Rhett and Link's Buddy System Review: Taste Test

"Actually, this daily food delivery's for me! I keep forgetting that I took your job from you!" 

There's one moment from "Taste Test" that especially stands out. During the taste-training montage, right at the moment where Link breaks his tongue, the two glam rock singers break the fourth wall and flinch in horror. It's a prototypical example of Buddy System's keen eye for capturing the comedy of even the slightest moments, whether or not their presence as a joke is made entirely obvious or not. It's signs like this that show how much thought was put into every slight moment of the show, and going off of that, it's in this amazing hyper-specificity that "Taste Test" is a triumph.

Of course, it's worth noting that, of the past two episodes, "Taste Test" is by far the least elaborate: Link accidentally burns Rhett's tongue, making him unable to perform his job, so at Rhett's insistence, he carries out his duties only to find himself a tasting professional. Likewise, the episode is very linear; every event very obviously affects the other, and there's no real detours within the narrative, but there's nothing wrong with that. Instead, it allows Buddy System proves how great it is at working within the confines it sets for itself.

Namely, they make up for the episode's simplicity by focusing on being as joyfully esoteric as possible with its joke-telling. "Taste Test" possesses a looseness, but the meticulousness of every line and its delivery or the quick visuals keeps everything nice, snappy, and shelling out laughs at an insanely high rate; I'd argue that it's actually one of the most consistently funny episodes of Buddy System they've been able to pull off.

The interplay between Rhett and Link here is a massive contributor to that - the whole episode is rooted in Link being dragged into Rhett's life, whether he wants it or not. While Rhett is callous for obvious reasons - Link both ruined and stole his job, after all - he's met by Link's joyous obliviousness, accidentally making digs at Rhett that destroy him even more. (Consider how he describes his new career as "my dream job as of two hours ago," for instance - he clearly takes everything without the slightest bit of seriousness.) Rhett's already having a hard enough time as it is, and Link traipses through and ruins all that he's worked for, but instead of coming across as cruel, Link failing to recognize the extent of his damage. That's an important distinction, and how it makes the situation progressively worse is a joy to watch.

Ultimately, though, Rhett's bitterness gets put to the sidelines once Aimee Brells resurfaces as our antagonist for the day. As I wrote in the first review, Season 2 is great in that, regardless of the characters being retooled, they're all fundamentally the same as they were in Season 1, so Aimee's return as an aggressive co-worker is a fresh coat of paint to bring her back into the equation without the heft of her previous role, this time proposing an ice cream taste-off against Link, the new kid on the block. Link remains as ambivalent as always, of course, but Rhett's already been burned once today, so now he's getting dragged into the crossfire.

Naturally, this launches a glorious tasting montage set to a nice tongue-centric rendition of "Eye of the Tiger," "Tongue of the Cobra." While I was initially a bit skeptical of it as a parody song, the context makes it glorious - it's a montage of intense food-eating, tongue-dipping, and glory-holing, with a glam-rocked Rhett and Link singing their hearts out. It's just pure, unadulterated goofiness, and the overly-long high-five frozen in place at the end seals the deal: Rhett and Link are just effortlessly awesome.

I should note that, continuing off of Rhett and Link's inherent awesomeness, they get two opportunities to play different characters, and it's always delightful. Considering the amount of subtle mannerisms that go into the show's universe, it should come as no surprise that their characters are equally as fun and eccentric. Link (the actor) has a nice spin as Kenneth Kenneth, a mystical food-tasting, straight-to-VHS guru who helps motivate Link (the character) to perfect the craft. Just as he was able to breathe life into Peder last season, Link flawlessly melts into character with every minute hand expression and mouth whistle, and the make-up doesn't hurt, either. Rhett gets an equally great turn as Link's New York accent-heavy, squinty-eyed, fast-moving doctor. I also mention him as a segue back into the article, because Link is forced to visit him upon breaking his tongue working out.

Ultimately, Link has to get a new bionic tongue, but is forced to program three tastes he'll absolutely despise, and among them is ice cream for hilariously inconvenient and mindless reasons, thus rendering him useless in the taste-off with Aimee. Rhett, however, finds his tongue recovered, and gets to save the day and defeat Aimee, all while listing off brilliant ice cream flavors such as "The Inevitable Letdown in the Second Year of Being a Lottery Winner" and "N64 Memory Card with Tony Hawk Game Save." It's hilariously intense and back-to-back name insanity.

You could argue that Link's whole plot is rendered useless, which is a bit of a problem, but at the same time, it's a scenario that allows the show to more firmly establish Rhett and Link's relationship with a sense of camaraderie, and because of that, the episode is a nice and sly bit of character development for the duo. This is, notably, our first episode ending that finds the two on the same page, and I'm excited to see how it'll affect the rest of the season.

Quotes and Notes:
-"I'm no hero, folks. Only a man with heroic qualities."
-"What even is white ice cream?! White is vanilla!" "Pfft, no. Vanilla is way too spicy."
-"You'd be amazed at what they're doing with bacon." "Frying it?" "Mostly."
-Link, regarding Aimee's proposal for a taste-off: "I don't know what that is, but the reaction it elicited from the crowd makes me not want to do it."
-"There's something I want to give you. This." "A goldfish coffin! I love those."
-On top of all of the great ice cream flavors mentioned across the episode, there's a quick shot of George's truck's menu, which features even more comedy gold; among the selection is "Coworker's Tupperware Lunch," "Last Kid Chosen," and "Steam Punk Suppository." Appetizing.
-Speaking of George, he doesn't do much here, but again, seeing the returning cast in a new light is a complete joy. I especially liked the surreal detail of him being half-cow which, hilariously enough, barely factors into the episode.
-The actor playing Rhett's boss was on-fire, and I'd like to take this opportunity to point out that Buddy System has amazing casting. Even when they deploy celebrities, there's always a lot of thought put into their strengths and how they can melt into character. (Also, him throwing a frisbee in his office is an absurdly weirdly and smartly underplayed touch.)
-Kenneth Kenneth reminded me a lot of the glorious "Feel the Swift." That's a good sign.
-I loved the return of Dylan's "I'm Audi, 5000." It's nice for him to get more screentime in Season 2, because he's proving to be such a great supporting character.
-In "Eye of the Cobra," I liked Rhett timing Link and then just shaking his head in resignation at the inadequacy of Link's tongue-dippage. There's also that, in the brief reprise of the song, the glam rockers are shown on their phones before realizing they're being filmed again... God, I love this show.

Final Grade: B. "Taste Test" is a perfect midseason episode. It doesn't hold the revelations of the past two episodes, but that's not the episode's intention; we're just there to enjoy the ride, and it's as effortlessly flawless as always - I'm willing to even declare it the pinnacle of the show's code of humor. While it may not have been as amazing as the past two installments, let it be known that "Taste Test" is just as enjoyable for what it is. And "just as enjoyable," for the record, translates to "breath-taking."

For the last Buddy System review of "Sanctuary," CLICK HERE.