‘The Mindy Project’ Recap: Danny Discovers He Has A Son — Sort Of

‘The Mindy Project’ takes us on a crazy road trip this week — Danny and the self-invited Morgan drive cross-country to see Danny’s dad after his heart attack. The odd couple makes a detour along the way because Danny found out he had a teenaged son — or does he?

Last week, as part of some very emotional television, we saw Danny (Chris Messina) preparing to jet off to California to visit his dad after a heart attack. Since nothing ever goes as planned, in the Oct. 20 episode Danny ends up stuck in the car on a road trip with the extremely carsick nurse Morgan (Ike Barinholtz). Thelma and Louise-esque shenanigans ensue, including Danny dropping the bomb that he has a secret family!

After days of fighting — there’s a hilarious moment where Danny buys a soft pretzel and refuses to share it with Morgan, who’s always broke (“Goddamn one percent-er!”) — they end up in Oklahoma, where Danny reveals to Morgan that he found out a month before about “a product from his wilder days”: the now 16-year-old Eric. Danny, who had no idea he had a teenaged son before Eric reached out, decided to use the trip as an opportunity to do the right thing and go visit him and his mother, whom he met at a Billy Joel concert. Um, what?! 

Danny Gets ‘Catfished’ By His Fake Son

Upon meeting Eric and his mom, Morgan instantly thinks something is up. As Danny and Eric bond (read: fist fight) outside, Morgan grills Danny’s ex and squeezes the truth out of her. It turns out that Eric isn’t Danny’s son at all — Evelyn lied to Eric because Danny is a better guy than his real father, and she didn’t think he’d actually reach out to Danny.

It’s sort of heartbreaking, but it makes Danny realize that he needs to be there for Leo — unlike the way his and Eric’s fathers neglected their sons. Can’t wait to see how Danny applies this newfound wisdom to his meeting with his father…if he actually gets to California. We’ll see!

HollywoodLifers, what did you think of this episode?

— Gabriella Ginsberg