Better Things Season 4 Discussion

[SoMuchTV]

I just finished this season (actually just finished the whole series).  It's hard to comment in the full-season threads without getting spoiled so let me see if I can remember some of my thoughts now...

On 3/9/2020 at 8:52 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Heh and the Molly Shannon shout out was funny.

On 3/20/2020 at 4:01 PM, heatherchandler said:

I missed the Molly Shannon shout out.

I also missed the Molly Shannon shout out.  I know she appeared later in the season, but what was the shout out in the earlier episode?

On 3/22/2020 at 8:22 PM, heatherchandler said:

So, I’m still thinking about that cooking scene... when Sam was grilling the tomato, is that a thing people do?  I’ve never heard of that.

I think grilled tomato, along with sausage and baked beans (which she was also making) is part of a "traditional" English breakfast.  Which would make sense with Phil's background.

On 3/23/2020 at 9:26 AM, TVbitch said:

Sam physically forcing Phil to spit was super uncomfortable. This season seems to be bits and bobs of things with little storyline.

Did anything ever come of the DNA test?  If so, I missed it (except Phil's comment about her father).

On 3/22/2020 at 4:55 PM, Lone Wolf said:

Good on "Jozay" (Phyllis) for having no problem with Frankie's proposed cultural appropriation.

 

On 4/24/2020 at 11:14 PM, scrb said:

Um it’s not cultural appropriation if you invite some Latinos (who haven’t been on the show)?

 

Watching the Bat-cenera episode, I started to wonder if it was a joint party for "Jozay's" daughter and Frankie (Bat Mitzvah and Quincenera), and either I missed the explanation or we were just supposed to figure that out.

On 5/1/2020 at 9:42 PM, Ottis said:

Sam has an adventure with diverse people. Yay? One thing you know will be true on this show? Straight white men are dicks.

LOL - if you're looking for a show where straight white men aren't dicks, this might not be the show for you.  But to be fair, pretty much every character was a "dick" to some extent or another.  Except maybe the ballpark security guard?  And the karaoke Uber driver, maybe?

[Ottis]

5 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

LOL - if you're looking for a show where straight white men aren't dicks, this might not be the show for you. 

I know you meant that as a light-hearted aside, and took it that way. I'll just say that I expect more from this show, and TV I like in general. It's OK if *individual characters" are dicks at times. But to have one specific type of character be a dick no matter who it is ... that's no different than 70s shows depicting all young women as bimbos. This show is better than that.

5 hours ago, SoMuchTV said:

But to be fair, pretty much every character was a "dick" to some extent or another.  Except maybe the ballpark security guard?  And the karaoke Uber driver, maybe?

Like I said, everyone is a dick sometimes. But every straight white male isn't, and should not be, depicted as a dick. It has gotten to the point that when any new straight white male character comes on screen I'm just waiting to see what kind of jerk he is.

[chocolatine]

I gave up on this show after S3 because the daughters were insufferable brats all the time. But with the slim TV pickings during the pandemic, and subscribing to Hulu for the past two months to watch The Handmaid's Tale, I caved and watched this season. To my surprise, I enjoyed it. It's great to see the girls being portrayed in a more balanced way, still bratty sometimes but also sweet at other times. Also great that they have a closer relationship with each other now; in past seasons they were each mostly doing their own thing.

I have to wonder, why is Sam still having to pay spousal support to Zander? They've been divorced for at least five years, and it doesn't seem like he contributes anything (financially or otherwise) to raising the girls, so why did Sam get such a bad deal? He must have been a deadbeat even during the marriage, or else he wouldn't have gotten several years of spousal support if he'd had his own source(s) of income.

I could have done without the Father's Day episode with all of Sam's single mom friends bitching about their lives. Do middle-aged divorced women really behave that way?

To end on a shallow note, how old is the actress who plays Phil, and was it her or a body double in the pool scene? Phil must be in her 70s (thought the actress may be younger), but she still has an amazing body (if that was really her). 

[lolax]

On 3/22/2020 at 10:03 PM, possibilities said:

I have heard of grilled tomatoes, and I've even tried it. It's not great, in my opinion. It's not horrible, but I think raw tomatoes are much tastier.

Grill or roast out-of-season tomatoes and it brings all the sugars out much more. 

[SunnyBeBe]

Every time I jump back in on this series I’m revolted by her kids behavior, but more importantly Sam’s tolerance for it.  It makes her seem deranged, imo.  Maybe, the new season will be new and improved.  

[Faceplant]

On 2/27/2022 at 9:18 AM, SunnyBeBe said:

Every time I jump back in on this series I’m revolted by her kids behavior, but more importantly Sam’s tolerance for it.  It makes her seem deranged, imo.  Maybe, the new season will be new and improved.  

The episode in an earlier season where Sam comes home early to find the girls have had a party and trashed the house, and there are no consequences. She just completely cleans up the house on her own. Why??

[SunnyBeBe]

On 3/7/2022 at 12:51 PM, Faceplant said:

The episode in an earlier season where Sam comes home early to find the girls have had a party and trashed the house, and there are no consequences. She just completely cleans up the house on her own. Why??

Probably, because her kids didn’t want to clean it up and they had better things to do. Lol. Seriously, it’s so bizarre that it makes it unwatchable for me.  It’s like an abusive relationship.

 I was in college with some people who must have grown up like Sam’s kids.  And they were horrible to be around.  They had trouble with any roommate and terrible volatile relationships, because they were spoiled, self entitled brats.  She is harming them with her choice to just them get away with anything.