When I realized that this episode would be revisiting the famous Pool episode back in Season 1, I wasn't too excited. However, the story ends up serving as a strong thematic baseline to carry the rest of the episode. Also, I believe this is the first episode that starts to flash back to actual scenes filmed in the past for the show (so a more traditional flashback), rather than flashing back to new scenes filmed in the past, if that makes sense. It's great to see a show, that respects it's characters' past so strongly, now begin to respect it's own actual past just as well. As the show grows older, I want to see more of that.
The themes of this episode deal with how we recognize growth and change, and how we re-assess ourselves to make the best decisions to adapt to those changes. For the main, these are classic stories relating to parents and the growth of their children (The Pool, Randall / Beth, Kate), for Kevin, it's a more personal story looking inwards.
The pool storyline doesn't give us a huge amount of story that we haven't seen before, just simply that the kids are growing up and Jack and Rebecca have to recognize that. We revisit some of the same troubling behaviors as we have seen in the past; Kevin deliberately embarrasses Randall in front of his friends, and Rebecca fears the worst when some popular girls suddenly take an interest in Kate. What makes this episode different however, is the self-awareness that the children bring to these more grown-up situations. In a particularly powerful moment, Kevin (like his future-self) looks inwards, and asks his father if he is a good person. While Kate, when realizes she has been set-up by her popular classmates, makes the best of the situation rather than self-destructing. It ends up being a great story because, even though the kids are growing up, and we see Jack and Rebecca reacting to this, we also see the kids start to develop their own senses of self that we recognize in them as adults.
The Beth / Randall story is split into two, with Beth's worry over Tess' new haircut threatens to hurt Tess' self-confidence, and Randall is overprotective when he accompanies Deja on a trail school-run and a strange person sits next to her on the bus. The Beth / Tess story is OK, although I would question the similarities Beth has here with Rebecca as a parent. I would think Beth is more empowering than the show is giving her credit for here? No? Randall's story is more of what we've seen before. I continue to like the portrayal of the growth of the children characters; the new hair, and Deja texting Malik as the bus route so happens to drive past where he works.
The Kate / Toby story is a trickier one. Oh sure, it works from a plot perspective, a care worker comes over to assess the situation now that their baby, who is blind, is home. Kevin, Rebecca and Miguel are also there as support. We learn that Kevin has been fundamental in this period of adjustment, and that Kate, while seemingly fine on the service, has been overeating to cope with the stresses the situation brings. The story also has some strong moments; Kate's speech near the end about how her home will be a house of hope is amazing, although it is clear that she is masking some self-doubt and guilt around this situation. We also see that Toby has been losing weight, and are treated to a reveal that Toby has been secretly going to the gym without telling Kate. This story will need some greater exploring, as at the moment it doesn't track. Why the secrecy? Why now, after all this time, has Toby committed to losing weight? I hope, and trust, that Toby's motivations will be explored so we can understand the eventual conflict from both sides.
Finally, the Kevin story is surprisingly strong.We learn in a sweet scene with Kevin and the baby that he has reached over 180 days of sobriety, and we see that in a lot of ways, it is helping him life a better life. He is a rawer, stronger actor, he's taking care of a houseplant, and he has been their to support Kate and Toby. However, Kevin is soon faced with a decision of whether to take a job out in Chicago, and rightly worries that some of the support mechanisms he has in place, namely his family, the people that he can look after, will threaten his sobriety. In a moment that This Is Us tends to do very well, the past helps inform the present, where Young Jack and Young Kevin's conversation by the pool (the 'Am I a good person' one) in which Jack tells Kevin to surround himself with people he loves and can look after, sees Kevin decide to go to see his Uncle Nicky, who from the premiere, we know needs some support. I'm not sure why I like the Kevin story so much, I think it's just so nuanced, and really digs deep. Also, I would imagine we are going to be treated to a Kevin / Cassidy (from last week's Premiere) pairing in the future - which feels exciting.
So there we have it. It's a strong, classic This is Us episode; B+.
MODERN FAMILY: "Snapped" (Season 11, Episode 2)
Two out of the three stories were of a higher quality than expected on this week's MODERN FAMILY, which continues to limp out of the gate towards its Series Finale. Unfortunately, I'm not seeing any long game at play for the final season, with the story-lines, like last week's Premiere, mostly self-contained and as disparate as ever.
Don't get me wrong, the Mitch / Cam refrigerator story is ridiculous, not to mention implausible, as we are not quite there with the technology. However, the actors rise to the occasion and the result is a few laugh out loud moments, such as Mitch signing the 'Shallow' duet with Bridget (the refrigerator), and Bridget equally showing that she has retained information from both Mitch and Cam, igniting a conflict between them. It's stupid, sure, but for whatever reason this one tickled me. Of course, once the conflict is out in the open, it doesn't really go anywhere, and doesn't hit home on any more dramatic realizations such as, hey, I don't know, why they both felt the need to bond with a refrigerator in the first place.
The Phil / Gloria story, where Phil becomes convinced that Gloria injured her rival classmate is a classic Modern Family farce, with some funny moments that got a laugh or two out of me. The clever repetition of the 'Snapped' TV show (that seeped into other stories, which is about the only link we got between the three stories this week), and the bit with Gloria filing her nails in the classroom were particular winners.
The Claire story, unfortunately, becomes old within about 4 seconds, as she tries to keep everyone out of the house by pretending to be sick, so that a business magazine can film her for a photo-shoot. The story, like many on this show nowadays, comes across too harshly, and doesn't go anywhere. At about the 5th time of Claire mentioning some ridiculous reason as to why one of her children need to leave the house, it's almost cringe-worthy.
Also, Alex comes home from Antarctica, and no one cares. She turns up at the door and Claire hurries her out to get some soup, without even so much as a hello. The worst bit about Alex's return is that she shivers in all of her scenes, like Antarctica is so cold that even though she has spent what must be a 8 hour+ flight plus travel in the warm sunshine of LA, she hasn't defrosted yet. What? Is that supposed to be funny?
Marginal improvement from last week; C.
SUPERSTORE "Testimonials" (Season 5, Episode 2)
The main story, where the workers all struggle to give Mateo strong testimonials for his deportation lawyer is some solid character stuff, with the montage in Amy's office particularly effective. What elevates the story however is the final realization by the lawyer that ICE may have been called in by Corporate, which would be illegal during the labor dispute that was going on at the time. The scene where Amy tries and fails to trick Corporate into admitting this is particularly hilarious. The conclusion is clever with a bit of an emotional punch, as Jeff agrees to go on record to say he was present when Corporate decided to call in ICE, thanks to a photo placed in Mateo's possession by Cheyenne. Mateo would have been proud.
Mateo's sudden release from detainment in the closing tag does unfortunately feel a big tacked on, and I wish the show had spent slightly more time on his release. However the show makes clear that this is just the beginning, as he will need to fight the ongoing attempts to deport him.
The rest of the episode is fine. Sandra is convinced that Dina is throwing her a surprise engagement party, and the more Dina denies it, the more convinced Sandra is. Of course, Jonah cannot resist throwing her a party anyway, and there was a neat character moment where Jonah basically admits now that he has the idea in his head, he wants to do it regardless.
A solid episode; B.
MOM "Pop Pop and a Puma" (Season 7, Episode 2)
I'm not particularly fond that this is the second episode in a row that deals with Christy working at Adam's bar. I don't think these stories are particularly effective, and they aren't exactly unique to the world that this show has created. This isn't a workplace comedy, and the stories set here tend to fall flat. There is, granted, some comedic potential to an alcoholic working at a bar, but although the show has explored this in the past, it feels like that is not a well that the show wants to mine, so therefore, what's the point?
Of course, one could argue that the story isn't about Christy working at the bar, but about a Christy / Adam conflict putting Bonnie in the position where she has to choose sides. Now this is the story that should have been explored further. I would have been perfectly happy if everything that happened at the bar occurred off-screen, it could have even been funnier if we had heard the conflict as Bonnie did, through their explanation and interpretation of it.
The exploration and conclusion of this story is redeemed somewhat by the show digging a bit deeper, by leaning into Christy acting as a teenager, Marjorie suspects that Christy is reacting this way because it brings up memories of the abandonment she has already gone through with Bonnie as a Mother. It also yields some laughs, such as Bonnie admitting and then continuing to simply agree with whoever has the last word.
The subplot is standard sitcom fair, with Jill outshining her new boyfriend, Andy, at the gym, causing him to feel insecure. The Andy / Jill pairing was very effective last season, but I would like to see the specificity of their relationship, in particular their two vastly different backgrounds colliding, continued to be explored.
Finally, the running bit with Wendy's hair, and the mimicking of 'Orlando' by the other characters, was very funny.
Not as a strong as last week, but still a good half-hour; B-.
THE GOOD PLACE "A Girl From Arizona (Part 2)" (Season 4, Episode 2)
After watching the concluding part to THE GOOD PLACE's two-parter it's pretty safe to say that these episodes never should have been separated. While the show is still struggling to ground some of the stories in anything remotely relatable, the long scene in the middle of the show between Eleanor and Michael, where Michael gives Eleanor a pep-talk saying that a girl from Arizona is exactly the type of person that can save humanity, pretty much saves the day. It does exactly what the show needs, grounds the zaniness in a relatable, human way. Who hasn't had a crisis of confidence like that? They need to continue to do this, to explore all the craziness from the very human perspectives of the four leads. It's also acted exceptionally by Kristen Bell and Ted Danson.
Michael's pep-talk works, and spurs Eleanor into action. She immediately links Chidi and Simone to try and get Chidi to convince Simone to take her situation seriously, and that this is not all happening inside of her head. The resulting scene is incredibly sweet and complex. You buy the attraction between Chidi and Simone, they are intellects, and their banter and dialogue is smart and witty. However, you also feel for Eleanor, who is breaking apart on the inside.
The rest of the show is also enjoyable. Brent's utter pigheadedness is played so well, and I love that even when he is on a faux-talk show where the other guests talk about their humanitarian achievements, that he can talk about stocks and shares and general bullshit and still not blink an eyelid. Brent is reflective of pretty much everything that's wrong with society today in the real-world, not to mention similarities between Trump, and other figures in power. It will be good if the show could lean into that aspect heavier, paralleling the misgivings and ultimate corruption that is occurring in the real-world.
The Jason / Janet stuff, I'm going to be honest, I didn't really pay much attention to. It does nothing for me.
FRESH OFF THE BOAT "College" (Season 5, Episode 2)
This was a bit of a flat episode of FOTB, with some wasted potential. Louis and Jessica take Eddie to a tour of UCLA to visit Eddie's cousin, where Jessica realizes that this 'safety school' actually has some really high standards, and of course, worries that Eddie is not up to the challenge. In addition, she tries to keep Louis from telling Eddie that back in her college days, she was a bit of a wild child.
It's an OK story, but there's potential that in my opinion doesn't get explored. Firstly, let's stop and take a look at the character of Eddie. Do we really buy that Jessica actually believes for one second that Eddie can get into Harvard? How is Eddie doing academically? How realistic is this scenario? None of this really gets explored, so it's hard to tell exactly what we are supposed to feel here. Secondly, I was hoping that the references to Jessica's time in college would result in a strong flashback style episode as FOTB has done in the past. However, while we get some scenes of Jessica in college, they are mainly there for comedic relief (and not even really that comedic) rather than to add anything to the story.
The second story in this episode is Evan, Emery and Grandma exploring Los Angeles. This is a classic, 'my show doesn't take place in LA but is filmed in LA so let's get the characters out for some cheap location shots when the story dictates they go to LA', type fare. The references to Y2K, while funny, doesn't really equal a story.
A lot of wasted potential; C.
In summary:
This is Us: B+
Superstore: B
The Good Place: B
Mom: B-
Modern Family: C
Fresh Off the Boat: C
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