Review: Jeff & Some Aliens “Jeff & Some Love Simulations”

This is no simulation, you are watching animation excellence.

Spoilers Below

Jeff & Some Aliens continuously provides insightful, nihilistic, and hilarious commentary on society. A common theme throughout remains love. The Jeff & Some Aliens season one season finale, “Jeff & Some Love Simulations” continues Jeff’s (Brett Gelman) love life or lack thereof stands as the focal point. Funny, poignant, and the perfect culmination of the series, “Jeff & Some Love Simulations” is an excellent close to a strong first season.

As the episode opens, Jeff lounges in bed clothed only in his tightie whities, his favorite garb. He’s on a dating app, a concept that his alien pals Jimmy, Ted, and Sammy (Alessandro Minoli, also series creator and executive producer) don’t quite understand. “I’m using this incredible new app to help me find love,” Jeff exclaims. “Are you rejecting these women based solely on their looks?” Ted wonders perplexed. “That is really disgusting,” Jimmy adds. “No, it’s much deeper than that,” Jeff reassures the alien trio. “It also shows me what kind of music and TV shows they’re into.” This sort of witty banter is what makes Jeff & Some Aliens so funny and yet thoughtful.

By inserting aliens studying humans, Jeff & Some Aliens successfully takes common scenarios and presents them as foreign or alien. As usual, Sammy, Ted, and Jimmy earnestly wish to help Jeff. Naturally, they bust out fancy alien technology. After scanning Jeff and then scanning the entire population of the world, the aliens curate a list of the potential love matches for Jeff. Only four remain after narrowing down compatibility on several levels. Unsurprisingly, the notion of limiting love based on factors such as age and gender seems foreign to the aliens three. Eventually Jeff does find a potential match in Kiki.

For much of the first season, Jeff persists in pursuing Linda (Natalie Smyka). Despite near constant rejection, Jeff sought Linda with a fervor. It’s neat seeing Jeff seemingly discover a better match, and moreover how his quest for love is both helped and hampered by extraterrestrial tech. One of Jeff’s potential love interests is a famous actress (no spoilers). But (not-so-spoiler alert) this doesn’t pan out in the real world. Jeff discovers that whereas the love simulations concocted by the alien tech are pretty easy, sparking romance in out of this matrix is more difficult.

While such technology, like the holodeck, isn’t available, there’s a similar dynamic in online dating. In-app compatibility differs from offline romance. There’s a lot more than a connection made in an app or simulator. But commentary reaches beyond this. There’s a subplot on how relationships change the way we act. Jeff banishes Jimmy, Ted, and Sammy to the basement. “But we’re your bros and you’re putting her before us,” pleads Jimmy. “That just doesn’t seem right,” Ted chimes in. “Seems like there should be a saying for that,” he wonders aloud.

Although I enjoy Linda, the introduction of Kiki is an excellent addition to the cast. She feels like a more natural ying to Jeff’s yang. I hope Kiki returns in the second season as a recurring or permanent fixture. “Jeff & Some Love Simulations” probably isn’t the start of a perfect relationship for Jeff. A prominent theme and running gag is Jeff finding love, or at least believing he’s found romance, only to have that whisked away. These mishaps are part of what makes Jeff & Some Aliens so enjoyable and relateable. Often life isn’t perfect, and Jeff & Some Aliens presents complexities like love as deeper than a superficial flawless entity.

“Jeff & Some Love Simulations” is the quintessential culmination to the first season. Comedic yet insightful, it’s an episode that will make you laugh while evaluating your own life. There’s a sense that the season one finale sets up a new character in Kiki, but no major plot developments. It’s a refreshing break from the near-obligatory season finale cliffhangers that are all-too prevalent. Jeff & Some Aliens season one ushers out with a poignant episode that sets up enough so as to whet your palate for another season but doesn’t force any major plot lines, therefore maintaining the connected yet fairly standalone episode structure.