sticking her arm up into vending machines when the situation calls for it (otherwise known as any time, day or night).

I, too, am excited to see Champions and A Wrinkle In Time, as well as the real world Mindy Project aka her soon-to-be-role of real life mom. Mindy Kaling is a superstar in my opinion and can do no wrong, so whatever project she comes up with next, count me in. Until then, I’ll be here, rewatching The Mindy Project from the beginning while eating cupcakes and channeling my inner Beyonce Pad Thai.