Season 2 opens with Alex getting a surprise birthday visit on the set of his new movie in New Orleans; Michelle working on her plan to make the charter school a reality; Tina clashing with Alex's new girlfriend at his welcome home party.
As in life, conflict resolution often comes down to people speaking in a normal tone of voice, or not talking, or just embracing what's obvious and unstated, which makes it no less powerful. Lovely, lovely, lovely.
Over a decade ago, Ricky Gervais and Steve Merchant's The Office brought about a new era of cringe comedy, but with Togetherness, that balance swings too far into cringe and not enough into comedy.
The series is very good at what it does, but I can't help thinking that more Gonzaga, Peet and Gallagher - in upbeat story form - would go exceptionally well with less dire versions of the excellent Lynskey, Zissis and Duplass.
Togetherness, co-created by Zissis and brothers Mark and Jay Duplass, for all the unhappiness its characters regularly experience, is full of happy surprises.
The show doesn't ask you to step into a boldly realized fantasy world, or attempt to seduce you with sex and melodrama. Its goals are more straightforward. If there is any credo to the series, it's that the only thing certain thing in life is uncertainty.
While Mark and Jay Duplass certainly do push their show to new and exciting highs and lows, Togetherness is still the same magnificent creation we fell in love with a year ago.
