In the primary season of Yellowjackets, by far the funniest second emerged instantly out of a second of stress. As Shauna tearfully confesses to her husband Jeff that she has not in reality been going to a e-book membership, however quite dishonest on him with Adam, a person she lately met, Jeff (Warren Kole) responds incredulously and logically: “What?! There’s no book club?”
It’s an amazing instance of the fragile tonal balances in Yellowjackets, and a part of what makes the present so good; in the center of an emotional scene, with each actors both crying or on the verge of tears, there’s a line (and line supply) so good that it forces you to snigger out loud.
And Jeff is again at it once more in season 2, just one episode in.
[Ed. note: Spoilers follow for the premiere of Yellowjackets season 2.]
A little bit greater than midway by means of the episode, Jeff and Shauna staff as much as destroy the numerous, many work and drawings Adam had of her in his artwork studio. They up having intercourse in the studio, and later, Jeff sits alone in his automotive in the storage, deep in thought concerning the expertise. Suddenly, he turns the radio on full blast, and Papa Roach’s “Cut My Life Into Pieces” blares out into the automotive. He begins nodding his head, banging on the steering wheel to the beat, earlier than exploding into the sort of solo drumming to Papa Roach you solely do if nobody is watching.
It may be arduous to make an on-the-nose needle drop work, particularly one as recognizable as that, however Kole sells it, going all out along with his facial expressions (sticking his lips out in what may solely be known as “serious rocker duck face”) as he performs up the hilarity of seeing a grown-ass man rock out to Papa Roach in the 12 months 2023. It’s the funniest second of the episode, proper alongside Misty angrily downvoting Elijah Wood’s Reddit Forrit publish.
There are two different moments of Jeff hilarity in the season 2 premiere: Right after the Papa Roach scene, Jeff and Shauna burn a few of Adam’s issues. They neglect good fireplace security, because the barbecue they’ve arrange is straight beneath a tree, which, after all, catches fireplace immediately.
But later, at a clumsy household dinner the place Jeff and Shauna are still in their post-makeup-sex glow, Jeff begins the daddest of pop jokes: “What’d the bun say to the hot dog?” What did it say? We’d all like to know, as a result of Jeff by no means discovered the punchline. Classic Jeff.
Jeff may have been a tough character to make likable, as a pseudo-idiot husband sometimes at odds with a principal character. It’d be straightforward for Jeff to be like many different TV spouses: an afterthought, a punchline, or just an impediment to their important different’s targets (and sometimes, the present’s).
But Warren Kole’s golden retriever-like efficiency and the methods in which Jeff does help Shauna assist elevate the character from a supply of punchlines to an important half of a big ensemble. He is the Goofus to the women’ Gallant, the Scooby of this Mystery Gang. Praise to Jeff, our doofus warrior on Yellowjackets.
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