There's a whole lot of death this season of The League and I don't know if it's because the writer's are feeling particularly mortal lately or if they're just saying, "screw it, let's do some messed up shit."
REGARDLESS, this episode is solely dedicated to the dynamic duo, Rafi and Dirty Randy. We're shown that weird gun fight in the mansion from last season where we thought Rafi died but then, inexplicably, he wasn't dead at all. This episode provides the missing clarity.
Flashing back to eleven years ago, we meet a put-together, mature looking Randall is standing on a construction support beam with his partner, Evan. The two are surveying their work on the Bear Stearns plaza (lol, RIP Bear Stearns...) when Randall pops a champagne bottle that knocks Evan off the support beam, sending him plummeting to his death.
Then we see Raphael. Pre- Rafi Raphael is immaculate and donning a button down. Oh and he's also casually married with two kids. In a wholesome family outing to get ice cream, Raphael leaves his family for a moment to get the confections. While ordering the cones, Raphael's family is crushed by the falling Evan and killed. Again, I reiterate: there are an egregious amount of deaths this season.
Forwarding the storyline six months, we see Randall and Raphael entering a psych ward. Raphael thinks his dead family is still alive and Randall has tried to commit suicide 75 times so they're both admitted. The men join a group therapy session that has them joined by an amazing bunch of men. Personally, I can't decide who was my favorite. I'm torn between William, the lunchbox obsessed psycho who killed his mom in an oven, and the fat, mute David Krumholtz (editor's note: I get sick pleasure out of seeing David Krumholtz in anything outside of 10 Things I Hate About You. I will forever imagine him with a Sharpie-drawn dick on his face).
The therapy session continues with Raphael and Randall proving to be extremely rational and eloquent individuals. WHO ARE THESE PEOPLE. The doctor moderating the session, Dr. Pam is a freaking psychopath herself and she's got the most slappable personality of anyone I've seen on television in a while. She prescribes electroshock therapy to Raphael and Randall, who end up actually enjoy the feeling of frying their respective brains. They become addicted to the shocks and eventually, it erodes their personalities so they transform into the crude jokesters we know and love today. They are now Rafi and Dirty Randy.
After Dr. Pam and her assistant "Spazz" catch Rafi and Randy having an unsupervised shock therapy party, they takes away their roommate William's lunchbox as punishment. This incites fury in everyone and Rafi wants revenge. Some mysterious guy in a tracksuit - Greg - appears suddenly and wants to help. He gives Rafi intel about where the doctor who took the lunchbox retreats.
Rafi, Randall, and their gang of fellow patient friends go to the attic Greg told them about and they uncover a Goonies-worthy treasure trove of random things. This is the birthplace of Randy's signature puka shells and Rafi's moto jacket. After leaving the attic with their new stash of toys, the men decide to plot to escape. The conversation to escape somehow devolves into talk about tacos and this prompts "Spazz" to give the men the key code to get out the front door of the ward. This show never ceases to surprise me with how nonsensical it can get (editor's note: if anyone knows how I can become best friends with the writers, feel free to tweet/email me...).
When all the patients are hanging out in the movie room, they give David Krumholtz's character a ton of pills so he starts foaming at the mouth so they have a distraction. They then put on Randy's homemade porn starring "Spazz" and all of the patients start collectively jerking off. It's like the real life version of that "lemon party" website. Mayhem continues to ensue until finally guards come in to quiet everyone down. Rafi, Randy, and company make a break for it as the guards tend to everyone else. The following scene takes a note from the Breakfast Club book and has William take on the role of Judd Nelson, in that he acts as a decoy when the team realizes they need another distraction. William gets naked with his lunchbox and runs down the hospital hallway. The distraction allows the gang to get to the door but after realizing that Rafi's been imagining Greg and he can't recall the door code, they're thwarted by the body guards. Crazy Dr. Pam arrives and tells Rafi and Randy that they're scheduled for lobotomies the following day. Things are escalating quickly.
Randy is not down with the lobotomy so he admits that he's in the ward voluntarily. He signs a release to get the hell out of dodge but not before telling Rafi that he is the one responsible for killing Rafi's family. Rafi screams and cries, more out of his love for Randy than his sadness about his dead family. Randy leaves happily as Rafi is dragged deeper into the ward by the enormous guards.
The next day, Dr. Pam continues her psychotic treatments and is about to execute an "ear lobotomy" with a giant hammer and nail when Randy comes in on a motorcycle and pulls Rafi through a window to escape. The other patients somehow get free too and follow Rafi and Randy through the window.
To cap off the insanity, we flash forward to the gunfight in the mansion again and we get two versions of the story. The first, dream-version of what happens is that Rafi is shot and Ruxin's sister shows up. She lifts his supposedly lifeless hand to her boobs and they magically bring him back to life. The sequence continues with Rebecca and Rafi getting married, bloody t-shirt and all. Dirty Randy interrupts the ceremony to give Rafi the rings from his Speedo pocket. Buuuuuut, none of that actually happened.
The real sequence of events is that Randy shoots Rafi and while Rafi is supposedly lifeless on the ground, Randy gives him "true loves' kiss." Rafi is rejuvenated and celebrates his life by taking a bite out of a hot dog bun.
Part of me has absolutely no idea what the hell I just watched and the other part of me is just saying, "Shhhhh, don't question it." I'm sticking with the latter. Tune in next week, folks, because I'm sure shit's just going to keep getting weirder.
THINGS TO NOTE:
Keep up with "The League" recaps here every week. "The League" airs on Wednesdays at 10 p.m. ET on FXX.
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