S05.E13: The Election

[Harvey]

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Katie pushes Cooper to share his passion for the culinary arts and ambition of becoming a chef with his autocratic father, Doyle Bradford. Meanwhile, Greg and Principal Ablin go head-to-head when the election results offer an interesting twist. And the Otto family gets the surprise of a lifetime.

Air date: 2021, march 31.

[chitowngirl]

Katie’s pregnant? Ugh

I thought for sure when Cooper came back it was because his father cut him off.

Edited April 1, 2021 by chitowngirl

[readster]

1 minute ago, chitowngirl said:

Katie’s pregnant? Ugh

I thought for sure when Cooper came back it was because his father cut him off.

Unless Katie Nixon is pregnant with child #3, what a very stupid move with the show. At least with Oliver thinking of dropping out of school after everything, at least that makes a lot of sense. 

[Kiddvideo]

Wow, season finale already. I liked this one. Laughed when Katie accidentally kicked Oliver the second time and when Greg took the 4th shot getting revenge for his cake. Glad Cooper can stay, and liked Joel McHale as his dad. Franklin got tall. I dunno about a new Otto baby. I’ve liked Greg and Katie getting back to their own things as the kids have gotten older. I can do without the baby storylines.

[DanaK]

Entertaining episode with a lot of changes, especially in relationships. I was not expecting the engagements, especially with the kids, and I was surprised the parents took that so well

[Kip Hackman]

Wow, a lot of things happened there at the end.

After all the behind-the-scenes drama, I wonder if there's gonna be a sixth season.

[DanaK]

It was funny that Katie and Greg were all happy for Anna Kat and Franklin’s engagement (albeit with the wedding 15 years from now), but when Taylor and Trip revealed theirs, they were immediately on guard and hostile

And yes, there was definitely a lot happening at the end

[Harvey]

The high point of the episode was when Katie agressively pushed Oliver out of the way to go hug Cooper 😄 😄 . Amazing.

 

I knew she was going to be pregnant. People on another forum have been predicting it for months because apparently all through the season, the show has been "hinting at it". Well I didn't catch any of those hints, but it's crazy they turned out to be right.

[possibilities]

I think they didn't take the AnaKat/Franklin engagement seriously enough to be worried about it. The engagement ring is also a whistle and they are saying the wedding is 15 years in the future. By contrast, Taylor and Tripp are of an age (and common sense level) that if they got engaged they might actually mean they're getting married any second. Totally different ballgame for parental panic.

 

[readster]

4 hours ago, possibilities said:

I think they didn't take the AnaKat/Franklin engagement seriously enough to be worried about it. The engagement ring is also a whistle and they are saying the wedding is 15 years in the future. By contrast, Taylor and Tripp are of an age (and common sense level) that if they got engaged they might actually mean they're getting married any second. Totally different ballgame for parental panic.

 

Exactly. Especially when Greg and Katie has made their thoughts known on Tripp. So, seeing this happened is like: "Oh crap!" Things said, I have to say it was very enjoyable having Greg hit Mr. "I got my administration license through a special rebate mail in" with the paint ball and his air head girlfriend was very, very satisfying. Holy crap! Lonnie has become a likable character and has realized his fame as a Youtuber is going out and needs to start thinking of what to do next. I also liked Oliver's turn of events, because it makes sense. Oliver had hit everyone over the head about how much the family was holding him back and his "plan" was going to "save his future" now realizes it was full of itself. Of course instead of having an enlighten, he goes completely to the other end of the spectrum and now is: "Forget it, I'm just dropping out of school, excepting I'm the loser I am." Because Oliver can't find a middle, it's either one high point or go completely low point. 

 As for Cooper's turn of events and even everything with his dad that was perfectly played by McHale. I have to say that was well done. HOWEVER... making Katie pregnant (unless Nixon is in real life) was just a dumb move. They could keep her the American Housewife just fine with her focusing on Oliver's dropping out of school and Anna-Kat's early teenage years and Greg trying to balance between city council and job, but oh no... let's throw in unplanned baby when one kid is almost out of the house and the second one might be out soon too. Because you know "comedy gold". 

[Yeah No]

Whoa, my head is spinning after this episode!  I'm bummed that it appears to be a season finale.  From what I gathered online, while there has been no announcement yet about another season, I really doubt that the show is being cancelled given that the ratings are just as good as they were last year.  Plus they did set us up with a lot of cliff hangers!

I have been LOL about how they've been working Westport into the show given how I know the place.  Oliver's father is an exaggeration, but not by much, unfortunately.  That said, my husband is employed by one of the richer people in Westport and he is just the opposite of Oliver's father, and that's no exaggeration.  I know, that's rare but they do exist!  I was happy to see Katy being effective at changing his mind about Cooper.  Signs that there is a good person in the father (and Katie!) somewhere.  We need that kind of faith restored in human nature right now, so thanks, show!

A couple of nitpicks, though.  Westport is not a city, it's a town and in these parts that is a big distinction.  Plus, while I was amused at Ana-Kat and Franklin's "engagement", I'm not so happy about Tripp and Taylor's engagement or Katie's pregnancy.  Maybe the actress herself is pregnant but I don't love it as another twist on this show.

LOVED the paintball duel, though!

[Lizzing]

I wanted another season, but the pregnancy seems like a "Cousin Oliver"reach.  Now I hope it has ended.

[AHandMarvelfan]

As far as the tempo of the episode, it was crazy rushed, but I can forgive that part due to covid and the shorter season, I still enjoyed the episode.

I really do hope we get atleast a season 6 of the show and if we do, I really wonder how they will handle the Katie Otto pregnancy.

I do not think Katy Mixon is pregnant, now if she was and they wanted to write the pregnancy into the show, I would imagine that Katy´s agents would have confirmed a pregnancy by now, we gotta remember the episode was prolly filmed atleast a month ago and written in even longer ago, if she was pregnant then, I do think they would as mentioned have made it public by now.

Also thinking back to Katy Mixons first 2 pregnancies, she made those public pretty early on as far as I remember.

Now as for how they handle the pregnancy on the show I´m very intrigued, will they put Katy Mixon in some kinda preggo suit? and how will that look, will it look realistic? 

Or would they just dress her as they normally do with big plaid shirts? and not put her in any kinda suit, because Katy already is pretty big.

Again I´m not sure how they will pull it off.

 

 

 

 

[Johannah]

As for Oliver not going to college because he's given up...I thought it was because his friend told him their app was already making him rich and that was why he wanted to go to college so now he didn't have to.   Obviously, that will fail somewhere along the way, but right now, Oliver is hanging on that since he messed up his SATs.

I expected to read a bunch of posts about the kids' middle names, but since no one has mentioned them, does that mean they were known in previous episodes and I missed them?  AnnaKat  Liberty Bell and Taylor Betsy Ross.  Did we get Oliver's?  Probably Oliver Benjamin Franklin, but I'm hoping for Oliver The Constitution Otto.  And the new kid is not going to have a historical middle name!?  Bummer.

[iMonrey]

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I wanted another season, but the pregnancy seems like a "Cousin Oliver"reach.

Ditto. When they toss in an unplanned, midlife pregnancy, it's the last, desperate gasp of a show that has officially run out of ideas. 

I cracked up at the idea of the town settling a tiebreaker with a duel, though. And all the stuff with Cooper and Katie was great. Joel McHale? First Jim Rash, now him. It's like Community is invading Westport. 

[Bobbin]

2 hours ago, Johann said:

I expected to read a bunch of posts about the kids' middle names, but since no one has mentioned them, does that mean they were known in previous episodes and I missed them?  AnnaKat  Liberty Bell and Taylor Betsy Ross.  Did we get Oliver's?  Probably Oliver Benjamin Franklin, but I'm hoping for Oliver The Constitution Otto.  And the new kid is not going to have a historical middle name!?  Bummer.

My thoughts exactly. Maybe Oliver Liberty Tree Otto?

That a tie would be settled by a duel was just what I expected. And with paint guns was perfect.

Katie declaring that she has been more of a parent to Cooper than his own parents might have had a delayed reaction with Cooper's father. Cooper's "Te amo, mamacita (I love you, mama)" may have been a factor in Katie later shoving Oliver out of the way to hug Cooper. The writers seem never to allow Oliver/Daniel to show affection (except with the pig!) or to smile. Did Katie really refer to herself as a mother-in-law with regard to Cooper, or did I mis-hear?

I have to wonder if Taylor would be marrying Trip or raising him. There's couple that needs a 15 year engagement.

Is Katie or Katy really preggers? Tune in this Fall!

[possibilities]

They might do a time jump and skip the pregnancy, so no need to finesse it with padding or whatever. But lots of shows do just strap on a foam belly and it's not really hard to fake it. Either way, I wish they weren't doing this baby story. I don't think there's a single baby story I want to see. Sitcoms have drained that topic dry.

Was Ablin always so mean? He seemed like a hapless pushover until he ran for office.

 

[iMonrey]

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I don't think there's a single baby story I want to see. Sitcoms have drained that topic dry.

It's the equivalent of creative bankruptcy.

I forgot to say, I love when they show the outtakes in the season finale. I wish there were more of them. Sometimes they're funnier than the show itself.

[ams1001]

So did Oliver even take the SAT or did they just let him lay unconscious on the floor until time was up and give him a zero? 

 

[Kip Hackman]

55 minutes ago, possibilities said:

I wish they weren't doing this baby story. I don't think there's a single baby story I want to see.

My first reaction was, "There's no way they're doing a baby story. This must be a series finale."

But maybe they will. Beats having to think up another career for Katy (party planner, lasagna entrepreneur, mommy vlogger). 

[Harvey]

2 hours ago, ams1001 said:

So did Oliver even take the SAT or did they just let him lay unconscious on the floor until time was up and give him a zero? 

 

That.

[ams1001]

Also struck me as odd that they had the kids in regular seats so close to each other. When I took it we were in the cafeteria, with three students at each long table, one at either end and one in the middle, all facing the same way, so there was zero chance anyone was able to see someone else's paper. I know, I overthink things.

[theatremouse]

17 hours ago, ams1001 said:

So did Oliver even take the SAT or did they just let him lay unconscious on the floor until time was up and give him a zero? 

But also...you can take it multiple times. So there isn't really reason to despair if you do poorly on the first go. Most people I know took it twice, except the perfect score people. Unless he scheduled his one-and-only attempt too close to the application deadline such that he'd have no score at all (which, why would you? It's so so so so so so normal to take it more than once) any concern about botching the test makes no sense.

[Grundoon59]

First let me say, I enjoyed the episode and really hoped the show gets renewed.  Even with all the things it is possible to criticize about it, I still can find it funny and rewatchable.  But as I was going with the flow of this episode, I started to wonder if what we were seeing was a dream of either Greg or Katie.  So much was piled in and while there were realistic elements, some things like the duel and the middle names were overly fantastic.  If they are real plot points, I will happily go along for the ride but I honestly was expecting the end of the episode to be someone waking up in a panic.

 

 

[CarpeFelis]

When Cooper came back at the end I wondered if his dad really did capitulate or if he just ran away from his dad and is lying about him again.

[Commando Cody]

36 minutes ago, CarpeFelis said:

When Cooper came back at the end I wondered if his dad really did capitulate or if he just ran away from his dad and is lying about him again.

I did have that same thought.  I figured it was possible that he told Katie what she wanted hear, but continued with his plan to become a chef.  

I have no problem with a baby storyline.  I actually liked how they handled it in Big Bang Theory where we never actually saw any babies.  

Being that the episode aired on March 31st, I thought they were going to treat the pregnancy like an April Fools Day prank.  

Joel McHale and Jim Rash were in the same scene together.  I can’t remember if they had any interaction or if it was just snide remarks.  

[possibilities]

I think Oliver was depressed about blowing his SAT because it doesn't fit with his self-image to choke like that. And then when what's his name told him he could be rich without Harvard, he decided to just not try anymore because he didn't really want Harvard anyway, he just wanted the money. Plus, if he tries again, he could fail again. Too humiliating. For sure he could re-take the test, but I think he just wanted a way out. Plus, it keeps him on the show rather than shipping him off to Massachusetts.

Edited April 2, 2021 by possibilities

[leighdear]

On 4/1/2021 at 8:55 PM, Commando Cody said:

I have no problem with a baby storyline.  I actually liked how they handled it in Big Bang Theory where we never actually saw any babies.  

And we never had the tired, Bernadette-in-labor-for-most-of-the-show-screaming-it's-all-Howard's-fault.  I hate when they drag that trope out.  A quick shot of the new parents in the hospital room cooing over the bundle for 10 seconds, then BOOM, back to the grownup show.  BBT did it right. 

Edited April 3, 2021 by leighdear

[Shermie]

Ugh, a baby. The quintessential sitcom killer. And it's such a tired trope - sitcom family has two older kids and one a little younger to be the sassy little one. As they age out of the kid zone, the writers decide to add a baby. See Family Ties, Growing Pains, Roseanne. Brady Bunch and Partidge Family didn't have a baby but added a random extra kid. In none of these cases did the new kid/baby make the show better.

If Katy is pregnant in real life, I don't blame them for not announcing it before the show did. At least it's aN actual surprise then. Not a surprise this viewer wanted, but a surprise nonetheless?

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Beats having to think up another career for Katy (party planner, lasagna entrepreneur, mommy vlogger). 

I would love it if Katy had a new career every season. Lots of opportunity there for storylines and side characters.

[Yeah No]

16 hours ago, leighdear said:

On 4/1/2021 at 9:55 PM, Commando Cody said:

I have no problem with a baby storyline.  I actually liked how they handled it in Big Bang Theory where we never actually saw any babies.  

And we never had the tired, Bernadette-in-labor-for-most-of-the-show-screaming-it's-all-Howard's-fault.  I hate when they drag that trope out.  A quick shot of the new parents in the hospital room cooing over the bundle for 10 seconds, then BOOM, back to the grownup show.  BBT did it right. 

True, but BBT did spare a fair amount of show time on baby-related sub plots, which I was OK with there but would not be interested in here in the least.  Plus, this is a show about a housewife and mother so I don't see how they could just gloss over the baby for a few seconds and then go back to a grownup show.  They certainly could do that, but this show is about a family that already has kids so leaving one out all the time wouldn't seem right.

I can think of a couple of shows that slapped the audience with this tired old "oops baby" trope but then made it go away, as in one show where the woman got an abortion and another where it turned out that she had a false positive.  I doubt that this particular show would go the abortion route, but I can always wish for a false positive.  Maybe because the season was short the show writers wanted to slap enough spaghetti on the wall in cliff hangers to make sure people came back to see it next season.  With two out of the blue/ridiculous engagements and this pregnancy it felt like they were deliberately adding on every shameless trick in the book, LOL.

[Neiman]

I’m glad that election is finally over. They dragged that out way too long. 

I hate what they did to the Maria character. She was sympathetic at first. 

Glad to see less emphasis on the breakfast club and the introduction of Cooper’s dad. Sounds like he just needs to take Oliver under his wing since he’s more likely to enjoy and appreciate a job at Bradford Industries.

Guess marrying Trip would be a good way to get Taylor out of the crowded house, yet I don’t look forward to any of those storylines. 

Katie having a baby at 40? They really are trying to be the modern Roseanne show.

[Gizkok]

Not just a baby!  Twins have been done before but what about triplets? Wouldn't put it past them.

[paulvdb]

19 hours ago, Neiman said:

Guess marrying Trip would be a good way to get Taylor out of the crowded house, yet I don’t look forward to any of those storylines. 

Seems unlikely unless the actress is planning to leave the show. Family sitcoms often come up with reasons why adult kids don't move out of the house so that they can stay more involved with the family. It's more likely that they'll have Trip move in than Taylor move out.

[Neiman]

26 minutes ago, paulvdb said:

Seems unlikely unless the actress is planning to leave the show. Family sitcoms often come up with reasons why adult kids don't move out of the house so that they can stay more involved with the family. It's more likely that they'll have Trip move in than Taylor move out.

I hope they don’t try that. They might also go for a long engagement or a season full of wedding planning. Taylor went from craving the companionship of the Joshes to falling for her teaching assistant to engaged in practically no time. Now she’s so sure she wants to marry Trip. If she does, I hope she moves out. It would give the writers something new to explore besides “look how funny it will be to cram one more person in the upstairs bathroom.” 🙄

[Shermie]

Or they'll slap on even more tropes by having Taylor have an oops pregnancy too (so funny, mom and daughter both pregnant!) with a quickie wedding and Katie goes into labour at the wedding (so funny!) and of course it's very fast so she gives birth atthe reception, delivered by Greg (awwwww!)  /sarcasm

[chediavolo]

On 3/31/2021 at 10:49 PM, Kip Hackman said:

Wow, a lot of things happened there at the end.

After all the behind-the-scenes drama, I wonder if there's gonna be a sixth season.

What drama? Where can I read about this? 

[Kip Hackman]

3 hours ago, chediavolo said:

What drama? Where can I read about this? 

Media thread.

[Commando Cody]

I had a couple of thoughts on Katie’s pregnancy.  My first one was she was carrying the baby for her friend who wanted a baby.  Then she mentioned the no weird middle names and it seemed like something she would discuss with Greg first.

Another thought was this was someone’s weird dream and the sleeping person will wake up next season realizing this.

Another possibility will be that they will pull the sitcom trope of the baby magically becoming 4 years old next season.  Fresh Prince of Bel Air and Family ties are two examples of this. 

[juliet73]

I used to like this show a lot more, and it's still enjoyable, but I think it's run it's course.  At this point, I'm liking the kid's friends more than anyone else.  Tripp, Cooper and Oliver are the characters that stand out.  

I'm disappointed that Katy is pregnant because it feels like lazy writing.  Usually shows introduced a new baby because they've run out of ideas.  If this show has another season, I guarantee it will be the last.  

I liked Joel McHale as Cooper's dad, but then again, JH is great in everything! I still can't warm up to Katy's new breakfast friends - I liked Doris and Angela so much better as well as the original Anna Kat. 

[Neiman]

I didn’t care for the actress who played Anna Kat, so I’m glad they went in a new direction. Angela, Doris, and so many others are stereotyped and predictable. It was time to change things up, but I find Katie to be more unlikeable as time passes. While I’d like to see her change, the new baby idea doesn’t sound like a good idea. Her Mom vlog was dumb. Would like to see her get out of the house and go to work, but I guess that would be out of the question given the title and they’ve already tried that. I don’t mind new characters, but the YouTube guy is not a favorite of mine. I think the guy running the restaurant for his parents is more entertaining than the new breakfast club.

[BlancheDevoreaux]

What are the odds that the test will be a false positive caused by early menopause? I can see them having Katie annoyed/embarrassed that she thought she was pregnant but is really just in menopause and then have many "hilarious" storylines about her being hormonal and even more of a nightmare to live with. Taylor wants to have an outdoor wedding and Katie starts talking about hot flashes in the sunshine. She can make comments about needing third breakfast because she is famished all the time. You know, all those "super funny" stuff they do on sitcoms when they address a woman of a certain age.  Good times.

[Bobbin]

Sad news. The axe has fallen, the series has ended its run, canceled. I will miss all of these characters (not that annoying principal). When the company I worked for folded, within a month we all landed better, higher-paying gigs. I hope the same for all of these fine folks. Good times, fond memories, happy trails. ❤ (See other parting comments in the "Housewifely Media" thread.)

Edited May 15, 2021 by Bobbin

[readster]

Sad to see it go. I enjoyed watching the entire cast the past 5 years. I do wish it didn't end on that cliffhanger, but it will just leave the audience wondering. 

[jackjill89]

I wish they would have had the chance to wrap things up. This last season was only so-so, but otherwise I really loved this show.