The Mindy Project Recap: Christmas Party Sex Trap – 2×11

What a great episode of “The Mindy Project” this week! Big laughs (as usual), sweet, romantic moments for many of the characters, some significant Danny/Mindy (Mandy? Dandy? Minny? Hm, anyway you slice it, it makes another word) action, and a little holiday cheer. What more could we want?

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In the cold open, Mindy tries to buy a Christmas tree for the office, only to discover that they already have one. The scene with her buying the tree—the whole episode, really—perfectly illustrates something they do so brilliantly on this show: so many moments are recreated straight out of classic rom-coms—yet they always go just a little bit wrong.

By the way, did you notice? Mindy and Danny walk past an Irish pub called “Kathleen Kelly.” I love it! Get the reference?

Mindy decides that the practice will host a building-wide Christmas party, essentially so that she can snag Lawyer Cliff into a romantic situation. She learns from him that morning that he and Heather have been arguing (not too surprising since he never seemed that interested in Heather in the first place), and thinks they might break up. Her resolve to “Christmas Party Sex Trap” Cliff is furthered by running into Brendan Deslaurier in the elevator with his new girlfriend, “Extra’s” Maria Menounos. To save face, Mindy blurts out that she is already dating a lawyer.

Mindy explains to Danny her four-step plan to woo Cliff, which includes her singing a rendition of “Santa Baby.” Naturally, none of the steps are going right, and by the time she’s supposed to sing, Cliff has already left. Because of Mindy’s plan, Cliff speaks to Brendan before finding Mindy, and Brendan asks if he’s Mindy’s new boyfriend. Of course, he’s not (yet), so he says no, and Brendan tells him that Mindy must be dating a different lawyer. Cliff, disappointed, leaves the party.

When she realizes Cliff already left, Mindy decides not to sing the song (how she got that recording to vamp for so long is beyond me), so Maria Menounos wings it, impressing everyone. Especially Peter, who is hot for her anyway, but he’s battling his own demons—the fact that he’s not drunk. He and Jeremy, who is suddenly thin again, made a pact to keep each other off their habits: Peter was not going to imbibe, and Jeremy was not going to eat. Peter somehow survives his, and not only talks to Maria but spends the night with her after Brendan breaks up with her for singing the song.

Jeremy, on the other hand, is not as strong, and destroys Danny’s beautiful, Christmas-tradition gingerbread architecture of Monticello. I was glad to see Jeremy thin again in the hopes they’d stop with the fat jokes, but they fell back on joking about his lack of self-control. Although I seem to recall Danny’s gingerbread house was destroyed last season too.

Mindy is depressed after Maria’s song, and after learning that Cliff went back to see Heather—what a disturbing image it is to see Mindy on the floor, sucking wine from a tube while pressing against her bosom. Danny tries to cheer her up by finally giving her his Secret Santa gift, after faking her out a few times. His gift is a performance of a dance routine to Aaliyah’s “Try Again,” which Mindy used to play incessantly and was the first thing that really annoyed him about Mindy. How sweet. Seriously, it was so awesome. Not only was it a sweet gesture (or several “sweet” “gestures,” get it?), but that boy can move! He’s hot, and it’s so cool. I love men who can dance.

Mindy loved it too, and she and Danny share a pretty intimate moment, until Peter and Jeremy bust in with the remains of Danny’s gingerbread monument. We know from the episode a few weeks ago that Danny recognizes that he has feelings for Mindy, and here Mindy reciprocates (and why not? That dance was hot!). She even asks Danny if he wants to go outside with her for a breath of fresh air, but he turns her down. He turns her down! As she’s leaving, he realizes that he missed an opportunity. It’s so interesting: he’s sad that they were interrupted, yet doesn’t recognize the chance to pick up where they left off. Wow.

Instead, Cliff finds Mindy on the balcony—just like in the final step of her plan. It turns out Cliff went to see Heather in order to break up with her, because he doesn’t want to miss any more opportunities with Mindy. So Mindy gets her romantic balcony kiss after all, and Danny sees it from the window above. Poor Danny.

I confess I’m conflicted. Of course Mindy needs to end up with Danny (and probably will eventually), but I actually like Cliff too. He’s not all bad, and they seem to suit each other. I also love Mindy and Danny’s friendship, which seems strong enough to survive whether they hook up or not. But still, poor Danny. But it’s ok, we all know Cliff is just a stumbling block to pass the time.

So what do you think, Mindy fans? Will Danny give up, or will he ever try to tell Mindy how he feels? Are you happy Mindy finally hooked up with Cliff? Are you glad to see more with Morgan and Tamra (one step at a time)? What were some of your favorite lines tonight?

Here are my favorite lines from “Christmas Party Sex Trap”:

“How Hindu are you, it’s a Christmas tree.”—Peter, to Mindy

“Why does this building have so many taxidermists in it?”—Peter

“I got a lot going on; work, and my bank just sent me a new credit card, so I have that to activate.”—Danny’s excuse for not building a gingerbread house

“Morgan, I can’t keep talking to you.”—Mindy

“The woman I’d create had I a Weird Science machine.”—Peter, about Maria Menounos

Danny: “What step of the man-trap are you on, hit him over the head with a rolling pin and pull down his pants?”
Mindy: “Ha ha ha, you know I don’t own any cooking stuff. Joke’s on you.”

“Stupid wine bra is out of wine. I knew I shoulda brought the Long Island Ice Panties.”—Mindy

“Gluten is my favorite food.”—Mindy

“Yeah, you’re kinda crazy. You were talking to a pigeon when I came out here.”—Cliff, to Mindy