How To Live A Better Life - Season 2, Episode 10: "Jordan Rides A Bike" Review

Watch The Episode Here

This show, man. No matter how utterly preposterous it can get, there's always one really good episode to reel me back in. Last week the show committed hara-kiri, and this week, it's as if it heard my complaints, fixed all of its issues and put out a great episode, from beginning to end. For all that "Jordan's Commercial" did for the show storytelling-wise, "Jordan Rides A Bike" does the same with the jokes. I repeat: this episode is hilarious.

Did you catch that I said this episode is great from beginning to end? Yeah! The intro, while a little weak, didn't suck, and the outro was of the short and sweet fare. All the while everything in between was wonderful. I'm fairly confident in saying that this is the second-best episode of the season. Which is a relief, because with only three episodes left, this season needs some good grades.

So, it's Jordan's birthday, and Mike forgot. In fact, I don't think Mike ever knew what it was in the first place. Jordan is upset, leaving Mike to figure out what to get Jordan on such short notice. So he does what any normal person would do and without even deciding what to get, he tells Jordan that he has a gift for him. Much to his delight, Jordan follows Mike outside to see it. Mike decides on a bike that is just lying on the ground. Jordan thinks it looks like his neighbor's bike, who parks his in that spot from time to time, (the bike is lying on its side. If that's considered parking, then why do some colleges require essays to get in? I mean, I have the money! I'm going to pay your institution! I'm probably going to write many essays in there, so just let me in!) but Mike dismisses it. I was fully prepared for him to say "Irrelevant!", but instead he said "Coincidence.". Wise choice, Mike. That word is getting you guys nowhere fast.

Jordan accepts the present, but spoiler alert: he doesn't know how to ride a bike. He tries to joke his way out of it, only to wind up confessing to Mike his secret. Mike then proceeds to call him a loser and laugh at him, which was completely out of nowhere and out of character. I don't know why they chose for him to do that, but that's alright because it gave way to some wonderful crying by Jordan. This episode was great for Jordan, because he's really gifted at over-the-top acting. The noises he made coming back into the house were priceless. I loved it. As Mike comes back to apologize, he agrees to show Jordan how to ride the bike.

Here's where things get wacky: Mike doesn't know how to ride a bike either! It was amusing to watch the role-reversal at play here. After Mike confesses his secret, he convinces Jordan to nut up. Mike will help Jordan to ride the bike, and they do. The song selection for the montage that followed was perfect, and there couldn't have been a more perfect time for it to kick in. It was a nice character moment for both Mike and Jordan. The overall lighthearted-ness of it made me feel fuzzy inside. However, I don't see why they chose to cut it off so short. I would have liked to see the montage play out to most of/all of the song. But oh well! Easy come, easy go.

This episode was just fun to watch. The jokes were just rapid fire and damn near every one of them hit with me. Now, if they could just somehow fuse the writing (hah!) with the storytelling and camerawork of "Jordan's Commercial", we could see a whole new level of the show.

Stray Observations:

• In the intro, Jordan reveals that he's on the Atkins diet, and is going to exercise with a DVD of "The Exorcist". Oh, misunderstandings.
• "How old are you?" "I don't know, but today's my birthday and you forgot!"
• Jordan's birthday card from his grandma contained a fist that then punched him in the face. Ridiculous, but somehow it worked.
• Gratuitous zoom in on Jordan's mouth? Check. Hilarious.
• There were so many funny lines spoken in this episode, it would be madness if I tried to quote them all.
• Apparently bikes in England you pedaled with your hands.
• Overall Episode Grade: A-