YMMV / Happy Endings

• Fan-Preferred Couple: Many fans like the idea of Dave and Penny together, even though Dave is back together with Alex.
• Fridge Brilliance: Why is Dave and his steak truck so popular with customers and Colin Hanks? Because of the turpentine drinks that are making everyone have sex dreams about him. When he stops making them, they stop eating at his truck.
  • Why is Jane not only accepting but outright turned on by Brad's various Camp Straight tendencies? Because she dated girls in college and so is completely okay with her partner having a very noticeable feminine side.
• Growing the Beard: Started out as your average generic sitcom, then suddenly grew a personality somewhere around the second season and promptly turned into a regular Fountain of Memes.
• Harsher in Hindsight:
  • Or Hilarious in Hindsight, depending on your perspective: in season one it is established that Dave often pays for Max's half of the rent, then in season three Max all but states that he has been making Dave pay the full price of rent, meaning on more than one occasion Max has pocketed a month's worth of rent by scamming his close friend.
  • Max makes a joke about Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner as the perfect couple, "Those kids got it figured out," becomes less funny after the two separated and eventually divorced after Affleck's issues and alcoholism began to affect the marriage.
• Hilarious in Hindsight: In season 2, Alex mocks Dave's "topical" Austin Powers costume by saying she can't wait to see his Borat costume in 9 years. Roughly 9 years later, Borat is relevant again.
• Hollywood Pudgy: The pilot repeatedly has people calling Max a "chubby gay guy", which might not be how the viewer would describe him.
• Ho Yay: Dave's infatuation with his former Hippie Teacher Mr. Fitzgerald goes to this length when he asks Penny what it's like to kiss him. Mr. Fitzgerald also wouldn't mind a threesome with him and Penny.
• Magnificent Bastard: Jane. (Or Guile Hero if she's using her powers for good.)
• Memetic Mutation: Alex weepingly saying "It's so beautiful." is a widespread reaction gif.
• Rescued from the Scrappy Heap: In Season 1, Max, Penny, Brad, and Jane are all fun to watch, but the show loses steam when bland leads Dave and Alex are together on-screen. In Season 2 the characters are retooled. Alex is Flanderized for the better, becoming more of a ditz and picking up goofy and childlike traits. Dave remains the Straight Man, but gets more absurdist throwaway lines a la Robert Hays in Airplane!.
• Retroactive Recognition
  • Max's love interest in "You've Got Male" is the future Schmidt.
  • Gina Rodriguez plays Penny's Jerkass assistant in "Why Can't You Read Me?"

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