Her Best Friend's Bottom

Coupling Episode Review

In which Sally is like Australia.

What Happened

There is some confusion about Steve's keys and Susan's phone and Sally's shower. The result is that Sally comes out of the shower to answer the phone and Steve ends up seeing her naked. It's a whole new awkward.

Jeff, after introducing the concept of Captain Subtext, explains how the prickles, the blurts, and the head laugh will give away any attempt to lie to Susan. As Sally is finding out at just that moment when Susan asks her about her day. The tale of the encounter comes tumbling out.

Steve and Jeff go to the furniture shop to meet the girls. As the sales clerks hover, Steve manfully tries to summon an opinion about couch fabric. He's undecided when it comes to spots, he notes. Captain Subtext swoops in for a moment as everyone dodges the subject of Sally's bottom. Finally, Susan demands that someone somehow somewhere give her a decisive honest opinion about something.

She triggers a dissertation on the cushion from Steve. ("What are they? Pets for chairs?") When Steve must finally blurts that he saw Sally naked, Susan tells him she already knows. It was just an accident, wasn't it? Sally then is forced to admit that was a bit more than just a quick look at the bottom. She had just left Patrick in the bedroom, unable to perform, so she took blatant advantage of Steve to test whether the problem was her or Patrick.

Patrick wanders into the store at that point and admits that he's having trouble with his car.

Captain Subtext overloads.

What We Learned

• Men can't have opinions about fabric. They haven't got the equipment.
• Having a bottom is like living with the enemy.
• I think you'll find not everybody has a subconscious.
• It's well past time Patrick was getting off.
• As Susan's best friend, Sally is like Australia. Very distant. largely uninhabitable, and with areas of great danger.
• Steve can visit her Sydney. Or her Melbourne. But he's not welcome in her bush.

Best Lines

Clerk: "I like women with a sense of humor."
Susan: "You'll attract them."

Jeff: "Sally's there. With her ass."
Steve: "It would be quite scary if she left it at home."

What Did I Think?

Practically perfect in every way. Works Steve and Susan's foilables, Patrick's peculiar denseness, Sally's paranoia about her attractiveness, and Jeff's innate Jeffness to beautiful effect.