Splitting Up Together – Letting Go

By: Taylor Gates

Martin (Oliver Hudson) grabs Lena (Jenna Fischer) from the garage, telling her to come listen to Mae (Olivia Keville) singing in her room. When they open her door, she pretends to be reading. They act like they’re walking away, and she starts singing again. Martin and Lena are so impressed they start clapping, and Mae admits that she’s participating in the spring musical.

Mae reveals that she got the lead but didn’t tell them because she didn’t want to deal with the two of them. They act more like a couple now that they aren’t one, which she finds abnormal. Her school therapist Rydakto (Fred Armisen) agrees.

Lena and Martin go talk to Rydakto, who tells him that the kids find it confusing and difficult to comprehend their relationship when they insist on doing things like a couple. Rydakto suggests they create some boundaries and not attend the performance together. Lena is upset, as she wants to watch Mae’s first show despite it being Martin’s week. Rydakto tells them to focus on becoming individuals.

Martin and Lisa (Monica Barbaro) go antiquing, and Lisa buys him a hook on which to put his keys so he can remember where they are. When Lena comes inside to drop off Martin’s dry cleaning, she’s irritated by the new addition to the wall and Lisa’s increasing presence.

After seeing Mason’s (Van Crosby) relationship with his girlfriend going well, Martin asks him for some dating advice. He feels like Lisa is overstepping and he wants to hit the breaks on their relationship. Mason tells him he should ghost Lisa and stop replying to her texts. Mason grabs his phone and sees Lisa texted him four hours ago and he still hasn’t responded, informing him that he’s accidentally already mid-ghost.

Lena complains about Lisa to Camille (Lindsay Price). She’s even more furious when Camille reveals she friended Lisa on Facebook and had dinner with her and Martin. Camille tells Lena she’ll drop her as a friend if she wants to, but she now honestly thinks Lena and Martin are better off apart and Lisa is good for Martin.

While painting pottery, Lena sees a flier for an art show. She used to love seeing real art, but Martin didn’t like going, so she stopped. She realizes that she has to start taking herself the places she wants to go and decides to go to a gallery that night.

While there, she runs into Wes (Trent Garrett), who asks her how she’s been and why she didn’t call him. She says that she just had a bunch of stuff to figure out and is in the process of doing that. It’s clear they both still feel a spark, but Wes has a new girlfriend named Meegan (Patty Guggenheim). In order to keep things from getting too awkward, they lie and say Lena works at the deli Wes goes to. However, Lena subtly invites him to reconnect with her if he changes his mind about Meegan.

Martin sees Mae perform and congratulates her afterwards. In the hallway, some nosy parents ask where Lena is, which makes Martin uncomfortable. He goes to Rydakto’s office, who shrinks him and says that he has personal relationship anxiety. Martin also reveals he’s anxious about their turtle being trapped in a cage all the time, and Rydako thinks he’s projected his own feelings and fears onto the animal.

Lena is admiring the piece of art she bought when Mae comes in and thanks Lena for respecting her wishes and not coming to the show. Lena apologizes if it’s weird for her that she and Martin don’t hate each other, and Mae just doesn’t understand why they have to be divorced since they get along well and basically still live together. Lena says she doesn’t want to be married to someone who can live with her—she wants someone who can’t live without her.

Martin sets the turtle free and apologizes to Lisa for ghosting her. Lisa doesn’t even realized he had been ghosting her and promises they can take things as slow as he wants in their relationship. He assures her he doesn’t want to take it slow; he was just nervous.

Lena tells Camille she’s going to stop being immature about Lisa, sure that she has great traits. Lena hears the key hook fall, and Camille reveals that she hung her purse on it that had hand weights and a few bricks she stole inside it. Lena thanks her for being a loyal and sometimes petty friend.