Maybe Jules Would Be Better Without Therapy

Cougar Town, S03E09

Grayson and Jules discussed combining their finances and homes and made little progress with how they wanted to handle the changes and decisions they would have to make when they got married.  Jules consulted with her therapist to the point that she was overstepping the boundaries that a therapist and patient should have.  Laurie struggled to keep up with her cake business while doing her job at Jules'.  She hired some unpaid workers to help her, but the staff quickly quit.  Travis convinced her to quit her real estate job and go 100% into her cake business.  Ellie teased Andy that Bobby was too sensitive to handle one of his pranks, so Andy made Bobby go hiking with an empty water bottle that he believed would fill itself on its own.

As much as I would hope that therapy would help Jules, it only seems to be making her crazier.  It is funny, though, that she can threaten her friends and family with therapy sessions if they upset her.  This even works on Ellie, who was forced to go after stealing Jules' "thunder"" twice in the episode.  I started to feel bad for the therapist who was allowing Jules to come in any time she felt like, even when she was interrupting other patients' sessions (who seemed more than happy to let Jules take their time).  However, the therapist was an enabler herself--since Jules' bills were affording her boats, she was happy to throw empty advice to her (which Grayson and Jules gladly lapped up).  I think therapy is only letting Jules feel like she can control people even more and rationalize her actions that make no sense to others around her.

As for their discussion about which house they are going to keep, I'm pretty sure that it's going to be Jules'.  Or either they might get another house (which I doubt with their finances).  I liked that Ellie was in favor of the two staying at Jules' house because it was across from her own and she didn't have the energy for the 30 steps to Grayson's.  It's funny how Ellie can be as lazy as I sometimes.

I wasn't too interested in the Laurie story because I knew what was going to happen from the beginning.  Obviously, she couldn't balance having both jobs, and Jules had mentioned that she couldn't afford to pay Laurie anymore.  I just thought it was stupid that Travis didn't tell her sooner that it would have been best for her to just take a leap of faith and go for her cake business for real.  Then again, I could see how she would be afraid that Jules would refuse to let her quit (or just dramatically refuse to speak to her again if she did).  Thankfully, Jules wanted to fire her, so Laurie's quitting was good for both sides.

There also wasn't much to say about the Andy and Bobby story either.  There were two things, however, I liked concerning Ellie in that story.  One was that she challenged Andy to make Bobby believe he had a "magical" self-replenishing water bottle, but when Andy was worried that Bobby could really get into trouble on his hiking trip, Ellie told him she was amazed he could send his friend off to such place where he could die of dehydration.  What a delightfully bitchy thing to say!  Bobby was taken off in an ambulance when Andy and Ellie found him, but he wasn't angry at all his friend had included him in one of his jokes.  However, the second thing that I liked was a conversation a ranger (I guess) and Ellie had while Bobby and Andy hugged:

[Guy] You married to one of those guys?

[Ellie] No.  They're lovers.

Sometimes I wonder if she wouldn't be happy if Andy just ran off with Bobby.

At the end, Ellie tried to get back at Little Stan with a demon mask, but he just thought that she wasn't wearing makeup.  Andy tried to congratulate his burn, but Stan told him to go away.  Ellie also walked away defeated.  That kid is really made of the most evil parts of both his parents.  He's going to be a terror as teenager.

I think that Ellie saved this episode again.  It was a little funny that Jules was abusing her therapist's role in her life, but not so much that it was funnier each time she did it.  If her therapist is smart, she should realize that Jules' psychological problems have increased since she started having the sessions and cut her lose.  No number of boats can possibly compensate being at Jules' beck and call for any unimportant matter that comes along.

Ellie's Mom--That Explains A Lot

Cougar Town, S03E08

Ellie's mom, Betsy, came into town, and Jules tried to help Ellie get her mother to say something nice about her.  Andy convinced Grayson that he needed to take more interest in his friends if he wanted to lose the title as "New Guy."  He tried to convince Laurie that she should start her dream of selling cakes through his bar.  Travis wanted to steal a statue from campus to make his house an actual party house and got his family to help him.  

I've started to like the pattern of Andy screwing around with Grayson, who doesn't seem to get that Andy takes pleasure in tricking people (no wonder he's a good match for Ellie).  Grayson is such a moron that he doesn't get it yet.  But I do think that Andy was halfway trying to help Grayson stop acting like such a superficial friend.  I don't know if Laurie was the best person for him to dig deep and learn more about as if he was really interested.  Grayson surprised me by actually supporting Laurie's dream (even if it was to benefit himself).  She is practically in his bar all the time anyway, so she might as well become a part-time employee.  I just wonder how that might impact the "work" that she does for Jules.

I didn't think the Travis story wasn't that interesting itself.  It was just weird that he got both his parents and his grandfather involved in stealing the statue.  His wacky family was much more skillful in stealing something than his loser friends.  It's really sad that Travis still needs his family to give him a leg up on being cool.  I know that they are all really close, but at some point can't he be less of a dork on his own?

I really liked Ellie's mother.  It was so weird that she didn't like her own daughter, despite their similarities.  One of the best things about seeing Betsy was that Ellie seemed like a nicer person in comparison.  At least Ellie doesn't pretend to be someone really sweet and talk badly about them behind their backs all the time.  She's mostly the kind who tells you straight up what she doesn't like about you, and I love her for that.  But her mom's brand of two-facedness wasn't bad either.  It just seemed like a device torture Ellie by fooling her friends into thinking she was nicer than Ellie knew to be true.  It's too bad that Ellie decided to cut her out of her life (necessary, though).  I'd like to see her come back and make someone cry again (poor, sensitive Jules).

A little side note--little Stan is crazy.  What kid his age is going around destroying mailboxes?  It's creepy in a way that is somehow funny and cute.  Loved him dragging a random mailbox and Jules letting him slide because it wasn't hers, therefore not her problem.

I liked this episode because Andy messed around with Grayson, but in doing so, he and Laurie got a little closer.  The Ellie story was the best part, and I will miss seeing Ellie's mother around.  She was a cold-hearted bitch, but at least she made Ellie seem quite nice in comparison.