THE MINDY PROJECT: While I Was Sleeping Recap

The Mindy Project‘s season four premiere may have picked up straight where season three left off – Danny finally meeting Mindy’s parents and ready to announce his intentions – but boy does it move along and there are some pretty big changes by the episode’s end. Let’s not jump too ahead of ourselves though and start at the beginning.

Thanks to Morgan, Mindy discovers that Danny actually isn’t in Texas for Peter’s wedding with the rest of the Schulman and Associates team, which combined with pregnancy hormones leads Mindy to declare that her life would have been so much better if she had fallen in love with someone else instead of Danny. Little does Mindy know, Danny has instead travelled to India intending to meet her parents for the first time and confess that he is the father of Mindy’s baby and that he will look after the two forever, even if he doesn’t believe in marriage. Keyword being “intending”. When face-to-face with the Mr Lahiri, Danny chickens out and simply introduces himself as Mindy’s co-worker. Bad move Danny. Once the theatrical Mama Lahiri meets him, he somehow finds himself roped into helping Mindy’s parents find a respectable arranged marriage suitor for her. Soon enough, Morgan arrives in India (in typical Morgan fashion after a dramatic detour via Pakistan) and is unimpressed with Danny’s deception. He is so unimpressed that he finds a suitor for Mindy – a hedge funder named Sendhil (played by The Big Bang Theory‘s Kunal Nayar). When Danny realises that Sendhil could be the real deal, he finally confesses the truth to Mindy’s parents. Although initially feeling betrayed, they accept Danny (and his ignorance about their culture) and give him their blessing to be with their daughter, even if he doesn’t intend to marry her.

Meanwhile, back in New York, Mindy awakes in an alternate universe where she is now married and living her dream life – married to a hottie named Matt (played by Joseph Gordon-Levitt), who also happens to be a producer on The Real Housewives, and living in fancy digs above Grammercy Park. It turns out the pair met on a flight from LA two years (yes THAT flight) and have been together ever since. When Mindy gets to work she discovers that Danny is not exactly her biggest fan – think season one vibes. (Which by the way, as much as I LOVE Mindy and Danny together, I have to admit AU Danny’s prickliness made me miss the early days of the show.) This alternate world is basically a Sliding Doors tribute and explores what Mindy’s life would have been like if Danny had never kissed her. Mindy then takes this world as a sign that without her, Danny Castellano is a “miserable meatball”, but without him her life is so much better. That is until she realises she is having an affair with Brendan Deslaurier, she and Matt have an open relationship (FYI Mindy’s idea after watching a Michael Fassbender movie) and that kids are out of the question – things that Mindy would never stand for in the real world. Realising she needs to take control of her destiny and make things right again, she goes to find Danny, only to find him on a date with Freida Pinto (they met in spin class). In typical Mindy fashion, no matter the universe, Mindy makes a scene, which leads to her and Danny outside in your typical rom-com trope – arguing in the pouring rain followed by an epic kiss (or two). Unable to handle it, Danny then freaks out and walks away (yep, again no matter the universe) and Mindy chases after him, only to be hit by a bus. Yes, you read that right. Although, if you’ve seen Sliding Doors, you probably would have seen that coming.

Thankfully, Mindy Kaling being the genius that she is, brings the show back to reality and Mindy (Lahiri) wakes up and realises it was all a dream and that Danny has now returned home. (Is it just me, or was that one supersonic flight from India back to New York?) The Sliding Doors experience has made Mindy realise that as long as Danny is in her life, she doesn’t care if he never wants to get married. Lucky for her, after seeing that two strangers can first meet on their wedding day and still be happily married 40 years later, Danny has now changed his tune. As the rain beats against the window outside, Danny proposes and Mindy happily accepts. Yay! Like I said, boy did this episode move things along in the show and I can’t wait to see what happens next this season!

Say It Again! (aka My Favourite Quotes):

• “Where am I? Did I break into Mariah Carey’s penthouse again and fall asleep?” – Mindy when she wakes up in the alternate universe
• “It’s like 13 Going on 30, except I’m still the same age in both worlds. I’m 26.” – Mindy when she realises she’s in an alternate world
• “Were you on the jury for my public urination trial? Thanks for nothing by the way.” – Mindy to Matt during their first encounter
• “I decided the part was too small and I didn’t get it. What a relief.” – Sonu Lahiri, we all know where Mindy gets her drama queen personality from now…
• “Bad. Frosty, Hostile, Not good. Did I say bad?” – alternate universe Danny has different views on their relationship
• “The only test I cheated on was my vision test and that’s like a victimless crime.” – Mindy when she realises the truth about her “perfect” life
• “You only tick open relationship as a joke on Facebook! Like I’m in an open relationship with chilli fries.” – Mindy’s not happy when she discovers the truth about her marriage
• “His office hours are poorly attended because he teaches it right the first time.” – Sonu Lahiri about her husband’s smarts.
• “I am so not heavy! If you ate more, this wouldn’t hurt so much.” – Mindy to Freida Pinto
• “But when two strangers can meet on their wedding day and can still be in love 40 years later, maybe I’m wrong. I’d like to be wrong. Mindy Lahiri…Will you marry me?” – Danny Castellano, way to make a girl swoon!

New episodes of The Mindy Project are released on Hulu every Tuesday.