Because the episode was one long sketch, Fred and Carrie plunged right into the action, and skipped the the opening credits. Weirdly, I really missed the theme, and the bumpers throughout! You have to tip your hat to whoever picked "Feel It All Around" by Washed Out as the Portlandia's theme. That song perfectly captures the laid-back vibe of the sketches. Also, has anyone noticed that there's a dude in the opening credits who looks exactly like George Clooney in Syriana? Just wanted to point that out. 

Anyway, at the top of the show, Fred and Carrie received a phone call from Mr. Mayor (Kyle MacLachlan) inviting them to brunch in one of this week's few standalone bits. There are a handful of gags packed into this lightning-quick sketch, my favorite being that Fred and Carrie have a Bert and Ernie sleeping arrangement.

As the episode progressed, the line for the brunch spot grew to the point where it became a Woodstock-like event and extended all the way past the Women and Women First Bookstore. At the end of the line, a weird Mad Max, post-apocalyptic wasteland pops up, where Peter and Nance (characters from Portlandia's pilot episode) find themselves face-to-face with guest-star Tim Robbins as a lip-pierced mad man with a goofy accent.

After the episode, there was an advertisement for an hour-long "director's cut" of "Brunch Village" that will be airing on IFC later this summer; but I think one viewing of the 30-minute version of "Brunch Village" was enough for me. While it was fun to watch Fred and Carrie mash-up some of the memorable characters they've created in the past couple of years in one long bit, I would have preferred that they just ended the season with an episode that highlights what they do best: six silly sketches and a runner. But Portlandia has always been an ambitious show that's not afraid to fail. It's one of the few shows on television that's immensely watchable even when it misfires.