S01.E18: The Otto Motto

[joanne3482]

Greg challenges Katie to learn French and set a better example for Taylor, who has developed a habit for quitting school activities.

[Cowgirl]

I was a little surprised Greg wasn't more excited to have one involved student.  One interested person is better than a classroom full of those who don't care.  I did laugh at the fact the guy was fine with a C- in the end.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

I thought the plot about Oliver was awful.

Katie deserves any contempt she gets from the older two children due to her constant repetition of how Anna-Kat is her favorite.  It doesn't solve Anna-Kat's issues, but might just give her an additional one of spoiled child.

Not sure how well Katie functioned at Duke since she seems to lack any intellectual curiosity.  I get that the kids keep her busy, but her husband is a smart guy.  You'd think she'd want to keep learning, also.

Greg:  "I dreamed of you and I, sitting in a cafe, speaking French...." Oops.  Gets me every time.  I feel like writers should have a better grasp of English grammar, unless that's the way the actor said it, and no one on the set caught it, or cared.

Edited April 5, 2017 by ItCouldBeWorse

[ItCouldBeWorse]

Don't parents in Westport have to pay for ballet classes? Are they free at the public school?

[Tiger]

2 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

I thought the plot about Oliver was awful.

Katie deserves any contempt she gets from the older two children due to her constant repetition of how Anna-Kat is her favorite.  It doesn't solve Anna-Kat's issues, but might just give her an additional one of spoiled child.

Not sure how well Katie functioned at Duke since she seems to lack any intellectual curiosity.  I get that the kids keep her busy, but her husband is a smart guy.  You'd think she'd want to keep learning, also.

Greg:  "I dreamed of you and I, sitting in a cafe, speaking French...." Oops.  Gets me every time.  I feel like writers should have a better grasp of English grammar, unless that's the way the actor said it, and no one on the set caught it, or cared.

I won't have time to watch this until later in the week, but in the promo they showed Oliver denying being gay and Katie saying "yes you are".

Please tell me they didnt do a 'teenage boy pretends or is forced to pretend to gay to faciliate wacky hijinks' story.  Is Oliver actually gay now?

[ItCouldBeWorse]

45 minutes ago, Tiger said:

Please tell me they didnt do a 'teenage boy pretends or is forced to pretend to gay to faciliate wacky hijinks' story.  Is Oliver actually gay now?

Nope.  Suspected of being based on weak evidence and stereotypes.

Edited April 6, 2017 by ItCouldBeWorse

[Texasmom1970]

I am really growing to love the snarky attitude Oliver has. His drama reading with Taylor's boyfriend was hilarious.

Does anyone know what kind of car Angela was driving when she picked up Katie to cut French class. It was nice!

[theatremouse]

Looked like  a Tesla Model X to me.

[Snarklepuss]

10 minutes ago, theatremouse said:

Looked like  a Tesla Model X to me.

Ach, beat me to it by 5 minutes, yes it was a Tesla model X.  I live near a Tesla charging station, LOL.

[Texasmom1970]

19 hours ago, theatremouse said:

Looked like  a Tesla Model X to me.

Thank you!

[Tiger]

I was expecting to be offended by the Oliver story, but actually found the whole thing hilarious, especially when Angela was delineating all of the 'options'. 

[readster]

I have to admit, Oliver has a very interesting way of getting into Harvard and I see some of the reasons why everything was painting him to be gay. I think if he would have just explain things to Anna-Kat, he could have avoided a lot of the problems. I am happy they have moved things with Taylor being more unaware of things than downright oblivious to common things. Making her more like Katie, but more to the point she doesn't pick up on things easily is how they should have her. I was cracking up at the line: "He's a better princess than me." 

[SnarkySheep]

Quote

Katie deserves any contempt she gets from the older two children due to her constant repetition of how Anna-Kat is her favorite.

Yeah, that's pretty awful...AND may also bite Katie in the butt one day, as it seems that her favoritism is largely centered upon the fact that Anna-Kat is the youngest, so her problems are still easy and often even cute. That won't last forever, of course, and before you know it, she'll have another kid who's rolling her eyes at her and being snarky. I wonder how much of a "favorite" Anna-Kat will be then.

But, that aside, I had mixed feelings about the episodes, as I could see both sides. Yeah, it's not good to start and never finish things; but at the same time, it's not good to force a person to continue with an activity she has given a chance and still doesn't like. In that respect, it was apples and oranges, comparing Katie's half-finished baby blanket and scrapbooks, which are a one-time thing, versus Taylor's being in a regular ongoing activity. I could understand the parents pushing Taylor to TRY different things, as we saw recently when she was so adamant about synchronized swimming being for losers but then ended up enjoying it when she actually gave it a try; there are many things in the world that all of us might like, if we only stay open-minded enough to try. But, if she did try something for a while, long enough to have a full sense of it, such as the drama club, and wasn't enjoying it, then what's the point in having her stay and be miserable? Plus, who's to say that the time she is wasting in that group might not be used to find some new activity that she DOES enjoy? Taylor is 14! That's the time in life when you get to explore the world around you, not when you have to balance a career, household and kids.