“Wilfred” – Truth episode review

Would Ryan win a gold medal if reading upside down was an Olympic Sport?

Ryan and Amanda are in bed. Amanda asks Ryan what his biggest secret is. Ryan gets freaked out (it might have something to do with seeing a man in a dog suit). He asks for the second biggest secret and makes the mistake (huge, awful mistake) of telling Amanda that he loves her. Now Amanda is the one freaking out. Situations like this are incredibly enjoyable, because we’ve all been there. We’ve, at some point in our lives, opened our mouths and admitted to something we probably shouldn’t have. When it involves those three little words, it just makes you want to crawl in a hole and die. Especially if the other person doesn’t respond well…and the relationship is just beginning.

In the kitchen, Wilfred is preparing for the end of the world, Rambo style. He’s sure that something terrible is going to happen. Ryan shares the situation from earlier and Wilfred brushes it off. The world is going to end! He doesn’t have time to deal with Ryan and his relationship issues! He goes into a loud and over-the-top speech about the end of the world. Ends on a shaky note. (Literally, there was a small earthquake and the house shook.)

Ryan goes into Amanda’s office to try and fix/explain things. Amanda ends up confessing her love for Ryan. There is no way this is going to end well.

Wilfred is stunned to hear that Ryan asked Amanda to move in. He points out that she doesn’t really even know him. He tells Ryan that she only knows what he wants her to know. Wilfred says that he can’t hide everything and if she moves in, she’s going to have to see it all. He clearly disagrees with Ryan’s decision (obvious statement is obvious). Wilfred tries another tactic to get Ryan to change his mind—he claims that Amanda kissed him. Not the, kiss-the-dog kind of way either. Ryan gets agitated and calls Wilfred a shitty friend and that they should be spending less time together. Another earthquake hits and the basement collapses. Anybody else get freaked out and worried about Bear? We all know Wilfred and Ryan will be okay, but what about Bear?!

Ryan is trapped under some rubble and asks Wilfred for help. Wilfred gets up to check out the window, claiming that that wasn’t the end of it. (In case anyone was wondering, Jenna is out of town. I wonder why they feel the need to mention that when she’s not there.) Ryan calls out for help but Wilfred plants a nasty seed of doubt in his head about being heard (he’s talking to a man dressed in a dog suit in a basement that might not exist. I don’t even know what that means.). Then there’s a noise and it turns out to be Bruce. He helps Ryan out.

Wilfred is the one who asked Bruce back and Ryan is a bit curious as to why. Bruce offers them a peek into his suitcase, but then decides against it. Wilfred suggests a game among the two of them—winner gets the suitcase. Bruce offers to play Ryan instead, which Wilfred isn’t thrilled about, since he’ll be the moderator. For those who don’t remember or don’t know, Bruce is a character (Wilfred’s enemy/rival/frenemy) from season one who played a little game with Ryan, unbeknownst to the poor guy. He showed up in the episode titled “Doubt” if anyone wants to check it out.

Wilfred tells Ryan that he doesn’t stand a chance against Bruce. Ryan wants to know what’s in the suitcase badly enough to play Bruce’s game, which he is so not prepared for. Wilfred gives Ryan a (vague) warning. Bruce pops out wearing a freaky pig mask and wins a point. We then see Bruce and Ryan playing a variety of games, some of which I’d personally like to forget. Eating leeches, for one. Reading upside down. Spaghetti dump. Other games that only grown, immature men could come up with.

We’re at the final game, and Ryan is trying to figure out a riddle. Ryan is ready to throw in the towel before Wilfred supposedly helps him. Ryan thinks he has the answer, but it turns out he’s wrong, so wrong. It wasn’t as obvious as it seemed. Wilfred shouts out some phrase that’s clearly serious (something having to do with bubbles, which I didn’t realize were that serious). This leads to some kind of sudden death round. If Bruce wins, he cuts off Wilfred’s tail. The game is Truth or Dare (really? I mean, come on, seriously? What’s next, spin the bottle? 7 minutes in heaven?). Ryan thinks Wilfred is up to something, and asks what the real game is.When he doesn’t get an answer, Ryan asks for a dare. Bruce dares him to call his father and tell him he wants to go back. Ryan lets the phone ring and his father answer before he slams the receiver down, opting for truth instead. Somehow, he beats Bruce by doing just that.

Now it’s just Ryan and Wilfred. Wilfred shares his wisdom on the game: “Even when you win, you lose.” Ryan goes over to open the case. He asks what’s inside and Wilfred tells him it’s the truth. Pop open the case and it’s some kind of timer. After he presses the button, the timer stops and we find out that that’s how long Ryan has been in the basement with Wilfred and Bruce (12 hours. In a basement. Was there even any weed this time?). Once again, point for Wilfred. Ryan claims that there’s nothing wrong with him. He runs upstairs and finds everything clean. All the furniture where it should be. Like there was never an earthquake.

He runs outside and Amanda shows up, asking “Are you sure you’re ready for this?” I don’t even think I’m ready for this. Where to begin with this scene? Was it all some kind of bad trip? I don’t know much about drugs, but I guess you can have a bad trip on weed right? Something’s laced in there that seriously screws with your head? Or has Ryan finally started taking after his mother? We saw a peek when she appeared in season one (episode 9, titled “Compassion”). It seemed to be implied that Ryan was walking down a similar path as his mother. Is that what this is all about? I don’t know, but the point was made.

Amanda asks where Ryan was this morning and she seems really excited about the idea of moving in. Ryan admits to not being ready for them as a couple. (Oh I’m depressed now. I saw this coming, and I’m still depressed.) Ryan thinks it would be best to take a break. A long break. (WHAT THE HELL RYAN?! Big mistake. Big big big big mistake.)

Outside, Wilfred goes over and comforts Amanda while she’s on the ground crying. (Asshole, Ryan. Seriously. What’s wrong with you?) Ryan admits to Wilfred being right, but Wilfred says he’s wrong—”You lied to her because you love her.”  That still wasn’t the disaster Wilfred predicted. Hinting at something else, perhaps? Something bigger later on down the line? Probably not, but it’s always fun to speculate.

This episode was a bit depressing, probably more so for people who are fans of Amanda. There are probably some anti-Amanda fans who are dancing around the room in their underwear, singing at the top of their lungs. I am not one of those people. I enjoy watching Allison Mack act and I enjoy(ed) watching her as Amanda. I thought it was a nice relationship for Ryan to be in, which I admit is a little unrealistic. Ryan is never going to have a relationship (a normal one) with any girl until he can figure out what’s going on in his head, or at least be honest about it. The mind games were a bit too much. It was distracting for the episode, even though it might play a role in these last few episodes. The keyword there is might. We don’t really know what to expect during these last five episodes of the season. More answers of some kind would be nice.

Comedy-wise, while the games the men played were a little silly and absolutely ridiculous, watching them being played was relatively funny. Ryan eating a leech (or worm, pretty sure it was a leech) off Bruce’s bald head was hilarious. Particularly Ryan’s facial expression during the chewing part. (Eee-yuck.) Good to see Dwight Yoakam reprising his role as Bruce. He owns this part and it wouldn’t be right to have somebody else playing the character.

Rambo-Wilfred was fantastic. Nothing like seeing a man dressed in a dog suit dressed in some kind of military outfit spouting off about the end of the world.

It seems that Allison Mack’s stint on Wilfred may be over (yes I’m still obsessing over that, okay? Okay.) but here’s hoping we see her in more soon. If that happens to be another episode of Wilfred, some of us (me me me) will be incredibly thrilled.

Elijah Wood hasn’t gotten enough love on here. He is a fantastic actor (the rest of his filmography aside) on Wilfred. He plays the role of Ryan brilliantly and I could never imagine another (American) Ryan.

I’m closing this review with a small little prayer by James Garfield: “The truth will set you free, but first it will make you miserable.” Amen.