S02.E05: The Greater Good

[formerlyfreedom]

The God Account indicates that Bishop Thompson's daughter, Claire, is in need of help, causing Miles' world and Arthur's world to intersect. Also, Jaya's parents, impressed with Rakesh's success, want the pair to move forward in their relationship.

 

Airing Sunday, October 27, 2019.

[mommalib]

With Joy gone the show definitely feel more like season 1. I love episodes like this when you see people who love and care about each other find common ground with a little honesty. 

Liked seeing Rachel because she was the first friend suggestion where Miles started to fully embrace the god account.

It looks like all three of the couples on the show are gonna face some obstacles. Arthur and Trish over the job, Rakesh and Jiya over her parents, and Miles and Cara possibly over this Adam guy. The first two I understand but it seems like sometime they try to create drama for Miles and Cara just for the sake of drama. They're a great couple just let them flourish.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

"We are as sick as our secrets." - Recovery aphorism.

Every single thing the Bishop said about red flags coming from his daughter was doctrinal recovery.  The "slip" almost never happens out of the blue and all at once. It is pretty much always rooted in a less-than rigorous honesty and accountability - the keeping of secrets being an example - that leads to a relapse.  Claire's behavior was screaming DANGER.  Being too tired/overextending oneself is a surefire way to lose sobriety.  She was well on her way.

I do call BS on the Bishop's keeping his addiction from his daughter.  A good sponsor would have pointed out to him years and years before that just about the only reason to not make a full/complete amend to someone, and she was most certainly owed one, is if the revelation would hurt them, or others.  This revelation comes nowhere near that.  It was selfish.  It was not loving.  It was from fear, not love.  Addicts simply can not afford to live a lie like that and expect to achieve long term dryness/non-use.  Sobriety?  Not as I understand it. To be clear, nothing is impossible.  But, by way of example, any idea what the odds of achieving even a year of sobriety are?  35-1.  Please believe me when I tell you that addiction is a super-powerful and sneaky evil.  A supreme level of honest vigilance is the most consistent (some argue it's the only) tool to manage against it.  The 12 Steps are unrivaled in their effectiveness.  They were turned on their head by TPTB in this ep, imo.

Rachel giving up Claire's anonymity without first asking permission?  Unconscionable.  It's as grave a "sin" in recovery as there is.  Not cool, show.

Arthur is in a nice box of the writer's making now.  He cannot accept the Bishopric and also marry Trish.  It's one or the other.  This isn't Rakesh and Jaya and parental units.  This is super serious stuff.  Trish has made it known she wants no part of a Church life, beyond worship (and maybe even that is problematic?).  And what's up with a Diocese that is willing to bring back a man who took all his toys and ran away?  Personality over principle is not exactly a holy tenet.

TPTB are messing around with incredibly important institutions and themes here.  Intentionally or not, just like with Claire and her father in this ep, they are creating space for some really bad things to happen IRL.

All of the above, excepting the odds piece which is scientifically-accepted fact, is as I understand it and that does not make me an oracle.  YMMV!

Who makes a one-way bet?  She lost, but lost nothing.  Huh?  I'm happy to have a legit hottie wedging his way into Cara's life.  Standard rom-com tensions are sure to ensure.  Good.

[Trini]

This episode felt off to me. Like the writing was really basic, pat, predictable - like it was written for kids. Plus all the plot holes pointed out above. And maybe one could say the show has always been like that, but this one seemed especially bad in that regard. Also the acting seemed flat to me.

So is Adam going to be Cara's 'Joy'? Glad she's employed again, though. Now let's get Miles a job.

I had hoped they would do more with Trish since they made her a regular.

[mommalib]

1 hour ago, Trini said:

This episode felt off to me. Like the writing was really basic, pat, predictable - like it was written for kids. Plus all the plot holes pointed out above. And maybe one could say the show has always been like that, but this one seemed especially bad in that regard. Also the acting seemed flat to me.

So is Adam going to be Cara's 'Joy'? Glad she's employed again, though. Now let's get Miles a job.

I had hoped they would do more with Trish since they made her a regular.

Miles has a job his podcast. I'm not in the mood for a triangle and it's unnecessary so I hope Adam has a different purpose. And I hope he's not around long.

All in all I think this episode was the best of the season so far, nothing felt off to me.

[Brian Cronin]

Features made just too much sense for Cara. They never should have taken her away from it, but to just bring her back to it is such a sort of odd, "Yeah, we fucked up. We'll go back to square one" bit. She should have gotten hired by another magazine/website. 

Edited October 28, 2019 by Brian Cronin
Embarrassing typo.

[Empress1]

I missed the last 10 minutes because of football (my TiVo cut off) but I knew the bishop was in recovery by the way he said he understood what Claire was going through. Did anything else of note happen?

11 hours ago, mommalib said:

[Miles and Cara are] a great couple just let them flourish.

One of the many reasons I loved Friday Night Lights so much is that the central couple on the show, Eric and Tami Taylor, weren't subjected to any "will they or won't they." They played a couple with a strong marriage of 20+ years and yeah, they fought sometimes, but there was never any concern that anything would happen to them. (I think I read that the actors both insisted on that.) I think showrunners tend to think that a couple needs drama in order to be interesting, and I just don't think that's true.

I knew Rakesh's plan wouldn't work - if he'd been head of R&D before, he could be again. Now Jaya's parents know he's capable of having a big-ticket job, so they assume he's going to continue to have big-ticket jobs and that's good enough for them - he's not "just" a customer service rep anymore. That level of parental involvement would drive me insane.

[Yeah No]

9 hours ago, Trini said:

This episode felt off to me. Like the writing was really basic, pat, predictable - like it was written for kids. Plus all the plot holes pointed out above. And maybe one could say the show has always been like that, but this one seemed especially bad in that regard. Also the acting seemed flat to me.

So is Adam going to be Cara's 'Joy'? Glad she's employed again, though. Now let's get Miles a job.

I had hoped they would do more with Trish since they made her a regular.

I agree.  My husband says the show is turning into a "soap opera".  Maybe it always was to some degree, but somehow it seems moreso now.  One big gaping issue with the plot in this episode is why Child Protective Services would have allowed an alcoholic in recovery to keep custody of his daughter.  That just doesn't add up.  You can't even blame the God account for that lack of realism.

Another issue I have (and this is a hot button for me I admit, being a New Yorker myself) is the misrepresentation of medical care for anyone without medical insurance.  New York,  more than most places, does not lack for public hospitals and care facilities, and it is law that no one be turned away for medical care in public facilities even if they don't have medical insurance.  I don't buy that there are areas in NYC where such hospitals/facilities are that scarce to justify the urgency and moral mission of the Bishop's daughter to the point of her committing theft in order to support it. 

I also couldn't get over her self-righteous attitude.  She just expected everyone to look away from her behavior because of her "good intentions".  Did she ever ONCE admit that stealing the medication was wrong?  Unless I missed it, no, but of course that's the "new normal" these days that intentions should supposedly get you off on anything you do in their name, so I suppose I'm just a cranky older person.  Dad has to apologize for not telling her his history, and even lose his job over protecting her, (which I agree with the posts above was also unrealistic) but she still doesn't need to fully recognize her own wrongs?  I also think it was naive of Miles to think that he could tell all those people about what she was doing and not have it get her in some kind of trouble with the law.  She's damned lucky her father could help her avoid being arrested, of course at the cost of his own career.  I hope she's grateful for that and not her usual self-righteous entitled self.

On another note, I recognized the church the bishop was in as The Church of the Intercession in the 150's in Manhattan.  Plus, there is no 98th precinct, but as anyone that watched "Brooklyn 99" might know, the 90s are in Brooklyn.  I think the exterior shot in that scene was the 94th precinct.

Edited October 28, 2019 by Yeah No

[Empress1]

42 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

New York,  more than most places, does not lack for public hospitals and care facilities, and it is law that no one be turned away for medical care in public facilities even if they don't have medical insurance.  I don't buy that there are areas in NYC where such hospitals/facilities are that scarce to justify the urgency and moral mission of the Bishop's daughter to the point of her committing theft in order to support it. 

Thank you for reminding me about this. I was without insurance for a bit during the recession and would talk about how lucky I was to live within a reasonable distance of public care facilities. I got eye care at a clinic and gynecological care at Planned Parenthood. I think they said the clinic was in Jackson Heights? A quick Google search turns up a Jackson Heights Family Health Center.

45 minutes ago, Yeah No said:

Did she ever ONCE admit that stealing the medication was wrong? 

Right. What about the hospital's patients? Are they less important than the people she was helping?

[Trini]

18 hours ago, mommalib said:

Miles has a job his podcast. 

I know this is a TV fantasy land, but I'm pretty sure that doesn't pay rent. And even last season he had his job at IdentitySeal. It's a nitpick, but I'd like the show to address it.

Edited October 29, 2019 by Trini
Dang, typos quoted again!

[joanne3482]

Several things bothered me. 

1. Claire is an RN. I know that doesn't mean she doesn't know how to do things, but she's an RN and not a physician. She can't prescribe medicine and her just stealing it from the hospital and giving it to patients could have had very grave consequences which she is ill-equipped to handle. (Lawsuit anyone)

2. How bad was the mom that she abandoned her child to a drunk? Either she left and didn't take Claire with her or she did fight for custody but couldn't get it. 

3. I DO NOT WANT a Miles, Cara, Adam love triangle. 

[KaveDweller]

5 hours ago, Trini said:

I know this is a TV fantasy land, but I'm pretty sure that doesn't pay rent. And even last season he had his job at IdentitySeal. It'a a nitpick, but I'd like the show to address it.

Last season Miles quit his job because the deal with the podcast company was giving him enough money to pay the bills without a second job. So they did address it on the show. Now, whether that would really be enough money to pay for his super nice NYC apartment is another story, but that's TV for you.

14 hours ago, Brian Cronin said:

Features made just too much sense for Cara. They never should have taken her away from it, but to just bring her back to it is such a sort of odd, "Yeah, we fucked up. We'll go back to square one" bit. She should have gotten hired by another magazine/website. 

Yeah, I'm not sure why they couldn't have given her a job at another magazine and had her meet the new guy there. It doesn't really make a difference for plot, and would have seemed more realistic. But maybe they were following up on that idea from last season that Catapult "owned" her stories about the God account?

It feels too soon to be introducing a love triangle with Cara/Miles. I never like love triangles, but I know TV writers can't help themselves. But at least give them more than one episode together in the same country.

If I was Trish I would be super pissed that I sold my store to retire with my fiance, only to have him decide to return to work.

[Yeah No]

6 hours ago, joanne3482 said:

Several things bothered me. 

1. Claire is an RN. I know that doesn't mean she doesn't know how to do things, but she's an RN and not a physician. She can't prescribe medicine and her just stealing it from the hospital and giving it to patients could have had very grave consequences which she is ill-equipped to handle. (Lawsuit anyone)

We know her father "fixed" that problem for her so that she would not have to experience the consequences (although he did).  My issue is how she got into that closet or room in the first place.  No hospitals in this day and age would have an antiquated push button lock like that, that anyone could get into without authorization just by knowing the right person that would give them the combination, ESPECIALLY if it just initiated a rule that only doctors can have access to that room.  They would have changed over to swipe-card access via an ID card that identifies the person entering the room every time they enter it.  This is not cutting edge rocket science, it's been done routinely at companies for all sorts of security access reasons for well over a decade or even two already.  The security people at my old company knew just when I was entering the building, supply closets, etc.  No doctors would want to risk their own hide by lending her their own ID card.  So I'm not buying that she would be able to get in there in the first place.

Edited October 28, 2019 by Yeah No

[SpiritSong]

16 hours ago, mommalib said:

Miles has a job his podcast. I'm not in the mood for a triangle and it's unnecessary so I hope Adam has a different purpose. And I hope he's not around long.

This. ^^^

We've already had the Cara's ex boyfriend triangle. And the woman who was interested in Miles triangle. Enough! The writers need to come up with something more original if they feel the need to constantly induce some kind of "conflict."

This was not one of the show's better episodes, IMO. I always roll my eyes when characters come up with a stupid lie-We'll tell them I got fired!-instead of acting like the adults they are. It just makes Rakesh and Jaya both look like idiots. I suppose calmly telling her parents sorry, we're not ready to get married would make too much sense. 

[Yeah No]

5 hours ago, SpiritSong said:

This was not one of the show's better episodes, IMO. I always roll my eyes when characters come up with a stupid lie-We'll tell them I got fired!-instead of acting like the adults they are. It just makes Rakesh and Jaya both look like idiots. I suppose calmly telling her parents sorry, we're not ready to get married would make too much sense. 

I agree.  That segment felt like it could have come from "The Big Bang Theory" with Raj and his parents.  I don't like the idea of turning Jaya and Rakesh's relationship into comic relief.

[andromeda331]

Yes no more triangles. I wish Jaya and Rakesh had just decided to tell the truth from the beginning.

I don't really like all the drama with Trish and Arthur. I understand why she wanted him to sell his house and for them to have a new house to make memories. But the rest of it comes off like they haven't really talked. Arthur quit his job and Trish sold her shop. She wants to spend all their time together when its clear Arthur wants to keep working. I thought maybe in the last episode she wanted them to find something to do together. But that doesn't seem to be the case in this episode.

[Lonesome Rhodes]

The man who is supposed to be the sage, wise, and careful presence to help tamp down Miles' impulsive enthusiasm has behaved with astonishing impetuosity himself.  That is a structural problem for the show.

He quits his "calling in life" and he then becomes engaged to a woman he truly does not know well and sells his beautiful home, all within a very, very, short time.

Now he might could unquit?  A flea puts more thought into its next jump.

Edited October 29, 2019 by Lonesome Rhodes

[Trini]

10 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I agree.  That segment felt like it could have come from "The Big Bang Theory" with Raj and his parents.  I don't like the idea of turning Jaya and Rakesh's relationship into comic relief.

Yes, it felt like a sitcom plot, and I expect better from this show.
 

1 hour ago, Lonesome Rhodes said:

The man who is supposed to be the sage, wise, and careful presence to help tamp down Miles' impulsive enthusiasm has behaved with astonishing impetuosity himself.  That is a structural problem for the show.

He quits his "calling in life" and he then becomes engaged to a woman he truly does not know well and sells his beautiful home, all within a very, very, short time.

Now he might could unquit?  A flea puts more thought into its next jump.

Yeah, it seems like his decision to quit the ministry was just for 'drama'; but they could have had drama from elsewhere. I don't mind that he got engaged to Trish, though. But they haven't been doing much with that plot point, or Trish, which is a little disappointing.

[FormerMod-a1]

8 hours ago, andromeda331 said:

I don't really like all the drama with Trish and Arthur. I understand why she wanted him to sell his house and for them to have a new house to make memories. But the rest of it comes off like they haven't really talked. Arthur quit his job and Trish sold her shop. She wants to spend all their time together when its clear Arthur wants to keep working. I thought maybe in the last episode she wanted them to find something to do together. But that doesn't seem to be the case in this episode.

I don't get this either.  Why does she want them together 24/7 for the rest of their lives?  Even if it wasn't the church, would they not have any activities apart from each other? book club? card club? lunch with girlfriends/friends? etc.  Yes, you can do these things together, but I don't think you need to do everything together.  It also seems like she wants to change him.  His work is a big part of his life, and who he is.  If he's not a minister or bishop I can't seem him being idle.  I'd think he'd probably want to volunteer or something else.  I like(d) her, I don't want to not like her, but this is making it difficult.  I mean, is she dying or something and that's why she wants all his time? (hypothetical scenario, fyi, and hopefully a ridiculous one at that). 

[Orbert]

I'm glad the team is back together, although it does seem a little dumb that they keep reminding us, out loud, that the team is back together.

A little less realistic than usual, even for this show, to the point of stretching credibility.  I guess they can't all be winners.

Oddly (or maybe not), the thing that really stuck out for me was Arthur saying "Oh my God!"  I've been around church folk all my life, and I've heard clergy swear before, but never actually take the Lord's name in vain.  That's a Third Commandment Infraction right there.  15 yards and a loss of down.

[MissLucas]

Hmm, first time I was annoyed with pretty much all of the main players and the case/friend of the week.

Cara just expected to waltz back into her old job/office? And then her face when she saw that 'terrible' cubicle. Of course it was all a set-up for that love triangle exactly nobody has asked for. But the writing for her has not been good recently. She runs off to Paris for an 'incredible opportunity' (complete with cushy apartment with a view on the Eiffel Tower), then returns expecting her job and her office back, snarks over the writing of a colleague (which she apparently hasn't even read beyond the headlines) - she comes off as entitled and arrogant and incredibly privileged without even realizing it. 

Claire was one major lawsuit waiting to happen and her self-righteous Robin Hood attitude blinded her to the fact that sooner or later her clinic would implode. She was incredibly lucky to get away with so little consequences.

I could go on but most of the stuff I did not like has already been discussed here (Arthur and Trish, various breaches of confidence, Rakesh and Jaya) so I focus on the things that were great: Ali's incredulous face and epic eye-roll when Rakesh came up with his 'genius' plan gets her the MVP award, honorary mentions to Trish and Arthur's new digs and the shirt Miles wore in the last scene.

[Trini]

3 minutes ago, MissLucas said:

so I focus on the things that were great: Ali's incredulous face and epic eye-roll when Rakesh came up with his 'genius' plan gets her the MVP award, honorary mentions to Trish and Arthur's new digs and the shirt Miles wore in the last scene.

You reminded me - Jaya had on this cute skirt in her last scenes; it had multiple colors of plaid, and I'd like to find out more about it. The few sites I know that cover TV fashion don't cover this show. :(

[MissLucas]

Worn on TV has you covered: https://wornontv.net/tag/god-friended-me-season-2-episode-5/

[Trini]

48 minutes ago, MissLucas said:

Worn on TV has you covered: https://wornontv.net/tag/god-friended-me-season-2-episode-5/

Oh, nice! Thank you!

[Yeah No]

1 hour ago, MissLucas said:

Cara just expected to waltz back into her old job/office? And then her face when she saw that 'terrible' cubicle. Of course it was all a set-up for that love triangle exactly nobody has asked for. But the writing for her has not been good recently. She runs off to Paris for an 'incredible opportunity' (complete with cushy apartment with a view on the Eiffel Tower), then returns expecting her job and her office back, snarks over the writing of a colleague (which she apparently hasn't even read beyond the headlines) - she comes off as entitled and arrogant and incredibly privileged without even realizing it. 

Thank you, this is exactly how I saw Cara in this episode but didn't mention it because there were so many things I could have complained about this week that it would have filled up an entire page.  This recent change in attitude is not consistent with the Cara we came to know last season, and so far it's been incredibly disappointing because she was always such an inspiration.  Now she seems to embody everything stereotypically bad about her generation wrapped up in one person.  And it doesn't look like the "old Cara" is going to be back any time soon, either.

[tennisgurl]

For the most part, I liked this episode and how things ended up, with Claire and her father finally being honest with each other and becoming closer as a result. Its the kind of issue that I think this show excels at most, when there arent really "villains" just because that have made mistakes or dont understand each other, and when they are given the opportunity to do the right thing or be honest or more open minded, things end up working out. 

Nice seeing Rachel again, I always like checking in on old friend suggestions! Hiding their relationship might be the end of Rakesh and Jayas parent problems for now, but it wont do much in the long term. Jaya is an adult, and she needs to be honest with her parents and tell them to back the hell off. It was all worth it though for Ali's epic eye roll when Rakesh was telling Jaya his "brilliant" plan to pretend to get fired so he would look like a less promising boyfriend/future husband! 

Cara was kind of a jerk to the new guy, acting like his stories were crap just because of the headlines (and because he got her office after she quit) of his stories, almost literally judging books by their cover. It seems so rom com though, with new guy being the super hot new writers who gets off on the wrong foot with Cara but who she warms up to, like come on! Really show? Cant Cara and Miles just be a couple for a hot minute before you start forcing love triangles? 

I mostly liked how things went with Claire and her story, but they seemed to really be glossing over the fact that she was stealing from hospitals! Yeah yeah the greater good, but she still stole, breaking the law, and what about the people at the hospital? They still need that medicine, and sure they will hopefully get refills soon, but maybe not soon enough for some people! I would have liked to have seen her apologize and admit that what she did was wrong, even if it was for what she thought were the right reasons. Maybe her dad shouldn't have bailed her out so often, and she would have learned her lesson about consequences!

[mythoughtis]

This episode is ridiculous. 
 

Claire is an adult.  It’s not her fathers’ place to call the hospital and get her fired.   And if the clinic only needed to be legal, then the patients could have gone to a legal clinic in the first place. 
 

This show hides the sexual part of relationships yet the retired pastor and his fiancée are sharing a house.

Trish was first hesitant about dating a pastor,  but then was on board for it, but then was annoyed because it interfered with a vacation to her farm.  A farm that she obviously farmed out to be run by others.   Now she wants them both retired when she’s clearly not old enough to retire.  And although the actor that plays Arthur is, the character is not.  His children are in their 20s( Joy specifically mentioned 24 years old last episode).  

Cara seems off. 
 
Rakesh and Jaya need to quit acting like they in a sit-com. 

[SnarkySheep]

On 10/28/2019 at 3:54 AM, Brian Cronin said:

Features made just too much sense for Cara. They never should have taken her away from it, but to just bring her back to it is such a sort of odd, "Yeah, we fucked up. We'll go back to square one" bit. She should have gotten hired by another magazine/website. 

Not to mention, Cara did not seem at all grateful to be rehired. She literally turned her nose up when she saw how tiny her new office was.

Cara is, what, 25ish? This would mean that her first real job out of college was at a major publication in NYC...where she was allowed to write about whatever struck her interest. This is unbelievably rare IRL (unless, of course, you have money/connections). So Cara not only beat all the odds, but left and returned (as though the website wouldn't have tons of eager 20-somethings for every one opening) and acted kind of put-upon that it wasn't AS ideal as she might want? As a former journalist, I was nearly screaming at my TV.