‘Your Friends & Neighbors’ Finally Figured It Out

Something went missing on Your Friends & Neighbors. No, not the Patek Philippe watches or limited-run aged wines that Jon Hamm’s character steals from his wealthy friends. Nor whatever hole in Coop’s heart led him to his Thomas Crown Affair life either. The Apple TV show’s debut season just lacked a certain drive. I couldn’t quite nail it down before. But outside of Hamm’s charm and a murder mystery you’ve seen countless times before, Your Friends & Neighbors didn’t have the X factor to really raise it above every other dramedy on TV.

Then, season 2 gave Coop a foil. In episode 1 of the show’s sophomore season, Coop is introduced to a shady new member of the community played by James Marsden. The Paradise star plays Ash, an equally charming and immediately beloved Gatsby-type figure… who is possibly also a weapons trafficker. But murky business dealings aside, Ash is most importantly the first true villain to challenge Coop’s exploits. He clearly had it too easy in season 1. So, after Ash catches him in the act, he blackmails Coop and escalates his life of crime by forcing our protagonist to question just how far he’s willing to color outside of the lines. Will he tuck his tail between his legs and reckon with his choices, or will he double his wager and roll the dice again? Finally, it feels like Your Friends & Neighbors figured it out.

Finally! A new character in ‘Your Friends & Neighbors’ season 2 shakes things up for the better.Jon Pack

It wasn’t easy getting there. The largest hurdle to success in season 2—much like in the first season—was how much time the series spends away from Coop. Around their central character, Your Friends & Neighbors season 2 once again outlines eight-episode arcs for every one of their supporting characters. That’s a great idea if they all play into Coop’s new feud with Ash—but they don’t.

Instead, Coop’s ex-wife Mel (Amanda Peet) spends the early part of season 2 bickering with a neighbor’s loose dog. His Gen-Z daughter (Isabel Gravitt) is failing all her college interviews. His sister Ali (Lena Hall) starts a new teaching gig. His business manager Barney (Hoon Lee) is preparing for another child, and everyone still thinks his previous lover Sam (Olivia Munn) killed her husband. (Because she did!)

It’s a lot for Your Friends & Neighbors to juggle, and it’s hard when you’re stuck watching a plotline you don’t care about. But when the series sticks to the one concept that they’ve struck gold on so far, season 2 really moves. A lot of that work falls on the shoulders of the show’s two biggest stars—who don’t appear much in the other character’s various side quests. Hamm and Marsden are here to act in scenes together, after all. So, it’s mostly in those moments where season 2 pulls together something great.

James Marsden is the perfect enemy for Jon Hamm’s Coop.Jon Pack

That’s why it finally clicked at the end of episode 2, when Ash catches Coop in the act. Going through his usual motions early in the episode, Coop snags a first edition Edith Wharton novel from Ash’s highly curated bookcase. He guesses that the pricey novel is just another bauble in Ash’s collection that he would never notice missing. That’s where Coop is “Wrong this time,” as Ash says. After showing Coop the security footage of his crime, Ash informs him that the first-edition book was a gift from his late wife. He doesn’t know why he stole it, but it’s the leverage he needs to rope Coop into an even larger scheme.

Now, Coop must return to his hedge fund job and launder money for Ash’s illegal companies. It’s high risk, low reward for Coop, but he was caught. Now, the real fun begins. “You don’t become what you want, you become what you believe,” Ash tells him. Very ominous! (Even if Ash claims that Oprah said it first.) But Oprah’s advice may be what Coop’s been looking for while masquerading as a cat burglar. Why was he really spending his nights robbing these houses? Is it the façade of wealth? The thrill? Or is there something Coop’s trying to learn about himself before he’s in too deep? Whichever way it turns out, it’s exactly what Your Friends & Neighbors needed.

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