Jane Lynch is back on Happy's Place for the second of her two guest episodes, and Val is already making trouble. In tonight’s new episode, Lynch’s bartender character, Gabby’s narcissistic mother, starts looking at tavern-owner Bobbie’s late dad Happy’s vacant house while Gabby rooms with her indefinitely.
The setup gives the episode its charge, but Lynch said the real pull is in the family triangle at the center of it. Gabby wants Val to buy the house because she is committed to fixing their relationship and is going to live with her, Lynch said, turning a real estate move into a test of whether mother and daughter can do more than coexist. Bobbie, for her part, needs the house sold, which puts her immediately on guard.
Lynch said she and Reba McEntire were eager to work together after knowing each other for years, even though this was her first time acting with McEntire. Before filming, McEntire bought a whole case of Lynch’s preferred energy drink and had it put in her room. Lynch called her “the genuine article,” saying she wears her fame and success beautifully.
That easy off-camera warmth makes the on-screen friction sharper. Lynch said she drew Val from people she has known in real life, the kind who make you feel as if you are the problem while speaking with logic and compassion. “It was funny because we all talked, and everybody has encountered this kind of a relationship in their life,” she said. “It’s where you think you’re the one with the problem and they lead you to believe that you are, and they’ll speak very compassionately and with great logic about how it’s your problem.”
She also said she wanted a handbag in every scene because that is part of Val’s identity, and she loved how “persnickety and kind of insulting” the character is while walking through the house. “Bobbie smelled the danger of Val,” Lynch said, adding that she especially enjoyed catching McEntire’s eye as Val toured the home while Bobbie stared daggers at her. Val does not notice, which is exactly what keeps the tension alive.
Happy's Place has made room for a character who can be both comic and corrosive, and Lynch sounded ready to keep playing her if the chance comes. Asked about a return, she said she would be in a happy place if she were asked back to the series.
