The Mindy Project Season 2 Episode 4 Recap: "Magic Morgan" Toes the Sexual Harassment Line

"I Dreamed a Dream" from Les Miserables plays in the background while Mindy tells us that she is heartbroken post-Casey. This happens in the first few seconds of The Mindy Project's newest episode, "Magic Morgan."

Mindy’s breakup with Casey leaves her so distraught that she requests "heartache days" off of work to recover, which Jeremy gently denies. By the end of the episode, Jeremy probably wishes that he’d agreed, as Mindy’s anguish sends her into a tailspin and nearly costs the practice $200,000 dollars in a sexual harassment settlement.

This episode centers once again around Mindy’s love life and her search for a soul-mate. Mindy finds it very hard to get over Casey — understandably, since they were engaged to be married.

Instead of limiting herself to marathoning One Tree Hill and eating Ben & Jerry’s ice cream like the rest of us do when we’re trying to get over an ex, Mindy also pursues one of her usual harebrained schemes. After drinking several bottles of wine, Mindy remembers Morgan’s own romantic troubles: namely, that every girl he dates finds her true love afterwards. A determined Mindy decides that she must sleep with Morgan in order to subsequently locate her soul-mate.

Poor Morgan first tries to remind Mindy that she is very drunk, but after she cries, he agrees to help her out. Then Mindy sobers up, realizes what she’s doing, and throws a naked Morgan out of the apartment.

Hurt by Mindy's rejection, Morgan decides to sue her for sexual harassment by retaining the services of a hot lawyer Mindy met earlier in the episode.

In the initial legal meeting, however, it becomes clear that Morgan is not actually looking for $200,000 but just wants Mindy to make it up to him. She agrees to go on a fancy date with him to make the lawsuit to go away.

The lawyer in question storms out, threatening to charge Morgan for all of the hours he spent on the case. Morgan basically shrugs and explains that he has no money anyway.

Mindy and Morgan go out on their romantic dinner date. Mindy tries to get away with ignoring Morgan but Morgan steals her phone and regales her with a story about a prostitute he met on Craigslist and visited in Montreal.

Since Morgan is way more awesome than the vast majority of bland dudes that Mindy dates, he takes Mindy to a really cool quarry after dinner. They stand at the top of a cliff and shout their frustrations into the echoing crevasse.

It's ambiguous as to whether Mindy and Morgan end up having sex, but whatever happened Mindy is a step close to finding her soul-mate.

At the end of the episode, Morgan looks on knowingly as Mindy and the hot lawyer banter in the elevator.

The arrival of the hot lawyer on the scene as Mindy’s newest romantic interest means that the new doctor Peter Prentice will not play that role, thank goodness. As I mentioned last week, Peter’s actually an enjoyable addition to the show and I have no interest in seeing him meet the fate of Mindy’s endless revolving door of love interests.

This episode, Peter finds his place at the practice as Danny and Jeremy adjust accordingly. Jeremy thinks Peter is a respectful employee and a solid doctor. Jeremy is very confused when Danny doesn’t share his assessment.

Peter has endeared himself to me at the very least, with his earnest desire to be a great doctor and his totally inappropriate bro jokes. I’m excited to see more of Peter interacting with the rest of the cast on the next episode.

Quick Hits

Mindy Madness: 10/10

Let’s recap: Mindy decides to sleep with Morgan so she can find her true love. This is 100% pure, unadulterated Mindy rom-com madness that forms the foundation of this show.

The Ex Factor: 8/10

Casey speaks to Mindy from a photo strip, Harry-Potter style. While Casey never technically appears in the flesh, his ghost absolutely hangs over the episode and drives Mindy’s actions.

Guest Star Power: 2/10

The new lawyer dude (played by Glenn Howerton) feels like a composite of every previous guy Mindy’s dated. He’s not bad, but I’m not really feeling it.

Problematic Points: 5/10

The show navigates the sexual harassment quagmire better than I’d expect, but it’s still — I have to say it — problematic. Mindy basically coerces Morgan into having sex with her, and he agrees to do so despite knowing that she’s totally sloshed. Then Morgan uses the threat of a sexual harassment lawsuit to pressure Mindy into dating him.

Greek Chorus: 1/10

Tamra, Betsy and Beverly are becoming more and more like an actual Greek Chorus, to the point where I struggled to remember if they actually uttered any lines by themselves. They pop up in the background when Jeremy unveils the new practice sign in front of the entire staff and when Peter tries to swallow a spoonful of cinnamon in the break room.