This was far and away the best episode of the show so far. If this is any indication of how the season is going to progress, this show has a bright future ahead. The way Kenny was written throughout was fantastic, and Allison is my new favourite character. I do hope in upcoming weeks that Shannon and Pat, in particular, get more things to do outside of other people. Other than that, though, this episode was phenomenal. The music was on point, and I greatly admired the directing too. Let's talk about it.
The best part about this episode, by far, was Kenny's interactions with Allison, and Allison as a character in general. It was so refreshing to have another gay character at Kenny's school and to find out her own struggles with accepting it, and trying to figure out her place in the world. I sincerely hope the show brings her back down the line because I
really enjoyed her. The creation of this LGBT group at the school alone was impressive, and the thought behind it was nice. The story about how Kenny took things too far was humbling for him. I really did think he learned something from it. I think he certainly learned his lesson about not forcing someone to come out on behalf of anyone else. That was a cheeky bit of art imitating real life, and I loved every second of it. It was scary to think that about what Allison's parents would've done if they found out if it wasn't handled delicately. It's scary to think that teenagers all over the world are going through this. But when Kenny shows up to try to fix his mistake, and Allison's wearing the rainbow socks, I have never felt such excitement and pure happiness from a show in a long time. It was so poignant and touching, it really gave me great hope.
Kenny and Jimmy's plots directly bled into Shannon's story of the week. She's hosting a sewing club, which seems to be run similar to a sweat shop of sorts. It was funny to me, but there are probably people who found that in poor taste. The point of it was that she was becoming a leader, and she was going to be stuck in the boiler room unless Kenny's group would be there. And Jimmy doesn't know which group to go in either, because he feels comfortable to go to both groups and support both of his siblings. Jimmy is really a great character. I just wish they didn't forget about his E.D. Anyway, by the end of the episode Kenny and Shannon split the room they were given, and it's a really sweet moment between them. All three O'Neals children now have groups that they feel a part of, and they all feel like they're contributing something great to the school, and the world. It's a lovely message for families and kids everywhere, so I really hope people are watching this show.
Contrarily, we have more shenanigans with Eileen and VP Murray. This is still the dullest part of most of the show for me, aside from Pat's lack of characterization. Although, he did get to spend some time with Murray too, in a hilarious indoor picnic scene. Perhaps I'm just more curious about what the kids are doing that I don't give the parents enough credit. But for my money, they could use some better plots down the line. But like I said before, this episode gave me hope. And I already liked Murray as a character by himself, he's a great dose of comic relief. I'd be fine to see more of him.
"How did I let myself get so carried away?" "Probably when you started calling yourself Gay Moses."
Lasly, we had Jodi's plot, which I really liked. I never knew about her struggles with her weight until now. I liked how they didn't dwell upon it that much, and I also admired how we could see some layers to her. We always see Jodi smiling and helping Eileen and the family with their own problems, but we never get to see how she feels about herself. This was a great way to have her feel more included in the central plot. Her deal with Eileen I thought was a bit unnecessary but I'm glad they both followed through so we could see her modelling anyway. My heart was soaring. And the family was right there to support her. I felt like I was there with them. This show relies a great deal on the support between everyone in the family. It really is a great message for a really great show, which had an amazing outing this week. You can't say that about every television show on the air these days. Before I go, here's a late
Happy National Coming Out Day message, and if you watched this show, I hope it made you feel some kind of good way about yourself and your family.
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About the Author
Laura is a Media Studies student from Canada, infatuated with several TV shows, and is trying to expand to movies. She also enjoys music from all genres, but her favourite band is Muse. She is a huge Potterhead, and loves books by John Green. She will be reviewing Brooklyn Nine-Nine, The Real O'Neals, Please Like Me, Mindhunter, and It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia for the 2016-2017 season. Feel free to connect with her on any of the social media sites listed below.
