How fun was this episode? I am a huge fan of Phantom of the Opera so I am very excited that The Goldbergs chose to do an episode about it! Adam, Lainey, and Barry were all excellent this week as they participated in the school musical.
Barry has always been against musicals and this week is no different. He kicks Adam after he wears the Phantom outfit to breakfast, but he quickly changes his mind once Lainey joins the Phantom cast. Barry's expressions and attitude were priceless as he can't believe that Lainey is into this musical. He said he thought they shared the same core values of believing musicals are lame. She reminds Barry that this just isn't a musical- it's Phantom! She is Christine, and Adam lands the role of Raoul, the other lead. The two are beyond excited, and I love seeing Lainey happy. She was great this episode. However, Barry isn't so thrilled to learn that his girlfriend and brother are the lead couple.
"We're like the power couple of show!"
"What?"
"It's acting. Don't make this weird."
Geoff warns Barry about a possible showmance between Adam and Lainey which makes him nervous. He visits rehearsal to keep an eye on things, and he's surprised to find that he likes theatre. The girls, the capes, etc. He looks mesmerized by the singing. He is so inspired that he goes to Ms. Cinoman and begs her to be in the musical. But he can't sing. He can rap though (I guess you can call that rapping...) Ms. Cinoman decides that he can work on sets and props.
Working on the set doesn't work out so well for Barry as he gets even more jealous of Lainey and Adam. The two try to practice Christine and Raoul's kiss, but Barry keeps playing with the chandelier and putting it between them. Barry loses control of the chandelier and it falls and lands on Ms. Cinoman. The chandelier shatters and also breaks Ms. Cinoman's arm.
Principal Ball tells the students that they cannot perform Phantom of the Opera since they don't have permission. Adam decides that he will change the words and the lyrics. Unfortunately, "The Phantasm of the Gymnatorium" just doesn't have the same spark as Phantom of the Opera, and it's still illegal.
Adam is disappointed that they won't get to do the play, and Barry ends up apologizing for ruining the musical. Barry said it was weird not fitting in. Adam explains that the theatre is the one place that he does fit in. I'm glad the two made up. Hopefully Barry won't give Adam so much grief about being in plays.
Elsewhere Erica tries to decide how to make her "Ultimate Senior Slacker Schedule." It will consist of two study halls, home ec, and her own independent study- Intro to Summer. Murray approves of this schedule and is impressed that she planned for it. Pops is surprised that Murray's okay with this, but Murray says his job is done since Erica got into college. Beverly notices Erica's schedule and is happy that she's taking home ec. Beverly thinks that Erica will finally learn how to run a household.
Beverly is so determined to get Erica to learn how to cook that she becomes the home ec teacher! Erica is absolutely mortified, and the jocks are mad, too. This is supposed to be an easy class! Beverly makes them cook a lasagna, but Erica tricks her by bringing in one from home. When Beverly tastes the lasagna and fails her daughter, Erica proves that this class was rigged and Beverly just wanted to make it as hard as possible.
The Principal and Coach end up meeting with Beverly to discuss the new direction that home ec is taking. Coach is upset because his whole team took the class, and they cannot fail. The Principal agrees and says that home ec will still be a fluff class. Beverly is disappointed and she's hurt because she thinks being a stay at home mom is looked down upon.
The episode ends on a high note because Murray gets Erica to see that Beverly works really hard everyday. The entire Goldberg family makes up and ends up eating a drama free meal together. This is a rare occurrence, but after an overly dramatic episode the whole family needed some happiness.
This was one of my favorite episodes of The Goldbergs! I really enjoyed the singing, and I loved that the show went back and forth between the musical and the home ec scenes with the Phantom of the Opera songs in the background. I also liked seeing Principal Ball and Ms. Cinoman again. Those two are great.
What did you think about this episode? Are you a Phantom of the Opera fan? Did you like the home ec scenes? Sound off in the comments section!
