Mindy Lahiri may think that she wants a "normal" guy, but sometimes what we want on paper doesn't apply in real life. After starting to settle down with a solid and reliable pediatric nurse who lived in the suburbs and had his life together, she started to want something more. Because of that Mindy and Ben broke up on The Mindy Project much earlier than I expected.
When I say she wanted more, I don't mean she wanted another person. That would be too easy, and The Mindy Project explored that concept in a different way. It's one of the things that the romantic sitcom does best. Instead of pining after a fancy new person like she almost did with Jack Davenport's celebrity character from earlier in the season, she tried to turn Ben into something that he was not — first by not acknowledging that he was a nurse, and then by turning him into a television personality. Normal guys are great, but Mindy has never really wanted to be normal. Her tastes and interests are a bit more glamorous.
What will she do now? There is still time for her to try and win Ben back. He is presumably still in baby Leo's life, and they will see each other back at the hospital. Ben is now averaging the staying power of most of Mindy's love interests, so it's hard to me to tell if his story is over or not. As far as we know, the romantic arc of The Mindy Project is, yet again, back at square one.
Or is it? The episode featured three of Mindy's exes and served as a reminder that Mindy has dated a plethora of interesting characters. I'm not suggesting that Mindy end up with B.J. Novak's character, but ex-boyfriends like Josh and Casey are worth revisiting. Maybe Mindy should pull a What's Your Number and catch up with old flames .
Plus, Danny did try to call her on his alleged wedding night. We haven't exactly heard whether or not the wedding took place. Part of me wants to give up on Mindy and Danny, even though I 'shipped them for years, but Ben dumping Mindy could be a hint that the show is heading back in that direction.
Images: Vivian Zink/Universal Television
