 Stereogum referred to the opening scene of the episode as " Rudd generally being awesome . " Cortney Martin , writing for the Houston Chronicle , was mixed overall . While being complimentary towards Rudd 's performance and Greenfield 's reappearance , the reviewer disliked the mystery of Desmond 's missing tapes , stating , " the mystery of the week turns out to be the lamest non @-@ mystery of the show 's entire run , I think . " The reviewer opined that the subplot involving the Fitzpatricks was boring but that Marino 's reappearance was a good surprise . Brian Raftery of Idolator believed that Rudd 's character could have been based on a number of different real @-@ life figures but guessed Courtney Love and Matthew Sweet as potential influences . 
