Sexual Tension Fails to Light Up in 'The Couple Next Door' Episode 2

We're back for another installment of the Starz couple-swapping show, better known as The Couple Next Door. To the show's credit, the overabundance of storylines introduced in the pilot episode are already starting to connect, tidying up the show's messy plot. To the show's discredit, we are now officially a third of the way into the series, and no couple swapping has happened between our core four. At least they finally talked about it, though. 

The second episode picked up where the first left off, at least in Evie's head. That motorcycle ride with Danny did a number on her, and she started having sexy rain dreams about her neighbor. Becca also chomped at the bit to get the next-door neighbors into bed, but Danny thought it would complicate things too much.

Danny is the sensible one here, considering how awkward it would be to have to check the mail every day across the street from the people you slept with if this were to go to crap. They had rules about who they do and don't hook up with, and Becca's boredom shouldn't be allowed to ruin their lives. Danny's extracurricular work activities were doing that already. 

However, a drunken trip to the beach may have changed everything for the foursome. Let's get into it. 

You know what's really good for a marriage when you're going through a personal tragedy? A day-drinking trip to the beach with your hot neighbor you're already having sex dreams about. Slowly but surely, Evie was determined to make Pete's freak flag fly, and she made some headway when Becca and Danny admitted they were non-monogamous. Pete could not help his investigative journalist curiosity and badgered the couple with questions about how the situation worked and how they navigated those complicated dynamics. 

Evie noticed Pete's curiosity and explored some of her own by dancing close to Danny on the beach. She's got it bad, and both Danny and Becca noticed, but it went no further than a bit of grinding on the sand. The spark is lit,  though. Evie brought up that she and Pete have kept their relationship tame since getting together in college. She wanted to discuss broadening their horizons, and they banged it out on their couch in the name of research. Someone should get laid in this erotic thriller, at least! 

Meanwhile, across the street, Becca officially broached the subject of taking Evie and Pete to bed with Danny. He was adamant that it would make things too messy, and he enjoyed them too much as friends to add sex into the mix. But he felt Evie was back, right? The dominos are being set up and just need a little push to fall over. Maybe it'll happen at the midway point? 

Evie might be the one to make the push. The end of the episode showed her researching non-monogamy and couple swapping. She's intrigued by the prospect. However, Pete simultaneously discovered that Evie overfed the koi fish in their backyard, which signaled that she was still not in her right mind after the miscarriage. 

It feels like the series is setting Evie up to be unbalanced, which doesn't feel fair. She's experienced a devastating travesty and is grappling with the fact that she may never get to give birth to a baby. That's heavy. She should be able to consider a polyamorous relationship to help distract from her grief and expand her sexual horizons without it being painted as a sign that she's mentally unwell. Let's enter the 21st century with our sex positivity, The Couple Next Door, shall we? 

Evie may want to be more discerning about who she wants to explore this burgeoning side of her sexuality with, though, because Danny is about to land everyone in a whole lot of mess. 

In the pilot, Danny revealed that he needs a shady side gig escorting criminals to help pay off some debts. In Episode 2, we learn that he owes money to a woman named Lena for still-undisclosed reasons. His wanting to enter her flat when he delivered the first installment of money gave off strong "he fathered a baby with another woman, going against the non-monogamous rules of his relationship" vibes.

There is more to discover there, but first, Danny needs to get out of the side gig. He picked up another escort job after Lena pushed for money, but it was not nearly as easy as the first. As he was escorting his new client, he and the patrol were run off the road by a van of men in dark masks and serious weapons. Danny ripped off his helmet after the van ran him off his bike, meaning the masked assailants now know his face. He's way over his head and has no idea what to do about it.

To make matters worse, whatever he was supervising was tied up with Pete's investigation into the corrupt mayor. Pete did not see Danny at the construction site he was supervising, but he was very close to discovering that Danny was involved. When Pete does put that part of the puzzle together, he's not going to be on board with friendly neighbor sexploits. Everything is at stake here, Danny. Don't ruin it for all of us! 

Meanwhile, Alan got bold after Becca rejected him from her yoga class. While the couple were at the beach, he broke into her and Danny's house and found video evidence of their sex party with their vacation friends. He filmed the sex videos with his phone (like a boomer instead of just taking the memory card out of the camera). At first, it seemed like Alan would keep them for his private pervy collection. But then Danny stopped by and threatened him for creeping on Becca in her yoga class. 

The threat, coupled with the text messages between Becca and her fellow yoga instructors talking about Alan creeping them out, pushed him over the edge. He set up a website with videos of Danny and Becca's sexual adventures to expose Becca to the nosy and conservative community. There's going to be serious drama when that site goes live. 

Alan has limited time to be a creep, though. His differently abled wife has finally ordered the chair lift to allow her to go upstairs and hang out with her reclusive husband. He's gotten away with his creeper tendencies because she's been stuck downstairs, but his style is about to be seriously cramped. Let's hope she can stop his creepy behavior, but since Alan is the main character returning for Season 2, we are definitely fearful for his poor wife. 

The show is getting darker, and the webs are starting to connect, but it's time for The Couple Next Door to get sexier. 

The Couple Next Door will release new episodes on Starz every Friday through February 21, 2025. Episodes are available to stream on the Starz app with a subscription. Season 2 has already been greenlit.