S03.E04: Birthdays, Babies and Emotional Support Chickens

[Pallas]

How would you celebrate your child's first birthday, from your home two floors down from where you grew up, in the middle of a global pandemic? Or, if you're Jackie, deal with meeting a maybe-love-interest?

 

[chitowngirl]

Could it be menopause?

[ams1001]

Man, I forgot all about the throuple...

Hey, Becky...she's not just your baby.

"We can dunk her...Don't be surprised if she sizzles..." 😂

Is it just me or was "baby" in the church smaller than the baby in the playpen...

 

[Annber03]

Figured there was something more to the pregnancy thing when Darlene announced it at the beginning of the episode. In terms of the show's storylines, and given the other stress they're all dealing with already and whatnot, I'm glad there isn't going to be another baby. But I do still sympathize with Darlene and Ben's disappointment in and of itself. 

(Also, Darlene giving Ben the baby-sized foods reminded me of a "Full House" episode where Becky did the same thing with Jesse when she was trying to tell him she was pregnant. Jesse didn't catch on, either.) 

Aw, Emilio. Wanting to do everything to make Beverly Rose's first birthday special. I get Dan's anger (I liked how they showed just how much of a sore spot them marrying behind his back was for him, given the past with Mark), and I totally understand the fear about Emilio being out and about and putting himself at risk of being separated from his daughter for good. But I am glad that he's getting to do these special things with her. And I'm glad he and Becky were able to sort out their issues, too. I liked the jokes regarding her being baptized :p. Hopefully Dan and Emilio can forge a better bond with time, too. 

Curious to see where things might go with Jackie and this guy. He reminds me of Fred a little bit. 

[UYI]

Me when Darlene said she was pregnant:

"They really couldn't let go of the idea of Darlene having a baby, even during a pandemic. This fucking show, man. This. fucking. show." -_-

Me when Darlene found out she wasn't pregnant:

:D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D :D

And yet another closing tag with a jarring ending, I see. 

[ESS]

Tonight's episode was awesome. I like Louise's brother, Neville so far, him & Jackie got to have a little date which was nice. Still loving Dan & Louise as well. So glad that Dan showed up to the baptism. As for Darlene & Ben, I was sad for them not having a baby because they both were so excited especially Ben, but then again there's enough people in the house already and not to mention they are godparents now so I think that's a better idea.

[opus]

29 minutes ago, Annber03 said:

Also, Darlene giving Ben the baby-sized foods reminded me of a "Full House" episode where Becky did the same thing with Jesse when she was trying to tell him she was pregnant. Jesse didn't catch on, either.) 

Thanks. Knew I’d seen something like that before, but wasn’t placing it.

[StaceyNotStacie]

I didn’t mind the episode. I liked the Jackie stuff and I hope that she gets somewhat of a win or a happy ending. 
 

It felt like dejavu with Dan and Emilio and how he treated Mark and David in the past. I was glad that he showed up at the baptism, although I wondered how they were able to get it done, especially during a pandemic, when most Catholic churches require the parents to be members for a certain time. 
 

LOL at Dan’s comment about there once being another child. 

[mythoughtis]

My DVR cut to an ultrasound picture at the end of the Jackie coffee date scene.  What was that ultrasound about? 

[Chaos Theory]

So did Beverly Rose sizzle?   I get where Emilio is coming from.  He doesn’t get much of a chance to be a father but spending so much money on a one year olds party is wasteful especially for a family  without much cash to begin with. 

Loved  DJ ‘s ventriloquist act.   I found it funnier then it was probably meant to be.

I was actually kinda moved by Darlene finding  out she couldn’t have anymore kids.

Jackie  was kinda funny in her wacky way trying to avoid a guy who likes her.

Edited November 19, 2020 by Chaos Theory

[Snow Apple]

As soon as Darlene announced she was pregnant but hasn't seen a doctor yet, I flashed to the Golden Girls episode when Blanche thought she was pregnant but turned out to be menopause. So I wasn't surprised that's how it ended.

[iHateAmpersands]

5 minutes ago, mythoughtis said:

My DVR cut to an ultrasound picture at the end of the Jackie coffee date scene.  What was that ultrasound about? 

It's the logo for Bruce Helford's production company Mohawk Productions.

[Snow Apple]

31 minutes ago, Stacey1014 said:

LOL at Dan’s comment about there once being another child. 

What was the comment and the context? I missed it.

[bybrandy]

Dan's "there used to be another kid around here" made me laugh because Jerry.   

Actually had a few solid chuckles here.  

But yah, so much money.  SO MUCH MONEY!

 

[mythoughtis]

1 hour ago, iHateAmpersands said:

It's the logo for Bruce Helford's production company Mohawk Productions.

Thank you.  Guess I haven’t been paying attention 

57 minutes ago, Snow Apple said:

What was the comment and the context? I missed it.

Something to do with Dan being hungry and would eat anything.  He made the comment that there used to be another child 

[txhorns79]

1 hour ago, Chaos Theory said:

He doesn’t get much of a chance to be a father but spending so much money on a one year olds party is wasteful especially for a family  without much cash to begin with. 

Isn't that essentially the show's premise at this point?  The Conners are in dire financial straits but somehow have money to waste?

[Bastet]

I was hopeful Darlene wasn't actually pregnant, since if she really was I didn't think they'd just give it away in the promos, so I'm very relieved now.  The fact she wanted to be is still incredibly stupid - Really, Darlene, "This couldn't come at a better time"; you're supposed to be the smart one in the family and you don't know the difference between best and worst? - but at least it's not going to happen. 

LOL at the "I'm too young to be in any sort of -pause; I'm 43"/"That's not young" exchange with the doctor, though.  Ben's beard that is even uglier than normal is hard to look past, but in forcing myself to ignore it, the scene between them when Darlene told him she wasn't pregnant and never again will be was very well done.

I will never understand the hullabaloo over a first birthday; make/buy a cake with a "1" candle and snap a picture, since the kid has no clue what's going on anyway.  Becky had the right idea, but as stupid as it is, Emilio can blow his limited funds how he wants.  Emilio can miss me with his religion bullshit, too, just declaring the baby will be Catholic; practice your own religion to your heart's content, but you don't get to impose it on your child when the other parent disagrees.  But Becky had the right idea, I think, agreeing to this ritual that's important to him but doesn't actually affect Beverly Rose in any way.  

LOL at Dan joking he ate one of the kids, given all the complaining that Jerry hasn't been mentioned since the first episode of Roseanne season ten.

Again, I appreciate that they want to show actors' faces, and did put the vet outdoors in his first scene, but he should have been wearing a mask -- and then in the Lunchbox, he has one, but it's on the counter in front of him.  No masks when he and Jackie meet up (and not at all cute that he refused to take her no for an answer, or that she showed up).  And Emilio decides to wear his as a chin warmer in Dan's house (horrible continuity by the script supervisor and editors, too, because they used takes where it was on his chin alongside takes where it was under his chin).  Then the inconsistent mask wearing at the baptism.  This is a weekly annoyance for me that I am going to have to get past, but haven't yet been able to.

[Cherpumple]

3 hours ago, UYI said:

Me when Darlene said she was pregnant:

"They really couldn't let go of the idea of Darlene having a baby, even during a pandemic. This fucking show, man. This. fucking. show." -_-

Me when Darlene found out she wasn't pregnant:

😄 😄 😄 😄 😄 😄 😄 😄 😄 😄

My thoughts exactly! I actually yelled "NOOOOO!!!!" at the screen when she gleefully told Becky. And when she said "this couldn't come at a better time" I was ready to be done with this show forever. The stupid was just too strong. As it is, I'm mainly here out of a sense of nostalgia at this point. And as relieved as I am that it was only the beginning of menopause, that's such a tired sitcom cliche in itself that I cringed at the sheer laziness of the entire plot line.

Given the Conners' financial situation, if I were Becky I would have been furious at seeing all that crap Emilio bought for the "party," even though he was within his rights to do so. It's great to celebrate their daughter's birthday, but now is not that time for any of them to be so wasteful. I know that's par for the course with this bunch, but still. And about the baptism, why weren't any of his family chosen as godparents? It's his tradition; do his aunts not know that he's back in town?

Speaking of Emilio, I'm still baffled by his overall plot line. What is the plan here? He's meant to be out of the US for two years, so is he planning to stay in Lanford secretly during that time, then sneak back into Mexico, and then try to reenter the US legally? Or is he just planning to stay indefinitely now, hiding out in the Lunchbox? I don't know the legal specifics, but would the penalty for someone who has already been deported once be stiffer than for a first timer? Could he face prison if he's caught? Could Becky? This is serious stuff, and I don't think the show is handling it very well.

I feel bad for Mark. He seems to be struggling with pandemic-related stress and anxiety more than the others, and isn't really getting a lot of support. I was also appalled that no one besides him seems to give shit about the chickens, to the point that they are basically malnourished. Who was the one who wanted them to begin with? Jackie? Caring for a new pet can definitely have a steep learning curve, but the sheer apathy of everyone regarding the lives of animals in their care was pretty gross.

I actually liked Dr. Neville, and would be thrilled to see Jackie in a loving relationship with a great guy, but I'm not holding my breath.

4 hours ago, UYI said:

And yet another closing tag with a jarring ending, I see. 

What was the tag? My dvr cut out.

[Bastet]

13 hours ago, Cherpumple said:

And about the baptism, why weren't any of his family chosen as godparents? It's his tradition; do his aunts not know that he's back in town?

He's living with them, so, yes, they know.  Maybe giving Becky's sister and her boyfriend the ceremonial title of godparents was Emilio's reciprocation of Becky's generosity in agreeing to the baptism, his way of giving her family a role in a ceremony that isn't their tradition.  Becky, Darlene, and Ben all seemingly don't care what it technically means in his religion (I relate; I'm one of the godmothers to my cousin's daughter as a way of honoring the relationship between my cousin and me, but I had no actual obligations as the daughter grew up, and certainly not related to any religious role, since I'm an atheist and couldn't even tell you the denomination of the church in which the christening was held).

Presumably his aunts were there, though, and in real life probably would have been shitting themselves that a couple of heathens were the only godparents.  Now that I'm pondering this, that makes it even nicer to think that in exchange for Becky agreeing to this ritual for his sake, he kept it low key for hers.

Edited November 19, 2020 by Bastet

[the-grey-lady]

Darlene having a baby was the worst possible idea.

Thank god they dropped that plot line by the end of the episode.

I find it really hard to believe that none of the Conners (NOT ONE) have learned to make even the most basic of sound decisions by now. Wait, I guess DJ has. Thank god for DJ.

[brokenwing29]

I'm also glad they decided not to make Darlene pregnant. I was disappointed watching the promos for this episode. They expect us to accept another unlikely pregnancy? TV shows tend to do this a lot...state that a character is incapable of having children biologically and then bam! said character gets pregnant with a miracle baby without even trying because God forbid anyone is child free or have to accept reality. I was annoyed when Fuller House did this with Stephanie, but I would expect something like that from that show...The Connors is more realistic. Also, they have been giving Sara Gilbert some really good material lately. I wonder if Darlene and Ben will eventually separate because he did seem very invested in the idea of becoming a father.

I also thought of the Becky/Jesse scene from Full House when Darlene gave Ben the "baby" food! Also, I wish they would give DJ more to do. I thought he was super annoying as a kid but he's much more tolerable now and I would like to see that character fleshed out more. Neville seems a little too good to be true, but for Jackie's sake I hope not. It's sad (but understandable) that she is so used to relationship failure that she won't even give him a chance.

[geauxaway]

I’d rather Darlene had been pregnant than the peri-menopause at 43.  I’m 43.  The writing is on the wall 😩😩😩.

Dan made some really good points to Emilio.  Who knows where they are going with that plot, though.  

[Chaos Theory]

I am saying this as someone who has been to about four  (one year old) birthdays in the last six years from white middlish class east coast catholic Americans.   They tend to be more about the parents then the kids IE parents invite family that live nearby or that can make the trip and their own friends even if they dont have kids of their own yet.  The older the kids get the more it becomes about the kids themselves and you might have a “family dinner” with relatives over the weekend.    Covid has changed things a bit and I actually went to a baptism during Covid.  Which drastically limited the amount of people allowed inside the church.  But not so much to make it seem like all the Connors wouldn’t be allowed to attend.  Especially Dan,  Darlene  and Ben.   

Edited November 19, 2020 by Chaos Theory

[Snow Apple]

I'm not familiar with parties. How much would you say that party costs? That cake alone much be at least in the hundreds. And personalized balloons?

So wasteful. If Beverly Rose cares about pictures when she's older, all she'll care about is her family and funny pictures of smashing cake. They could have bought cheap balloons and streamers, food from the Lunch Box or deli sandwiches or pizza, and a grocery store cake. Heck, I've seen boxed cake mix for $1-2.

But the writers love to keep this family down by making them (and those around them) make bad decisions. At least Becky objected but of course got ran over.

Edited November 19, 2020 by Snow Apple

[MissLucas]

6 hours ago, Bastet said:

Presumably his aunts where there, though, and in real life probably would have been shitting themselves that a couple of heathens were the only godparents.  Now that I'm pondering this, that makes it even nicer to think that in exchange for Becky agreeing to this ritual for his sake, he kept it low key for hers.

In real life Darlene could only act as 'witness' to the baptism - and that only if Ben is catholic (there are other stipulations Ben does not meet but liberal Catholicism tends to ignore those). This being a sitcom I can understand that they did not go into those minutiae of canonical law. They wanted to show it as a compromise between Becky and Emilio and it works. I just wish they had also compromised on the birthday party which given their financial situation was ridiculous. 

[Cozytea]

10 hours ago, bybrandy said:

Dan's "there used to be another kid around here" made me laugh because Jerry.   

Actually had a few solid chuckles here.  

But yah, so much money.  SO MUCH MONEY!

 

Was Jerry not being around ever explained.  Andy and Jerry???

[ams1001]

 

 

26 minutes ago, MissLucas said:

In real life Darlene could only act as 'witness' to the baptism - and that only if Ben is catholic (there are other stipulations Ben does not meet but liberal Catholicism tends to ignore those). This being a sitcom I can understand that they did not go into those minutiae of canonical law. They wanted to show it as a compromise between Becky and Emilio and it works. I just wish they had also compromised on the birthday party which given their financial situation was ridiculous. 

I was wondering about that. My friend's sister-in-law is Catholic (her brother is not particularly religious, as far as I can tell) and their son's godparents are my friend's sister and her SIL's brother; from what I gathered, her sister could only do it because the other godparent was Catholic and at least one of them had to be. (I could be wrong, or misremembering; the kid is almost 8 now.)

I'm godmother to my best friend's son, but they're Lutheran and I'm not religious (I was raised Methodist; I don't have godparents and I don't recall that being a thing in our church when I was a kid). When she asked me, I said, "what does that mean, exactly?" For her it's pretty much symbolic; if it really had some real-world religious significance to her, I would have declined.

8 minutes ago, Cozytea said:

Was Jerry not being around ever explained.  Andy and Jerry???

In the original reboot, he was off working on a fishing boat. It was basically a throw-away line to explain his absence and he was never brought up again. Andy has never been mentioned at all. Seems he never existed.

[MaryMitch]

Regarding the godparents: I can understand Becky not understanding the role of a Catholic godparent (nothing to do with "if we die"). And maybe the priest just assumed Ben and/or Darlene is Catholic (one of them needs to be). But I can't believe Emilio's tias were ok with Darlene and Ben being godparents. Didn't I see them at the baptism? 

That said, I thought it was understanding of Becky to let the baby be baptized. I mean, if she doesn't care, then what's the harm?  And she admitted he is a good father. But I still cringe at him spending all that money on the party.

[Chaos Theory]

It all depends on how Catholic  family is.  My brother and sister had their kids baptized to humor my mother.   I am a lapsed catholic and am the God parent of one of my nephews.  I can see Emilio just being happy to have his daughter baptized.   It’s a step and a compromise that he is making with Becky that they will continue to make.   

[MarthaEllisanne]

Actors: pull the masks over your noses! I get why they or the director do the "half-mast mask," but it sets a bad example, looks stupid in comparison with background characters who are fully masked, and possibly puts the actors at risk.  Some shows are ignoring the pandemic, mostly because it can be an issue with reruns in syndication 20-30 years from now. But if producers are going to include the pandemic, then they should follow protocol. The scenes in their home is one thing, but in the scenes outside the home (work, church), the characters should be fully masked.

[Wizardpatch]

It is confirmed. Dan ate Jerry Garcia Connor. Still more believable than David abandoning his family.

[UYI]

8 hours ago, Cherpumple said:

What was the tag? My dvr cut out.

It was basically Neville and Jackie sitting down for their coffee date, and Jackie immediately getting out a notepad of reasons why she's not worth the time dating, related to her relationship with her mother. Except she had only named two before they cut to the production logo.

I don't know, maybe I'm spoiled by the long tag scenes Roseanne used to do, but even compared to other sitcoms, these tags just feel really short, with VERY abrupt, out of nowhere endings, especially this season. 

[Snow Apple]

21 minutes ago, RocknRollZombie said:

I still can’t really warm up to Emilio , but apparently he’s great to fans on twitter for standing up to Dan. Like we haven’t seen that before with past characters.

I liked Emilio in the beginning. He was so sweet and supportive. But they "Conner-ed" him and he keeps doing boneheaded stuff now. Yup, he fits right in.

[Cherpumple]

1 hour ago, UYI said:

It was basically Neville and Jackie sitting down for their coffee date, and Jackie immediately getting out a notepad of reasons why she's not worth the time dating, related to her relationship with her mother.

Thanks! I actually did see that. It wasn't great, but I'm keeping the slight hope alive that this could turn into a good relationship for her.

55 minutes ago, RocknRollZombie said:

And once again I get heavy Jackie/Fred story vibes for Emilio again this episode with the “rights as a father” that really hammered it home that it’s basically a rehash.

God I hate that episode. It's incredibly insulting to both men and women. And seriously, Becky, that ship has sailed. You can't say you want total control over your child and then marry the father, harbor him illegally, and use his family as babysitters. You can't have it both ways!

[ThatsDarling]

The previews made such a big deal about Darlene being with child, I suspected it was a red herring. My hunch is that she will end up pregnant before the end of the season; the chance of naturally conceiving during perimenopause is quite low, but it's still possible, especially in sitcom world. I doubt the writers would have emphasized how much Darlene and Ben wanted a child together if they did not intend for it to happen down the line. 

It's odd to me that the go-to storyline for many family sitcoms is for the female lead to become pregnant at some point, even if she is in her forties and already has nearly grown children. A pregnancy is only good for so many episodes worth of story telling, and when the baby arrives, it is difficult to significantly incorporate them into the plot, unless you age them by five or so years during a summer hiatus (it would actually not surprise me if these writers did this). 

[Shermie]

Count me in as someone who was glad Darlene wasn't pregnant. Ugh. Babies on sitcoms are tedious and this show already has one. One that is a year old, but looks like she's the size of a 3 month old (plank) in a baptism gown.

Quote

I’d rather Darlene had been pregnant than the peri-menopause at 43.  

Peri-menopause and menopause aren't the same thing. Peri-menopause typically begins in your 40s, so Darlene isn't too young for this. Also - and this is important - you can still get pregnant during peri-menopause. It's the time when your periods slow down, but you're still getting periods so you're still fertile. It's unlikely (because of irregular periods and poor quality eggs) but not impossible. So it's still possible for the writers to have Darlene get pregnant.

This family is so stupid, they really earn their misfortune. Darlene has no money, no home of her own, two kids to support, and she wants to have a baby? I assume she has no healthcare, no maternity leave, and there'd be no daycare covered. But sure, add the expense of another mouth to feed. Thank goodness circumstances put an end to that (I hope). 

I don't care if Emilio feels left out, spending a thousand bucks* on a one year old's party is stupid for anyone, but again, he has little money and a child to support for the next 18 years.

*estimate based on fancy cake, custom balloons, extra tables and chairs rented, a blowup ball pit rented, a ridiculous amount of of decorations.

[iMonrey]

Quote

Isn't that essentially the show's premise at this point?  The Conners are in dire financial straits but somehow have money to waste?

This show wants so badly to be about blue collar workers in middle America struggling during an economic downturn, but then totally flubs the financial aspect of it for the sake of a few jokes - or in the case of Darlene - lazy writing. Are we really supposed to get behind this desire for another baby when she and her boyfriend are just barely scraping by and living in her father's house? Where the hell would they even put another baby? I guess we're supposed to think "Aww, babies!" like that triumphs reality. It does not. It makes her and Ben look like a couple of irresponsible idiots. Is that really what they're going for here?

And then there's Emilio. He snuck back into the country illegally and is hiding out at the diner. Where in the hell did he get all this money to stage a huge birthday party for Beverly Rose? Did he steal it? Did his aunt's pay? Wouldn't that be like the first thing you'd ask him?

You're right, it's as if the writers have absolutely no concept of what "poor" means.

[peacheslatour]

Quote

Darlene has no money, no home of her own, two kids to support, and she wants to have a baby? I assume she has no healthcare, no maternity leave, and there'd be no daycare covered. But sure, add the expense of another mouth to feed.

Not to mention the fact that women who have babies in their forties run much higher risks of many physical and mental problems for the babies. Which would mean more expenses, special care and the odds that the child may never be able to support themselves rise significantly.

[Bastet]

2 hours ago, Shermie said:

Also - and this is important - you can still get pregnant during peri-menopause. It's the time when your periods slow down, but you're still getting periods so you're still fertile. It's unlikely (because of irregular periods and poor quality eggs) but not impossible. So it's still possible for the writers to have Darlene get pregnant.

Didn't her doctor say there were other problems, and he was going to get his notes to go over it with her (but then we never saw that, and when she told Ben, she only mentioned being perimenopausal)?  He was quite direct that she could not get pregnant anymore, not that it was highly unlikely.

That's a much more interesting story, Ben having to decide if he truly can skip being a biological father and raising a child from day one in favor of being with her and her kids, than Darlene joining Becky in having a wildly improbable (statistically) pregnancy and throwing another damn baby at this show.

 

[rmontro]

20 hours ago, Chaos Theory said:

I get where Emilio is coming from.  He doesn’t get much of a chance to be a father but spending so much money on a one year olds party is wasteful especially for a family  without much cash to begin with. 

Maybe birthdays for the Rodriguez family are like Halloween to the Conners.

I just don't know what the endgame for all this baby drama is for Ben and Darlene.  Where is it going?  They could adopt, but honestly neither Darlene nor the show need another baby.  The thing I've been expecting all along is Ben leaves Darlene because she can't have kids.  But that doesn't sound entertaining either.

[ItsHelloPattiagain]

Quote

In real life Darlene could only act as 'witness' to the baptism - and that only if Ben is catholic (there are other stipulations Ben does not meet but liberal Catholicism tends to ignore those). This being a sitcom I can understand that they did not go into those minutiae of canonical law. They wanted to show it as a compromise between Becky and Emilio and it works. 

I work at a Catholic church. One of the godparents has to be a practicing Catholic. The other "godparent" can be a witness. The idea of being a "godparent" is to take over the religious training of the child if both parents pass away (or are unable to for whatever reason). I'm guessing they just took sitcom liberties as usually, like denying the existence of Jackie's marriage and birth of her son, as well Jerry Garcia Conner (who in the original show was supposed to be a girl - surprise, surprise). 

Where I live, a lot of first birthday parties are large family parties. My first grandson had a huge first birthday party with a giant bouncy water slide (which he obviously couldn't use, but all the guests and their kids did).  When he turned three and his brother turned one, they had a huge shared BD party with a pinata and pool party with lots of adult and child guests. 

I'm so relieved Darlene isn't preggers. That would be copying the Roseanne and JGC vs Jackie and The Missing Andy pregnancy storyline right out of the original recipe show. 

I hope somehow Jackie gets out of the doldrums with her life. She's become the Debbie Downer character, whoa is me all the time. Even when she was dating that horrible Matthew Broderick character (who was awful but still hilariously awkward), she had some optimism in her life. 

And I'm just waiting, tick, tick, tick, for Andy to come home. Or Fred. Imagine if Andy showed up and Fred came over to see him at Jackie's! I keep harping but I can forgive Jerry coming from an apparent hallucination during Roseanne's weird season and not showing up at the new show, but Andy was a huge part of the show earlier on, and a lot of the changes that happened with Jackie. 

[Chewy101]

9 hours ago, Cozytea said:

Was Jerry not being around ever explained.  Andy and Jerry???

I believe in the finale for the original Roseanne, Jerry was one of the stupid things Roseanne made up for her book. she also said Dan died and Becky actually hooked up with David and Darlene with Mark. It was a terrible finale.

What ever happened to them being evicted in six days? 

The Darlene pregnancy thing is ridiculous. No jobs, no money, two kids still under her support. Get a clue, Dar. It's already unrealistic enough that Beverly Rose hasn't starved to death yet.

This is the first episode to do nothing for me.

[toomuchtv]

So I guess having your own home, stable jobs, are no longer things people strive for before trying for a baby??? 

[txhorns79]

8 hours ago, iMonrey said:

And then there's Emilio. He snuck back into the country illegally and is hiding out at the diner. Where in the hell did he get all this money to stage a huge birthday party for Beverly Rose? Did he steal it? Did his aunt's pay? Wouldn't that be like the first thing you'd ask him?

Everything Dan said about him was right.  He's just a selfish guy who put his own needs ahead of his daughter, and it is his daughter who will ultimately pay the price for that selfishness.

[readster]

12 minutes ago, txhorns79 said:

Everything Dan said about him was right.  He's just a selfish guy who put his own needs ahead of his daughter, and it is his daughter who will ultimately pay the price for that selfishness.

Yeah, he would know that better than anyone. 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

21 hours ago, Cherpumple said:

My thoughts exactly! I actually yelled "NOOOOO!!!!" at the screen when she gleefully told Becky. And when she said "this couldn't come at a better time" I was ready to be done with this show forever. The stupid was just too strong.

Don't you know that the best time for a planned pregnancy is when you have no insurance?

21 hours ago, Cherpumple said:

Speaking of Emilio, I'm still baffled by his overall plot line. What is the plan here? He's meant to be out of the US for two years, so is he planning to stay in Lanford secretly during that time, then sneak back into Mexico, and then try to reenter the US legally? Or is he just planning to stay indefinitely now, hiding out in the Lunchbox? I don't know the legal specifics, but would the penalty for someone who has already been deported once be stiffer than for a first timer? Could he face prison if he's caught? Could Becky? This is serious stuff, and I don't think the show is handling it very well.

Yes, he'd have to sneak back out and then apply from Mexico, presumably, to re-enter.  They've said that if he were caught again, he'd be barred permanently from re-entry, so he's taking a huge risk.  I don't think Becky would get in trouble-immigration enforcement rounds up and deports many people but you never hear about their spouses or children who are legally here getting in trouble.  Employing him is another matter, though, for which Jackie could get in trouble, although usually it's big companies that get prosecuted for not obtaining proof of citizenship.

20 hours ago, Bastet said:

21 hours ago, Cherpumple said:

And about the baptism, why weren't any of his family chosen as godparents? It's his tradition; do his aunts not know that he's back in town?

He's living with them, so, yes, they know.  Maybe giving Becky's sister and her boyfriend the ceremonial title of godparents was Emilio's reciprocation of Becky's generosity in agreeing to the baptism, his way of giving her family a role in a ceremony that isn't their tradition.  Becky, Darlene, and Ben all seemingly don't care what it technically means in his religion (I relate; I'm one of the godmothers to my cousin's daughter as a way of honoring the relationship between my cousin and me, but I had no actual obligations as the daughter grew up, and certainly not related to any religious role, since I'm an atheist and couldn't even tell you the denomination of the church in which the christening was held).

Presumably his aunts were there, though, and in real life probably would have been shitting themselves that a couple of heathens were the only godparents.  Now that I'm pondering this, that makes it even nicer to think that in exchange for Becky agreeing to this ritual for his sake, he kept it low key for hers.

Although Becky explained the religious significance of baptism to Darlene and Ben, I think she's actually thinking of the godparent role as who she would want to raise Beverly Rose if she died (as Emilio couldn't easily do it in the US, even if he were still there, although he'd likely try to take her back to Mexico.) I would hope she has designated guardians in a will, but you know she hasn't.

10 hours ago, ThatsDarling said:

My hunch is that she will end up pregnant before the end of the season; the chance of naturally conceiving during perimenopause is quite low, but it's still possible, especially in sitcom world. I doubt the writers would have emphasized how much Darlene and Ben wanted a child together if they did not intend for it to happen down the line. 

 

4 hours ago, rmontro said:

I just don't know what the endgame for all this baby drama is for Ben and Darlene.  Where is it going?  They could adopt, but honestly neither Darlene nor the show need another baby.  The thing I've been expecting all along is Ben leaves Darlene because she can't have kids.  But that doesn't sound entertaining either.

Maybe they'll pursue an adoption story line, but I sincerely hope not.

10 hours ago, Shermie said:

I assume she has no healthcare, no maternity leave, and there'd be no daycare covered.

Darlene joked that she'd have to have the baby on the afghan because she doesn't have insurance.

Edited November 20, 2020 by ItCouldBeWorse

[SoMuchTV]

9 hours ago, iMonrey said:

And then there's Emilio. He snuck back into the country illegally and is hiding out at the diner. Where in the hell did he get all this money to stage a huge birthday party for Beverly Rose? Did he steal it? Did his aunt's pay? Wouldn't that be like the first thing you'd ask him?

You're right, it's as if the writers have absolutely no concept of what "poor" means.

 

40 minutes ago, txhorns79 said:

Everything Dan said about him was right.  He's just a selfish guy who put his own needs ahead of his daughter, and it is his daughter who will ultimately pay the price for that selfishness.

 

27 minutes ago, readster said:

Yeah, he would know that better than anyone. 

Wait, what? Dan would know better than anyone about being a selfish guy etc.?  I must be misunderstanding something here. 

[readster]

4 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

 

 

Wait, what? Dan would know better than anyone about being a selfish guy etc.?  I must be misunderstanding something here. 

Dan never put his foot down in the family over their stupid spending habits or quitting jobs that would have paid off in the long run and he knew it. Now, he is pushing 70 and not only is his house NOT paid off, he has no: retirement, is always a month away from foreclosure and still can't tell Jackie: "Get a life before you die!" Yep, he just put his own selfish thoughts on things because "it's a quick fix for what I want RIGHT NOW!"

[Yeah No]

9 hours ago, Bastet said:

Didn't her doctor say there were other problems, and he was going to get his notes to go over it with her (but then we never saw that, and when she told Ben, she only mentioned being perimenopausal)?  He was quite direct that she could not get pregnant anymore, not that it was highly unlikely.

That's a much more interesting story, Ben having to decide if he truly can skip being a biological father and raising a child from day one in favor of being with her and her kids, than Darlene joining Becky in having a wildly improbable (statistically) pregnancy and throwing another damn baby at this show.

I was relieved when the Dr. said she could not get pregnant anymore, but I wouldn't put it past this show to make her get pregnant anyway, like when doctors tell someone they'll "never walk again" but they eventually do nonetheless.  Either that or I also get the feeling Ben might push for adoption just because he's never been a Dad and I think he'd want that in any way possible.
 

On 11/19/2020 at 12:36 AM, Bastet said:

Again, I appreciate that they want to show actors' faces, and did put the vet outdoors in his first scene, but he should have been wearing a mask -- and then in the Lunchbox, he has one, but it's on the counter in front of him.  No masks when he and Jackie meet up (and not at all cute that he refused to take her no for an answer, or that she showed up).  And Emilio decides to wear his as a chin warmer in Dan's house (horrible continuity by the script supervisor and editors, too, because they used takes where it was on his chin alongside takes where it was under his chin).  Then the inconsistent mask wearing at the baptism.  This is a weekly annoyance for me that I am going to have to get past, but haven't yet been able to.

I haven't been able to get past it either.  I feel like in this episode they were more lax about mask wearing than until now, or maybe it's just that they weren't in as many of those situations.  I had hoped that the show would want to set a good example for the audience.  It boggles my mind how these things aren't that apparent to the writers.  I get it that they're trying to make it about what the characters themselves would do, which I realize is not always the most responsible thing to do, but I still find it annoying anyway.

[readster]

8 hours ago, Yeah No said:

 

I haven't been able to get past it either.  I feel like in this episode they were more lax about mask wearing than until now, or maybe it's just that they weren't in as many of those situations.  I had hoped that the show would want to set a good example for the audience.  It boggles my mind how these things aren't that apparent to the writers.  I get it that they're trying to make it about what the characters themselves would do, which I realize is not always the most responsible thing to do, but I still find it annoying anyway.

Sad to say, that's just society, I mean there are plenty of people who know the virus is real and don't want it, but then throw in the excuse, well people aren't wearing masks and still not getting it and those who are still getting sick. So, whatever. It's a sad situation and the same is shown on TV.