Being Jill

Suburgatory, S02E16

Tessa, wanting to have something good on her college application, asked Jill to take her on as her intern.  To Tessa's dismay, her new boss was less impressive and more exhausting than she had imagined.  George tried to follow the therapist's advice to distract Noah from his feelings for Carmen until they died out.  Dalia also gave Mr. Wolfe advice about how to feel better about his breakup with Chef Alan.

Of course, I can give Tessa a lot of credit for being ambitious by jumping at the opportunity she saw in working for Jill.  It's good that she's motivated to get into college and all, but I didn't like the way that she basically pushed Dallas aside, who has been so great to her, the second she thought that Jill might make her look more accomplished.  Maybe so (because let's be real--the crystal store isn't going to wow admissions personnel), but I wish that Tessa had thought to speak to Dallas first before she nearly begged Jill for the job.  I don't like seeing Dallas hurt like that.

Unsurprisingly, Tessa did not like Jill as a boss.  I don't know why she would have thought it would work.  I mean, she babysat for Jill and Noah before.  She couldn't have possibly thought that Jill was less terrible than she seemed.  I would just look at that crib made out of bones (or tusks?) and realize that I was going to work for someone crazy and most likely insensitive.  My favorite crazy thing that Tessa was tasked to do was to interepret Opus' review for Jill's new book.  That was the stupidest and most pointless thing I could imagine Tessa doing for her that involved writing.  It was a good way, however, to teach Tessa that she might have been a bit jumping the gun when asking to work for Jill.  I don't think I've seen Tessa look so mad in a long time.  Seeing her writing up "Opus'" review with so much hatred, I wouldn't have been surprised if she later went to Jill and shoved her own book up her ass.

My favorite part of the story was the very end after Tessa had seen Jill for the self-loathing and pitiful woman that she really was.  By then Tessa wasn't admiring Jill's success or anything and realized that she had been pretty terrible to Dallas.  I'm not mad at Dallas for making Tessa straight out tell her that the person who could teach her how to be a good person was Dallas, not Jill.  I really loved how Dallas pulled that compliment out of Tessa and graciously took Tessa back as an employee.  If she didn't, it would sort of contradict that compliment.  Still, I think that Tessa is lucky that Dallas has a heart of gold.  She could have easily been petty and immature about taking Tessa back, but instead she welcomed her with an open arm.

I didn't think much at first about George doing his best to get Carmen out of Noah's mind.  It just felt like with Noah being married, that was the most sensible thing to do.  However, his persistence and tendency to defend Jill was mostly about his own issues about Alex leaving him long ago.  I wouldn't have ever thought that George and Jill might have something in common, but I liked that this story showed that they do.  It had just looked like George was trying to do right by his friend, but he was really sympathizing with Jill and trying to protect her (and himself).  That's pretty interesting.  Luckily, George isn't as bad as Jill, but we might see more sides of her (like her being her own biggest critic) as Noah continues to pursue Carmen.

I felt a little relived that Carmen didn't have romantic feelings for Noah.  It made his public announcement for divorce and that ridiculous shower scene between him and Carmen seem silly.  I don't get the impression that Carmen is the type to hide her feelings, so I think that she would have made it clearer if she had liked Noah from long ago, even if he were married.  Noah, looking a little swept away by "love," doesn't want to give up.  I feel sort of bad for Carmen, who no doubt, has to endure Noah's courting for a while.  I know he's going to do a lot of outrageous actions to win her over, and I hope he doesn't succeed.  Noah's not such a bad guy, but I still think that he's more trouble than he's worth.  Carmen, being employed to such unstable people, has enough on her plate without having to date Noah.

It was weird to see Dalia helping out Mr. Wolfe, but I get that she sort of identifies with him because Evan broke her heart too.  It was sort of cute to see her taking Wolfe to the salon and giving his hair a new look.  I don't know if Wolfe has any other friends, so Dalia might have been the only one to at least give him the kick in the pants not to mope about his breakup.  The one thing that stands out most in their story, though, is when Dalia was "crying."  The noise she made sounded like a robot was malfunctioning.  It's impressive that she's taught herself how to cry without tears, and yet it's also a little frightening.  I feel like Dalia, who suppresses her emotions so easily, is one day going to explode.  I would not like to see that.  I'd much rather her have like a few seconds to cry for real and get out her pain rather than go psycho one day from never truly expressing her emotions.  Maybe Evan will come to love her after all and Dalia's emotional time bomb will be defused.

I liked this episode all right, but it was far from my favorite.  It's nice to have a break from "What's Ryan and Tessa's problem this week," but I didn't like having to see Tessa try to climb her way to success by stepping on Dallas a little bit.  It's fortunate that Jill was the worst person she could have interned for because it gave Tessa a reality check about how valuable being under Dallas' wing really is.  I don't think it was fortunate that George gave Noah the okay to go pursue Carmen.  If she's smart, she'll stay away from that train wreck.  I think it was cute to see Dalia helping someone with whom she has something in common with, but I'm more worried about her than I am with Mr. Wolfe.  She's obviously still hurting, and I want to see her heart mended as soon as possible.

Don't Ask Tessa

Suburgatory, S02E14

Fueled by how well Tessa thought things were going with Ryan, Tessa began giving love advice to students and staff at school, whether her opinion was wanted or not.  She stuck her nose into Mr. Wolfe's relationship with Chef Alan when she observed a possible cheating situation.  George wanted Noah and Dallas to end their feud, so he tried to help Dallas coach the T-ball team she hoped would crush Noah's.  George soon saw that Dallas' coaching style, while not teaching the kids how to play the game, ended up being a more enriching experience for the kids than his take-no-prisoners approach.

I haven't a clue why Tessa would get such an inflated head after surving some trials with Ryan.  They haven't even made to a year of a successful dating.  It seems a little early for her to be claiming herself an expert, no matter what others think of her.  My main problem with Tessa dishing out tips of love is that most of the time she has had an issue with Ryan, she went to Dallas for advice.  She probably would have broken up with him by now if it wasn't for her.  So Tessa doesn't really know anything about making it work, I think.  It was so bizarre to me that she was so cocky.  I guess this is one thing I don't like about Tessa.  She takes a little praise a little too far.  I mean, she was messing with adult relationships.  She doesn't know squat.

I actually hoped that Tessa would be brought down to earth when Chef Alan proved to be innocent of cheating on Mr. Wolfe.  I was just as shocked as him that Tessa was right about the whole thing (well, she wasn't right to make him roller skate in purple hot pants).  Throughout the whole episode Lisa kept suggesting that Tessa focus on her own boyfriend, but I didn't pay her much mind because I thought she just didn't like that Tessa was meddling so much (even though Lisa would totally do the same thing).  I was floored when Lisa pointed out to Tessa that Ryan's absence had nothing to do with an away game as she had thought.  What the hell is going on?!  They cannot do this to me.  I hated how they suggested that Ryan is doing something shady and ended the episode there.  What?!   If he's cheating on her, I'll go crazy.

I think I felt pretty much the same as George about the rivaltry between Noah and Dallas.  They needed to hurry up and bring that to a close.  Especially because Noah was determined to go around stealing everythng from Dallas that he could, including her hairstyle and OB/GYN.  Um, he's lost it.  I was annoyed that when he knew that George was getting involved in their T-ball match, he made some Grinch-like moves and started taking things from George as well, including a smoker detector and a chair.  George is a better friend than me because while that moron's arms were full of my stuff, I would have smashed a bowl on his head.  However, I loved when George called Noah "Mufasa" due to his poofy new hairdo.  That was great.

Dallas also had a good line when she was arguing with George about the quality of hair styling the new girl did on her. George claimed that she had done a wonderful job on Dallas' hair, but Dallas vehemently disagreed:

She did no such thing, you ignorant fool!

Dallas was just so passionate about that that it made me laugh.  I don't think I could be angry or keep a straight face if she called me a fool like that.

The T-ball game didn't go at all as I thought it would.  The kids seemed resistant to George's coaching, but by the time they were playing, they were vicious players calling for the other team's blood.  I don't even know how long George taught them, but their progress was crazy.  I thought Dallas would just lose from the kids wanting to dance and eat frozen treats rather than them being disqualified for injuring a kid.  Wow.  It all worked in George's favor because Dallas agreed (or halfway did) that she would end the feud between her and Noah, while Noah was happy that it looked like George had thrown the game for Noah's sake.  Also, George noticed that making kids super competitive wasn't as good as letting them have fun.  I would have hated to see him get caught up in victory as well when the game had nothing to do with him really.

This episode was okay.  It wasn't too fun watching Tessa put her nose into things that weren't really her business.  I didn't want to see her mess up Mr. Wolfe's relationship with Alan, so it was slightly good that her suspicions about him turned out to be correct.  What was really bad, though, is that they alluded to the fact that Tessa and Ryan might have trouble in paradise.  It's killing me to think that Ryan is up to no good when things have been so amazing between them.  Dallas and Noah seem to finally have brought an end to their long battle, but I wouldn't say that it's impossible they'll fight again.  They seem to have similar taste when it comes to employees, so they may soon be at each other's throats again before we know it.

Chatswin's Valentine's Day

Suburgatory, S02E13

Tessa and Ryan went to see an art house movie that she wanted to see, and she was surprised that while she found it to be boring, Ryan identified with it and found it provoking.  George planned an expensive dinner for him and Dallas, but her botched beauty procedure made her hide her face at home.  Shelia's mother came into town and her mother's closeness with Fred made her realize the mistake she had made dealing with Malik as Lisa's boyfriend.

In this week's chapter of the Tessa and Ryan romance, the two argued over different opinions on a movie.  Considering it was a movie that Tessa had to cutely bribe Ryan into seeing with caramel corn and gummy bears, it was a real shock that Ryan was moved by the movie and it went over Tessa's head.  There are so many layers to Ryan that are revealed now that he's with Tessa.  I really loved that even though they were in a fight again, we got to see Ryan thinking deeply on a level that Tessa wasn't.  It was nice to see her on his lap, asking him to explain parts of the movie.  I want to see more of him in a position where he can teach Tessa, a change from her always being more informed than he is.

Also, I liked the beginning of their story where Ryan gave her that Valentine and he got so excited when she replied "Y" to it.  He's like a little kid, and I love it.  You would think his childish ways would get annoying after a while, but it just makes me like him all the more.

 I applaud George for not getting too upset about Dallas crushing his plans for dinner when he spent $600 on it.  I mean, he did try to get his money's worth by eating an 18-course dinner for two by himself, but he could have taken a much more negative route.  I guess it shows how much he cares for Dallas when he can be less concerned about the cost and more about Dallas herself.

As for Dallas' face, she looked like a freaking alien who had a face lift.  I don't think it was nearly as bad as Dalia had described it, but it was enough to make me cry out when I finally saw it.  I was just glad that George wasn't too horrified when he saw her.  It might have been due to the fact that he had a lot to drink before, but even so, she was a sight to see under any circumstances.   I wouldn't have blamed him if he ran out the door.

In Shelia's story, it was a little weird how much her mother liked Fred.  It's not that I couldn't see anyone infatuated with him, it's just that it's odd to see Shelia being pushed to the side.  She's usually so overbearing that few can ignore her.  But it was interesting that her mother troubles made her realize what she had been doing wrong with Lisa's former relationship with Malik.  I never saw it as Shelia butting into their business, but I guess it was that way.  Malik seemed to have been an ally to Lisa's mother instead of on Lisa's side, which explains better why she didn't think she could be with him anymore.  If Lisa ever needed to complain about her mother, Malik would have only defended Shelia.  Thankfully, Shelia butted in one last time to make things right and pretended to get upset when Malik stood up for Lisa.  Shelia might be smothering, but she does have Lisa's best interests at heart.  This was one of the few stories that I actually liked her because she seemed more vulnerable and helpful without being pushy.

This was a good Valentine's Day story.  It was too mushy or trying to be overly romantic.  I got to see some interesting development in Tessa and Ryan's relationship.  Tessa might be the smart one, but it doesn't mean that she understands everything.  I like seeing that Ryan has more to his mind than making out and football.  George's date with Dallas was a flop, but no more so than Dallas' procedure.  I really hope I don't have to see her face looking so horrific any time soon.  Shelia may not be my favorite character, but she helped Malik and Lisa get back together, which scores her a lot of points in my favor.  It's been way too long that they been broken up, so I'm eager to see them lovey-dovey again (well, as long as they're not too nasty together like last time).

Tessa Might Be A Loser, But Dalia Isn't

Suburgatory, S02E12

Tessa, noticing that she was lacking an after school activity, signed up as the producer of the school TV show, Teen Talk.  Ryan had to fill in as the host, and his success changed the show into a discussion forum about his body.  Tessa, not finding value in his show, argued with Ryan about whether she was a loser or not.  George discovered that Dallas' property was technically in East Chatswin, causing Dallas to be driven out of the country club and Dalia to have to move to a new school.

One thing that I like about Ryan and Tessa dating is that Ryan is able to point out things that make Tessa look sort of bad.  He doesn't do it deliberately, of course, but just by comparing the two of them, you see that Tessa could stand for improvement.  This time, it was about her extracurricular activities.  Ryan's multiple engagements made it clear that Tessa isn't involved in anything beyond herself.  Instead of that realization turning into a positive for her, she basically made it a negative once Ryan became part of her show.  Ryan came in to save Tessa's butt on her first day as producer and made her show a relative hit, and yet she couldn't look past the superficial to see the bigger picture.  For someone who claims to have more depth than most residents of Chatswin, Tessa can be pretty dense.  When Mr. Wolfe has to break down why you love your own boyfriend, you're not doing too well.

Still, I loved when Tessa and Ryan made up.  Ryan knelt down in front of her and apologized for calling her loser, and Tessa admitted that she was acting like one too.  Then they had a cute kiss on-air (which I worried would be a problem, but no one was bothered by it).  Damnit, they are just too amazing together.  I never thought the two of them would end up being one of my favorite couples.

Dallas' story was funny in that she had to adapt to East Chatswin life, which seemed to be pretty ghetto in comparison.  I mean, she technically only had to start going to a different gym (and probably eat somewhere else), but that was enough for Dallas to feel the pain.  When she wouldn't even go back into her house because it was "practically a crack den," I was cracking up.  To have such a beautiful home and sleep in your car because of a zoning technicality is too much.  George being by her side throughout her "ordeal" made it seem worthwhile.  It showed that he'll be with her through thick and thin.

Unquestionably, the best thing about the zoning problem was that Dalia got sent to East Chatswin High School.  She was escorted out of her original school by security and she still remained cool and sort of dissed her classmates before she did (by having no one to say goodbye to).  Then once transfered, she continued to diss them by calling people she saw there by her old classmates' names.  The worst was the red-haired janitor that she called Tessa.  Wow, she really does not think highly of any damn body.  Things got even better when Dalia met her black doppelganger, Daisy.  Although I felt bad for Dalia being bullied, it was so interesting to see the shoe on the other foot for her.  Daisy and the "A's" kept coming down on Dalia for being so pale and vampire like--wow.  As if she was the only white girl in school--they were clearly just looking for something to make fun of her.  I mean, they had little material to work with because Dalia doesn't scream "loser" with her attitude or fashion sense.  They might as well just have teased her for breathing.  What was great about Dalia being hated was that she didn't really fight back and pointed out to Daisy that one day she might find herself in Dalia's position ("the odd biatch out").   Only Dalia could walk through a hall where everyone was throwing paper balls at her as if it was nothing.  I love her.  She may not have been "tan" enough to fit in with the popular kids there, but they couldn't break her inner diva. 

This was a great episode.  Again, it wasn't hilarious or anything, but I enjoyed the series of events.  Tessa really needs to get off her high horse sometimes and look at things from a more positive side.  Ryan seems like he may be able to bring about that change in her.  Dallas is a trip when having to step outside of her world.  I'd love to see her in that kind "trouble" again, as long as George is there with her.  Without him, I don't think she could survive in an "unfruited water" world.  Dalia might have gotten a taste of her own medicine meeting Daisy, but she surely didn't bow down to another queen bee.  You have to love her unwavering spirit.

It Has To Mean Something

Suburgatory, S02E09

George was forced to hide and help Fred when he was trying to keep secrets about the nature of his job hidden from Shelia.  Tessa, left alone on pain medication, freaked out about aliens stealing teeth after she had gotten her wisdom teeth pulled.  Dallas thought George was only humoring her when he agreed they were ready for "joint decor."  Ryan tried to figure out where he stood with Tessa when came to deliver her homework.

Sadly for George he had a front seat to another chapter of Shay Family Crazy Time.  It was fine for him to give Fred shelter while he worked out his problems, but when Shelia got involved, it was a lot more trouble than it was worth.  I was nearly thinking it was a waste of his time to hide Fred until Fred asked George to go to his house to steal a gift basket that would reveal his real job.  I liked when he tried to walk into the house and ran into Ryan.  They were both trying their best not to seem suspicious to the other.  If George wasn't after that basket, he might have considered what Ryan was sort of suggesting about his intentions with his daughter.  It got even better when Lisa caught him about to walk out of the door.  The two of them had my favorite lines from the story:

[George] I'm not stealing.

[Lisa] I don't care.

It cracks me up that Lisa can look at her neighbor creeping around in her house and not give a damn about what he might be trying to do.  You would think she would be the slightest bit curious, but no.  Lisa always keeps me on my toes because I never know how she's going to react to things.

I have no idea how the hell Fred got from the basement to an ariport shuttle outside when it looked like Shelia was about to gas the basement.  I suppose that's one of those mysteries like when George got the cardboard in the previous episode.  I don't care if Shelia did know his secret after all (not a surprise).  I was just glad Fred was gone from their house.

Tessa was amazing this week because we got to see a side of her we usually don't.  She tends to be pretty cool and collected, but under medication she was so paranoid and wide-eyed.  I loved it.  She was really cute when she was throwing juice at Fred and scared that George and Dallas' souls had been captured in crystal.  I really like seeing characters act outside of their norm for a while.  It's funny to see a different side of them, especially when that side is high and insane.

My favorite part of the episode, though was when Tessa had gotten her mind back and Ryan had visited her.  That whole scene between them was just so great from start to finish.  I loved Ryan putting the sock around her head and telling her she looked like a bunny, him saying that their kiss and his attraction to her has to mean something, and him arguing that they could work because opposites attract.  It just makes me smile when I think about their conversation, even if they haven't quite decided if they're going to give their relationship another shot.  But I'm really hoping that Tessa takes a chance on Ryan again.  He was just so sweet with her that I'm dying to see more scenes like this.  They just have to get together again!

Dallas and George moved into the "joint decor" phase of their relationship, which I wasn't sure that he was really feeling.  But thanks to Tessa (who was also to blame a little bit for the problem in the first place), Dallas learned that George really liked that crystal picture of them sitting on the couch.  Personally, I would think that a picture would have been better, but I guess nothing says Dallas like something etched in crystal, so it might be the best way for George to be reminded of her every time he looks at it (you know, besides her face staring back at him). They're moving along pretty well recently, which is good, but I feel like they might have some kind of bump soon (just because nothing goes this well in TV or life, I guess).

I have to say I just loved this episode because of Tessa and Ryan.  Tessa was so funny when she was shouting about signs of sixes and aliens.  We'll probably never get to see her so unraveled again.  Of course, that was nothing compared to her scene with Ryan.  That has to be one of my favorite moments in this show yet.  If they don't get together again, I'm going to flip out.  They may not be perfect together, but you can't help but wish for them to give it a try anyway.  Like Dallas suggested: if George and her can make it work, then opposites like Tessa and Ryan have a chance at happiness as well.

Fighting Like Sisters Already

Suburgatory, S02E09

After Tessa made her feel bad about her SAT scores, Dalia invited Tessa to her hip hop class to show off her dancing skills.  Their fight encouraged a fight between Dallas and George as well.  The Shays kidnapped Malik in hopes to exchange him for Ryan, but ended up going to Malik's for dinner and pleading Ryan to come home.  Jill and Noah also asked Mr. Wolfe to train Opus because he wasn't exceptional enough to get into their first choice preschool.

I was surprised that Tessa was being so cocky about her SAT scores to Dalia.  I know they aren't best friends or anything, but it wasn't like Dalia had started anything with her, so it came off as pretty rude.  I'm guessing that she was just too jealous of Dalia who gets big rewards like cars for doing the bare minimum, while she scores in the top percentile and gets a measly card.  What I like most about this behavior is that the girls are sort of acting like sisters already.  I can imagine why otherwise Tessa would expect George to reward her in a similar manner when she knows full well that in her own family they don't have the means to be handing out cars like candy bars.

I was nearly ready to feel bad for Dalia until she got to shine at the hip hop class.  I love seeing Dalia dance!  She's not only good, but she maintains that expressionless face the whole time doing it.  It just gives her movement even more attitude.  Plus, I thought her outfit was cute.  Tessa wasn't too into the dancing, but once she felt upstaged, she started to get into it.  I don't think she was as good as Dalia, but she was putting up a decent fight.  At any rate, their dance-off was entertaining to watch.

It was interrupted by Dallas and George's own beef with each other, concerning parenting.  I was surprised at Dallas telling George that he lets Tessa act any way that she wants.  She was tripping.  Dalia is not innocent in that area, either.  But they both made good points.  George could stand to be a little less cheap, at least in showing his daughter that he's proud of her.  She doesn't need to get a new car, but something nice might keep her from getting jealous.  My favorite part of their dance-off was when George started break dancing and Tessa wondered where George had magically gotten some cardboard from.

In the Shay story, I was surprised at how far they would take their insanity.  Malik didn't feel very scared, but he was still kidnapped, nonetheless.  And worse than that, he was lured into the Shay's trap by Lisa pretending to want him back.  That was damn cold.  But I guess she'll do anything to get back her brother.  It amazes me how much she loves him, considering she always seemed to resent being in his shadow.  Anyway, it was ridiculous that they took him and tried to disguise their identities.  They're not just crazy, but they're idiots as well.  Lucky for them that Malik's parents didn't think anything of it and invited them to dinner.

One thing that made me laugh at Malik's house was when Malik's dad first opened the door:

[Edmond] Did you do your homework?

[Malik] Not yet, I was  kidnapped.

I just love how no one took the kidnapping seriously.  They might have just shown up for dinner without going that far.  Later, I was sort of bothered at the way Malik's parents were supporting Ryan's decision to get emancipated, as if he had been abused in his life.  He shouldn't have been lied to for so long, but he certainly wasn't treated badly at any time.  He was living the life of a king, which took a vegetarian meal and a lack of pudding skin before Ryan could remember.  It's ridiculous that it took him so long to think of all of the benefits of being a Shay.

I was happy to see Ryan finally return home, but not so much to see him eating a big thing of pudding skin.  It looked really gross to me, but if it got him home again, then it's all good.  It was cute that he was saying that skin was thicker than water and then Lisa couldn't let it go and had to correct him.  It really made me laugh.

I sort of felt that the story about Opus was unnecessary.  It was adorable to see Mr. Wolfe talking to Opus as if he could understand him and judging him seriously on an impossible scale, but it didn't really add to anything, except to the idea that Noah and Jill are bizarre parents.  It's almost as if they haven't a clue about what babies are capable of (which really makes it obvious they didn't raise their first child).  I guess it was an all right story if they just needed to fill up some extra time, but they could have extended one of the dance-offs in the Tessa story instead.

It was great to watch this show again after the holiday break because I've missed the weirdness of Chatswin.  I like that Tessa and Dalia seem to be bonding as sisters, even though their parents aren't even married.  It makes it seem like it's possible that their families could successful join one day.  Dalia and Tessa are never going to be thick as thieves, but I could see them functioning as arguing sisters in the future.  The Shays being reunited again is wonderful because it means they can stop committing crimes to get Ryan back.  Most of all Ryan can stop acting like his parents stole his liver while he was sleeping or something and get back to being the Shay's shining but dopey star.  Opus is a cute little baby, but he doesn't really need any stories about him that aren't related to the main characters.  That time can better be spent on settling another beef between Tessa and Dalia.

Domestication And Friendship Not So Bad

Suburgatory, S02E06

George's old friends from New York came to visit while they were doing business in town and made fun of George for adapting so well to the suburban life.  Tessa wanted to enjoy spending time with her tablet alone, but Lisa wanted to spend all her time with her now that she was single again.

I think that George still has a little of his edge left from life in the city, but now that he is becoming "twinsies" with Shelia, I could see how his friends would think he was a sellout or too domesticated.  However, I absolutely hated how they were coming down on Dallas, who despite her looks, is a very smart and caring person.  I fell more in love with George when he not only admitted that the all-over phony woman that his friends pointed out was his girlfriend, but when he also defended her when they continued to talk shit about her.  I was worried that he was going to cave into peer pressure and try to relive his days as a "real" man as his friends envisioned it, but George stood by Dallas's side.  To me, that's a real man.  The best kind of person can own up to what they really love and not try to hide it because someone tries to make them feel bad about it.

Equally as great was when Dallas gave George the idea to bid against his friends for some architecture project.  George would have never thought of that on his own.  Plus, Dallas assisted him both in the concept and the presentation--they are a great team!  I was really proud of them as a couple to see them working like a dynamic duo!  They didn't end up winning the bid, but at least they made some waves and impressed the clients.  I could definitely see Dallas and George getting together on some good business deals in the future.

In Tessa's story, I was a little distracted by the open advertising for the Microsoft Surface tablet.  Nothing new to see products in TV shows, but I hate when it's all up in my face.  She even listed some of the great features of the thing at one point.  Wow.  Can't I get a little more of a break from the commercials?  Still, I've been interested in the Surface, so I wasn't too outraged.  I'm sure that they only did the advertising because it was necessary.  If it keeps the show going, I can't be too mad.

I felt Tessa on her desire to be alone with her tablet, though.  It's been a while since Lisa has sort of kidnapped Tessa's day to make her do some kind of dorky activity.  Lisa literally pulled out her trunk of tricks in this story.  If I was Tessa, I might have cut her off the beginning in the hopes that being alone would make her miss Malik.  It's obvious that Lisa is trying to fill her loneliness with Tessa.  I'm glad that even if Lisa isn't aware of it, she's not over Malik yet.  If she was, I'd doubt she'd need to try to shove a smoked fish down Tessa's throat.

I don't know how I feel about a "friendship fish." I thought it was cute that Tessa finally agreed to eat it with Lisa.  No surprise that Tessa got food poisoning from it, though.  I would be pretty nervous about someone pulling a fish out a trunk and asking me to eat it.  But she must really wanted Lisa to be her friend is she's willing to puke out her guts for the sake of friendship.  Her tablet is a nice alternative, but I guess only real friendship is worth all that suffering.

I'm also unsure what Ellen's prolonged stay at the Altman house will bring.  For a woman who knows that her daughter is a mess, she sure doesn't seem to like George too much.  Maybe she wanted to raise Tessa in the absence of her daughter?  I don't know.  But I don't see them getting along too well.  No matter what, George is a good parent, so I think she should at least respect that about him.  But I'm sure as a grandmother, Ellen's going to have a lot of suggestions for parental improvement.

This was a cute episode about George and Tessa sort of coming to terms with what they have become.  George has changed, but it doesn't mean that he's become some kind of pathetic loser.  And I definitely think with Dallas's help, he is going to continue to change and grow for the better.  Tessa's grown in the sense that she can't just sort of fend for herself and has to stick by the friends she's made.  She can't just callously cast them aside for some some wires and a shiny screen.  Lisa, as I said before, needs to hurry up and take Malik back.  Not just for her sake, but so we don't have to see Tessa suffering while wearing an airbrushed shirt and a watermelon hat.

George Gets The Best Review Ever

Suburgatory, S02E04

Dallas was going around town telling everyone how magnificent George was in bed, but they hadn't even gotten past kissing yet.  Dalia ditched her friends for the companionship for her new Singaporean stepmother, and the Ks were looked after by Lisa.  Tessa tried to get Dalia to be herself again when she noticed how she was spiraling into desperation.

I thought maybe Dallas had learned her lesson from their first date, but I guess it's just in her nature to want to make things dramatic and magical, not matter what it is.  I had to just laugh when she brought George to the bedroom and she was hanging in the air and all these crazy light work was going off.  It was like he was in some kind of strip club.  The gospel choir was another funny addition to their first attempt at sex.  But for all this show, Dallas fizzled out with a fake orgasm and praise of a night that was over before it started.  I was really surprised that she kept doing this to him, as if she had no confidence that he could perform, nor wanted him.  It was so bizarre.  Then I wondered why the hell she was bragging about the sex so much when he hadn't gotten to do a damn thing.  I liked this situation just because I didn't expect it.  They have such good chemistry, I thought she would be happy to jump his bones.  But it took a talking before they got to bed for real, and even then Dallas wasn't wowed.  Haha.  George was lucky she already pumped him up before actually trying him out.

The funniest part of this episode was when Dallas and George were at the Chinese restaurant about to tell Tessa and Dalia the news about them:

[George] We have a-a little announce to make.

[Waitress] No coupon tonight.  Everything full price.

[George] That's fine.

[Waitress] Price doesn't include gratuity.

[George] O-Ok.  Why....why is she directing this at me?

[Dallas] Sorry, George, Shun Ju can be a little--

[Waitress] You want extra pancake, you pay.

[George] I don't even know if we're getting moo shu.

 I was dying with laughter at how crazy aggressive she was being, like George had stolen something.  That must be something that happens to him often in Chatswin because he just has the face of a cheap or non-paying customer.

Another interesting thing that happened at that table was that Tessa found that she was interested in what was happening to Dalia.  I wasn't shocked that she went out of her way to make sure Dalia was okay, but I did think she was being overly nice to Dalia.  I like that Tessa can help her out even if Dalia isn't grateful.  I mean, that's the beauty of their relationship--they are sworn enemies, but they tend to give each other advice whether the other wants it or not.  I love that they're not friends, but still manage to look out for each other when times are rough.  Dalia didn't look bad with black hair, but she certainly didn't look good as Evan's companion.  Although Tessa was told in a wonderfully Dalia way to get "the h out of her r," it's great that she dyed Dalia's hair back to blonde.  And returned her lackeys to her side.

Speaking of the Ks, I was laughing when they almost got into the "molest-y" van and were given to Lisa to be watched over.  Instead of them being like abandoned puppies, I was hoping that they might turn into 3 creepy versions of Lisa, but no such luck.  That would have been so good for her to be the leader of a group for once.  But I guess she just doesn't know how to use people like Dalia does.  You have to have those skills from birth.

Two more things I wanted to point out.  One, Mr. Wolfe looked so creepy with those blue contacts in.  Eww!  No!   Two, Wan-er's character didn't make sense to me because they speak English in Singapore.  I don't know why she would only be speaking Chinese (save when she said "bye").  Also, since they said that Wan-er is a flight attendant, I would think that they would require she speak some English.  I don't know.  It was very odd to me.

This was a good episode.  George got to feel like an undeserving rock star, and Tessa acted like Dalia's friend when Dalia felt like she had no one else (except Evan--ugh).  I'm looking forward to them getting back to normal where they are messing up each other's lives, rather than making them better.  And it was nice to have a little focus on Dalia for a change.  I get a little disappointed when she's only in the episode for about 2 lines (she's one of the best in this show)!

Romantic Steps Forward

Suburgatory, S02E03

George took Dallas on their first date, but it didn't go so well with her life coach there.  Ryan thought he was dying because Lisa was being so nice to him and asked his sister to help him get Tessa.  Tessa offered to watch Opus while Noah and Carmen went out, and she freaked out being alone in the house.

Both George and Tessa seemed to be starting something with their respective love interests.  For George and Dallas, I was really expecting something special when they finally had an official date, but it was a bust.  I think my favorite thing about their date was when Dallas made a grand entrance with lighting, music, and an outfit change.  Wow.  Her "sadist" jacket was also entertaining.  But as far as it being a romantic night, it wasn't until the very end.

Their main obstacle to starting off their new relationship was Dallas' life coach, Tabitha.  He was a delight, although he was ruining the date between them I had anticipated, because he was played by H. Jon Benajim.  He's a strange and awkward guy, but that voice just makes you want to laugh.  This guy had no shame playing the third wheel, nor giving his opinion of George and Dallas' connection even when he didn't know anything about them.  If anyone else had played Tabitha, I might have wanted to punch that guy, but I was torn by being amused by him.

However, it was all worth it because they had such a sweet moment in the rain where George told Dallas she looked pretty, even without her perfect hair and face.  I don't know how real Dallas will get with George (that would mean making herself pretty vulnerable), but if she was ever going to do it with anyone, it would certainly be with George.  I really hope we get to see them on a more successful date soon.

The new dynamic between Ryan and Lisa is interesting because she's decided to go overkill with kindness so that she won't lose him if he discovers he's adopted.  I'm glad Ryan is smart enough to know something is wrong when his sister is being nicer than usual, but it is so typical of him to be completely wrong about why.  I was surprised, but happy, that he took advantage of Lisa's kindness to get help with Tessa.  I can't help but think that moron just may be right for Tessa yet (unless someone better comes along).  They don't have much in common, but at least Ryan was there for her when she was freaking out about serial killers coming to the door and such.  It made me giggle to see Ryan turn Tessa's kiss on the cheek to one on the lips and question why she hadn't used tongue.  I liked even better when he was sort of pouting about that:

[Ryan] You're not attracted to me because I'm holding a baby.

[Tessa] I'm only attracted to because you're holding a baby. 

He's really winning me over with his simple nature.  I mean, I don't feel like he would take advantage of Tessa ever.  He just doesn't seem like the type to be malicious or purposely insensitive.  And it might take a while, but he does have the potential to be a little less thick.  I think if Tessa worked on him and he actually listened, he might be a pretty good guy for her.

On a different subject, what the hell is going on with Noah and Carmen?  Is he falling for her?  Because their relationship seems to be going far beyond just nanny and employer.  I might be more worried about that if I liked Jill, but I'm still not a fan of infidelity.  So I hope he's just really grateful that someone is raising his child so superbly.  I feel like it's going to get awkward between them soon.

I really liked this episode.  I like that things are going pretty well for George and Dallas, despite their failure of a first day.  Ryan seems like he has a good chance of getting Tessa's attention again, but I don't see her wanting to date him anytime soon.  Still, I'm cheering Ryan on and I really hope that he can continue to change Tessa's opinion about him.

Witches And Switches

Suburgatory, S02E02

Tessa was worried that a witch was following her so that she could make her a witch too.  Dallas failed to ask George on a date.  George decided to dress up like Noah for the Halloween party after Noah had dressed up like George.

This was a pretty cute Halloween episode.  First of all, we got to see everyone in different costumes.  The ones I enjoyed best were Malik as Fred and Tessa as Daphne from Scooby Doo.  I would have never expected Malik to pick that outfit (and it was only funnier when Ryan had mistakenly thought to wear the same one), but it suited him.  I also thought that Tessa was adorable in a red wig and her boots.  She totally pulled off that look.  What I didn't like too much was Noah being George and vice-versa.

Although I didn't like their costumes because Noah was being an ass, and George with a blonde wig and lack of mustache (I cried out in protest when he raised his razor to his face) was just so very, very wrong, this situation turned out to be funny.  At the party, George was getting the Noah treatment and Noah got George's.  That was hilarious.  I loved that girls were more into Noah as George and that they escorted his ass out when he seemed to be threatening George.  Love seeing someone like Noah get what they deserve.  But because George had dolled himself up like one of the Chatswins zombies, he learned that he had missed an opportunity to date Dallas.

I felt sorta bad that Dallas, although not completely forthcoming in her invitation, was shot down by George.  Oh, but I also have to say the second I saw her in this episode, I knew that her costume was Barbie.  I just never figured she would imagine that George would want to be her Ken.  But I liked that when Dalia let him know the opportunity he had missed (gotta love that girl for telling him how it is), George basically was Ken by then and he and Dallas had upgraded from "friends who flirt."  But we still can't be totally sure that they are going to make it to couple status anytime soon.

I also liked Tessa's story too because the witch following her turned out to be a feminist hippie of some sort and was played by Rachel Dratch. She's just an odd woman no matter what role she plays.  And it was nice for Tessa to meet someone local who wasn't all about dressing up slutty and getting plastic surgery.  If she remains on the show, she could be a good role model for her.  But I just wonder why it is that Paula can sneak into the school and plant her book in certain places without anyone ever noticing.  That's pretty creepy, no matter what message of feminism she's trying to spread to the clueless students of Chatswin.

And speaking of that book she had planted, I wondered how it was okay for Shelia to just burn it when it was a library book.  Well, I did until I learned that Paula was just putting the book in library on her own accord.  So I suppose it's okay.  But still, the principle of the thing.  That lady is nuts.   And so is Lisa for that matter, trying to convince Tessa to stay by her side and claiming spirits were speaking through her.  I was a little more freaked out by her than I was of the so-called witch.

I liked this episode and I'd want to see it again to take my time to admire the other costumes in the episode that I might have missed.  I liked that it wasn't too cheesy with the scary theme, and it didn't take away too much from the underlying stories of the show (like George and Dallas getting closer).  I would have liked to have more Dalia as usual, and I would have loved to see Malik and Ryan get into more over them both being Fred.  Hell, I just want to see more Ryan period.  Oh, and I hope they can work in some more scenes with George shirtless too (did not know he had it going on like that)!

Tessa Follows In Her Mother's Footsteps

Suburgatory, S02E01

Tessa came home from a summer with her grandmother and expressed an interest in her mother's passion for singing.  Lisa blackmailed her parents about Ryan so that she could get special treatment in the family.  Noah and Dallas fought over Carmen, both wanting her to raise their kids.

I was really happy to see this show back on the air, but not incredibly impressed by the premiere.  I was a little disappointed that Eden was totally out of the picture, but then again I do like the possibility of George dating someone else (especially Dallas) more than his whirlwind relationship from last season.  I was a little interested in Tessa's desire to embrace the talents she might have gained from her mother, but I wish there was more she had learned during her summer about the mysterious woman.  The battle over Carmen was like a comedy relief from the slightly dramatic Tessa story, but not really more interesting than Lisa barely milking her one piece of control over her mother.  The latter story was also disappointing in how little changed as an end result.

I thought it was cute that Tessa wanted to be a little like her mother, even though I felt like George was threatened by the idea a little.  It did seem like she sort of wanted to cast aside his contributions to her being who she is, but then again, George has raised her most of her life, so it's impossible that any influence he has been upon her could be lost by her trying to mimic her mother a little.  The best part of the episode came from this story when Tessa was nearly about to give up her interest in music until George finally shared something about her mother and encouraged her to perform, despite whether she would be good or not.  And I think Tess was pretty good!  It took me a moment to notice that she was singing the theme song, but that was a little cool (since I do like the theme song a lot better than most other shows).  I hope that she continues to do something with singing or playing the guitar because I think it would be a good fit for Tessa, who already showed some talent in writing poetry.

I really wanted Lisa to take her mother for all she was worth with that bombshell of a secret under her belt!  She did try to get to have the solo in their family skit (or whatever that ridiculous prancing around in cat outfits was), which was basically popping out of a trashcan at the end.  Really?  I don't know if she got even an ounce of the "golden child" treatment that Ryan has been given over the years, and Lisa will never have such power over her mother again.  Or a very little chance of having it again.  I knew Shelia would eventually turn the tables on her daughter (because Lisa is nowhere as crafty as her mother), but I had hoped Lisa would really get to enjoy the ride while it lasted.  Her reign of power seemed so short that I felt like why did she even bother to bring it up?  In the end, everything went back to their normal, the potting shed was burned, and Lisa still wasn't doing the solo.  The only difference was that Lisa's parents know that she knows.  And I guess if Ryan ever finds out he's not a Shay by blood, it'll be Lisa's fault for sure.  Not sure Lisa understands how to really take full advantage of an opportunity.

Noah (especially) and Dallas fighting over Carmen was just stupid.  The only good part of it was that it seemed to affect Dalia enough that she felt like she could talk to Tessa about her concern over losing her nanny.  Of course, when she spoke to Tessa, she was both expressing her fondness for Carmen and putting Tessa down at the same time.  That's a talent.  But it was nice to see there was no change really in their relationship.  I would hate to see Dalia stop treating Tessa so badly--it's one of the funniest things.  As far as Carmen leaving Dallas, I don't know if that's really something I care about at this point.  I would think that she would be better suited for Noah, who seems to think it's okay to put a cup holder on his baby.  Before child services come (I doubt they do in Chatswin) I pray that Carmen actually does start to take care of that baby.  Little Opus' mother certainly doesn't give a damn since she's off on a book tour instead of raising her newborn.  These women in that town...

Not the best episode, but not bad enough that I would question watching this show anymore.  After all, it was certainly one of my favorite new shows from last season, so I hope that it can remain one of my favorites.  Lately, my favorites seem to be dropping like flies, so I'm trying to give things more of a chance.  I want to see Tessa singing a little more in the next couple of episodes!

A Mother Of A Season Finale

Suburgatory, S01E22

Mother's Day in Chatswin meant there was an excessive amount of fanfare for local mothers, including a very competitive 5k run for them.  Dallas thought she could get over Dalia spending Mother's Day with her father by putting her full effort into the run, but when she injured her leg, she realized what a big mistake it was to be separated from her daughter.  George and Eden had some disagreements about whether Tessa was honest about her feelings about her mother, and George couldn't bring himself to have sex with her yet.  After seeing the baby's room at the Warners' baby shower, Eden went into false labor.  Tessa didn't get her internship and started to think about her mother after seeing so many displays of motherly love around her.  Lisa refused to believe the results of her DNA test that proved she was born a Shay, but she found out that Ryan's blood type showed he couldn't be his parents' biological son.

I shouldn't have been surprised that residents of Chatswin go all out for Mother's Day, but even if I had anticipated that, I would have never thought of Shelia riding in a carriage dressed like she was Disney's Cinderella.  I think that someone should have started throwing rocks at her or something.  That's just way too much.  I'm sure that Shelia is a mother that does an incredible amount for her kids, but I'm also aware that she's so smothering that she shouldn't get award for all her excessive parenting.  However, I did think that Ryan was cute sitting next to her in a prince outfit.  It's amazing that he, just like other kids in the neighborhood, do not think that it's embarrassing to be treating their mothers like that.  As much as I love my mother, I don't think I could have put a full newspaper page in color with our picture on it (but that kind of stunt certainly suits Mr. Wolfe).  Only in Chatswin would no one blink an eye and would, rather, try to outdo that.

The only person who didn't seem to care much about the day (besides Tessa) was Dalia who didn't think twice about preserving the tradition of going to Israel for Mother's Day without her actual mother.  Usually Dalia's self-centered actions just make me love her, but the disappointment Dallas obviously had when she heard Dalia would be gone was a little heartbreaking.  For such a difficult child like Dalia, Dallas is a wonderful mother.  I would hope that Dalia would show at least the smallest speck of appreciation.  But no.  I really wanted to see what Dalia might have done that would have been sweet only for a spoiled brat like her.  That was one letdown.

Another letdown was seeing Dallas put up a really good race only to fall and hurt her leg.  She could have won and knocked down Shelia a peg.  But I liked that she was tempted to call George for her emergency contact when the paramedic confirmed that her hair looked great.  George definitely would have come if there wasn't the matter of Eden.  In fact, the way that George was standing in the middle of the hospital when he heard about Dallas and heard that Eden was calling for him, it seemed he was at a crossroads at just who was more important to him then.  I think that if there was a burning building (and Eden was no longer pregnant), he probably would pull Dallas out first if he had to choose between the two.  We'll have to wait until the next season to see if George and/or Dallas finally see the light.

I felt for Tessa when she finally saw the light about how it sucked to have a mother out there that apparently didn't make any effort to contact her practically.  I liked how it was seeing her substitute mother, Dallas, want the company of her real daughter over Tessa's that made her stop fooling herself about her feelings.  I can relate to that feeling, having grown up most of my life without a mother.  Tessa probably was so used to brushing off the subject of her mother (in order to not have anyone pity her and protect herself) that she forgot her real abandonment issues and longing for a mother in her life (even a largely imperfect one).  I didn't expect that her grandmother would be waiting for her when Tessa got home, but it made me hopeful that we would see Tessa's mother one day.  I really want to know what her life was like that George was able to get full custody of Tessa.  But the finale wasn't going to give us any clues about that just yet.

As far as Lisa's story, I was none too surprised that Lisa was a real Shay, but I was little shocked that Ryan wasn't.  It makes a little more sense that he's apparently treated better than Lisa--they probably had to fight hard to get him and treasure his existence.  I wonder how Ryan will take the news (I doubt Lisa will just keep it to herself).  He's an easy-going guy, but he's also sensitive and might get upset about being lied to.  I think that parents should tell their adopted children early on that they aren't theirs because one day it'll get out and they will feel betrayed (unless you're Lisa and you would be thrilled).  Another story for another season.

Have to say that I agreed with Eden about the baby room.  Noah and Jill are beyond disgusting.  I feel like that room should be evidence to get them arrested.  They have all that money and they want to spend it on helping endangered species have a greater chance of becoming extinct.  Eden is a little dramatic sometimes with her beliefs (like telling Tessa her doughnut would stay in her colon for decades), but I think her reaction to that room of death was appropriate.  I hope that she doesn't reconsider giving Noah and Jill a child.  They obviously aren't the nurturing type.  They are monsters, like she said, but Eden also doesn't have any rights to their baby, either.  Just call the child inside her "Monster Junior."

Lastly, I just gotta ask what the hell was Whoopi Goldberg doing voicing Yakult in Dallas's drug-induced (I'm assuming) vision?  That was so random to me, and also unnecessary.  I feel like Dallas could have come to conclusion that she needed Dalia without that.  Plus, it just creeped me out to see that dog talking all of sudden, even if it wasn't real.  Of all things to do in a finale.

I'm really glad that Suburgatory has been picked up for another season!  They left a lot of things unanswered (on purpose) that I'd like to get more information about.  I suppose the topic I'm most interested in knowing more about is Tessa's mother.  I hope that with her grandmother making another appearance, we'll get to learn a significant amount about the mystery woman.  And, of course, in doing so we'll learn more about Tessa.  Ryan's introduction into the Shay family is also a story I'm eagerly awaiting to see told on this show.  It might even make me like that busybody Shelia a bit more, and I'm sure it'll make me like Ryan even more.  This was really good first season, and I'm confident that they will be able to pull off another great one in 2013.  Since this new show is easily one of my favorites now, I'm counting down the days until I can watch another episode.

Two Against One

Suburgatory, S01E21

Tessa prepared to escape from the new living situation by applying to an internship in Manhattan.  She wasn't sure how to let George know about it, but Eden surprised her by supporting her decision.  George, on the other hand, freaked out when he found out that Eden had helped Tessa apply and let her go to the city on her own.  After George spoke with Dallas, he was a little less angry, but Eden remained in unknown territory when it came to offering opinions about raising Tessa.  Eden tried to make a compromise between Tessa and George by suggesting he let Tessa commute from her summer job, but Tessa was strongly against it.  Lisa and Malik disagreed about which camp they would attend in the summer, and Malik eventually let Lisa have her way.  Shelia continued to stir up trouble with Noah, regarding Eden carrying her child.

I applaud Tessa for handling a new woman (and a pregnant one at that) in her house as well as she did.  She could have been extremely difficult and mean in that situation, especially because George didn't ask for her input at all before he made the decision to let Eden stay.  I would have been much more aggressively horrible to someone who forbid us to use Wifi and cooked us dinners of wheat meat that looked liked dirt brownies with pieces of corn.  I might have run away if I were in her place.  You don't mess with people's food and you don't mess with their ease to connect to the internet.

Even so, I like Eden in their house because it's almost made them seem like a traditional family for once.  I don't know how motherly Eden is, but she at least brings in a different perspective than what George offers.  And she was in favor of Tessa taking the internship and possibly will be the reason she may get it after all.  At first, it seemed like Eden and George were teaming up against her, but then the tables turned and it looked like George was the odd man out (and he couldn't take it).  I was glad to see that--George has been really making things unfair for Tessa lately.  I hope that Eden continues to sometimes side with Tessa and make George a little less stubborn and overly protective.

But I suspect that after the scene with Dallas that George will one day wake up and realize that Dallas is a more suitable match for him.  After all, they compliment each other, for some reason, and like George said, they often are able to solve their problems when they speak with each other.  Dallas may not be the best parent around, but she's definitely a parent who is open to seeing things from different sides (unlike George who usually has to have someone point things out for him).  George is definitely stricter than Dallas, and I think together they would be a pretty good parenting team (at least better than they are apart).  George even said that Dallas was his Scully to his Mulder.  Wow.  Even without Dallas getting the reference (she was later seen watching X-Files at home), that was an important statement.  So, I doubt that Eden will be George's ultimate match,while he still has such a significant bond with Dallas.

As far as Lisa and Malik were concerned, their argument was really stupid.  I don't know why the two of them couldn't do something else fun for the summer (for kids with money, they sure have boring ideas).  Why not take a trip together (although I could see Shelia murdering Malik before that happened) or just go to a normal camp?  But I guess if they did, it wouldn't be typical of the two of them.  They're weird, and they will always be so.

Noah seems to have gotten a bit better about being crazy about his baby, despite being egged on by Shelia.  I'm glad that he is going to back off and let Eden birth his baby in peace, but I am dying to know what Shelia's problem is with surrogate mothers.  It has to do with something that has happened to her personally.  Since Lisa hasn't gotten back her results from the DNA test, we still don't know if it's related to Lisa being adopted.  I doubt that it is.  Perhaps Lisa was birthed from a surrogate, though?  I could see that being a bad experience if some poor woman had to carry Shelia's baby while she complained and dictated every aspect of her life until the baby was born.  If it's not that, I don't know what Shelia's problem is.  I hope next time we get to see that mystery solved.

This wasn't one of my favorite episodes, but it wasn't bad.  At least there was less of Noah to see, and there seems to be some positive things about Eden living with George and Tessa.  I hope that Tessa gets the internship because I think it'll be a great (and entertaining) experience for her (and the viewers).  For her to do it, though, she'll need George to ease up on her being in the city by herself.  If Eden is able to do anything through her relationship with George, it needs to be making George a less rigid parent.  She may not be who I think George will ended up with in the long run, but it doesn't mean she can't be an important stepping stone.  Who knows--Eden may very well be the one who is key in bringing Dallas and George together.

Eden Rocks The Altman Boat

Suburgatory, S01E20

George continued to have problems while dating Eden, the biggest being that Noah was being overprotective of her and his baby inside of her.  Shelia started to fill Jill's head with the possibility that Eden would try to steal Noah away from her, adding to the negative atmosphere around Eden.  Tessa was enjoying her job at Dallas' store and got a promotion.  However, George, noticing how much time and money she was putting into her job, asked Dallas to cut back Tessa's hours.  Dallas agreed, even though George just wanted Tessa to have more time to spend getting to know Eden.  In a side story, Lisa began to think that she was adopted and looked for evidence.

George really must have no other friends he can make because if he did have another option besides Noah, I would say he was an idiot to continue interacting with Noah at all.  He has gone above and beyond paranoid and intrusive with his questions about George's intimacy with Eden and making George sign a contract about what he could and couldn't do with Eden while pregnant.  I was really hoping that Noah's insanity would make George snap, and he might literally slap some sense into him.  However, George kept respecting his friend's crazy demands, while Eden could barely hug George without him awkwardly pulling away.

I'm not sure what nosy Shelia is up to, but I can't believe Jill was so stupid to listen to her.  Everyone in town knows that woman does nothing but give out advice that no one asked for or needed.  And she's a chronic gossip.  She'll say anything, as long as it looks true enough in her eyes, regardless of what the facts might be.  I don't know if Lisa's conclusion that her mother's strange actions are linked to her being adopted, but that would be an interesting turn of events.  It would be sad, though, that her family treats her like an afterthought and she was an adopted child.  It'd be like why did you adopt her if you were only going to make her feel second-best all the time?

As for Tessa, it was nice to see her so good at her job and making some serious cash.  I got annoyed that George had been busy with Eden and hadn't even seen Tessa for a while, but only wanted to start spending time with her again so that she could get to know Eden.  How selfish!  Even if he thought Tessa was in danger of spending too much money or becoming Dallas or something, as long as Tessa was happy and doing well at school, why bother her??  Sure he and Eden has something special, but it didn't give him the right to be butting into her life like that.  As sweet as I thought it was that George provided Eden refuge from crazy Noah and Jill, I leaned toward taking Tessa's side who had to suddenly live with her father's new girlfriend and had to work less at a job she was doing well at.  No matter how well Tessa and Eden may get along, I think that George owes Tessa a huge apologetic gesture.

The last thing I thought was good about this episode was that Dallas started to show signs of jealousy that Eden and George were clicking so well.  So her feelings for George are still there, after all.  It's nice to see the shoe on the other foot because I know that George wasn't too pleased with all the boy toys Dallas had after her divorce, too.  But since he has met Eden, he hasn't bothered with Dallas since (until needing her to cut back Tessa's hours).  I'd love to see Dallas and Eden interact soon.  It'd be funny to see her try to hide her dislike of Eden.

Good episode, although I would have loved some more Dalia in it.  I'm interested to see what Lisa finds out from the DNA test she seemed to be taking at the end.  I wonder how Ryan's feelings would change for her if she was adopted?  It'll be even more interesting to see how Tessa handles another woman under her roof.  I'm pretty sure that even as sweet as Eden appears to be, there's little chance that Tessa will welcome her into their home with open arms.  Sounds like we can expect some entertaining conflict in the next episode!

Malik and Lisa: Just...Nasty

Suburgatory, S01E18

Lisa and Malik finally became an official couple, but Lisa felt so guilty about making Tessa the third wheel that she tried to hook her up with Evan.  Tessa started feeling sorry for herself and was moping around her house until Ryan brought her out of her funk and reminded her that she wasn't as pathetic as Lisa was trying to make her.  Dallas realized that she was depressed about her divorce after all and leaned on George for advice on how to handle it.  Dalia came to terms with anger she felt toward her mother for separating her from her father, mostly through getting a pet kangaroo.

Wow, after wanting Lisa and Malik to get together, they are so disgusting to watch as a couple.  They can't even drink at the water fountain without all this sensual mouth and tongue action going on!  That, plus their ice cream and fondue eating, made me instantly regret their fusion.  I guess the best thing about them being together is that they compliment each other.  I thought maybe Lisa was the one instigating all the over-sexed vibes, but Malik seems to be of the same mind since the advice he gave to Evan was fairly pervy.  It doesn't surprise me at all that Tessa was having a hard time being around them--anyone would.  Puke city.  I did like how Lisa's mother encouraged their relationship (to the point she seemed to be kissing Malik's ass and bribing him with food).  It was pretty funny how she kept comparing him to random black people she knew (making their breakfast even more awkward).

I was so annoyed, however, that Lisa kept looking upon Tessa like a charity case to the point that she tried to set her up with Evan.  Way to dig deep, Lisa.  She barely tried to find a suitable match and just wanted an easy solution to unwarranted guilt.  Evan was so awkward and dirty in his approach, thanks to listening to Malik.  He was lucky that Tessa didn't slap him in his face.  Despite Lisa claimed that she would take a bullet for Tessa (really?  what about when she ran off when Tessa was buying that scooter??), she obviously doesn't think so much about her that she would try to get some semi-decent.  Never thought I'd say this, but thank goodness for Ryan appearing.

Ryan has won me over, especially after with his time with George.  Initially he was repulsive, but I've gotten the impression that he's not bad guy at all--he's just a moron.  Maybe it was a little creepy he was semi-stalking Tessa while she was eating butter and walking around in breakfast food pajamas, but he gave her the necessary kick in the pants she needed. Tessa was being really weird and lonely by herself, so I'd much rather her go out with Ryan than be at home pretending that she was all right.  Plus, he's kinda cute in a doofus kind of way.  It wouldn't be horrible if Tessa considered him again.

As far as her father's love life is concerned, I was glad to see that George was able to provide Dallas a shoulder to cry on (or a mattress).  She had me fooled that she was taking her divorce incredibly well, and I didn't think that George's offer to give her advice about the divorce would matter to Dallas, but she had a breakdown sooner than I could have imagined.  It was pretty cute how she and George were talking on the bed about handling the depression.  I think some of the things he told her sunk in, even though it looked like it was the idea of  shopping for a new "depressed woman" wardrobe was what lifted her spirits.

It was also sweet how Noah tried to comfort Dalia about the divorce.  That was unexpected.  He usually seems so caught up in himself that he can't be bothered to worried about others' problems.  Even though his solution to Dalia's problem was to get her a kangaroo like the one in Kangaroo Jack, it seemed to help her more than anything else.  After all, she just wanted someone to be on her side (obviously Dallas' dog was her enemy), and I guess a pet kangaroo is better than nothing.  It's not like Dalia is going to get a real friend, so a kangaroo it is.  I really wonder if this pet will be permanent or was just a gag for this episode.  Can't imagine that a kangaroo would be happy living domestically.

I hope that this is the end of having to endure the unpleasant PDAs of Malik and Lisa and perhaps the start of Ryan and Tessa (at least a friendship).  This is one of the few shows that I really look forward to, so I have missed it the past couple of weeks.  Can't wait to see what they have come up with for next week!

Old Friends, Old Scooter

Suburgatory, S01E17

Dallas finally opens her crystal store and invites her sorority sisters for the event.  Tessa strives for independence from George "mothering" her and takes up a part-time job at Dallas' store.  Despite that Dallas has to face an old rival, ain't no one stopping her Steve-free express train to happiness.  Tessa has a longer way to go before she's traveling George-free yet, but her scooter is a nice start (once her dad lets her drive it).

The best thing about Dallas' reunion with her girls was the appearance of the "ol' bitch" that she didn't invite in the first place, Tulsa.  She was played aptly by Robin Givens, and I loved their interactions.  Tulsa was trying to steal the spotlight (which she did) with her endless moaning about the death of her ex-husband.  If she didn't clearly enjoy destroying Dallas' happy moment, I might have felt a sliver of sympathy for Tulsa.  You have to give props to Dallas who remains classy and upbeat, even when faced with her nemesis hinting that she may have slept with her ex-husband.  Seriously?  If Steve was doing someone like Tulsa, a woman that Dallas knew personally, then he is a bigger scum than I thought.  You couldn't cheer Dallas on any better for embracing her single life with that tidbit of information.

The best thing about Tessa story was the very first scene where she was arguing with George why she couldn't walk home from the library if he insists that walking "builds character" (Haha!):

[George] Because it's dark out.
[Tessa] You think it's safer for me to sit alone outside a dark, empty building?

She brings up a good point.  After George suggests that if she wants independence then she should get a job and buy her own set of wheels, Tessa manages to achieve that in about a day, thanks to Dallas' pay advance.  Since Tessa didn't even show up for her first assignment, does that mean Dallas will fire her?  Dallas seemed a little displeased with her absence, but it's hard to tell if she is truly mad or not.  It certainly would be a benefit for her to have a girl like Tessa who would probably keep things practical while Dallas is floating on her crystal cloud nine.

It's crazy that she had enough money to buy a used scooter even from Craigslist, but it was even crazier that Tess went to pick it up and chose Lisa to accompany her.  She would have been better alone if the bitch is gonna push her into a probable creeper's home!  I couldn't even be shocked that Lisa did that and ran for the hills.  I was more surprised to see her helping Tessa move it after it turned out the shirtless stranger could be trusted to sell her the scooter without mishap.  Tessa must be hurting for friends because I would have slapped the hell out of Lisa, regardless of her intense "survival instinct."  I like Lisa because she's so ridiculously paranoid and misinformed, but I would trade her for the first better friend I could find in a quick minute.

Now that George has gone to talk to Tessa's grandmother Helen, I wonder if we will finally see her mother.  If she's anything like Helen, we're going to be looking forward to another bitch on the screen.  I guess I forgot or something that Tessa's mother wasn't dead, but rather just not in the picture.  According to the conversation George and Helen had, George sued for full custody and won, which means that the mother had to have had some serious problems going on (I don't know why my first thought is drugs, but a mental instability is likely as well).  George is a good guy, but he's a little clumsy as a parental figure and would only look good in the midst of an obviously incompetent guardian.  He's loving, for sure, but he definitely doesn't have the smoothest parenting skills.

It would be pretty cool to see Tessa getting around on that scooter--it seems to fit her style better than a car.  I think George will cave and let her drive it (probably under some kind of condition).  It would also be interesting to see Dalia express more of her true feelings about the divorce (we almost had a tender moment between she and Dallas, but her texting showed that she is still all about the things she can get out of it).  And as always, let's get back to Dalia versus Tessa.  I'm sure if Tessa keeps working at Dallas' store, Dalia's bound to find a way to disrupt Tessa's life.  Crossing my fingers on that one.

Lisa Takes A Walk On The Pink Side

Suburgatory, S01E15

This week's episode wasn't exactly funny, but there was something cute about it.  I think it had to do with the story about Dalia trying to bring Lisa to the "pink side."  What did make it not a particularly great episode was that Noah was too heavily involved, and he's too much of a jellyfish (in terms of morals, courage and brains) to be that interesting.  His wife was following the happy-divorce trend that Dallas was setting.  I only wanted to see this story unfold in order to see what it would do for Dallas and George's relationship.

So let's talk about those two first.  George was definitely showing how jealous he was of Dallas's new boy toy, who only wore white (as did she for most of the episode).  I was less surprised that Dallas had gotten herself a little extra meat on her chest (as if she needed it) and more that she had decided to move on with someone like Yanni.  I mean, Dallas won't win any awards for the deepest woman in the world, but I thought she had a little more substance to chose a a bit more wisely.  It's crazy that she seemed to flirt more with George when she was married than she does now.   I get the sense that George is trying to win her over slowly by his ice-cream (or was it yogurt?) treating gesture.  And they both got the same thing!  Must be love!  But I guess George and Dallas won't get together so easily, or it wouldn't be any fun for those of us watching.

I liked that Dalia thinks a good revenge against Tessa is to get her best friend (I'm assuming they wouldn't have been able to get Malik?).  It's a transparent move, but Lisa goes along with it anyway, too blinded by the brilliance of Dalia and her clique to care whether her ticket in is sincere or not.  And Lisa is hardly apologetic for it; she's been starving to be someone that others envy and will take any chance she's got to become this person.  You can't hate Lisa for this.  Her own mother asked, "Who?" when Dalia told her that she was at their house to pick up Lisa.  She's invisible even at her own home; of course, becoming one of Dalia's Barbies is a better deal than hanging with Tessa, who couldn't be popular if she tried.  

However, I didn't like her too much when she left Malik hanging and forced him to dance with Kimantha.  Their dancing together was hilarious, though.  Tessa was smart to bring in one of Dalia's lackies to counteract Dalia's plan.  Although Lisa had been completely made a Dalia clone on the outside, her insides remained the same; she still wanted Malik for herself.  All right!  Lisa even knocks Kimantha out of the way and grabs her man!  Way to go, Lisa!  I'm hoping that it won't be this one time thing and from now on they will be a couple.

After Lisa returned her Dalia Club membership, Tessa asked Dalia for a cease-fire since she isn't even dating Scott anymore, but Dalia has a different ax to grind; she is having trouble imagining her mother eventually marrying Tessa's dad.  I shouldn't say "trouble" since Dalia not only foresees their parents getting together but also much further in the future where Dalia steals Tessa's girlfriend from college and then has to cater Dalia and said girlfriend's wedding.  Wow.  I couldn't believe how detailed she was!  It was great.  Tessa didn't have much to say after that and left Dalia alone.  Good call.  What could you say to all of that?

Lastly, I just want to say that Lisa is kind of scary.   The next day she is even less apologetic about what she did and says that real friends are the ones you can take for granted because they'll stick by you or something.  Then she demands for something to drink with a humorless expression.  What, so now she thinks she is the shit because she was with Dalia for a few days?  Well, I just gotta say that Malik has his hands full with a girlfriend like that.  He'd be careful not to let her upgrade him the first opportunity that presents itself to her.

I wish this episode had a little more of the battle between Dalia and Tessa.  We didn't get to see too much of Lisa enjoying being one of Dalia's "friends."  And we didn't get to see Tessa agonizing too much over Lisa betraying them.  Perhaps Tessa is too smart, as she didn't waste too much time to get Kimantha on her side, to fall for Dalia's cheap tricks.  If so, I'd like to see Dalia come up with something more clever that Tessa can't so easily get out of.  Maybe Dalia will start plotting against George so that he won't get any closer to her mom.  That would be good.  One thing is for sure, though:  we don't need another Noah-centric story.  Let's save those for a time when his character is less of a boring idiot to me.

The Body is a Sweetie

 Suburgatory, S01E14

 

 If I had to summarize what this episode was about, it would be winners versus losers.  The winners were mostly those being good at sports.  Ryan, aka "The Body," has a taste of being a loser after getting injured during a wrestling match.  Tessa tries to run for student body president in order to prevent the "K" twins from initiating a double-gym requirement.

I will say as stupid as Ryan is, he is a pretty likeable character.  He seems like just an airhead jock, but he does have feelings.  His parents, who are one moment carrying him to his car one day and then giving away his dessert on another, are pretty fair-weather guardians.  While Ryan sulks upstairs in his wheelchair, his parents shift their attention to Lisa, who after being neglected by them so long is oh, but so eager to bask in their spotlight.  The moment when Ryan is crying upstairs makes you go, "Aww," but at the same time made me laugh.  It's just so ridiculous.  What terrible parents he and Lisa have.  They throw a funeral-like procession just because their son can't compete anymore.  Maybe if they achieve a little more in their own lives, they wouldn't have to mourn the loss of being a champion's parents.

I was sad to see that Tessa's run for president pretty much ended before it started.  She wisely realized that she wasn't going to win a popularity contest when she had the coordination of a two-headed worm, but I wish that she had a more fighting spirit.  Lisa was all gun-ho about it, but that was just because she wanted to have her first victory dinner as Tessa's campaign manager.  She realizes that just because everyone there is sport-oriented that it doesn't mean those so called "jocks" are not worried about their grades and maybe she needs to try harder at sports.  Good for her.  I like that she opts for the growth route, rather than denouncing the school system and stirring up more trouble than she would have liked.

My favorite thing about this episode was Ryan and George hanging out.  They just seemed like such a random pair.  George tries to get Ryan to see that you can always reinvent yourself, but it sort of backfires and convinces Ryan to force himself to literally walk through the pain.  I didn't think that someone as dumb as Ryan would have a huge revelation and find meaning in his life outside of sports, but I didn't expect him to hop out of his wheelchair and run away from becoming someone like George.  Before he did this and George was explaining his old band, "Alt Man," they had a great funny moment:

[George] Do you get it?

[Ryan] No, but I trust you.

He gets it later.  Haha.  I'm not surprised that George had a band.  He seems like someone who might.  He almost reminds me of that dad on Gossip Girl.  Although, George doesn't seem to have much talent to write his own stuff.  Maybe we will see him sing in another episode. 

Oh, and thanks to George, Ryan does a sweet thing in his own way for Lisa.  Instead of asking for another of his favorite marinara-sauced dishes, he asks his parents to cook Lisa's favorite tuna and shells.  Aww...  That moron is a sweetie pie.  If he wasn't so thick-headed, I'd want to see him get together with Tessa again.

I have to say that I love how positive Dallas is being during her divorce.  She is determined to let no one get her down.  I was confused why Noah was trying to get in her way of self-empowerment, until I remembered that he and Steven were friends.  He needs to get over it because he's not going to stop her from brightening her teeth and her outlook on life.  Yay!

I just really like this show.  It might be one of the few that I really look forward to in the week because it hardly disappoints.  This may not have been the best of stories this time, but I still had a good time watching it.  It's nice to have that fresh feeling of hope now that so many of my long-time shows are starting to get a little boring.