Noah Roklov might be the winner of the worst boyfriend on television award. A title previously held by Jeremiah in The Summer I Turned Pretty. Noah displayed atrocious behavior, appearing oblivious to his faults once more. It’s hard to make excuses for his faux pas, as he somehow comes up with some logical reason as to why he acts the way he does, gaslighting Joanne into thinking that she’s overreacting.

Be warned: spoilers ahead.

The episode opens with Noah and Joanne shopping for Purim costumes. In Judaism, Purim acts as a Halloween-style celebration. Jews dress up in costumes and celebrate Queen Esther defeating the evil Haman, who wanted to persecute the Jewish people. Noah says that the idea of Purim is that “what’s hidden might become revealed”, referring to the possibility that Joanne might feel inclined to convert to Judaism after the holiday. Joanne jokingly plays it off and changes the subject.

After shopping, Noah tells Joanne that he’s feeling anxious about his job interview at Temple Ahava. He asks Joanna for “a night off”, meaning that he wants to sleep alone and be alone for a night to prepare. In what world does this sound like a normal request to your serious girlfriend? Especially after the Valentine’s Day episode about how Noah blindsided his past girlfriends. Joanne is admittedly caught off guard, but honors his request. On top of that, Noah leaves her on read the whole night. He doesn’t respond to a single one of her messages.

At Noah’s job interview, the rabbi interviewing him, Rabbi Neil, is played by Seth Rogen. Noah and Rabbi Neil get along well. Temple Ahava is a much more progressive temple than Noah is used to, but Rabbi Neil tells Noah that his wife is not Jewish and that Joanne would be welcomed at the temple. Neil quickly offers Noah a job at the temple and Noah accepts, gracefully.

Joanne and Noah reunite at the Purim celebration. Noah can tell that Joanne is upset at him, but assures her that it meant nothing and was just to prepare for the interview. Then, Noah leaves Joanne to go talk to some of the other partygoers– real smooth. Esther arrives to the party dressed as Catwoman to impress Sasha, which works like a charm. In each episode, Esther works hard at trying to garner the attention of her husband, but somehow doesn’t realize that Sasha is always obsessed with her, even when she doesn’t work at it.

Bina and Ilan Roklov arrive at the Purim party dressed as Queen Elizabeth and Haman, respectively. Noah tells Joanne and his parents about his new job, everyone congratulates him, but Bina is wary of a temple that hires a rabbi after only one interview. Morgan, Lynn, and Henry arrive at the party late. Morgan and Dr. Andy are dressed as Julia Roberts and Richard Gere in Pretty Woman. Lynn and Henry are dressed as Queen Esther and Madonna. Noah and Joanne’s parents meet and surprisingly get along well.

Morgan and Sasha catch up. This relationship used to make Esther jealous, but now she seems surprisingly okay with it. Sasha says that he’s going to talk to Dr. Andy and make sure that he’s a good guy. Bina pulls Esther aside, tells her she knows something is wrong in their relationship with Sasha, and walks away, leaving Esther spooked.

Noah talks to Lynn about the spiritual awakening he was telling Joanne about earlier in the episode and Lynn declares herself to be Jewish. She says she’s felt it in her soul. Joanne apologizes to Noah about her mother’s insensitivities but Noah is actually delighted that Lynn wants to convert because it’s one step closer to Joanne converting. Sasha and Dr. Andy get along great; Morgan is thrilled.

Noah asks Joanne why she’s so upset. Joanne tells him that she really wanted to have a Jewish awakening today but didn’t, and that she felt like Noah was mad at her because he asked for a night off. Noah once again assures her that the night off was just to prepare for the interview and that Joanne doesn’t need to convert any time soon for him. The two reconcile and get ready to leave the party. Noah gives his usual end-of-episode speech about fear of the unknown and taking risks — a speech that seems a little backhanded, since he just told Joanne she didn’t have to take a risk by converting to Judaism. Before the episode ends, Dr. Andy makes a speech too. He proposes to Morgan, and Morgan accepts. Then, the episode ends.

First things first, Seth Rogen was hilarious in this episode. His four minutes of screentime are episode-stealing and packed with jokes about conservative and new-school Judaism. Bina and Henry’s interactions are also hilarious, a duo who shouldn’t get along but do. The music in this episode is great, opening with Sabrina Carpenter and ending with Ellie Goulding.

Now for Noah. There’s never been a more clueless boyfriend on television, and it’s so hard to believe because Noah is actually really smart. He doesn’t understand that his words and actions affect Joanne, and he’s not just alone anymore, he has a serious girlfriend. “A night off” sounds like a break in the relationship, not a night to study for a job interview. Noah is going to have to reckon with his behavior in future episodes, surely before the end of the season, but until then, we must bear witness to his constant missteps and poor excuses.

Rating: 9/10