Recap / Big Mouth S 01 E 09 I Survived Jessis Bat Mitzvah

"Life is a fucked-up mess!"

Jessi's rite-of-passage becomes a rollercoaster of emotion.

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Tropes:

• Artistic License – Religion: Scallops are shellfish and serving them at a synagogue would violate Jewish dietary laws.
• Bathos: After everyone goes through their own personal problems, the episode climaxes with a pessimistic song sung in a comically upbeat tone.
• Call-Back:
  • Missy and Andrew find the latter's jazz hat, which he lost in Pillow Talk, in the synagogue, which helps Andrew realize who Shannon's been seeing.
  • The final flashback Jessi has about her parents' marriage is a scene from Sleepover: A Harrowing Ordeal of Emotional Brutality.
• Continuity Nod:
  • Judd and Leah are grounded for throwing the party that happened in the previous episode.
  • Duke mentions seeing Nick's tiny dick, which happened in the previous episode.
  • Marty's allergy to scallops is brought up again.
  • Once again, Jay brings up the cameras he has hidden, and adds that he has it all over Nick's house, not just the kitchen.
• Downer Ending: Jessi's parents call it quits and Missy dumps Andrew.
• Easily-Overheard Conversation: Jessi takes her mom outside the synagogue to confront her about her affair. It's only after they finish arguing about it do they notice that Jessi's father is also out there vaping, and heard everything.
• Funny Background Event:
  • When Nick goes to talk to his mom, you can see a passed out Lars on his wheelchair, which is slowing moving forward.
  • While Diane and Nick, and Elliot and Jay have their respective sweet moments, Jew Fishman's corpse falls off its seat.
• The "I Love You" Stigma: Andrew telling Missy the words "I love you" causes her to vomit and dump him.
• Jerkass Has a Point:
  • Jay's right in that Nick is being shitty to his mom, when she just wants to show her love for him.
  • While he could've said it in a gentler manner, Maury is right when he says it's too soon for Andrew to tell Missy that he loves her.
• Lyrical Dissonance: The song "Life Is a Fucked Up Mess", in which all the characters lament their lives (Nick and his mother's fallout, Jessi's family breaking apart once her mother's cheating is outed, Marty's issues with scallops, and the end of Andrew and Missy's relationship) to the tune of an upbeat electric slide.
• Parents as People:
  • Jessi's mother explores her bisexuality while her father smokes weed, all to Jessi's and each other's detriment.
  • Nick's mother has to come to terms with the fact that her youngest son doesn't want her affections as much as he used to.
• Product Placement: Maury is trying to get sponsored by real world energy drink Monster Energy.
• The Reveal: The woman that Shannon is seeing is revealed to be their Cantor.
• Stepford Smiler: Everyone manages to look pretty happy during the musical number despite singing about some truly miserable issues.
• Wham Episode: Jessi's parents' marriage starts to go through a meltdown when Greg learns of Shannon's affair.
• You Are Grounded!: Diane grounds Judd and Leah for 3 weeks for throwing a party without her consent in the previous episode.
• Your Approval Fills Me with Shame: Completely subverted and Played for Laughs when Matthew sarcastically congratulates Coach Steve for messing up his job as the Bat Mitzvah DJ, but Steve honestly believes he’s complimenting him.

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