S07.E03: The Bunny

[chitowngirl]

Bud tries to smooth discord at the beach house by throwing a brunch for the two families. But revelations from the past create even more hard feelings.

[LuvMyShows]

I like it when shows come up with unique plot elements, and the two dishonesties were definitely unique!  I thought it was funny how they carried the bunny thing through to subsequent life choices Bud made because of thinking he was good at magic.

I was also glad to see Bud's wife Allison have some more lines, so we can get to know her better.  It looks like they have made her less neurotic than before.  But I had totally forgotten that they have a kid...I don't recall the existence of the child even being mentioned at all during the brunch or planning.

Edited August 14, 2021 by LuvMyShows

[chitowngirl]

Brianna’s glee as the stories unfolded made me laugh. She’s my favorite character.

Edited August 15, 2021 by chitowngirl

[Teriacky]

I loved the made up Jewish holiday. When I was in elementary school there was one boy who wasn’t in class for any of the Jewish holidays. At some point we all decided if Tim wasn’t there, it was a Jewish holiday. This worked until he was out for two weeks with chicken pox…

[possibilities]

I was surprised they thought they needed a candy business to launder money. The vibrator business would work for that purpose, wouldn't it? Not that I think them laundering money is a good idea in the first place, but if you're going to do it, the amount of candy you'd have to sell would be tremendous, and the entire plan just doesn't make any sense. Grace is supposed to be business savvy.

Edited August 14, 2021 by possibilities

[txhorns79]

8 hours ago, chitowngirl said:

Brianna’s glee as the stories unfolded made me laugh. She’s my favorite character.

I do kind of wonder why Barry is sticking with her.  I feel like a lot of their storylines are essentially: "Brianna puts herself first.  Barry gets upset.  Brianna apologizes.  Nothing changes."

[gesundheit]

15 hours ago, possibilities said:

I was surprised they thought they needed a candy business to launder money. The vibrator business would work for that purpose, wouldn't it? Not that I think them laundering money is a good idea in the first place, but if you're going to do it, the amount of candy you'd have to sell would be tremendous, and the entire plan just doesn't make any sense. Grace is supposed to be business savvy.

I think the idea is that the vibrator business isn't really cash-based, is it? Aren't they phone and online orders only?

I am confused about that storyline, though, because I thought at first they were going to launder cash through the concessions stand. I feel like I missed a beat along the way.

[gesundheit]

I'm confused about the way they're playing "Grace's roots growing out because she stopped dyeing her hair." It's a fun sight gag but didn't they establish previously that Grace is wearing wigs just like Jane is? Or maybe I'm misremembering. 

[sistermagpie]

45 minutes ago, gesundheit said:

I think the idea is that the vibrator business isn't really cash-based, is it? Aren't they phone and online orders only?

I am confused about that storyline, though, because I thought at first they were going to launder cash through the concessions stand. I feel like I missed a beat along the way.

Maybe they wouldn't want to taint their own business with money laundering? They'd want to protect it just in case?

39 minutes ago, gesundheit said:

I'm confused about the way they're playing "Grace's roots growing out because she stopped dyeing her hair." It's a fun sight gag but didn't they establish previously that Grace is wearing wigs just like Jane is? Or maybe I'm misremembering. 

I think they established she was wearing extra hair but not a full wig? I seem to remember her just taking out pieces when she was saying that.

This episode really did make me laugh. Loved the fake holiday and am fine with Grace and Robert being too dumb to just leave the dead bunny lying on the floor with the poop for everyone to think it just had a heart attack for no reason. Animals do that, obviously. The cover-up made it worth it. (I also had a moment of asking, "Why would John Mullaney be a friend of Bud's when he's from Chicago?")

I think one of the reasons this is such a comfort show for me is I love the history of the two families with the kids basically growing up as cousins and the family is far from perfect, but clearly solid. Though Mallory really seems like the weak link. I can't imagine what she would have added to that scene at all. They just really never figured out that character. (Her kids barely seem to exist now either.)

Where was the baby? It was like she didn't exist!

Also ironic to have a whole ep highlighting how Bud's family is Jewish, only to reveal at the end that he's not circumcised. (Though I imagine that can be explained.)

Edited August 15, 2021 by sistermagpie

[UsernameFatigue]

I really, really, disliked this episode. I hate any show that uses animals dying, for laughs. And yes, bunnies are very sensitive and can die of fright, so diva Grace yelling at a bunny because she got bunny poop on her shoe, while holding up the said shoe as if she is going to strike bunny, is very possible. And not the least bit entertaining. Not to mention, it isn't the bunnies fault that there was poop on the floor (and bunnies can be litter trained). Would the writers have written Grace yelling at and shaking her shoe at a kitten or puppy? Even more disturbing, Bud didn't seem to care that his bunny died unnecessarily, only that his family tricked him into thinking he could be a magician. 

They have always written these characters as being not all that bright, but honestly, how long can you pass of a fake Jewish holiday? Did Grace and Robert never wonder why none of their other Jewish friends never celebrated the same holiday? Or are we to believe they knew no other people, ever,  who are Jewish?

15 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

I do kind of wonder why Barry is sticking with her.  I feel like a lot of their storylines are essentially: "Brianna puts herself first.  Barry gets upset.  Brianna apologizes.  Nothing changes."

As much as Brianna likes getting her way, I find it hard to believe that someone like Brianna would stick with a person that she obviously does not respect. After all, the person she chooses also reflects on her. There are many couples where one is dominant and one goes along to get along, I just see Brianna needing to be with someone that she thinks that other women could not get. 

 

Edited August 15, 2021 by UsernameFatigue

[chediavolo]

4 hours ago, gesundheit said:

I'm confused about the way they're playing "Grace's roots growing out because she stopped dyeing her hair." It's a fun sight gag but didn't they establish previously that Grace is wearing wigs just like Jane is? Or maybe I'm misremembering. 

Obvious it’s a wig but I think we are supposed to suspend disbelief and think it’s her real hair!😀🙄

[chediavolo]

1 hour ago, UsernameFatigue said:

I really, really, disliked this episode. I hate any show that uses animals dying, for laughs. And yes, bunnies are very sensitive and can die of fright, so diva Grace yelling at a bunny because she got bunny poop on her shoe, while holding up the said shoe as if she is going to strike bunny, is very possible. And not the least bit entertaining. Not to mention, it isn't the bunnies fault that there was poop on the floor (and bunnies can be litter trained). Would the writers have written Grace yelling at and shaking her shoe at a kitten or puppy? Even more disturbing, Bud didn't seem to care that his bunny died unnecessarily, only that his family tricked him into thinking he could be a magician. 

They have always written these characters as being not all that bright, but honestly, how long can you pass of a fake Jewish holiday? Did Grace and Robert never wonder why none of their other Jewish friends never celebrated the same holiday? Or are we to believe they knew no other people, ever,  who are Jewish?

As much as Brianna likes getting her way, I find it hard to believe that someone like Brianna would stick with a person that she obviously does not respect. After all, the person she chooses also reflects on her. There are many couples where one is dominant and one goes along to get along, I just see Brianna needing to be with someone that she thinks that other women could not get. 

 

I agree with you 100% on the bunny storyline. I also cannot abide seeing any kind of cruelty to animals on TV played for a joke. Why was the bunny not in the cage?  It just made me hate Grace, not that I like her very much anyway. But what kind of a grown woman yells at a poor defenseless animal and stands over it as if she’s going to strike it?  The poor thing died of fright. It’s not funny and the rest of the family just blowing it off are all pieces of shit also😡

[sistermagpie]

2 hours ago, UsernameFatigue said:

They have always written these characters as being not all that bright, but honestly, how long can you pass of a fake Jewish holiday? Did Grace and Robert never wonder why none of their other Jewish friends never celebrated the same holiday? Or are we to believe they knew no other people, ever,  who are Jewish?

17 hours ago, txhorns79 said:

I think Robert said he had wished plenty of people happy Mchallah--presumably the idea was that the other people were just being polite and saying thank you without knowing what he was talking about.

Grace and Brianna are the two people where the show goes for the whole "they're terrible/cruel so it's funny!" in ways that usually don't work. Frankly, it's unlikely that someone who would yell at a bunny about poop would even connect that her yelling at killed it. She probably would have just left it there, not noticing anything, and if everyone else showed up and it was dead she wouldn't think it was her fault at all. 

But then, there's also the question of how old Bud was supposed to be that he believed he magicked the bunny away despite there not being any attempt at magic involved on his part.

[UsernameFatigue]

2 hours ago, sistermagpie said:

I think Robert said he had wished plenty of people happy Mchallah--presumably the idea was that the other people were just being polite and saying thank you without knowing what he was talking about.

Grace and Brianna are the two people where the show goes for the whole "they're terrible/cruel so it's funny!" in ways that usually don't work. Frankly, it's unlikely that someone who would yell at a bunny about poop would even connect that her yelling at killed it. She probably would have just left it there, not noticing anything, and if everyone else showed up and it was dead she wouldn't think it was her fault at all. 

But then, there's also the question of how old Bud was supposed to be that he believed he magicked the bunny away despite there not being any attempt at magic involved on his part.

I believe Bud is supposed to be currently 34 years old, and Robert said that the "incident" happened 25 years ago, so Bud would have been 9.  As chediavolo said, the fact that the rest of the family were just blowing it off as well makes them all shits in my book.  I have spent the last decade volunteering with an animal charity, caring for 800 bunnies that people adopted as pets and then abandoned. They make wonderful pets, but are also sensitive, and need specific care. The fact that the writers think a dead bunny is a funny storyline is infuriating to me.

My comment regarding Robert and Grace not knowing that there was no such holiday was that you would think if Sol and Frankie had to bow out of doing things with them due to the holiday, other people would be in the same boat? If it were a real holiday. The writers seem to make the characters dumber every year. 

I can't say that I have really enjoyed the first 4 episodes of this season. And what is up with Jane Fonda? She looks terrible. Too much plastic surgery or botox? Her face barely moves. The joke about her roots growing out might be funny if they were grey, but at least on my TV they are blonde. 

[sistermagpie]

19 minutes ago, UsernameFatigue said:

I believe Bud is supposed to be currently 34 years old, and Robert said that the "incident" happened 25 years ago, so Bud would have been 9.  As chediavolo said, the fact that the rest of the family were just blowing it off as well makes them all shits in my book.  I have spent the last decade volunteering with an animal charity, caring for 800 bunnies that people adopted as pets and then abandoned. They make wonderful pets, but are also sensitive, and need specific care. The fact that the writers think a dead bunny is a funny storyline is infuriating to me.

 

The whole scene played clearly as if this rabbit had never actually existed and certainly had never been alive. 

 

[UsernameFatigue]

On 8/15/2021 at 4:25 PM, sistermagpie said:

The whole scene played clearly as if this rabbit had never actually existed and certainly had never been alive. 

 

I don't know what that means. There never was a rabbit so the whole family just went along with a story about Grace stepping in imaginary rabbit poop left by an imaginary rabbit, who then died when she yelled at it? And she and Robert kept the imaginary "incident" a secret for 25 years? Nothing clear about that, at all. 

Edited August 17, 2021 by UsernameFatigue

[sistermagpie]

11 minutes ago, UsernameFatigue said:

I don't know what that means. There never was a rabbit so the whole family just went along with a story about Grace stepping in imaginary rabbit poop left by an imaginary rabbit, who then died when she yelled at it. And she and Robert kept the imaginary "incident" a secret for 25 years? Nothing clear about that, at all. 

No no, sorry, I meant that the writer of the script did a bad job. They wanted a scene where Robert and Grace were hiding something and so wrote one concerning a pet, but failed to give anyone human reactions to this kind of thing. So they wrote a scene where everybody was allegedly about a pet, but it was impossible to believe this living creature had really existed as anything but a secret for Robert and Grace. Even Bud somehow responded to disappearing his own rabbit by thinking he ought to go to magic camp instead of, you know, desperately trying to find a way to bring his rabbit back or feeling guilty about it any more than Grace did.

It made sense in my head!

Edited August 15, 2021 by sistermagpie

[possibilities]

RE the vibrator business being online only, I don't think that's true. They had a pop up vibrator booth selling them somewhere... I think a college campus? And they also went to trade shows and other such things, IIRC. If they didn't in the past, they certainly could. I can see Frankie doing the festival circuit, craft fairs, senior centers, etc as a side hustle to the online business. 

I agree about the animal cruelty story. It hurt so much I basically tried to block it out of my mind. 

I was initially surprised that Bud was not circumcised, but I'm guessing Frankie's hippie/granola tendencies are stronger than her adherence to Judaism, so that's why she didn't circumcise her kid. 

[UsernameFatigue]

5 hours ago, sistermagpie said:

No no, sorry, I meant that the writer of the script did a bad job. They wanted a scene where Robert and Grace were hiding something and so wrote one concerning a pet, but failed to give anyone human reactions to this kind of thing. So they wrote a scene where everybody was allegedly about a pet, but it was impossible to believe this living creature had really existed as anything but a secret for Robert and Grace. Even Bud somehow responded to disappearing his own rabbit by thinking he ought to go to magic camp instead of, you know, desperately trying to find a way to bring his rabbit back or feeling guilty about it any more than Grace did.

It made sense in my head!

I was going to click the lightbulb on your post, but I still don't really understand. I do appreciate though you trying to clarify! 😀

 

[Yeah No]

I didn't care for the made up Jewish holiday thing.  I suppose some writers thought it was a funny way to poke fun at non-Jews for not knowing anything about Judaism but it actually bugged me because I felt like they were meanspiritedly taking advantage of non-Jews by making them look ignorant and easily misled.  I say that as someone who is part Jewish and Christian so I kind of see both sides to this.  I was raised a Christian in a very Jewish neighborhood and even though my Dad was half Jewish and pretty much all of my friends, we could never keep up with all the Jewish holidays.

The bunny thing was just stupid and a new low for this show.  Not just because of it feeling like cruelty to animals but because it made the characters sink to a level I don't want to see from them.  I posted in an earlier episode that I think the quirkiness is getting the better of the plot and it still seems to be a trend this season.

I once scared a mouse to death by surprising it.  I walked into my living room in the middle of the night and turned on the light.  When it saw me look at it, it froze and then fell over.  Now mind you we had mouse traps set in the house but just knowing I scared it to death has always bothered me.

[Yeah No]

9 hours ago, possibilities said:

I was initially surprised that Bud was not circumcised, but I'm guessing Frankie's hippie/granola tendencies are stronger than her adherence to Judaism, so that's why she didn't circumcise her kid. 

How old was Bud when they adopted him?  I'm wondering if his age had something to do with it.  Maybe they just didn't want to do it at an older age than usual.  Also, they may have wanted to leave it up to him.  Even observant Jews have been known to do that because it can be performed at any time and if they are more liberal about such things they might want their son's consent.  Bud may have chosen long ago not to do it. 

What was ridiculous about this is that a bris is about a religious ceremony as well as a medical procedure.  So if Bud is not observant why would he go to a Mohel?  He could have just requested a different doctor.  This show is getting idiotic in so many ways.  Plus if I were him I'd want a doctor present and be in a medical facility.  It can be done even on adults without all that but why would he do that?  If he's that afraid of the doctor then why would he be any less afraid of doing it with some rabbi alone in his office?  It's even a thing to invite the mohel to the hospital to perform the procedure under the supervision of a doctor.  This show is getting more ridiculous with every episode.

[sistermagpie]

14 hours ago, UsernameFatigue said:

I was going to click the lightbulb on your post, but I still don't really understand. I do appreciate though you trying to clarify! 😀

 

LOL. I probably should have said - the writer probably didn't mean for them all to come across like heartless monsters, but they did!

7 hours ago, Yeah No said:

How old was Bud when they adopted him?  I'm wondering if his age had something to do with it.  Maybe they just didn't want to do it at an older age than usual.  Also, they may have wanted to leave it up to him.  Even observant Jews have been known to do that because it can be performed at any time and if they are more liberal about such things they might want their son's consent.  Bud may have chosen long ago not to do it. 

 

I'd wondered if it was about the age he was adopted as well. But who knows? (That made me wonder if they named Bud themselves or where he came from...but I might be giving this more thought than they did!)

[Bastet]

On 8/15/2021 at 8:07 AM, gesundheit said:

I'm confused about the way they're playing "Grace's roots growing out because she stopped dyeing her hair." It's a fun sight gag but didn't they establish previously that Grace is wearing wigs just like Jane is? Or maybe I'm misremembering. 

As someone said upthread, she was shown to be wearing a piece for extra volume, but the rest was her hair.

On 8/15/2021 at 10:44 AM, UsernameFatigue said:

I hate any show that uses animals dying, for laughs. And yes, bunnies are very sensitive and can die of fright, so diva Grace yelling at a bunny because she got bunny poop on her shoe, while holding up the said shoe as if she is going to strike bunny, is very possible. And not the least bit entertaining.

I hated that, too.  No show can make that funny.

But other than that, I loved this episode, because of how the dynamic reverted to the two "us/we" units being Grace & Robert and Frankie & Sol.  That was great at the table, and even better after everyone bailed and the two ex-spousal units sat around initially justifying their behavior, before heading off to apologize and return to Grace & Frankie and Robert & Sol pairings.

And I love Robert's statement coming true, that Grace just re-washes any dish he washes anyway because she doesn't think he does it right.

It was an interesting switch-up with Allison and Bud, too, where he's the one having neurotic medical episodes and she's applying balms, offering advice, and talking to the doctor.

I love watching Brianna watch shit unfold, so her literally leaning in to find out the secret was great (even as my heart sank, because I knew the rest of "Grace killed Bud's..." was going to be a pet, because TV and movie writers think accidentally killing an animal is funny).

I was finally able to watch Bud's girlfriend without seeing "Casey", the character she played in an awful episode of The Closer, so that was nice.  I laughed at her asking if it was always like this and Barry saying it has been his experience, yes.

[iMonrey]

Quote

I was surprised they thought they needed a candy business to launder money. The vibrator business would work for that purpose, wouldn't it? Not that I think them laundering money is a good idea in the first place, but if you're going to do it, the amount of candy you'd have to sell would be tremendous, and the entire plan just doesn't make any sense. Grace is supposed to be business savvy.

Grace wasn't in on the money laundering scheme. Frankie and Joan Margaret cooked that up on their own. It's also absurd to think a concession stand at a small community theater could launder hundreds of thousands of dollars.

I did enjoy the flashbacks to a younger Grace and Robert. I wonder if they accomplished that with makeup alone or if some CGI was involved.

I'm guessing that Jane Fonda is going to transition from the wigs to her own gray hair. The last time I saw her on a talk show she had doffed the wig and was sporting her own hair. It looks OK but the problem is that it's 50% thinner than the wigs she's been wearing. (Even without the extensions.)

[WalrusGirl]

On 8/18/2021 at 12:01 PM, iMonrey said:

I did enjoy the flashbacks to a younger Grace and Robert. I wonder if they accomplished that with makeup alone or if some CGI was involved.

I don’t actually know the answer, but Martin Sheen looked *really* CGIed to me in those flashbacks. So that was my assumption for him, at least.

[Yeah No]

5 hours ago, WalrusGirl said:

I don’t actually know the answer, but Martin Sheen looked *really* CGIed to me in those flashbacks. So that was my assumption for him, at least.

Yeah, he had to be.  They smoothed his face and the hanging chin was totally gone.  Grace's face looked smoothed out but that was it.

[stewedsquash]

Since I know from experience that rabbits pretend to be dead when frightened I thought that would somehow play into the rabbit bit, that later on someone would have found it alive or something.

 

On 8/14/2021 at 1:30 PM, chitowngirl said:

Brianna’s glee as the stories unfolded made me laugh. She’s my favorite character.

Brianna and Bud are probably two of the main reasons that I stick with this show. I don't care that Brianna is the way she is, it works as a dynamic for the show. I don't even want her to change. I love her painful "I will try to change what I do" moments and her whole body just refuses to work. 

On 8/15/2021 at 7:53 PM, sistermagpie said:

It made sense in my head!

I understood your first post as soon as I finished reading it! 

[Blakeston]

I enjoy seeing all the characters (or in this case most of the characters) together. And I especially enjoy the moments when the original couples (Frankie/Sol, Grace/Robert) pair up in ways that give us a glimpse into the dynamics of what their marriages were like.

But this time around, I just couldn't get past how unbelievably stupid the characters were.

How could Grace and Robert not realize that they should just leave the rabbit's body there and get out? No one would ever suspect that the rabbit was murdered, much less that one of them killed it. Maybe I could see Frankie being that clueless, but not Grace and Robert.

And Bud - probably the most reasonable person out of the bunch of them - was old enough to go to stand-up comedy camp, but still bought into the idea that the rabbit randomly disappeared one day because he could perform real magic? And he continued to believe this until he was 33?

Also, the writers must think we're really stupid if they want us to believe that Coyote and his significant other could afford the kind of home that Brianna and Barry would be considering. Unless Coyote's love interest is supposed to be a CEO, that is.

[Bastet]

On 8/25/2021 at 5:36 AM, Blakeston said:

Also, the writers must think we're really stupid if they want us to believe that Coyote and his significant other could afford the kind of home that Brianna and Barry would be considering. Unless Coyote's love interest is supposed to be a CEO, that is.

It's the same bizarro world in which intern Mallory is given a job CEO Brianna turned down.

[Sesquipedalia]

I really hated the rabbit story line or any cruelty to animals story line, but I blew past it because I figured Grace couldn't really kill an animal with her "bare voice" and she was deluded thinking she killed it. Now that y'all are telling me rabbits can die from fright, I hate the whole thing so much more.

[Joimiaroxeu]

These people are all awful. How are they friends? I mean, I get in the context of the show how and why their lives are intertwined. But, other than that I don't see how they can stand to be around each other since there's so much comtempt flowing between them.

 

 

[WalrusGirl]

On 9/18/2021 at 12:24 AM, Sesquipedalia said:

I really hated the rabbit story line or any cruelty to animals story line, but I blew past it because I figured Grace couldn't really kill an animal with her "bare voice" and she was deluded thinking she killed it. Now that y'all are telling me rabbits can die from fright, I hate the whole thing so much more.

I thought the same thing when watching it - I hate any animal death/animal upset, but I've only had cats, and am familiar with dogs, so I didn't think Grace could have actually killed the rabbit by yelling at it. I was upset and a bit miffed the storyline got written that way when the internet informed me that could totally kill a rabbit. 😞