Good Material

Andy is working a gig at a promotional display for skin and hair care products the next day. He suddenly sees Jen with a handsome man named Seb walking through the mall, and they awkwardly interact. In front of Jen and Seb, the sales associate tells Andy that they have the “follicle-stimulating” product he had inquired about, and Andy feels embarrassed and ashamed by the entire scene. To make matters worse, the previous night, Andy drunkenly left Daisy a voice message in which he apologized for hurting her. Daisy responds via text, saying that the voicemail made her uncomfortable and suggests that he seek help dealing with his feelings. Andy also receives a text from Jen checking on him after their awkward meetup.

After thoroughly researching Seb on the internet, Andy lists everything that he has learned about him, including details about his ex-partner, Kate. Seb and Jen work together, and he is athletic and well-educated. This leads Andy to begin the “Jen Inquiry” (226), in which he tries to understand why she ended their relationship but began another one so soon after they broke up. Andy has dinner with Jane and Avi and carefully plots how he will broach the subject of Jen’s new relationship with them. He first tells them about running into Daisy and sending her the embarrassing voicemail. Jane says that Daisy was right to be offended by his actions. After he tells them about meeting Jen and Seb, he unloads his emotional struggle on them, saying that he feels slighted that she broke up with him after claiming she didn’t want to be in a relationship only to fall right into another. He’s convinced that Jen’s therapist encouraged her to break up with him. Jane and Avi appear frustrated by Andy and tell him that Jen doesn’t owe him anything. Jane notices that Andy isn’t eating carbs and says that his diet is unhealthy. Avi agrees that he has lost too much weight. After the dinner, Andy thinks about Avi and resents the way that, as he claims, “my breakup has arranged us into roles where I’m falling apart, and he’s always together” (232). Andy searches through his phone for another friend with whom he could share his feelings but comes up empty.

Kelly goes to Ibiza to make her ex jealous, but the plan backfires when she discovers that her ex is there with another person. While Kelly talks in their next personal training session, Andy disappears into his thoughts and makes a mental list of all the ridiculous things he’d be willing to do if Jen broke up with Seb, including losing his last living grandparent.

Andy schedules a therapy session using a fake name, hoping to use it to understand the breakup. He assumes Jen’s identity as the more successful partner in the relationship and pretends that Jen is a burlesque dancer. The therapist listens to him detail the imbalances in their relationship and responds to his question of whether or not he should break up with her to date someone more successful by asking about his family life. The therapist thinks that his judgmental beliefs about his partner’s career stem from his inability to get approval from his father. The therapist’s questions frustrate Andy as they aren’t getting him the answers that he desires about Jen; instead, they focus on him. When he goes to his bank account to pay for the session, he sees that his agency hasn’t paid him for his last few gigs. The talent agency posts an announcement on Twitter about Emery’s award, and Andy fires off a tweet about being unable to get the agency to return his calls.

Emery and Andy are performing at the same gig for the first time since Emery returned from Edinburgh. Andy becomes jealous as he overhears Emery on the phone with their agent, especially since the agent signed Andy before Emery. Emery says that he has some exciting upcoming projects, including a deal with Netflix. The show’s headliner is an older comic named Frank, who was successful in the ‘90s and still has a large fan base. Emery kills with his set, and Andy does well despite relying on his old material. Another comic, Thalia, also does well with the crowd, but their friend Tim bombs, and everyone leaves the dressing room before he returns so as to not embarrass or patronize him with false compliments, an unspoken rule amongst comedians. Andy reluctantly goes out with Emery and Thalia after the show, though he admits that he’s tired of using the night scene to restart his romantic life.

At the bar, Andy meets Thalia’s roommate, Sophie. She is 23 and uses the word “cringe” often, but Andy is attracted to her unique appearance. Sophie and Thalia’s other roommate, Emma, arrives and explains that she is attending an orgy later. Emma is bisexual and in a polyamorous relationship with another couple. Andy listens as they detail the exploits of their sexually adventurous lives, and he makes jokes about how it all sounds like too much work. He and Sophie get to know one another better, and she explains that she doesn’t practice monogamy because she craves the thrill of being with someone new. Andy says that he enjoys the familiarity of growing deeper intimacy with just one person. When they go outside for a smoke, Andy and Sophie kiss, and later, they meet in the bathroom to make out. Emma leaves for her orgy, Emery and Thalia go home together, and Sophie and Andy exchange numbers. On the cab ride home, Andy realizes that none of his friends go out anymore because they are happy and content at home. People out late at night, particularly comedians, are still searching for something and depend on the drama of unmet expectations to fuel their sense of adventure.

Andy and Sophie have their first date, and Andy convinces himself that it’s not strange to date someone 12 years younger. Sophie is a fashion photographer’s assistant and shows Andy photos from her favorite shoots. She also shows him some of her photography, which includes nude self-portraits. Sophie notices that Andy isn’t eating much, and he tells her about his restrictive diet, but she doesn’t scold him for it like his friends. Still, Andy admits to himself that he doesn’t enjoy his obsession with food. Sophie receives a notification from a dating app and openly shows Andy all the men to whom she’s talking. Andy shares about Tash and enjoys being open about their likes and dislikes on the first date. Sophie invites Andy to her apartment, but she says that he can’t stay the night. The filthy condition of the condo reminds Andy of his earlier years living with Avi. Sophie’s bedroom is decorated with inflatable plastic furniture, a lava lamp, and torn-out pages from music magazines. Sophie isn’t shy and initiates sex, and Andy very much enjoys discovering that sleeping with her doesn’t remind him of Jen.

Andy goes to Sophie’s apartment every night, frustrated with her rule that he can’t stay the night. He enjoys the sex but recognizes the lack of intimacy, and Sophie’s commitment to non-monogamy isn’t his preference. She finally asks him about his last serious relationship, and he tells her everything about Jen, including the details of her new relationship with Seb. Sophie says, “[y]ou reek of monogamy” (277), and she says that he must block both Jen and Seb on socials so that he can make a complete break. She explains that it’s an unspoken rule that when someone blocks an ex, it means that they have been looking at their profile too much.

Andy returns home to find Morris putting up the Christmas tree. He claims that he doesn’t believe in celebrating Christmas in December, but his friend owns a Christmas tree business, so he buys one each year and takes it down before the holiday’s customary observance. Andy stays up late obsessively scrolling through Seb’s Instagram photos again, trying to piece together when he and Jen began dating. He also scrolls through his old pictures with Jen. Andy blocks them both without much thought but feels no relief afterward.