The Last Man on Earth: Season 1, Episode 4: Sweet Melissa
This show is just definitely staying fresh so far. The hits just keep on coming for Phil Miller. Once he’s married, not only does an exponentially better looking and less crazy woman show up, but he finds out that she’s been in town for an entire week longer than Carol. Jeez Phil, you should’ve put an address on those “Alive in Tucson” signs! The episode is very interesting as Carol and Melissa instantly bond. The way Phil behaves is completely different, as he suddenly cares about what someone else thinks of him.
Melissa is obviously turned off by Phil’s poorly conceived flirtations, but she begins to open up to him a bit more, once Carol mentions how sincere he actually can be. Phil’s change becomes much more obvious when he enters the room free of his massive beard and wearing slacks and a polo shirt. Before he was all too willing to go “shopping” in undies and shoes and nothing else. This is a hilarious scene due to the fact that neither of the women find his new look or behavior to be attractive.
What’s interesting is Carol’s acceptance of her new husband’s obvious attraction to the new girl in town. As crazy as she has been thus far, she behaves in a reasonable manner. After what she did to Phil’s ex in the previous episode, you would’ve expected her to explode, but it makes sense that she feels more secure in her marriage. She even goes as far as to tell Melissa that they’re only married because she doesn’t want to have “bastard children.”
This episode completely flipped Phil’s personality around, he becomes a complete goofball in his advances, but in the end we are reminded that he’s not a terrible guy. He cares about Carol’s emotional well-being. He sees that she truly is in her marriage one hundred percent and he recognizes his responsibility to her, even though he only married her because she was the only woman available.
I hope this leads into his lust getting the best of him at some point and I REALLY hope this means there are many more women to come. The show’s title only promises the last man, after all. I have high hopes for the potential of this hilarious and genuinely interesting series!
Jonathan Thomas Jones is a speculative fiction author and founder of geekhavenreviews.com. He has been passionate about all things geek for his entire life. See more about him at jonathanthomasjones.com and follow him on twitter @jtgloryjones.
