No Tomorrow 1.03: "No Doubt"

“Oh, he is completely insane. I like it.”
-Kareema

In the third episode of “No Tomorrow,” Evie continues to struggle with how to integrate Xavier into the rest of her life. She wants the fun of being with Xavier without the crazy of legit believing the apocalypse is nigh. She really doesn't want her friends and family to interact with Xavier, even though he's clearly making her very happy and they're curious, because she doesn't want anyone to know just how crazy he is. When they do find out about his theory, Evie tries to brush Xavier's apocalypse talk off as a joke, which just makes Xavier upset. Believing in the apocalypse is a core part of his identity, and if someone's going to be with him, they have to accept that. Evie has a bit of a journey to make towards that acceptance, but she makes admirable strides towards it in this episode. Again, I am impressed at how well-drawn these characters are. I genuinely enjoy spending time with the Cybermart crew and their antics.

The episode opens with Evie and Xavier crossing more items off their respective apoca-lists. Xavier gets to shoot a flaming arrow, and Evie gets to put out the resulting fire. The next day at work, Evie is super ecstatic about her relationship, telling her friends how much fun Xavier is. Evie’s birthday is coming up, and Kareema demands they go for birthday drinks. All this lighthearted conversation is interrupted by Deirdre, who wants two things. First, she wants to give Hank yet another accessory for his desk chair. He’s even got a fan and a light these days. She complains to Evie that her plan to win Hank over doesn’t seem to be working. She has an actual work-related job for Evie, too. Lots of customers have been getting the wrong items in their shipments, and since Evie works in quality control, she wants her to figure it out. Evie does figure out that inspector 41 is potentially connected, but she doesn’t know who that is (which is kind of silly), so she doesn’t get very far.

Meanwhile, Evie and Xavier go to an event at the Seattle Astronomy Center. It’s a reading by Prof. Tyra Fields, who I believe is supposed to be like Neil DeGrasse Tyson. On their way to the event, Evie and Xavier talk about what she wants to do for her birthday. Evie thinks Xavier’s fun spirit has been rubbing off on her, and she can’t choose among fun things. She’s not sure if she wants to lick thirty-one flavors of ice cream or have a food fight or go to a petting zoo. Anyway, Xavier is excited that this reading could be his chance to have his asteroid impact theory vetted by somebody who could actually successfully alert the public. It turns out, however, to Evie’s horror, that this isn’t the first time Xavier has tried to talk to Professor Fields. It’s also not the first time he’s been tased, which he tells Evie after Professor Fields asks security to remove him from the premises.

The incident at the astronomy center starts to make Evie question her relationship with Xavier. Sure, he’s tons of fun, but is he also crazy? And is that dangerous? Evie asks Hank for his opinion, and Hank says he’ll have to speak to Xavier in person to know for sure. The three meet for drinks, and Evie quickly bails so Hank and Xavier can have their chat. Hank tries communicating with Xavier in Morse code (asking if he’s in the CIA), and he’s impressed when Xavier understands and is able to respond. The next day, Hank tells Evie that Xavier has his seal of approval. His apocalypse theory corresponds nicely with Hank’s. They both believe the world will end around the same time, but in different ways. This doesn’t give Evie much confidence. She asks for Kareema’s thoughts, which turns into a discussion of whether or not Evie should just keep Xavier a completely separate part of her life from the rest of her friends.

Poor Timothy still isn’t taking the break-up well, even though he’s the one who initiated it. He has terrible writers’ block, and can’t even reach across his living room floor to pick up his laptop. He calls Hank to place an order for him on Cybermart for books on writers’ block and wine. When the package arrives, there’s an additional item that Timothy didn’t ask for – a fitness band that zaps you if you don’t do what it says. He calls Kareema, who works in customer service for Cybermart, and she tells him that he can return it for a fee, or he can just keep the item. Timothy decides to keep the item.

Evie’s plan to separate Xavier from the rest of her acquaintances is almost immediately destroyed, as she shows up to her “birthday drinks” to find that it’s a full-on surprise party. And Xavier is there. Despite Evie’s best efforts, Xavier ends up meeting many important people in Evie’s life, including her father, sister, and boss. He tries to encourage all of them to live life to the fullest, which makes them all happy. Xavier arranges for a second line (one of the things Evie thought she might want to do for her birthday) to take them from the bar to his house, where he has a second surprise. He’s got cakes for every one of Evie’s future birthdays. It’s really beautiful, and Evie is shocked. The whole thing devolves into a cake fight, which is exactly what Xavier intended. The scene made me sad, because I wished someone would plan a birthday party like that for me. Anyway, the part comes to a halt when Xavier gives a toast that mentions his asteroid theory and the apocalypse. The party ends right then and there.

Evie’s family is concerned, and they tell her to let them know if she’s ever tempted to shave all her hair off. She tries to brush it off as if Xavier was just joking. This makes Xavier upset, because he takes his theory very seriously, and it’s a big part of who he is. He accuses Evie of being a bigot, and he says that the apocalypse theory is part of the package with him. The next day at work, a depressed Evie insists that she can have fun all on her own. She doesn’t need Xavier and his crazy. This of course leads to Evie trying all the ice cream flavors on her own and trying to walk on stilts. She uses the stilts to get to her parents’ house, where she tries to talk to her mom about the Xavier situation. She’s interrupted by her dad happily showing off the muffins he just baked. Evie thinks the muffins are awesome, but her mom doesn’t seem to like them too much. Anyway, Evie’s dad says the secret to his muffins is just math, and this gives Evie an idea. She rushes to Xavier’s house and tells him that she wants to help him get his theory peer reviewed by Professor Fields. Xavier may have a restraining order against him, after all, but Evie doesn’t.

Meanwhile, Timothy, Hank, Kareema, and Deirdre go out for trivia. Timothy’s just running all around the bar thanks to the Zap Strap (he pops up running and exercising at several points throughout the episode), but the real action is with Hank and Deirdre. Hank is trying to tell Deirdre that while he appreciates all the new stuff for his office, it’s a bit much. They keep answering all the trivia questions in unison, though, which somehow means they’re supposed to have chemistry. Eventually, Deirdre says she’s been giving Hank all that stuff because it’s the only way she can say how she feels within company policy. She whispers something in Hank’s ear, and Hank runs off, yelling about having an internet girlfriend. Later, Hank tells a very amused Evie about all this, and she suggests that maybe he should give Deirdre a chance. Evie talks to Deirdre about the situation, too. Deirdre thinks Hank is a lost cause, but Evie tries to give her some hope. In the course of dealing with all the work drama, Evie finds out that Timothy received a wrong item, and she traces it back to Kareema, who basically wants to create chaos and help people. One of the fulfillment guys quit to go be with his “second family” in Sarasota, so Evie uses him as a scapegoat to cover for Kareema with Deirdre. As for Timothy, he is finally zapped out of his writer’s block when he lies down on the ground exhausted and sees how a plane and bird move in a similar way.

Evie places herself conspicuously in a coffee shop Professor Fields is patronizing and starts reading Professor Fields’ book. They strike up a friendly conversation, and Evie starts talking about how she’s dating a guy who has a theory about an asteroid. Xavier appears, and Professor Fields goes into “oh hell, no” mode, which I kind of don’t blame her for. After some pleading from Evie, she takes the envelope of calculations from Xavier and agrees to review them. Evie and Xavier celebrate on their way out of the coffee shop. When Evie goes back inside the shop to get her purse, though, she sees Professor Fields give the envelope to the bartender and tell him to trash it. She doesn’t have the heart to tell Xavier what happened. Evie goes to talk to her mom, who reveals that she doesn’t actually like the muffins her husband (who now wants to be an actor) has been baking, but she thinks there’s value in supporting your significant other no matter what. Evie takes this to heart and prints out a bunch of flyers about the asteroid. She and Xavier then throw them off of a rooftop while shouting that the apocalypse is nigh.