36 pages • 1 hour read
The Odd Couple
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Act 2Act Summaries & Analyses
Act 2, Scene 1 Summary
The crew returns to the apartment two weeks later for their next poker game. The apartment underwent a drastic change and is described as “Sterile! Spotless!” (41). Felix is no longer an active participant in the game. Rather, he is serving the players, fussing over coasters and wet glasses. The group has a divided reaction to this new development. Speed and Roy are annoyed with Felix’s constant cleaning. Speed laments, “In the last three hours we played four minutes of poker. I’m not giving up my Friday nights to watch cooking and housekeeping” (43). Conversely, Murray and Vinnie are pleased with the new development and are enjoying a sandwich that Felix prepared. Speed tells Oscar to get the game back under control, but Oscar says living with Felix taught him that changing him is a lost cause. He remarks, “I’m cooped up with Mary Poppins twenty-four hours a day” (44). Frustrated, the men begin leaving. On his way out, Roy tells Oscar that if Felix continues his insufferable antics, they’ll have no choice but to play poker elsewhere.
Now alone with Oscar, Felix says he can’t believe their friends think they’re happy. Oscar says he’s right, but not for the reason he thinks. Felix’s obsessive cleanliness is wearing Oscar down. Felix tells Oscar he knew he would eventually be irritated with him. Oscar, noticing Felix’s anger, tries to goad him into throwing a cup to release his emotions. Felix tries breaking the cup but somehow hurts his arm. Oscar says this is laughable, and that it proves just how uptight Felix can be.
After acknowledging the importance of salvaging their living arrangements, Oscar says they seem to have difficulty connecting and that they should try and do something together. He points out that neither of them has tried dating since their respective divorces. Oscar tells Felix he wants to go on a date soon, but Felix declines, saying he’s lost the taste for it.
Oscar begs Felix to join him, telling him that he only has to “eat and talk” (53). He says there are two sisters in the building, a widow and a divorcee, that he wants to get to know. Felix begrudgingly agrees on the grounds that he can cook—he says they’ve been spending too much money eating out. Oscar is excited, but says he plans to enforce certain rules: Felix can’t mention Frances, dwell on the past, or complain. Felix agrees, and Oscar is hopeful when he says he’ll be looking toward the future. Felix immediately calls Frances, asking for a recipe he thinks the women will like.
Act 2, Scene 2 Summary
Oscar cheerfully arrives home ahead of their date. Felix is angry with him: Oscar is an hour late and stopped by a bar on the way home. Felix tells Oscar he should have called ahead if he knew he was running late and scolds him, saying that his London broil will dry out since they will now have to eat off his schedule.
Their two dates, Gwendolyn and Cecily Pigeon, arrive shortly after. Oscar goes into the kitchen to check on dinner, leaving Felix to entertain their dates. Felix is floundering. He immediately begins telling the sisters about his kids and Frances—everything Oscar told him not to do. To his surprise, Gwendolyn and Cecily find this endearing. They remark that they’ve never met a man who is so emotionally vulnerable. Felix’s reminiscing prompts the sisters to recall their own ex-husbands. Oscar returns to find the trio sobbing together. He announces the death of the London broil, which sends Felix rushing to the kitchen to inspect the damage.
While Felix is away, the sisters tell Oscar that they adore Felix. Cecily says, “He’s so sensitive. So fragile. I just want to bundle him up in my arms and take care of him” (69). Felix returns from the kitchen even more distraught than before. He shows the sisters the burnt dish, which prompts them all to cry even more. The Pigeon sisters invite them to join them for dinner in their apartment instead. Felix pulls Oscar aside and insists that he’ll be staying at home. Oscar consoles him, saying that they loved him. Felix holds his ground. He refuses to be with the women after crying in front of them. Oscar tells him it made them love him more. After more fruitless back and forth, Felix admits that he cried out of emotional attachment to his ex-wife and children. Oscar is furious and accuses Felix of never wanting to change.
Act 2 Analysis
In Act 2, Oscar and Felix’s flaws are taken to hyperbolic heights. When Felix is allowed to host the poker game, he participates more as a waiter than a player. His first line of the act is to serve Murray, telling him, “An ice-cold glass of beer for Murray” (41). In this instance, Felix’s desire to control his surroundings is actively preventing him from socializing with his friends. Similarly, Oscar’s financial problems do not seem to have improved. Despite his new roommate, he is still trying to pay his child support in unconventional ways. During the game, he exclaims, “It’s a quarter to twelve. I still got an hour and a half to win this month’s alimony” (45). Not only is Oscar still gambling, but he is also actively deluding himself into thinking he can support his family off his vices. Both examples show that each man is continuing to act selfishly. Felix’s housekeeping prevents his friends from enjoying their game, and Oscar would rather play cards than provide for his family.
Act 2 structurally diverges from the rest of the play in that it is the only act to be broken into two distinct scenes. As both of these scenes take place in social situations, a possible interpretation is that Simon wanted to show the extent to which Oscar is having difficulty containing his frustration toward Felix. This interpretation connects to Simon’s repeated satirization of marriage by specifically highlighting the social expectations of couples. There is a distinction between how couples are expected to behave in public and in private. When they are outside of their home (particularly in front of friends and family), it is improper to show any signs of strife. However, in private, they are free from the scrutiny of the outside world and are free to vent their frustrations. In both the poker game and their double date with the Pigeon sisters, Oscar’s emotional state widely varies. When he is playing with his friends, the stage directions instruct the actor portraying Oscar to act as though he is “containing his anger” (43). Once Speed expresses his frustrations with Felix, Oscar offers an angry rebuttal, snapping “You get this one stinkin’ night a week. I’m cooped up here with Mary Poppins twenty-four hours a day” (43-44). Though he is clearly somewhat more comfortable expressing his displeasure to his friends, he is still vastly more contained here than he is elsewhere in the play. When he is alone with Felix, he has resorted to anything from throwing food to trying to instigate physical fights. He is much more buttoned up with the Pigeons. Despite having just argued with Felix moments before their arrival, he mostly speaks of him in positive terms. When Gwendolyn Pigeon comments on the cleanliness of Oscar’s apartment, he simply quips, “I have a man who comes in every night” (61). However, as soon as the Pigeons leave, Oscar and Felix have another fight when Felix refuses to continue the date. In this act, Simon’s primary satirical target are the norms couples are expected to follow, often to their detriment.
One of the comedic devices utilized in Act 2 is juxtaposition—a side-by-side comparison of two things, such as settings, characters, or ideas. The Odd Couple uses juxtaposition for comedic effect to showcase the extreme differences between Oscar and Felix. The most tangible example of this is the poker game in Act 1 and the poker game in Act 2. The second poker game, which takes place under Felix’s influence, makes direct references to moments in Act 1 to humorously highlight change. In Act 1, guests were treated to moldy sandwiches and warm soda. The men comment that Felix makes incredible sandwiches but are stuck taking the risk on Oscar’s. However, in Act 2, Felix’s sandwiches are the stars of the game. Vinnie and Murray marvel at the change:
VINNIE. He cuts off the crusts. That’s why the sandwich is so light.
MURRAY. And then he only uses the soft, green part of the lettuce. (Chewing.) It’s really delicious. (44)
Similarly, Oscar’s guests were previously forced to breathe in his smoke. Now, the air is meticulously filtered by Felix’s purifiers. The change serves a dual purpose: it is used for comedy and to showcase how quickly Felix was able to exert his influence over the apartment. As such, it provides context for Oscar’s continually rising temper throughout Scene 1.
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By Neil Simon
