ALONE TOGETHER Season 2: A Wonderfully Funny & Realistic Depiction Of Friendship

I enjoyed the first season of Alone Together and I was happily awaiting its return. When the first four episodes were made available on Hulu and Freeform’s website/app, I took the plunge, and watched them all. When the season began to air on Freeform, the rest of the season was made available on these same services, and once again, I succumbed to the quick gratification of binge watching.

The show created by Esther Povitsky, Benji Aflalo, and Eben Russell stands out with its focus on friendship and characters focused on themselves and their own needs. The characters of Alone Together are realistic, with their own highs and lows in every episode. This makes watching their stories unfold feel that much better, and possibly make you feel better about your own highs and lows.

A Source of Realistic Friendship

Esther Povitsky and Benji Afalo give charming and hilarious performances. The friendship between the two comes across so genuinely, and never feels like we are supposed to expect a change in their relationship, like many other shows and films focusing on close friendships. Alone Together shows friendship as the sometimes rocky thing that it is.

Season two follows the same characterization and tone of season one. Within the first two minutes of the season premiere, we are already reintroduced to the characters we came to know in season one. One quick scene flows well and easily captures the defining traits of each character that we came to know and love throughout the first season.

“Drama Story” is a strong episode for Benji and Esther’s dynamic, especially since we get to see them in a different setting, as high school drama substitutes. Their personalities come out as Benji ends up in a feud with a high school student and Esther ends up trying to mentor a student in their drama class, but nothing she does really helps the student at all.

In “Dog Awards”, we get to see Esther and Benji work together. I liked how they showed the difference between them in their first year writing for the dog awards and everyone who has been writing for years. Esther brings heart to the awards by focusing on the adversity some of the dogs have gone through, while Benji brings strong ideas to the show, but his planned out jokes are taken by a fellow writer.

In “Flashback”, Esther and Benji haven’t been talking for 6 weeks, and by the end, they had forgotten what the fight was even about. When we learn what their fight was over, it is an argument much like the ones we see them having in every episode. There’s a realism to having friends quit talking over one argument like many they have had before, and coming back together, completely forgetting what the argument was even about. Benji and Esther’s argument had been on whether or not a panini needs a specific type of bread to be considered a panini.

Character Development, But Not Too Much Too Fast

Season two has a slight focus on the relationships between its central characters, as well as a budding relationship for Jeff (Edgar Blackmon). His relationship with Tara (Punam Patel) begins when Benji and Esther introduce the two when setting up a theatrical murder house after accidentally buying a house for Dean’s (Chris D’Elia) real estate company without realizing it was a murder house. When Jeff and Tara’s relationship blooms, Esther and Benji have no recollection of introducing them, and barely any recollection of who Tara is at all.

In “Nurse Esther”, Esther has to help nurse Dean back to health. At first, Esther sees this as a way to get closer to him, but as the episode goes on, it works sort of as a repellent for her crush, because Dean being sick and whining reminds her too much of Benji. I especially liked how this episode shows us that pretty much every character acts selfishly at one point or another. I love the connection between Dean’s girlfriend leaving him to go to Palm Springs when he is sick, and Esther, who says she is better for him by sticking around, is acting in just as selfish of a manner by staying with him.

I felt this episode was especially strong for the relationship developments between characters. Dean and Benji get a little closer, but their dynamic does not shift too much to feel like it is out of character. They bond just enough to remind the audience that they are brothers who don’t always hate each other, and at least occasionally might stand up for one another. In the next episode, “Daypassers”, their relationship feels a little bit closer, especially when Dean helps Benji and says that nobody can make fun of his family but him. This was a really nice moment for their relationship, and feels especially realistic for a brotherly bond.

In season two of Alone Together, Esther gets her dream job as a dancing waitress at a 50s themed diner. It’s nice to see her get this job, and succeed, even if it is fairly briefly, but having her not keep the job for too long feels right for the character. I enjoyed seeing her actually get the job, but I also felt it fit the character perfectly that she lost her job in part for drinking milkshakes during her shift without paying for them.

“Mom”, where Fran Drescher guest stars as Esther’s mom, is another strong episode in season two. A stand out of this episode is how her mom comes to visit at first because she disapproves of how Esther acted when trying to use a coupon, but by the end, the two are bonding over how Esther got a $20 gift card from her livestream and how she scored free nachos for her mom after complaining about the bartender not giving her mom happy hour price for her drink. One of my favorite lines, which shows the bond between mother and daughter in a quick joke is when Esther says she paged all the Joann Fabrics within driving distance when trying to find her mom.

A Blend of Realism and Absurd Humor

Alone Together is great at mixing realistic scenarios and characterization with slightly more absurd situations. Two episodes in season two that stand out are “Murder House” and “Big Bear”.

In “Murder House”, Esther and company put on a theatrical performance inside a house where a murder was possibly committed. In a turn of events, it was more a bloody accident house, but throughout the episode, performances are put on with actors adding their own, more Halloween Decoration influences to their characters.

I loved how the house in this episode ended up being the location of a very ordinary accident, rather than the murder that was reported. The differences between Esther and Benji come across so well here, because Esther is disappointed the house is no longer the location of a murder, so they can’t continue doing nightly performances, while Benji is happy the house can be sold like they originally planned, because a murder is no longer included in the house listing.

“Big Bear”, the season finale, brings back Jeff and Tara’s relationship, as Esther and Benji invite themselves along to a weekend trip to Big Bear, where Jeff and Tara are supposed to be spending the weekend with another couple, Megan (Abby Elliott) and Chris (Danny Pudi). This episode goes from a rather mundane weekend trip to one where everyone teams up to make their own horror films in the cabin where they are staying for the weekend.

I loved seeing Jeff have a bigger part in an episode, and I thought showing more of his relationship with Tara was a great decision. Introducing Megan and Chris brought this episode to the next level. I loved how an episode focused around relationships ended up one with characters screaming, both when making their films, and because of emotionally stressful moments. This finale shows how well Alone Together blends its more realistic comedy focused around modern relationships and types of people with its focus on exploring different and unique scenarios in order to find the comedy within them.

Alone Together Season 2: Conclusion

Season two of Alone Together captures the realism and humor of its first season, while also developing its characters as well as their relationships with each other. Esther Povitsky and Benji Aflalo have created memorable and realistic characters, and might remind us of our own lifelong friendships with those who appreciate us, but will tell us what we need to hear.

Have you seen season two of Alone Together? If so, did you watch weekly or did you binge on Hulu or Freeform? Did you like the show? Do you think it’s a good representation of friendship? Please share your thoughts in the comments!