The Mindy Project has given us four full seasons of quirky Mindy Lahiri’s dating antics, from awful first dates to tumultous relationships to a surprise pregnancy. However, the new season promised something a little different: a single Mindy! After rejecting both Jody and Danny, Mindy decided she was going to embrace the single life and try being alone for a little while.
As someone who also went through a messy breakup (minus the baby drama) and has chosen to stay single, I was elated that Mindy decided to choose the same route. As a mom, doctor and entrepreneur, Mindy deserves time to herself to grow as a woman and figure out what she wants. However, Mindy’s single life only lasted a hot minute with the entrance of the admitedly adorable Ben, a pediatric nurse helping to take care of Leo. Mindy and Ben’s relationship took a turn for the romantic in only the third episode of the season with a steamy kiss between the doctor and nurse.
As much as I love the sexual tension of a will-they-or-won’t-they relationship, Mindy’s jump to a new guy so soon after deciding to stay single left me disappointed. Although I love Ben’s tenderness with Leo—and his face ain’t bad to look at either—his entrance into Mindy’s personal life leaves little room for her to focus on herself. Sitcoms like The Mindy Project are mainly targeted at women, and I always firmly believed that Mindy Lahiri, though flawed, is an awesome female role model to have on mainstream television. She’s independent, brilliant and brave, and has killer fashion sense. However, she’s also fallen victim to the classic female-lead-in-a-sitcom trope: requiring a love interest to stay relevant.
Many television shows, even in 2016, focus on female characters either lamenting about being alone or actively searching for a new relationship—or both. So when Mindy vowed in the season premiere to stay single, it was a breath of fresh air for us single-and-proud ladies. Although I want Mindy to find happiness, I was excited to see how the show would tackle plots revolving around Mindy herself and not necessarily her relationship with a man. So it’s safe to say I was confused when Mindy kissed Ben only two episodes after declaring her single status. Even Jody, when he found out about Mindy’s possible relationship with Ben, seemed hurt and confused since she rejected him in order “to be alone” for a while.
As of yet, Mindy and Ben’s relationship is limited to a couple kisses, so we will have to wait until next week to see if it goes any further. Will she continue her journey into singledom, or will we be seeing a lot more of Ben? Ultimately, our fave ~girl boss~ will choose whatever makes her happy in the long run, and I can’t help but support that.