BWW Recap: THE LAST MAN ON EARTH Is 'Falling Slowly'

After the last two episodes drew out the introduction of Mike, the latest episode of THE LAST MAN ON EARTH continues a slow trend of storytelling. The entirety of the episode focuses on Carol trying to conceive, with no B-plot. Extending the show's season beyond thirteen episodes has caused the last couple weeks to feel worn thin.

After Mike and Phil resolved their conflict last week, they're tighter than ever this week. Their brotherly love is on full display-throughout the episode, they sing a duet of Falling Slowly (from the movie Once). The song is about a couple slowly falling in love with each other. It's a funny choice of song for the brothers to sing, but beyond that it's meaning extends to the relationship between Carol and Phil. Phil tells Mike that he's never said "I love you" to Carol. After spending most of the series together, this is both obvious and a surprise at realizing it.

After Carol and Phil found out Phil is sterile, Carol approached Todd on her own last week to introduce the concept of Todd impregnating her. Carol asks Phil about this, and Phil agrees. Of course, he pictures the insemination via a turkey baster. Carol shoots this down, and says the best way to get pregnant is full-on sex. Phil discusses with himself, and then agrees.

While half of the Malibu Crew are very future-oriented, Carol is still stuck in the old world. Way back in Season 1, she made Phil marry her before they could try to get pregnant. Because Carol is still Carol, she won't have sex with Todd unless they're married. For what it's worth, Carol and Phil are a great match for each other if only for their undying connection to the rules of the old world.

Much to the chagrin of Gail and Melissa, Carol puts on an elaborate wedding on the beach. There are twenty times as many chairs as their needs to be, a flowery arch, and a podium. Once Phil and Carol reach the front, they make out in front of everyone. This is a sly way for Phil to mark his territory-even though his soul mate is marrying someone else to conceive, she is still his. During the ceremony, Phil realizes the best option for Carol is for Mike to impregnate her. They don't say it in the show, but the fact that Mike and Phil have similar DNA must be a huge factor in this decision. Even though the theoretical child wouldn't be Phil's, it would still be related to him. For people still sticking to marital conventions, bloodline of course would be important.

At the wedding reception, equally elaborate with tons of balloons, Todd is off on his own, dancing angrily. It's clear that Phil's decision for Carol to marry Mike hurt him. To Todd, he sees his best friend choosing someone over him. This is a great play on their relationship, especially after Todd and Phil were allies for most of the season.

Carol being Carol, she needs to get to know Mike before they have sex. During this conversation, which is probably their first interaction alone together, Mike flirts with her like crazy. Mike's character is the likable guy, so his flirting with her is just natural for him. Phil sees them flirting, and he feels threatened. To continue his streak of controlling Carol, he brings Carol and Mike a "wedding gift" the next morning: full body spandex suits with holes at the crotch so they can have sex while still covered. This is Phil's insecurities coming out and trying to control a situation he's worried is out of his control.

Phil's feelings extend to the actual moment Mike and Carol try to conceive. He compares his situation to the film Indecent Proposal. Through this analogy, he concretely says he's afraid he's going to lose Carol after she has sex with Mike. The actual sex is one of the most hilarious scenes on the show-Carol likes to use picnic language. While Phil watches as Carol and Mike try to have sex, he finally tells Carol that he loves her. It's a really sweet moment that was a long time coming. Carol says it back and they hug, all while Carol is still on top of Mike

This is a big step forward for Phil's emotional progress. For him to finally admit his love for his double-ex-wife and soon to be again-wife is big character development. At the end of the episode, we even find out that Carol and Phil were able to conceive, and that Phil wasn't sterile. It's a wonderful cap-off moment to the development of their relationship this episode.

With two episodes left, it's kind of surprising the show decided to spend such a drawn-out amount of time on this plot, leaving the other four supporting players sitting around for most of the episode. The final shot though, of Gail seeing a drone (which means more people!) hints at the last two episodes including everyone again!

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What did you think of THE LAST MAN ON EARTH tonight? Let me know in the comments below, or on Twitter @gunnar_larson. Also, don't forget to follow @BWWTVWorld on Twitter and Like us on Facebook for all of the latest TV news, reviews, and recaps. Tune in TWO weeks from tonight for the next episode.

Photo Credit: THE LAST MAN ON EARTH official Twitter

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