S01.E02: The Credit Cards

[Sesquipedalia]

This episode seemed off to me in terms of timing and general cohesion. I was constantly confused about where the characters were and how much time has passed since the husbands made their big announcement. With so much filmed in undefined outside areas, I was never clear on the exact setting of the scenes with the children. And it was mentioned that it had a been a week (or weeks?) since episode 1, but I thought only one night had passed, two tops. Have Grace and Frankie been living in the beach house together for a week or more? That seems like an important thing to establish. Time and place orientation are the type of thing viewers shouldn't really notice, and when we do it's distracting.

 

I also thought there needed to be a scene at the end showing Grace collecting Frankie to take her back to the beach house. It was obvious that she wasn't going to be able to leave Frankie behind, but skipping over that key interaction was jarring, especially since Grace wouldn't have been leaving Frankie alone--What about her son?! The script made a big deal about the addict son Coyote being there for his mother. So what happened with that? It felt like too much got left out.

 

I liked the first episode pretty well, and I love seeing Jane Fonda and Lilly Tomlin together again. But something seemed amateurish about this one. Maybe it's the editing? I'm no expert, but I know some part of the production team is not living up to the quality of the acting.

Edited May 16, 2015 by Sesquipedalia

[springtime]

After falling asleep every time I tried to get through this episode- I moved on to episode #3! 

Don't think I missed anything.

[Chaos Theory]

This is by far the weakest episode of the first (hopefully of many) seasons. I don't think it was bad but I do think it was the weakest. Then again most shows do take time to find themselves. It is a rare show that is perfect out of the gate and those that are I tend not to trust.

[Bastet]

My favorite part of this one is the scene with the four kids together, and that went on to be one of my favorite dynamics (other than Grace and Frankie, of course) over the whole series.

I also love that Mallory tells Mitch she's going to Frankie's, so he needs to pick up the kids -- so he picks up the kids and brings them to her rather than taking them home.

And that Grace has what she's wanted since the moment she arrived at the beach house -- the ability to have the place to herself -- but watching Frankie so sad and lost in the house she shared with Sol and the kids, looking at pictures and wondering "Was any of it real?", she can't leave her there.  I love the cut to her "Fuck my life" once they're back at the beach house and Frankie is engaged in one of her wacky rituals.