S07.E19: Texas Pete and a Parking Lot Carnival

[jewel21]

Bonnie worries about her therapist when his life hits a serious rough patch; Christy comes to Marjorie's aid when she has trouble adjusting to a new job.

Airdate: 04/02/2020

[AnimeMania]

I really liked this episode for some reason, it had a lot of energy.

[jewel21]

As did I. Tammy was fabulous and her work is amazing. I wish she could fix up my house, lol. 

The therapist had me laughing so hard, especially when he was wiping himself with the paper towel roll and hoping he had hit rock bottom, lol. 

And wow, Margerie sucked as a delivery person. I loved Wendy calling her out on it and being the one to accompany Margerie on her deliveries, heh. 

I also enjoyed how the therapist sprung into action and comforted a distraught Margerie. 

[Harvey]

Quote

Tammy: I wish I knew how to swim.

Bonnie: You don't know how to swim?

Tammy: No.

Bonnie: I don't know how to swim.

*hugs*

Aww, this part was so wholesome it made me melt.

This was a good episode, it was interesting to see Margerie so out of her element since she is so cool and collected most of the time. There were so many good jokes too, I'll be sad when the season is over.

 

[Blakeston]

I like that we're seeing that Marjorie really has some major blind spots. She's a great sponsor, and wise in many ways, but that doesn't translate to being good at everything - or always having common sense.

It's a shame she never pursued a career in addiction counseling.

Bonnie and Tammy have become co-leads of the show, haven't they? I feel bad for Anna Faris, who's very talented and has never gotten much recognition for this show.

But at the same time, the writers can't think of anything to do with Christy besides the standard "unlucky in love" plots and the "Christy gets mistreated by her boss/professor" plots, so I'd rather see a Bonnie/Tammy buddy comedy.

[MissLucas]

Neat episode giving the whole cast some good lines. I wonder if Marjorie will stick with the delivery job or look for something more playing to her skill-set in the long run (also: as a nurse Wendy can't be co-piloting that much).

For a mad moment I thought Tammy and Trevor would get romantic. Glad they did not go there. In real life what went down could be problematic. I'm glad it was addressed by Trevor when he wanted to hand Bonnie that list of referrals. For comedy's sake I'm okay to hand-wave that Bonnie refused.

I agree that the desperate-for-love plots for Christy get old. One of the worst jokes of this episode was based on her romantic/sexual desperation. There was a time when I could understand why Christy could not get a successful relationship or job: it was necessary for her to stay with Bonnie (the Full House Conundrum). But at this point  - when we have characters who don't live in that apartment regularly getting A-plots - that really should no longer be a concern.

[Chaos Theory]

4 hours ago, Blakeston said:

I

Bonnie and Tammy have become co-leads of the show, haven't they? I feel bad for Anna Faris, who's very talented and has never gotten much recognition for this show.

But at the same time, the writers can't think of anything to do with Christy besides the standard "unlucky in love" plots and the "Christy gets mistreated by her boss/professor" plots, so I'd rather see a Bonnie/Tammy buddy comedy.

It’s hard to play the straight man in a comedy which is essentially what Christy has become.    They are often the least interesting to write for mainly because the fun things happen around them and not to them.

I always enjoy scenes where we are reminded that Majorie had a life before she got sober.   Maybe even deeper then Bonnie’s.   Marjorie robbed banks,  forged checks, and the occasional bomb threat.    But a decade of being sober and the kind cat lady has left her an outsider in the world.

And yeah I liked how the plot with the shrink “god let this be bottom” came together with Majorie.  

 

[iMonrey]

Rainn Wilson has been a great addition to the show. But how successful can he be as a therapist if he has to move into such a crappy apartment? Even if his wife got everything in the divorce (which is such a cliche and highly unlikely in the real world since she left him), he should still have a sufficient income and be able to afford a decent place to conduct appointments in. Is Bonnie his only client? There's no way I'd ever go to a therapist who lived in such shambles.

[eel21788]

3 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

 Marjorie robbed banks,  forged checks, and the occasional bomb threat.    But a decade of being sober and the kind cat lady has left her an outsider in the world.

She got sober in the 80s. I think she is up to 38 years now.

[Harvey]

1 hour ago, iMonrey said:

Rainn Wilson has been a great addition to the show. But how successful can he be as a therapist if he has to move into such a crappy apartment? Even if his wife got everything in the divorce (which is such a cliche and highly unlikely in the real world since she left him), he should still have a sufficient income and be able to afford a decent place to conduct appointments in. Is Bonnie his only client? There's no way I'd ever go to a therapist who lived in such shambles.

Remember, he saw Bonnie for free for 8 months before he started charging her anything. And even then, only 30$ per hour. There are shrinks who asks for 150$ per hour. Maybe he is too charitable for his own good.

[Blakeston]

Hollywood loves the idea that when a man gets divorced, he winds up poor (and miserable). Even when the show is set in California, which is a community property state.

[Bort]

Yeah, but if his wife owned all that herself before the marriage, then she gets to take it all back. 

[Blakeston]

If he married a well-off woman, and neither of them had income during their marriage, I could see him having to live in a hovel. But with him being a therapist, that seems pretty unlikely.

[iMonrey]

Quote

Hollywood loves the idea that when a man gets divorced, he winds up poor (and miserable). Even when the show is set in California, which is a community property state.

Chuck Lorre does, especially. That was his whole schtick with Two and a Half Men - Alan's wife took him to the cleaners and there wasn't anything he could do about it! It's as if the husband has no say and simply has to sign off on everything. 

[nodorothyparker]

This was a pretty great ensemble episode.  Rainn Wilson is such a terrific addition to the cast that I can mostly overlook how inappropriate the worlds overlapping is or Trevor continuing to be a therapist to Bonnie after this.  I am glad they at least acknowledged the issue, even if it was to blow past it.  Trevor continuing to check every single chair after the first one collapsed was a great subtle bit, while his drying himself with the paper towels was a lot less so but wonderfully done.

It's probably safe to say that if all of these people were well rounded and had all their shit together, it wouldn't be a show about a roomful of addicts and a guy who needs to be rescued by one.  Marjorie's a pretty good person now and she's done a lot of good helping others through the program, but as she reminded this episode, she also has a pretty colorful criminal history and doesn't always show the greatest judgment outside of the program.  Wendy getting short with her yet ending up being her ride along, presumably while she gets the hang of the job, cracked me up.  We met Trevor as a free/sliding scale therapist who only eventually started charging Bonnie a nominal fee after months.  We don't know if that's standard for him or any of the particulars of what the marital assets may have been.  Even if you're making decent money, a divorce can really mess up your finances and credit initially.  My sister probably would have ended up where Trevor is or worse had extended family members not helped her with attorney fees and cosigning for another place to live.  I quite liked how it seemed to help him immediately snap back from his personal freefall and get outside his self pity to help Marjorie. Christy being in awe of finally getting to meet THE Trevor was also a hoot.

[juno]

There is some terrific chemistry with Trevor and Bonnie. I wonder if they will remain therapist and client?

[Belle Fleures]

Rainn Wilson is so incredible; I've loved him since his very first appearance in "Mom."

After last night, I'm hoping Trevor and Marjorie become a couple, or at the very least a friendship blossoms between them. 

[Amazee-Dayzee]

17 hours ago, MissLucas said:

For a mad moment I thought Tammy and Trevor would get romantic. Glad they did not go there. In real life what went down could be problematic. I'm glad it was addressed by Trevor when he wanted to hand Bonnie that list of referrals. For comedy's sake I'm okay to hand-wave that Bonnie refused.

 

I'm so glad that I wasn't the only one that thought this would happen.

[Guest]

11 hours ago, kariyaki said:

Yeah, but if his wife owned all that herself before the marriage, then she gets to take it all back. 

In a previous episode they showed that the house was being sold and she took half of everything (included his things) and moved out of state. 

11 hours ago, Blakeston said:

If he married a well-off woman, and neither of them had income during their marriage, I could see him having to live in a hovel. But with him being a therapist, that seems pretty unlikely.

I find it semi-realistic for the setting and circumstances. Housing costs in Napa are insane and there is a housing shortage. Plus given his behavior in Bonnie’s session he can’t have many clients left. 

Edited April 4, 2020 by Guest

[12catcrazy]

Great episode!  And funny how the two people who supposedly have it all together (Trevor the shrink, and Marjorie) were the ones who needed help from the gang this episode.   Tammy was just amazing with her building skills (love the sound proofing!) and Bonnie was pretty amazing also.  

I can understand how Trevor wound up in that dump of an apartment.  Maybe his wife cleaned out the bank account before she hit him with divorce papers, and I don't know how it is in CA, but where I live in NY, most places want 3 months rent up front - that's an awful lot of money to come up with with if your bank accounts have been cleaned out.  

[mary2013]

Has it ever been explained how Marjorie supported herself all these years?  She has her own house and has had cash that she's lent Christy over the years.  This episode made it seem as if she's never had a job because of her criminal record. 

[eel21788]

4 hours ago, 12catcrazy said:

  Maybe his wife cleaned out the bank account before she hit him with divorce papers

That's illegal, especially in a community property state. If she did, he would get his share of the money back, but it would take time and court proceedings to accomplish. This is what did in Jon Gosselin. He took $100k out of a joint account before divorce papers were filed then did some serious partying with it. He claimed he was owed the money because it was his salary for doing Jon&Kate.  Once the papers were filed, he was ordered to put the money back so the assets could be allocated by the court. He didn't have anything left to put back, so he ended up losing his shirt in the divorce.

[DXD526]

I loved how Tammy became fast friends with Trevor's surly neighbor!

[Guest]

15 hours ago, mary2013 said:

Has it ever been explained how Marjorie supported herself all these years?  She has her own house and has had cash that she's lent Christy over the years.  This episode made it seem as if she's never had a job because of her criminal record. 

I’m not sure about before she married Victor but I think she has been living off of his money. In the episode where Christy finds out Majorie is looking for a job she said that she had very little left after the medical expenses. 
 

I think that she was supposed to have a job in the early seasons. I vaguely remember her talking about working and going through chemo. 

[Harvey]

On 4/5/2020 at 3:28 AM, mary2013 said:

Has it ever been explained how Marjorie supported herself all these years?  She has her own house and has had cash that she's lent Christy over the years.  This episode made it seem as if she's never had a job because of her criminal record. 

 

15 hours ago, Dani said:

I’m not sure about before she married Victor but I think she has been living off of his money. In the episode where Christy finds out Majorie is looking for a job she said that she had very little left after the medical expenses. 
 

I think that she was supposed to have a job in the early seasons. I vaguely remember her talking about working and going through chemo. 

In season 1 episode 3 it is mentioned that Marjorie was married to a man for like 20 years. So she was probably a housewife and her husband took care of her.

[nodorothyparker]

Marjorie told the story in the episode this season that reintroduced Jerry that his father gave her a choice of staying with the family or drinking and she chose drinking.  So there's husband number 1.  Other stories have been about how she ran with hippies and "political revolutionaries, robbing banks, going to prison, etc., while she drinking, presumably after that.  She does mention early on that she had another husband after she got sober, but I think we're to think that's she's widowed by the time the show starts.  We can probably assume her house comes from their time together.  Victor then would have been husband number three.  While he was introduced as Christy's landlord doing well enough financially to have a rental office, we've also been told that his stroke and care afterward ate most of his financial resources. 

The show has never specified what if anything Marjorie has been doing all this time for money beyond any of this.  I think I assumed too in the early seasons that she was working doing something, but I'm honestly not sure now what I base that on.  I mean, Bonnie was introduced as having a job too before she had to move in with Christie after supposedly losing it, but she's subsequently been presented as someone who's never really held a legitimate job before she conned her way into the apartment manager gig.

[kwnyc]

Quote

It’s hard to play the straight man in a comedy which is essentially what Christy has become.

Christy is the Mary Richards of this show! Tammy and Bonnie are (literally) head and shoulders above the others. (And as a six-footer myself, I love seeing two tall women on my TV!)

As I understand it, at least here in NY State, you need an AA degree at the minimum to be a counselor for addicts. If they wanted to explore it, Marjorie could certainly do that. (We don't know if she has a college degree or not; presumably she graduated high school).

And that might even be endgame for Bonnie: she could take the GED and go to community college, like Christy did. (For that matter, so could any of the others; Wendy could become a nurse practitioner who specializes in addiction, and Jill (with her a Masters in Art History) could run a non-profit for addicts. (They seemed to be toying with that idea when she cleaned out her closet.

Not that I WANT to see endgame any time soon! 

[Amazee-Dayzee]

On 4/6/2020 at 9:18 AM, nodorothyparker said:

Marjorie told the story in the episode this season that reintroduced Jerry that his father gave her a choice of staying with the family or drinking and she chose drinking.  So there's husband number 1.  Other stories have been about how she ran with hippies and "political revolutionaries, robbing banks, going to prison, etc., while she drinking, presumably after that.  She does mention early on that she had another husband after she got sober, but I think we're to think that's she's widowed by the time the show starts.  We can probably assume her house comes from their time together.  Victor then would have been husband number three.  While he was introduced as Christy's landlord doing well enough financially to have a rental office, we've also been told that his stroke and care afterward ate most of his financial resources. 

 

Marjorie has only been married twice and not three times. When Christy found Jerry to tell him about Marjorie's cancer and how much she missed him, Christy asked him if he was "Jerry Armstrong." If there was a second husband, its a retcon. Since she hyphenated her names. It would not make sense to hyphenate your first and your third married name especially if you divorced your first husband and was widowed by your second husband and seemed to have a lengthy marriage. There was no husband in between George (I think his name was George) and Victor. If there was then it had to be retconned away. Since this was in the early seasons, Chuck Lorre probably hoped we had forgotten.

[eel21788]

On 4/6/2020 at 7:18 AM, nodorothyparker said:

The show has never specified what if anything Marjorie has been doing all this time for money beyond any of this.  I think I assumed too in the early seasons that she was working doing something, but I'm honestly not sure now what I base that on.  I mean, Bonnie was introduced as having a job too before she had to move in with Christie after supposedly losing it, but she's subsequently been presented as someone who's never really held a legitimate job before she conned her way into the apartment manager gig.

I think Marjorie had some sort of job in the beginning but took time off when she was going through cancer treatment. It may have been some sort of under-the-table arrangement because of her past history. That would have made it difficult for her to go back to it now or claim to have any established job skills. By the time she was done with treatment, she and Victor were engaged so she felt no reason to try to find another job. As for having the house, maybe it was part/all of her divorce settlement from Jerry's dad. Forty+ years ago, housing prices were still pretty reasonable (median home price in all of CA in 1980 was $99,000). If she had received enough for a down payment of 10-20%, her mortgage payments would have been under $500/month, and unless she borrowed against the equity, she should be close to free and clear by now. I'm assuming the reason she had to take Tammy in as a border is because it was the property taxes that were killing her, not the mortgage. By now, her property taxes are probably more than her mortgage payment ever was.  

Bonnie claimed to have a steady job in the first episode; however, we learned quickly how much of what she says is lies. I'm guessing that job was just another one of her fabrications. She was trying to convince Christie to let her move in from the beginning.

 

[readster]

2 hours ago, eel21788 said:

I think Marjorie had some sort of job in the beginning but took time off when she was going through cancer treatment. It may have been some sort of under-the-table arrangement because of her past history. That would have made it difficult for her to go back to it now or claim to have any established job skills. By the time she was done with treatment, she and Victor were engaged so she felt no reason to try to find another job. As for having the house, maybe it was part/all of her divorce settlement from Jerry's dad. Forty+ years ago, housing prices were still pretty reasonable (median home price in all of CA in 1980 was $99,000). If she had received enough for a down payment of 10-20%, her mortgage payments would have been under $500/month, and unless she borrowed against the equity, she should be close to free and clear by now. I'm assuming the reason she had to take Tammy in as a border is because it was the property taxes that were killing her, not the mortgage. By now, her property taxes are probably more than her mortgage payment ever was.  

Bonnie claimed to have a steady job in the first episode; however, we learned quickly how much of what she says is lies. I'm guessing that job was just another one of her fabrications. She was trying to convince Christie to let her move in from the beginning.

 

Yeah, I think the show like many others never worked out the "before the pilot" details for the characters. Something with the show being on for 7 years and what they revealed on all of them. You think they have more background, but at this point the show has basically said: "They are people who dealt with addiction and abusive most of their lives." "They are lucky if they can tie their shoes based on the trauma." 

[eel21788]

On 4/6/2020 at 7:30 AM, kwnyc said:

As I understand it, at least here in NY State, you need an AA degree at the minimum to be a counselor for addicts. If they wanted to explore it, Marjorie could certainly do that. (We don't know if she has a college degree or not; presumably she graduated high school).

However, even if she got the education, it is possible she would never be allowed to hold a license because of her criminal history. I've said the same thing about Christie. Would she be allowed to take the bar exam in spite of her criminal history? My mother went to law school with someone who wasn't allowed to take the bar exam because something in his past was considered to be too unethical.

[eel21788]

On 4/2/2020 at 11:29 PM, jewel21 said:

I also enjoyed how the therapist sprung into action and comforted a distraught Margerie. 

I'm not sure if it was intended this way, but they really showed Trevor to be a product of his environment. When his apartment was crappy, so was his life and all his decision making skills. Once Tammy finished the renovations and made it livable, he snapped back into be functional again very quickly.

[Chaos Theory]

This show has gone through a lot of changes  since season one.   One of them is structural.   The show was originally about Christy and her family (being her two kids,  Bonnie and at least one ex husband).   Marjorie was a supporting character at best.  So I am willing to accept that her first season history has been changed over the years just like the series has.   Certain things just stopped making sense as her character went from supporting character to a lead and the show completely dropped Christy’s kids and ex husbands.    
 

I really like the therapist and his dealings with Bonnie.   I would love him to take on some of the other women.  It would be interesting to have them have one one sessions with him.  It’s one thing to have group therapy which is essentially what AA is but to have someone you trust to talk to one on one is essential as well.

Edited April 12, 2020 by Chaos Theory

[eel21788]

On 4/6/2020 at 2:43 AM, Harvey said:

In season 1 episode 3 it is mentioned that Marjorie was married to a man for like 20 years. So she was probably a housewife and her husband took care of her.

Marjorie's first episode was season 1 episode 4. She was never mentioned before she and Bonnie ran into each other at an AA meeting. 

On 4/2/2020 at 11:29 PM, jewel21 said:

The therapist had me laughing so hard, especially when he was wiping himself with the paper towel roll and hoping he had hit rock bottom, lol. 

That may go down as some of the funniest physical comedy in the history of TV.

[eel21788]

On 4/2/2020 at 11:29 PM, jewel21 said:

I also enjoyed how the therapist sprung into action and comforted a distraught Margerie. 

Also, comedy gold that may go down in history: 

Trevor: Losing a spouse is one of the hardest things you can ever go through.

Marjorie: That's what I thought too until I tried delivering Chinese food.

[jewel21]

1 hour ago, eel21788 said:

Also, comedy gold that may go down in history: 

Trevor: Losing a spouse is one of the hardest things you can ever go through.

Marjorie: That's what I thought too until I tried delivering Chinese food.

I felt for Marjorie. As someone who has no sense of direction and gets lost even when using GPS, I would be a terrible delivery person, heh.

[Harvey]

6 hours ago, eel21788 said:

Marjorie's first episode was season 1 episode 4. She was never mentioned before she and Bonnie ran into each other at an AA meeting. 

That may go down as some of the funniest physical comedy in the history of TV.

So she said it 1 episode later. It's still all the same thing.

[kwnyc]

Quote

Would she be allowed to take the bar exam in spite of her criminal history?

Depends on whether she was a juvenile when she was arrested, or whether her crimes were misdemeanors. You can also appeal to be considered for certain felonies. The story they seem to have been telling is that while Bonnie has spent some time in the slammer, Christy's has been far less. And yes, it's Margerie's felonies more than her age that are keeping her from getting employment. Though if she DID get a certificate/degree to be a drug counselor, she'd probably be a hot commodity at any treatment center/rehab for her experience. (I know many places specifically employ recovering addicts to work with patients.)

[Guest]

On 4/6/2020 at 1:43 AM, Harvey said:

 

In season 1 episode 3 it is mentioned that Marjorie was married to a man for like 20 years. So she was probably a housewife and her husband took care of her.

I recently decided to rewatch the series on Hulu and just finished Marjorie’s first episode. There’s no mention of her being a widow or any other backstory for the character other than having a feud with Bonnie. 
 

ETA: It’s in season 1 episode 6. She’s says she was with one wonderful man for 30 years. She has been a window for 8 years at that point.  I’m still pretty certain she mentions working full-time in a later episode. 

Edited May 3, 2020 by Guest