# "My Name is Earl" -- 4/23/2009 episode **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [April 24, 2009, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-4-23-2009-episode/494228 "2009-04-24T15:54:37Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 3:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-4-23-2009-episode/494228/1 "2009-04-24T15:54:37Z")
What did you guys think about last night’s episode? ---
**Author:** ![NicePete](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ee7513/32.png) [@NicePete](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/NicePete)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 4:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-4-23-2009-episode/494228/2 "2009-04-24T16:38:20Z")
The more I watch the show, the more I realize that Ethan Suplee is the most talented actor involved. He’s starting to remind me of Curley Howard, which is pretty high praise in my book. ---
**Author:** ![Typo\_Negative](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/typo_negative/32/484_2.png) [@Typo\_Negative](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Typo_Negative)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 5:13pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-4-23-2009-episode/494228/3 "2009-04-24T17:13:14Z")
I find myself less and less interested in the show. ---
**Author:** ![Tixenfleaz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9a140/32.png) [@Tixenfleaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tixenfleaz)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 5:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-4-23-2009-episode/494228/4 "2009-04-24T17:14:35Z")
Crabman (while sharpening big ass knife): “I’m not doing this to scare you. I’m doing this so it won’t hurt as much!” Damned if Crabman wasn’t gonna cut Catalina’s throat! I think I prefer my sitcoms to be a little less, well, chilling. ---
**Author:** ![Mikemike2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikemike2/32/305_2.png) [@Mikemike2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikemike2)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 5:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-4-23-2009-episode/494228/5 "2009-04-24T17:53:09Z")
I watched last night’s episode (spoilers) where Joy accidently hit Catalina with a tractor while drunk and then kidnapped her in a unused garage so that Catalina wouldn’t report Joy to the police. Joy was scared she would do serious prison time. At the end of the show Darnell comes in to murder Catalina. Catalina says something like “I thought you liked me?” to Darnell. Darnell says “I do but I have killed people I like more than you” WTF? Is this the Darnell we have come to know all these seasons who is always portrayed as gentle and reasonable? I know he has a mysterious past, but should this change his whole character? I thought there would be a twist at the end that maybe Darnell was just pretending to be about to murder Catalina to teach Joy a lesson. The ending was bizarre. Since there haven’t been any recent threads I have seen on Earl, I also really enjoyed the recent Pinky episode where it turned out Joy and Randy had a crush on each other as kids. It was sweet and funny. Did anybody recognize the Dr. from Loveboat? ---
**Author:** ![Kalhoun](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/3bc359/32.png) [@Kalhoun](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kalhoun)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 5:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-4-23-2009-episode/494228/6 "2009-04-24T17:59:48Z")
Damn. We missed it. Could it be a dream sequence? This is just toooo weird. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 6:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-4-23-2009-episode/494228/7 "2009-04-24T18:07:43Z")
There was that episode recently that revealed Darnell had been a CIA assassin under his Harry Monroe identity. In fact, the reason he was under witness protection was that he testified against other agents. He got out of witness protection by participating in one more mission with his father, also a Company agent, accompanied by a drugged-up Earl. But yeah, I had also been hoping Darnell was trying to teach Joy a lesson and hoped that Joy would intervene. I just don’t think he expected her to clean his clock with the shovel. Darnell was telling the truth about his murderous past, though. I liked Joy’s line while hugging Catalina: “I always knew if I hugged you that you would smell like burritos and stripper poles.” ---
**Author:** ![gytalf2000](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/ac91a4/32.png) [@gytalf2000](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gytalf2000)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 6:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-4-23-2009-episode/494228/8 "2009-04-24T18:09:25Z")
I was thinking that he was acting ruthless in order to give Joy the chance to tell him to stop/dissuade him from murdering Catalina. In the end, however, all he got was a shovel to the back of the head! I wonder if this will be followed up on in the next episode? ---
**Author:** ![Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/face_intentionally_left_blank/32/288_2.png) [@Face\_Intentionally\_Left\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Face_Intentionally_Left_Blank)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 6:22pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-4-23-2009-episode/494228/9 "2009-04-24T18:22:25Z")
I’m thinking the, “act ruthless and slowly telegraph his murderous intentions” routine was what others said here - a chance for Joy to be properly horrified and come to her senses. It would, to me, fit in with Crab-man’s character. Though we discovered he had been an assassin, his interaction with the other characters has always been about reasonable, peaceful conflict resolution. They didn’t spell it out in the episode, which is a bit unusual, but I’ll go with that unless they revisit the event and say otherwise. ---
**Author:** ![Mikemike2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikemike2/32/305_2.png) [@Mikemike2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikemike2)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 6:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-4-23-2009-episode/494228/10 "2009-04-24T18:23:00Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > There was that episode recently that revealed Darnell had been a CIA assassin under his Harry Monroe identity. In fact, the reason he was under witness protection was that he testified against other agents. He got out of witness protection by participating in one more mission with his father, also a Company agent, accompanied by a drugged-up Earl. I definitely missed that episode. Being a professional murderer still does not seem to jive with Darnell’s character of a fairly gentle guy who really likes the weed. Did he have some kind of epiphany that made him change into his current character? ---
**Author:** ![Tixenfleaz](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/e9a140/32.png) [@Tixenfleaz](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tixenfleaz)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 6:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-4-23-2009-episode/494228/11 "2009-04-24T18:30:31Z")
I dunno. Joy wasn’t the problem. Catalina was. And he seemed pretty resigned as to the solution. I know it’s just a sitcom, but I prefer my Crabmen to be more cuddly and less killery. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 6:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-4-23-2009-episode/494228/12 "2009-04-24T18:31:09Z")
> [@Mikemike2](#): > > I definitely missed that episode. Being a professional murderer still does not seem to jive with Darnell’s character of a fairly gentle guy who really likes the weed. Did he have some kind of epiphany that made him change into his current character? He left the company because he had refused to kill a juvenile king of some socialist republic or another. He testified against the company and his former bosses. He had been brought into the business by his father but realized he was too gentle-natured for the job and didn’t have the ruthless nature it demanded. ---
**Author:** ![cochrane](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/cochrane/32/10441_2.png) [@cochrane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/cochrane)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 6:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-4-23-2009-episode/494228/13 "2009-04-24T18:36:10Z")
There’s another thread about last night’s episode. > **["My Name is Earl" -- 4/23/2009 episode](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=515300)** > > What did you guys think about last night’s episode? I’m going to request that the two be merged. ---
**Author:** ![C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/b2d939/32.png) [@C\_K\_Dexter\_Haven](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/C_K_Dexter_Haven)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 7:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-4-23-2009-episode/494228/14 "2009-04-24T19:01:16Z")
So merged. ---
**Author:** ![Mikemike2](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mikemike2/32/305_2.png) [@Mikemike2](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mikemike2)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 7:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-4-23-2009-episode/494228/15 "2009-04-24T19:06:22Z")
> [@cochrane](#): > > He left the company because he had refused to kill a juvenile king of some socialist republic or another. He testified against the company and his former bosses. He had been brought into the business by his father but realized he was too gentle-natured for the job and didn’t have the ruthless nature it demanded. That is starting to sound more reasonable. I can also see the interpretation that maybe the Crabman really didn’t plan to kill Catalina. That sure wasn’t the feeling one got from the show though. ---
**Author:** ![Bryan\_Ekers](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bryan_ekers/32/183_2.png) [@Bryan\_Ekers](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bryan_Ekers)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 9:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-4-23-2009-episode/494228/16 "2009-04-24T21:41:50Z")
Well, changing from a nice guy to a cold-blooded killer isn’t so bad. I’m still friends with my cousin Francis. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Second\_Stone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/bbe5ce/32.png) [@The\_Second\_Stone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Second_Stone)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-4-23-2009-episode/494228/17 "2009-04-24T22:11:49Z")
> [@Tixenfleaz](#): > > Crabman (while sharpening big ass knife): “I’m not doing this to scare you. I’m doing this so it won’t hurt as much!” > > Damned if Crabman wasn’t gonna cut Catalina’s throat! I think I prefer my sitcoms to be a little less, well, chilling. No, it was pretty obvious that Crabman was trying to get Joy to intervene so that Catalina would forgive her. Remember he said he had to think? > [@Mikemike2](#): > > Did anybody recognize the Dr. from Loveboat? Did anyone recognize that Doc from the Love Boat was Siegfried from Get Smart? ---
**Author:** ![FriarTed](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/friarted/32/1052_2.png) [@FriarTed](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/FriarTed)\ **Post date:** [April 24, 2009, 10:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-4-23-2009-episode/494228/18 "2009-04-24T22:14:20Z")
Good Lord! Of course, Crabman was never planning to kill her! And when he comes to in the hospital his first words to Joy will be “Thanks, Baby. I knew you wouldn’t let me down.” Who knew Ethan Supplee could sing like that? ---
**Author:** ![Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/u/f08c70/32.png) [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Uncle_Brother_Walker)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2009, 4:55am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-4-23-2009-episode/494228/19 "2009-04-25T04:55:39Z")
I liked Crabman showing his ruthless side. 🙂 Catalina and Joy becoming “friends”? Questionable. Don’t like where this storyline could be headed. Did anybody else see Zack Braff as part of the beach conga band? ---
**Author:** ![dropzone](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dropzone/32/7515_2.png) [@dropzone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/dropzone)\ **Post date:** [April 25, 2009, 5:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-4-23-2009-episode/494228/20 "2009-04-25T05:04:05Z")
> [@Uncle\_Brother\_Walker](#): > > Catalina and Joy becoming “friends”? Questionable. Don’t like where this storyline could be headed. But a guy could hope they become MORE than friends, right? 😃 I’m surprised that a single flex of Catalina’s abs didn’t toss that lawnmower back three feet. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/my-name-is-earl-4-23-2009-episode/494228.md?page=2)