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In a way, it was kind of the flip-side of their plots in "F-O-- Follow T-H-R-- Through" (when Kenneth breaks down and JJ first floats the idea of him being a coach) and "J-I-- Jingle T-H-- Thon" (JJ helps Kenneth get the girls' b-ball coaching job, admitting he'd been worrying about the big guy and wanted to leave him with something he can do) -- Kenneth wants to return the favor by helping JJ find someone else who can help ease him into the major life changes he'll be facing soon. :)

This was a fun one -- nice to see Lee again (this time giving JJ and Kenneth some perspective on the temporary nature of the aide relationship, and letting JJ borrow his own aide for the day), and Jimmy trying to intimidate Dylan's crush (Kai, a stereotypical bad-boy-with-a-surprisingly-sensitive-soul) was a hoot, as was Maya and Ray playing "chicken" with each other right up until they start going down that first water-park slide. :D Some very sweet moments, too: -- Kenneth wonders what he and JJ are going to do since JJ "couldn't make it one day" with a different aide (the humorless, low-energy Randy); JJ wants Kenneth to come to college with him, but as much as he'd love their arrangement to last forever, Kenneth says he'd only signed up to help him through high school; even so, he does offer to help him find another aide (presumably a licensed professional who can work with JJ at whatever college he ends up). -- Jimmy feels he keeps screwing up with Dylan because she seems unhappy no matter what he does about Kai (from trying to protect her, to bonding with him over music), but he's understandably put off by her "sick social game" (of wanting to use info about him to give herself an advantage over the "queen bees" in her class who are also crushing on him); after Kai overhears them arguing and leaves, and they go driving around to look for him, I loved their car-talk, with Dylan being refreshingly frank about not knowing what she wants yet knowing she's being unreasonable, and Jimmy reassuring her that this sort of weirdness is actually something he can handle because "weird is us." -- I found the Maya/Ray plot mostly silly, but liked how it gets real when her work life (she receives a call from the bank about a loan for her business) comes into play; as in "New JJ" (3x4), Ray initially relishes the attention she's giving him instead of JJ, but now he has the clothing-line to compete with; after he opens up to her about his concern, Maya praises him for his unusual honesty (as opposed to his tendencies toward manipulation and whiny passivity) and promises to make time for him, and he in turn promises more directness in asking for what he wants.

"P-R-O-M-P-- Promposal" (3x19, Mar. 22) (press release and promo pix) -- "one of the DiMeos takes a big step into a new life"... :) FanFest: 3x17 highlights 3/11 UPDATE (in honor of today's UK premiere): Channel 4 (Minnie Q&A) iNews (article with Minnie comments) *** https://www.tvinsider.com/758168/ask-matt-speechless-svu-spinoff-masked-singer/

Agreed -- that would've been too predictable and standard-sitcom cliche, while Dylan's reveal of her act of sabotage brought an emotional punch as well as an element of surprise (not only to the other characters -- she seemed to get so much into her "Supreme Ruler" role on set, it made me actually forget the misgivings about New York she briefly expressed right in the episode's opening lines). *** Something else I liked about JJ's film: At the beginning, Maya said something about how JJ's never really defined himself by his disabilities (while arguing against Izzy's suggestion that he make a film about disability), and the film he ended up making still holds true to that -- his family is what makes him unique. :)

That sucks. :( I thought it was one of the better episodes of the season... I hope so, too. :\ I hope you're right. I was just thinking about this the other night -- even if ABC drops it, I wonder if Freeform might pick it up or else order a JJ-goes-to-college spin-off (akin to 'Grown-ish')... *** Channel Guide Mag: 7 Questions with Cedric Yarbrough Rolling Stone -- a lovely write-up of Friday's episode (from Alan Sepinwall, formerly of UPROXX) FanFest: 3x16 highlights :)

Choice cue:

Stray observations: -- After the last-minute bombshell in last week's episode, I admit I didn't have high hopes for this one; but I'm glad there ended up being so much more to it than just "will JJ finish his film on time?" -- Nice callback to Jimmy's favorite show when Maya's trying to disrupt the shoot in the living-room (as she's walking out, she flips the TV on and World's Best Garbage Fights is playing). xD -- Jimmy's parents live in New York, and the kids have visited them "dozens of times." Also, he and Uncle Billy have (or had?) a sister? -- Izzy: "Sensitivity question -- when is it OK for a person without a disability to portray a character with a disability?" Dylan: "Never. Action!" -- Lovely moment with Maya and Dr. Miller ("JJ just... makes a film and goes off to New York? And I've fought and I've struggled all these years -- then I have to let him go, and that's my reward? ... It doesn't feel like a reward. Anyway, I'm not crazy [for] not wanting him to go. It's cold there, lonely. It'll be hard for him to get around." "He'll figure it out. He can -- you gave him that. ... We give them the tools, we let them go.") -- Dylan turning out to be the one who sabotaged JJ's film ("I don't want him to go to New York! Everything in this family -- it revolves around you, JJ. Fine. But that means you can't just change everything and leave!") seemed to come out of nowhere, but it actually makes more sense as she's the one who was always most resigned to taking a back seat to him and his needs (literally the only life she's ever known). -- Maya's assurance that "we'll always come back to us" ties in nicely with JJ's film; he set out to "make a statement on disability" with a Twilight Zone-style fantasy (depicting a world where wheelchair users rule, and the last man who can walk is seen and pursued as a "freak"), and he ends up turning the usable footage into a documentary about what it's like to be a DiMeo. :) -- Funny how Ray didn't want his family to see the SneakyBearCam footage of himself making out with his lab partner ("the hottest girl in school") because he thought they might ruin the good thing he had, and he ends up doing that himself when she happens to come by just as he's showing off the footage. -- Kenneth's own SneakyBearCam footage ended up not being nearly as embarrassing as I would've thought (a Fred Astaire-style dance routine he'd had to stop practicing at home because his downstairs neighbors had complained about the "stomping"). -- Speaking of embarrassing, this episode wouldn't be the first time Jimmy has mistaken someone else with similar hair for Maya -- recall Ethan's wife in the s.1 Valentine's Day ep... (At least this time, his mistake didn't cause him to punch anybody!)

FanFest: 3x15 highlights :D "S-E-- Seoul B-R-- Brothers" (Mar. 15, 3x18) (press release) -- Ooh, I'm a little worried about that "secret"... but it might be cool if it has something to do with Jimmy's band (I see Carl and Weird Pete listed in the guest cast). *** UPDATE: UK premiere date set for Monday, March 11. https://www.tvwise.co.uk/2019/02/e4-sets-uk-premiere-date-for-speechless/

Stray observations: -- I love how real things got between Ray and JJ ("It makes no sense! There's no reason why I should get to be able to do these things [getting his driver's license and other milestones], and you don't get to. It's not fair!" "You're right, but we don't have control of it. I don't waste my time feeling bad about it -- you shouldn't."). I thought their conversation tied in nicely with their mom's dilemma about how to handle Izzy (I also loved Izzy's response to her: "This is the one thing you have no control over... [But] I care about JJ, a lot, and I trust that you taught him well enough to choose someone that cares about him the way he deserves"), and also set up the plot for next week's "Wheelchair Planet": Their talk came about after Ray admitted he had only offered to share his license with JJ because he'd "felt bad" for him -- not so much pity, as guilt -- and JJ realized "it's better to come clean with the stuff you're holding on to", which prompts him to reveal that Izzy is going to college in New York, and he has less than a day to complete the application / film submission for a film school he wants to attend there. -- I was beginning to wonder if we were going to get a cliffhanger episode on the order of "Cheater" (1x19) or "The Hustle" (2x12) this season; I guess this was it. -- Pepper sighting! -- Maya using her childbirth video to guilt-trip JJ into letting her meet Izzy was a bit much, though I couldn't help laughing; loved the proud look on Jimmy's face... xD -- As much as Maya had feared going too far and ruining the evening, all it took was Izzy discovering that Jimmy had snuck a look at her phone to screw up whatever goodwill she and Maya had forged; I suppose next week's ep will also deal with the fallout from that.

FanFest: 3x14 (#312) highlights :) "W-H-- Wheelchair P-L-- Planet" (3x16, Mar. 1) (press release) -- hey, sounds like Kenneth and Ray might be getting a plot together after all... "S-P-- Special B-- Boy T-I-- Time" (3x17, Mar. 8) (press release) -- Maya/Ray sounds hilarious, Jimmy/Dylan are always great together, and I see JJ's friend Lee (Zach Anner) listed in the guest cast. Especially looking forward to this one.

According to the numbers on the official press-releases, this episode (#312) technically came between "Our Mageddon" (3x12, #311) and "Fashion 4 All" (3x13, #313); and all three were probably intended to take place before "Roll Model" (3x10, #314). Had they aired in what I assume would've been the proper order, I think Dylan's relationship with Ray in recent weeks would've followed a more clear progression: 1) Dylan cites Ray's antics as a large part of why she's so frustrated about having to share a room with her brothers, and she also feels obligated to have a more easygoing relationship with their mother (even if it means being far less open about her wants, needs, disagreements, etc.); 2) Dylan realizes how far Ray's willing to go to defend her despite how hard she makes it for him ("Sometimes I think you got the wrong sister, but I got the right brother"); 3) Dylan realizes her struggles in school, as well as her resentment towards Ray, are rooted in how Ray had long ago found his niche as "the smart one" in the family so she had to resign herself to an entirely different role, but after seeing him drunk and hearing him praise her clever scheming / pranks, she feels better about not limiting herself if Ray can stray from his role once in a while; 4) Dylan becomes the voice of reason when Ray is at his worst, and they both reach a series of breakthroughs about their family dynamic (she always thought her feelings and problems didn't matter because she's the youngest; he, being the overlooked and under-loved middle child, tends to go for attention-seeking romantic schemes; etc.). As it worked out, though, I think the sweetest was saved for last. :) (And considering next week's episode is supposed to be about JJ having Izzy come over to meet his parents, I guess it's just as well that this week's touched on how she hasn't really had a chance to meet them or Dylan yet...) The Kenneth/JJ/Izzy plot was so sweet, too -- Kenneth was so used to having his thing with JJ, it hadn't occurred to him how weird it might come across to an outside party, especially one in a dating situation, while JJ was aware but was simply too nervous about being alone with a girl (especially one who seems to like him as much as he likes her -- new territory for him), and Izzy was so nervous herself (claiming this was her first real date). As for Jimya, I swear, they're officially my favorite TV couple. ❤️ I did find it odd that the usually thrifty Jimmy would turn out to be such a free-spender when it comes to showing Maya how much she means to him -- though I suppose early on in their marriage (especially after they had JJ) he may have been somewhat reluctantly dragged into her more cynical attitude towards Valentine's Day (which she sees as "for suckers" and he once called a "bogus Hallmark holiday"), and his promotion at the beginning of s.2 likely also came with a pay raise (hence, his throwaway line about having hired Boyz II Men to sing for Maya last year... which we didn't get to see because of the shortened season); plus in the s.1 V-Day ep, we saw how he was willing to go above and beyond for her, even apparently without much money (the paper hearts with reasons he loves her written on them, the bottle of wine with a little card quoting a Yeats poem, and of course the video he put together). In any event, as Jimmy rationalizes, "Money comes and money goes, but what we have is forever." Aww... Choice cues: BJ Thomas, "Hooked on a Feeling" (1968) (when Kenneth is helping JJ get ready for his date); the Emotions, "Best of My Love" (1977) (when Jimmy and Maya are selling roses).

'Speechless' finally has a UK home! E4, in a deal with FOX, has acquired the rights to air all three seasons: https://www.tvwise.co.uk/2019/02/e4-acquires-speechless-deal-fox/ :)

"G-A-- Game N-I-- Night" (3x15, Feb. 22) (press release) -- the Izzy storyline continues! Time for her to meet JJ's parents. :) And another Dylan/Kenneth pairing, so relatively soon after 3x9 (not to mention they had one in the s.3 premiere); I don't recall Kenneth and Ray getting a plot together yet this season, but then they had a few in s.2... FanFest: 3x13 highlights :D

I would assume he's in school, being watched by Taylor at home, or their dad has joint custody (like a couple weekends a month or so) -- speaking of which, Mel must be getting a helluva lot of alimony and child support if she can afford to start a home business and (apparently) not have to work a regular job outside the home...

Like two of my favorite episodes (1x13 "Sick Day" and 2x12 "The Hustle"), discussion of familial roles was all over this one: -- Jimmy holds up his relationship with Maya as a model for Kenneth to emulate with Melanie, urging him to support and not question her when she's in charge; but later when things look especially hopeless for the ladies, Jimmy (who otherwise has a hard time seeing how he "matters") steps up when he's needed most and gives them a talk to pick up their spirits. With his advice, emphasizing how they're fighters for their families (especially their special-needs children), M&M are better-equipped to try to win over the many people they'd picked fights with and wronged in the past (they even finally get their own unnecessarily cumbersome slogan right). -- JJ relishes an opportunity to go on a college tour without his mom, so of course it would infuriate him all the more when Ray takes the "Mom" role upon himself instead of just being a brother to have fun with; Ray gets frustrated with JJ's resistance "at every turn" and attempts to prove he can loosen up (he still can't stand beer, but what he thinks is "dessert" -- Jell-O shots -- ends up doing the trick). While taking a drunken Ray from the party to the dorm, JJ's new friend says "There's nothing worse than a guy who needs your help but won't take it" (referring to Ray's grumbling about JJ's "driving"), which JJ takes to heart; as he's putting Ray to bed, JJ admits it's not easy for him to accept help from his little brother, but he acknowledges that they should look out for each other and he appreciates Ray's efforts. :) -- Speaking of Ray, his being "the smart one" in the DiMeo family is revealed by Dylan as the root of her struggles in school (to Mr. Powers, who wants to understand the gap between her outstanding standardized-test score and her less-than-stellar classwork / grades); after a call to a drunken Ray, who attributes her superior schemes and pranks to her sharp intelligence, she realizes the doesn't have to be constrained by her own role if Ray can be "dumb" once in a while (though as one who presumably still isn't inclined to care what others think, she'll continue to see grades as the sort of "external validation" she doesn't feel she needs).

As I recall, that was the episode where Maya pulled JJ out of school, so it was like Kenneth suddenly just lost a job (however temporarily -- but then, at the time he didn't know how long JJ's homeschooling situation would last). :\ That kind of stuff is why I can't take it seriously when some fans complain about Ray getting "sh*t on" and "bullied" by his family. :p Granted, I thought he reached such a low point with "Roll Model" a few weeks ago (using that support group to meet girls, only thinking about how to score a date with one as they're sharing very private and personal feelings) that he seemed relatively tame in these last two eps, but I'm hoping there will be a real sort of turn-around for him soon.

My guess is JJ and Kenneth are already trying to get "weaned" off each other, since they know the former is trying to be more independent and the latter isn't going to college with him; but yeah, they could be a little more clear about that. :\ (JJ's got at least one friend in his Film class, and he had Ray while helping to put up Valentine's Day decorations after school; but I do wonder what he does for the rest of his classes, unless Kenneth was with him earlier in the day but then took breaks during classes / time periods when he knew JJ would have someone else who could help him...)

This episode covered two things I've been wanting for a long time on this show: 1) A guys' night for Jimmy and Kenneth -- or else an explanation of why we haven't had one yet. Pairing Jimmy with Joyce the Physical Therapist and drawing a similarity between their experiences with Kenneth (his as a dad who can't go anywhere with just an adult male friend because Kenneth keeps backing out of their planned outings, hers as a "4 a.m. booty call" Kenneth won't take out on regular date in public) was clever; I also thought it was pretty funny that while Joyce just wanted an apology and a proper goodbye (if their relationship isn't going anywhere, it makes sense for them to be honest with each other and end it properly), Jimmy was more hurt by having his "heart played with" / "feelings toyed with" but will probably end up regretting being drawn into Kenneth's world (including an improv group and jazz brunches). I did find it a little hard to believe that Kenneth only saw himself as "the guy who took care of your kid" and didn't realize until now that he and Jimmy were actual friends, though I suppose he could've been somewhat aware of how close they had become but was taking it for granted. 2) A Maya/Dylan pairing that actually explores their unique dynamic. I always kinda figured they've had so few plots together because they're so similar personality-wise, it's probably hard for the writers to come up with conflicts for them. In the past, Dylan has expressed admiration for how "amazing" and "awesome" her mother is (1x16 and 1x17), and has even emulated her fighting-for-JJ tactics (2x15); but she's also prided herself on having her own "cool" identity, which suddenly feels threatened when Maya notes how they get along so well because Dylan takes after her so much. Interestingly, this plot calls back to and builds on both "Sled Hockey" (1x9) and "Surprise" (1x17) -- Dylan's lack of privacy while having to share a room with two boys is one of the things she feels she doesn't really have a right to complain about in light of her brothers' needs and issues, and in her effort to make Maya's job easier (by not questioning or butting heads with her as Ray and JJ have done, and not being as open about her wants and needs), their harmonious relationship is achieved at the expense of Dylan's individuality. Here, we get to see what happens when they really don't get along -- Dylan tries to reclaim her sense of self from her mother (even if potentially at JJ's expense by signing a petition in favor of a "straw ban" at school), and Maya wants to reassert their bond (by grounding her and anticipating her every move / response, if only because "I didn't want to let go of what we have"). (However, while I thought the reveal of the replacement garage door -- installed in the kids' bedroom to give Dylan her own space -- was a cute surprise, I couldn't help thinking, "so much for JJ's man-cave having a door on it...") As for the continuation of the JJ/Ray/Izzy plot from last week, Ray's dilemma reminded me a bit of "Sled Hockey" -- JJ doesn't want anyone to go easy on him out of pity, he wants real competition, but like Jimmy worried for JJ's physical safety, Ray fears that JJ's disabilities will put him at a disadvantage. I found it rather poignant when JJ admitted he was actually helping Ray by talking him up to Izzy, because he'd rather simply lose her to Ray than risk himself getting rejected by her; Ray may get rejected for bad and weird choices / behavior, but JJ tends to get rejected for something he can't help, and worse, he gets dumb excuses rather than the truth. Though Izzy initially proved him right when he first asked her for a date (she started saying something about a boyfriend out of town), I'm glad she got a chance to later admit she really does like him, and I liked how refreshingly frank she was with her questions and concerns. :)

I thought it was cute how Jimmy's band (in addition to their own punk stuff -- what little of "Draft Dodger" we heard sounded to me like early-'80s hardcore) leans towards '60s-'80s classic rock, while Todd favors '90s alternative rock. :D I assumed they might have been betraying their ages that way, though it's possible Todd simply had hipper, more current taste than Jimmy and his friends would've had in the '90s -- as teenagers at that time, my older sister dug the grunge scene while I gravitated to classic-rock radio...