Kimmy Schmidt: 3 Great Things about Season 4

The Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt returned to Netflix last week with the first 6 episodes of season 4. Even though this is the beginning of the end for the show, overall the show seems to have really hit the mark this season by being a little warmer and more relatable.

Titus

First, Titus. I’ve long held that Titus (Tituss Burgess) is the glue that makes this show work. The other characters are delightfully strange, but Titus can’t be beat. From educating Kimmy (Ellie Kemper) on white privilege to actually making moves in his career, even if he thinks it’s going to turn into porn (“and it never did!”). Titus starts out recovering from his epic failure at winning Mikey back on the party boat, but by the end he’s managed to find work and seems to have actually grown as a person. Yes, Titus, nerds are people. Titus is a delight and possibly one of my favorite characters of all time.

#metoo

A big part of Titus this season was teaching Kimmy about sexual harassment and white privilege. The show has always responded to current issues and events, but these were very deftly handled. They were presented in an original way and with as much gravity as this show could possibly manage (not much, but still well-handled). I was a little bothered by the way the Kimmy’s harassment of her coworkers was just dropped as the show moved on, but otherwise the show did a great job of commenting on the #metoo movement in a way that was light and yet enlightening. Titus explanation of white privilege and Kimmy’s revelations about it were quite well done, I thought. Way to use your privilege, Kimmy.

Jacqueline and Lillian

Finally, the show finally seems to have found out what to do with Lillian and Jacqueline. As Kimmy’s boss, Jacqueline (Jane Krakowski) was a key element of the show, but once she was no longer Kimmy’s employer, it was difficult to make her work in the context of the show. Becoming Titus’ agent does two great things for Jacqueline. It’s lets her be a part of the group, which honestly doesn’t work if she’s just a friend because Jacqueline just isn’t ever going to primarily be anyone’s friend, but it also lets her pursue her own goals and improve herself without it being about landing a rich husband. It’s a big improvement on the character because it lets her be just as shallow and self-important as ever, but without needing anyone else’s help to be that way. Lillian has always been a little awkward in the show, and her storylines have been bizarrely distracting at times. I’m glad to see her being more a part of the lives of other characters, while still maintaining her uniqueness. No one is going to gentrify Lillian, but maybe she’s becoming a little more relatable and connected to the others.

I know, the show is called the Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt and I’ve hardly mentioned her. I love Kimmy, and she kept doing what she does best, but it was more of the same. I loved it, as always, but the other characters did steal the show at times.

We finally saw the arrival of Busy Phillips as Artie’s wayward daughter, Sheba Goodman. It will be interesting to see where things go with her and Lillian as two women cut from the same cloth. I suspect some kind of antagonistic mother-daughter relationship will evolve, and it will be interesting to see Lillian interact with a younger version of herself. Jacqueline’s maternal feelings towards Xan could also be built on, and she actually seems to be settling in to her career. Could Jacqueline be ready to act her age, or at least something close to her age? Kimmy’s still got to deal with the revelations of the documentary, and she seems determined to take on the patriarchy all by herself. Will Titus get Mikey back? I’d prefer to see him meet someone a little more compatible, but I guess that is to be seen.

The second half of season 4 is set to return to Netflix on January 25, 2019.