S03.E02: The Incubator

[OnceSane]

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Grace and Frankie pitch their business plan at a hip startup incubator. Grace fights with Jacob. Sol and Robert play hooky from work.

[Bastet]

Everyone needs easier-to-open condoms, not just old folks.  And I agree that means they may very well get a more receptive audience at the incubator if they lead with that, and then follow with the vibrators, because they’re pitching to young men, but this business is for baby boomer women; Grace has the facts on how they’re an under-served market.  And fundamentally, damn, Jacob needs to butt out.  If he wants to put his butt on the line for 1/3 of the loan and they all agree, he can be part of the business; otherwise, go eat your breakfast at home and let the actual business partners work.  Jeez, show, don’t make me dislike the yam man.  (And how did he and Frankie get their condom package prototype made so quickly?)

Grace zapping Frankie with the laser tag was a cute little moment. 

“I still haven’t emerged completely from peri-menopause.”
“I’m going to bet you have.”

Nice talk between Frankie and Brianna, with Frankie accepting Brianna’s silent apology, and being the one to tell her what she needed to hear said out loud about the break-up: If it wasn’t right for you, it wasn’t right for anybody.

I love the way Frankie describes her dream: "I was shaving a cat, only it wasn’t a cat, and it wasn’t me."  Because, on the rare occasions I remember my dreams, that’s exactly how I'd describe most of them – I was at home with Julie, only it wasn’t my house, and Julie looked different.

[OnceSane]

When Frankie told Grace the money came from Jacob, my husband and I said "Noooo!" in unison.  That's gonna bite Frankie in the ass with both of them.  I do like that Jacob still isn't cool with Grace after her drunken antics.

Brianna and Frankie were great.  I especially liked them warning the woman with the cane and finding out Bud fell in the same puddle without Frankie giving any warning.

I'm sad Barry is gone, but I never thought he'd last so I can't say I'm surprised.

[Clanstarling]

I must admit, I didn't like the way Jacob behaved with Grace, despite knowing he's still angry about Grace's outburst and has every right to be.

I hate, really really hate, men horning in on what is supposed to be a meeting/lunch/gathering with women. I wouldn't sit in on my husband's business meeting, no matter how informal, without an express invite from all business partners.

I started out hating Brianna, and now I think she's my favorite character.

I am glad that they at least gave an oblique nod to the fact that condoms are still necessary for people of age - given that STDs are on the rise in the older population.

Edited March 24, 2017 by Clanstarling

[OtterMommy]

I want to live in Sol and Robert's house...although I'd probably turn up the music in all the zones and just go from room to room to room.

I agree with @Clanstarling that Brianna is starting to grow on me--I never really disliked her, but I just didn't click with any of the kids and now she is the only one I'm interested in  watching.

[zxy556575]

I think of the kids the same way I do the husbands, which is that I mostly only care about them when they're interacting with G&F or their actions affect them in some way. The storylines on their own are kind of meh.

[txhorns79]

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And fundamentally, damn, Jacob needs to butt out.  If he wants to put his butt on the line for 1/3 of the loan and they all agree, he can be part of the business; otherwise, go eat your breakfast at home and let the actual business partners work.  Jeez, show, don’t make me dislike the yam man.  (And how did he and Frankie get their condom package prototype made so quickly?)

Yeah, I had the same thought on Jacob.  This is Grace and Frankie's business.  I would just ask him how he might feel if Grace sat in on his business meetings and offered "helpful" suggestions on how to do things. 

Quote

I think of the kids the same way I do the husbands, which is that I mostly only care about them when they're interacting with G&F or their actions affect them in some way. The storylines on their own are kind of meh.

Yeah.  I don't find Sol or Robert that interesting on their own.  Though I never really bought them as a couple.  Half the time I feel like they don't really like each other.  But I guess that's what happens when your relationship is built on decades of lies. 

Edited March 25, 2017 by txhorns79

[EarlGreyTea]

I'm more like Grace, so Frankie's nonchalance about the business, setting their hours, and being on time would have driven me up the damn wall, to say nothing of Jacob joining them and pitching ideas like he's also a partner.

And having said that, Grace IS pretty harsh with Frankie. I am ashamed to admit I recognize much of my own sharpness in her when dealing with things that aren't running smoothly. So I really get where Grace is coming from, but Frankie comes off as golden retriever-like in her cuteness and harmlessness - so it's hard to watch her being scolded. 

[Clanstarling]

7 minutes ago, EarlGreyTea said:

I'm more like Grace, so Frankie's nonchalance about the business, setting their hours, and being on time would have driven me up the damn wall, to say nothing of Jacob joining them and pitching ideas like he's also a partner.

And having said that, Grace IS pretty harsh with Frankie. I am ashamed to admit I recognize much of my own sharpness in her when dealing with things that aren't running smoothly. So I really get where Grace is coming from, but Frankie comes off as golden retriever-like in her cuteness and harmlessness - so it's hard to watch her being scolded. 

Me too. It's taken me most of my adult lifetime to accept that I'm a Grace instead of a Frankie. I love Frankie, but she drives me crazy sometimes.

[txhorns79]

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And having said that, Grace IS pretty harsh with Frankie. I am ashamed to admit I recognize much of my own sharpness in her when dealing with things that aren't running smoothly. So I really get where Grace is coming from, but Frankie comes off as golden retriever-like in her cuteness and harmlessness - so it's hard to watch her being scolded. 

I feel like Frankie kinds of need a Grace-type to keep her on track.  Grace might seem harsh, and Frankie's general likability probably makes Grace seem harsher than she actually is, but she is easily sidetracked and out of her depth in dealing with business issues.  I mean, Frankie essentially was fired from her own business last season because she was such a terrible business-person. 

[Empress1]

Jacob has zero business at these meetings. None. I don't just roll into my friend's meetings and they don't come into mine. That's not how work works, even when you work at home. My dad is retired and started consulting, which he does from home. I don't sit in on his calls if he's on them when I happen to be dropping this or that off; he waves at me and I keep it moving.

1 hour ago, txhorns79 said:

I feel like Frankie kinds of need a Grace-type to keep her on track.  Grace might seem harsh, and Frankie's general likability probably makes Grace seem harsher than she actually is, but she is easily sidetracked and out of her depth in dealing with business issues.  I mean, Frankie essentially was fired from her own business last season because she was such a terrible business-person. 

Literally nothing would get done if Frankie were left to her own devices. Frankie is creative but has zero business sense or skills and barely pays attention to time (which, as a ruthlessly prompt person, I hate. People who are chronically late drive me crazy). Grace maybe isn't as creative, but she built and ran a company for decades. Frankie needs Grace way more than Grace needs Frankie, where the business is concerned.

[EarlGreyTea]

Also, I forgot how HILARIOUS the puddle gag was. Probably my favorite of the series. Made even funnier when Bud stepped into it and Brianna knowing where she was going after the rain.

While I didn't like the Jacob/Grace friction, I thought it was realistic. It reminds me of one of my favorite things Roger Ebert has written re: new relationships: "When a big new relationship comes into your life, it requires an adjustment of all the other relationships, and a certain amount of discomfort and pain."

[Bastet]

42 minutes ago, EarlGreyTea said:

While I didn't like the Jacob/Grace friction, I thought it was realistic.

I thought it was, too, with respect to his still being angry about that drunken debacle at lunch (and like that Grace said she'd apologized to Frankie, but owes him one as well), and how he feels about how she treats Frankie in general.  It was him horning in on their business meeting that I found completely wrong.

[Blakeston]

If the people at the incubator want nothing to do with manufacturing and selling things, then why would they even make an appointment with Grace and Frankie in the first place? Just so that we could see them interact with some millennials?

The silliness of their business endeavor is getting to me. All they have to do is come up with an idea for an arthritis-friendly vibrator, or a self-opening condom wrapper, and it magically appears for them, perfectly made. But getting $75,000 is a burden they can't manage without turning to family? Even though Grace is an acclaimed businesswoman?

[Empress1]

53 minutes ago, Blakeston said:

If the people at the incubator want nothing to do with manufacturing and selling things, then why would they even make an appointment with Grace and Frankie in the first place? Just so that we could see them interact with some millennials?

The silliness of their business endeavor is getting to me. All they have to do is come up with an idea for an arthritis-friendly vibrator, or a self-opening condom wrapper, and it magically appears for them, perfectly made. But getting $75,000 is a burden they can't manage without turning to family? Even though Grace is an acclaimed businesswoman?

Like Grace said in the first episode, when she started her business the first time around, she wasn't 73.* The loan officer went about it tactlessly, but it's not unreasonable to think that a 73-year-old won't be around in ten years. I would think, though, that at least Grace would have $75K in liquid assets - aren't they all supposed to be wealthy?

*Did they add a few years? She was 70 in the first season and I don't think three years have passed.

[Clanstarling]

56 minutes ago, Empress1 said:

*Did they add a few years? She was 70 in the first season and I don't think three years have passed

Good question. A divorce in California takes 6 months, and Mallory's pregnancy and current age of twins is about a year. So that's a year and a half, at least. There's another milestone mentioned later in this season that makes me think it's been at least 2 years.

Still a little short, but she could be rounding up (which seems counter intuitive when you're older, but I've found myself thinking I'm a year older, because that's how old I'll be at the end of the year).

1 hour ago, Empress1 said:

I would think, though, that at least Grace would have $75K in liquid assets - aren't they all supposed to be wealthy?

I'm not a businesswoman, but it seems to me I've heard that you should never put your own money in if you can help it - there is, I think, some legal and financial reason that's not a good idea. But I don't know much about it.

[OtterMommy]

2 hours ago, Clanstarling said:

Good question. A divorce in California takes 6 months, and Mallory's pregnancy and current age of twins is about a year. So that's a year and a half, at least. There's another milestone mentioned later in this season that makes me think it's been at least 2 years.

The answer to this is actually in a later episode...replying there..

[Blakeston]

As someone who founded a hugely successful business, Grace should have no problem coming up with a $75K loan, at any age. The idea that she'd be going to some random bank to talk to a flunky, just like anyone off the street would, is pretty silly to me.

[hnygrl]

On 3/25/2017 at 5:49 AM, Clanstarling said:

I'm more like Grace, so Frankie's nonchalance about the business, setting their hours, and being on time would have driven me up the damn wall, to say nothing of Jacob joining them and pitching ideas like he's also a partner.

And having said that, Grace IS pretty harsh with Frankie. I am ashamed to admit I recognize much of my own sharpness in her when dealing with things that aren't running smoothly. So I really get where Grace is coming from, but Frankie comes off as golden retriever-like in her cuteness and harmlessness - so it's hard to watch her being scolded. 

Good Lord. Just realized after reading that quote that I am like Grace and my best friend is like Frankie! And man, she drives me bananas. And, like Frankie, she's a cute, sweet, harmless little golden retriever and I come across as the mean pit bull for trying to make her focus. Ugh...maybe that's why I relate more to Grace than Frankie...

Frankie and Jacob are having sex!!! I just keep imagining a naked Ernie Hudson...yowza...where was I...? 

I love that Brianna/Frankie have a special relationship and that it was powerful enough to be able to get past the betrayal and the pain...everyone should have a Frankie in their lives. Man I love this show!

But Still, Sol and Robert? Ain't seein' it. They have zero chemistry and I just. Don't. BELIEVE them as a couple. And ever since someone mentioned it in another thread, Sol's head-bobbing drives me nuts...I end up mumbling "stop it" to the screen a lot.

I have to watch this show alone...It's my all time favorite and I am not kind when it comes to criticisms. Or questions. Or freaking TALKING during the good parts...newsflash sweetie...THEY'RE ALL GOOD PARTS!! SHADDUP!!!

[Clanstarling]

2 hours ago, hnygrl said:

Good Lord. Just realized after reading that quote that I am like Grace and my best friend is like Frankie! And man, she drives me bananas. And, like Frankie, she's a cute, sweet, harmless little golden retriever and I come across as the mean pit bull for trying to make her focus. Ugh...maybe that's why I relate more to Grace than Frankie...

Frankie and Jacob are having sex!!! I just keep imagining a naked Ernie Hudson...yowza...where was I...? 

I love that Brianna/Frankie have a special relationship and that it was powerful enough to be able to get past the betrayal and the pain...everyone should have a Frankie in their lives. Man I love this show!

But Still, Sol and Robert? Ain't seein' it. They have zero chemistry and I just. Don't. BELIEVE them as a couple. And ever since someone mentioned it in another thread, Sol's head-bobbing drives me nuts...I end up mumbling "stop it" to the screen a lot.

I have to watch this show alone...It's my all time favorite and I am not kind when it comes to criticisms. Or questions. Or freaking TALKING during the good parts...newsflash sweetie...THEY'RE ALL GOOD PARTS!! SHADDUP!!!

The quote function is doing its weird thing again - as that wasn't my quote, but @EarlGreyTea's. I was marveling in my way with words, when I realized they weren't my words at all! LOL.

BTW, since I've seen this across the forums, I want to share that hitting ENTER or at least one word after you quote someone helps prevent this from happening. When I don't remember to do that, it replaces the text of the original quote with the new one. The multi-quote function works better in this regard.

[Guest]

On 3/27/2017 at 10:50 AM, hnygrl said:

But Still, Sol and Robert? Ain't seein' it. They have zero chemistry and I just. Don't. BELIEVE them as a couple. And ever since someone mentioned it in another thread, Sol's head-bobbing drives me nuts...I end up mumbling "stop it" to the screen a lot.

I agree.  Their chaste little pecks aren't helping.  It's like one or both actor is afraid they might touch spittle or something, like how you'd peck your great aunt.  And Sam Waterston always blurts out his lines as soon as the other actor stops speaking.  There is never a natural pause or much variety of inflection.  Every line is delivered at intensity of 9-10.  It's like a machine gun or something.  I kind of wondered if the 1976 thing was a little meta joke.  

[stcroix]

The ex husbands aren't that interesting to me.  I love everyone else!  (Except the daughter with kids,she's boring.  I don't know her from any other show so have no attachment to her other than this character and she could move to another state for all I care.)  But Sol and Robert just don't seem to have much of a storyline other than they try to make us believe they're newlyweds on a perpetual honeymoon instead of two older guys who have already been in a relationship for 20 yrs.  Not much should be new to them about the other one.  They need to 'do' something other than mooning over each other or arguing like middle schoolers.  I find myself wanting to zoom through their scenes but make myself watch in case they finally do something interesting.