S03.E07: Can We Be Honest?

[dubbel zout]

Reeling from the doctor's visit, a poncho-clad Jen wrestles with how to tell Judy. Ben looks to make amends by coming clean, and Nick confronts Perez.

[dubbel zout]

The emphasis on the poncho cracks me up. It makes me sad that CA thinks people will focus on her weight gain. You have to be a pretty horrible person to ding her for that, especially knowing the circumstances.

Nice to see the shit is finally starting to hit the fan. It's about time, both in the show's universe and considering we're on episode 7 of 10.

[BusyOctober]

I don’t anything about psychedelic mushroom, but I would think they could be pretty harmful to a 4 month fetus, no? I get that once she knew she was pregnant, she didn’t drink the wine, or eat the cheese and cured meats on the charcuterie, but I am fan-fic’g the ER doc had a long, off screen discussion with Jen.

[Bastet]

I love the juxtaposition in the opening scene, where the one who's just suffered through three months of chemo for late stage metastatic cancer is peaceful and the one who's just found out she's knocked up is miserable.

I also love Jen at the doctor's office, especially when the doctor asks if she wants to know the sex and Jen says, no, she wants to go back in time and not have the sex.  HOWEVER, why in the bluedilly fuck is the word "abortion" never uttered (I know, because it's TV's third rail, and even most great shows won't touch it, but that pisses me right off)?  When Judy later asks her how far along she is, Jen says "too far" and Jen tells Karen sometimes you have to suck it up and accept this is your life no matter how much you wish things were different, but this is California, where women have rights; at four and a half months, she's still got a good month to go in the window where she can have an abortion if she chooses.  That a doctor standing there watching a woman utterly miserable about this development (and at a follow-up appointment with an OB, not in the immediate aftermath of being stunned by the ER doctor's news) never mentions that, instead exclusively choosing the "You're lucky, it's a miracle, just think how many women would kill to be able to get pregnant at your age" route gets my dander up.

Other than that, I like this episode, and continuing the pregnancy winds up making narrative sense, it's just a glaring omission; throw in a line somewhere where she explains why she wants to do this despite all the reasons she's upset about it.

Judy saying she needs a minute and then just stepping into the pool so she can scream underwater after learning Jen is once again going to have what Judy has always wanted most was perfectly done.  As was Linda Cardellini's face when Judy finally Googles her odds.

The retcon of Ben having been in the car when they hit Ted bugs me, because I think there was a shot during one of the flashbacks where we can see the empty backseat and I know there was a scene where Steve tells Judy there are no witnesses other than them.

Karen's attachment to her home furnishings ("Be careful with that, it's from HomeGoods!") provided great comic relief, as did all the comments about the poncho.

Edited January 8, 2023 by Bastet