‘Too Much’ Episode 4 Recap: “Notting Kill”

Under normal circumstances, getting into a physical fight with your new girlfriend’s new boss because you each feel that the other is misrepresenting the circumstances of your ugly breakup with his daughter some years prior would be what some might call a “red flag.” I don’t think that’s fair to say in the case of this episode of Too Much (“Notting Kill”), though, for two reasons. First, Felix may get in a tussle with Jonno Ratigan at the end the ad exec’s wild party, but he was on his best behavior compared to literally everyone else. Second, the whole episode winds up being a cautionary tale about putting too much stock in the search for red flags to begin with.

But that’s mostly reserved for the ending, a half-hearted argument that leads to a big romantic kiss right there in Notting Hill. If the episode wraps up like the British rom-com of Jessica’s dreams, the rest of it is more like if you worked at the British version of The Office, but with the cast of Absolutely Fabulous. 

Chief among them is the stunt casting of Naomi Watts as Jonno’s beautiful, smart-in-a-vapid-way wife Ann. Jessica develops a massive kind of mentor/mother/crush thing on this woman immediately; for once, she’s found an eager audience for her oversharing. The two sneak off to the bathroom for a few lines — much to sober Felix’s chagrin, it’s a regular ski resort at this party — and the instant intimacy of cocaine brings them even closer together. 

Meanwhile, Felix is subject at length to the aphoristic antics of Boss, whose “I may look shallow, but deep inside I am also very shallow” vibe is kind of like if Oscar Wilde were extremely stupid. Kim attempts to navigate her lust for Jonno’s diffident assistant, Josie, whom she’s not even 100% sure is gay. Along the way she has to deal with Jonno accidentally divulging her secret, and with the advances of Jonno and Ann’s randy lesbian grandmother friend, the preposterously named Imogen Tinsley-Derbyshire (Nina Sosanya). 

A real scene-stealer, Imogen has one brief exchange with Jess, whom she overhears having an awkward conversation about trust with Felix. “My wife trusts me,” she tells Jessica. “Big mistake.” 

“That’s terrifying to say,” Jessica replies. 

There kind of is something terrifying about these people! Certainly that’s how Felix feels, having gone to school with the broken children of these loveless rich families. Of course, once this connection is established beyond the shadow of a doubt in the fight with Jonno, it raises, or perhaps answers, the question of why he’s so reluctant to talk about his own family. (He reveals during the Jonno donnybrook that his father lost all his money, forcing Felix to drop out of school.) Seems like he’s speaking about that loveless existence from personal experience.

Anyway, after a wild dance-party sequence and the big fight, Jess and Felix say goodnight to their hosts, their transgressions seemingly forgiven and forgotten. (Ann does think it’s weird that Jessica got in the bathtub during their bathroom coke break, however.) Jessica herself, however, is not eager to let Felix’s behavior slide. After ignoring red flags with her ex, Zev, such as his Weezer-themed bar mitzvah, she accuses Felix of everything from flirting with Imogen the Predatory Lesbian Grandmother to failure to live up to Hugh Grant standards. Felix points out that Jessica comes with her own selection of red flags, most notably lighting herself on fire the night she met him. 

Now shhh, everybody: Here comes the title phrase. Felix tells Jessica “You’re too much, man, you’re just too much.” Unfamiliar with the slang connotation — it falls somewhere between “far out” and “all that” — she assumes he’s accusing her of being too much to deal with. Not at all, he reassures her. She’s “just the right amount, and then a little bit more.” Then they kiss for a couple of minutes as the camera swirls around them. All in all, not a bad night out!

Again, the emotional stuff really doesn’t come into play until the final minutes. The vast majority of this episode is like a good crazy-party episode of any comedy you’d care to name, from Woody’s wedding on Cheers to Pam feeling God in this Chili’s tonight on The Office to, well, more rich-asshole-party-based dramedy episodes than I could possibly list. And since every single person in the cast is a funny actor in a funny role, guess what? It’s funny! It’s wall to wall good bits, like Boss explaining to Felix that he was avoiding eye contact because he prefers to avoid eye contact with people he might have sex with, or Jessica slurring “Icanhaveadrink onceinawhile,” or Ann talking about how her dog was there for her during “Jonno’s emotional affair with Kylie Minogue.” (“What happened to her?” “She became like a sister.” “No, I mean, like, your dog.”) You’ve got some rom, you’ve got some com. No complaints here!

Sean T. Collins (@theseantcollins) writes about TV for Rolling Stone, Vulture, The New York Times, and anyplace that will have him, really. He and his family live on Long Island.