30 Rock Tries to Make Sense of Love in Penultimate Episode | Bethany’s Cultural Critique

By Bethany Larson

We’re at the end of this television season, meaning that all story lines are starting to wrap up (or cliff hanger).

Although this is always a hard time to go through (what will I do without LOST? And what am I supposed to watch this summer? Oh that’s right…True Blood (!!) it’s actually a good thing for 30 Rock because the two story lines that are wrapping are Jack’s messy love triangle and Liz’s search for a husband.

Which are both kind of annoying.

So on last Thursday’s episode, “Emmanuelle Goes to Dinosaur Land” (if you don’t get the reference, click this strictly informational, but probably NSFW or children link here.)  when story lines started to come to a head, we got excited because it seems like decisions will be made and something will actually be accomplished on this week’s season finale.

The episode brought us Floyd’s wedding, Liz’s search through her dating rolodex for her perfect man, Jack further struggling with his impending decision to choose between Nancy and Avery, and Dot Com and Kenneth helping Tracy remember repressed memories from his South Bronx childhood.

Due to Liz’s dating history, we got to (briefly) see all of her ex-boyfriends on the show again, and probably for the last time together. Or at least for a really long time because Liz rediscovered why none of them were the man for her.

John Hamm’s Dr. Drew Baird is still an idiot and further proved it with his new hooks for hands, which were acquired because of a fireworks accident and a helicopter accident, respectively.

Dean Winters’ Dennis Duffy is still a total bastard, and Michael Sheen’s Wesley Snipes is still condescending yet adorably British. Because Liz doesn’t want to go to Floyd’s wedding alone, Wesley (the most normal of the exes) scores an invite to Floyd’s wedding, where Liz tries to ditch the on-the-verge-of-deportation-and-therefore-begging-to-get-married Wesley for Floyd’s very good-looking single, lawyer friend named Mike (Dexter? Nope.)….but he turns out to be a “plushie” who calls sex “yiffing.”

Perhaps marrying Wesley wouldn’t be so bad?

And that leaves us with Jack’s love dilemma which is heightened by Nancy’s arrival in NYC. As he struggles to make up his mind, he tries to take Nancy on an unsexy date consisting of films about female circumcision, eating Indian food, and blasting Sousa marches, but fails epically. Later Jack goes to Liz for advice and she tells him that he has to tell Nancy the truth–especially since Avery already knows about Nancy. So, Jack tells Nancy at Floyd’s wedding because it’s a high mass and Nancy is very Catholic, meaning that she will feel guilty for leaving early and therefore won’t. And how did that go for him?

At the end of the episode, we’re left with a Liz reading random (hilarious) Bible verses (about infidelity, circumcision, and violence against women) in an attempt to stall the mass/wedding so Nancy can’t storm out. I’m guessing we’ll find out how that turns out this Thursday on the season finale, which includes a guest appearance from Matt Damon.

Favorite Quotes

“She had on red underwear. You’d think it would clash with her hair, but it didn’t.”–Jack, about Nancy

Lemon: This is just a date, Wesley.
Wesley: You know that’s not true. I wouldn’t be here if there was anybody else. I’m your best option, and you’re mine. You see, I lost my job two days ago, and I’m now facing a little residency issue.
Lemon: What?
Wesley: I won’t go back there, Liz. I can’t suffer through the London Olympics. We’re not prepared, Liz! Did you see the Beijing opening ceremonies? We don’t have control over our people like that.

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