The Goldbergs - Stefan King - Review
30 Oct 2016
JV Reviews The GoldbergsHappy Halloween everyone! I'm so glad The Goldbergs aired a Halloween episode this week as the ABC comedies always do holidays well. This week the Goldbergs celebrated Halloween in different ways: Erica and Barry dressed up and went to a school dance, and Adam tried to write a scary novel.
Erica continues to struggle with not having a boyfriend and therefore no date to the Halloween dance. She doesn't want to seem like a loser so she lies and tells Geoff she's going with Lainey's cousin. Barry loves that Erica is less popular than him now. "Oh how the mighty have fallen." Barry has no sympathy as he recalls all the bad things she did to him. Erica realizes that Barry is right: she has fallen and Barry is now more popular. "I'm the Barry!" She cries. Barry does not appreciate his name being referred to as a loser.
Erica receives good news: Evie's grandmother is sick and she can't come to the dance. She jumps at the chance to go as Geoff's date, but then Evie tells Erica that she can go after all. She also says that she's on to Erica and she is not going to steal Geoff from her. I just want to say that I think Evie is creepy. The way she touched Erica's cheek? Yeah, we would definitely have a problem.
Erica is dateless again after Lainey's cousin bails, and Lainey thinks it would be a great idea for Barry and Erica to go together. I agree with Erica when she said "This is the worst idea you've had since you said yes to dating Barry." Lainey thinks that no one will know Erica is going to the dance with her brother, but this plan fails. Barry trips, falls into the punch, and takes his costume off. "Erica's date is her brother!" She runs away completely humiliated.
Barry ends up saving the day by getting Geoff to cheer her up. Geoff plays the piano and sings to her. This was absolutely adorable! Can Erica and Geoff just be a couple already? They both deserve happiness, and I really want Evie to go away. I also liked that Barry and Erica had a nice bonding moment at the dance. They fight all the time, but they do care about each other.
In other news this week Adam decides he wants to be like his favorite author, Stephen King, and writes about the scariest thing he knows: Beverly. Beverly loves the story at first not realizing it's about her. She makes her book club read the story, which is titled "An Anthology of Horror" by Adam F. Goldberg, and they break the news to her. As Pops puts it, "the soul sucking monster in the story is you." Beverly is in denial at first, but after hearing everyone's opinions, she is furious.
Beverly makes Adam rewrite his story to make the "Veberly" more loveable and snuggly. He follows his mother's advice (he didn't have much choice), but Pops doesn't like the new story. He makes Beverly see that Veberly is complex and that's why the first story worked. She finally realizes she was wrong and is going to mail Stephen King Adam's original novel. She tells Adam it is a good story, and they hug. I like that Beverly could see she was wrong, and even though she still didn't like the "Veberly" she was able to look past it to help her son.
Sometimes we put on disguises but fortunately the people who love us always know what's going on on the inside and are always willing to help us get back out there. Turns out the best stories are the ones that come a real place." - Adam
I don't think this was my favorite Halloween episode, but I did enjoy it. I especially liked the costumes; I loved that everyone wanted to be Little Shop of Horrors characters. I'm also a huge mystery fan (maybe not Stephen King. That's a little too scary for me) so I can appreciate Adam's love for scary books.
What did you all think about this Halloween episode? Did you enjoy the costumes? Do you want Geoff and Erica to be a couple? Let me know in the comments!
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