S02.E03: J-J'S D-R-- DREAM

[Drogo]

Ray gets in over his head when he makes up a fake charity to impress his girlfriend. Meanwhile, Maya gives Jimmy tips on being the boss; and Dylan demands Kenneth get out of her space.

[GRChereck]

First of all, nice callback to Kenneth standing up Joyce (the physical therapist) in the s.1 finale! :D So he's been trying to avoid her since then... Otherwise, I'm not sure that the Kenneth/Dylan plot really added anything, but it had some amusing moments (as well as a couple more reveals about his family -- that he has another sister besides the one referenced in last year's Thanksgiving ep, and he had an aunt named Martha who lived with the family for a little while before she died).

xD @ Maya getting turned on by Jimmy acting more like her. I wonder if that's the first time she's ever really taken any sort of interest in his work-life; but then, before his recent promotion (in 2x1, "We're Back"), I'm guessing he probably had always been much better at not letting his job stress affect him at home (such as screaming at planes after dealing with complaints from rude customers). Also, this episode must've shown more of him at work than the previous 25 eps combined; I'm glad he figured out that Maya's "boss" style wasn't for him, though I had kinda hoped for more insight into their relationship through that lens (we know some things he's given up for her -- from various items on the "Dead to Maya" list to his graduate studies / internship in Architecture -- but we still have no idea of what sort of career she left behind and her feelings, if any, about it). 

Ray sure brings a lot of crap on himself; but I thought it was rather sweet how JJ acknowledged his own part in going a little too far just to teach him a lesson, the family came together to let him "get a win" and "fail on his own terms," and Maya was able to call on her support-network of special-needs moms to come through for her sons. :)

One more note: It would not surprise me if Mason and Micah's real-life involvement with Shane's Inspiration actually inspired this episode:

[Texasmom1970]

I love Cedric from "Reno 911", him disappearing constantly and so quickly was hilarious!

[AConspiracy]

I didn't like the Jimmy work plot. It just felt like a tacked-on sitcom setup and not part of the "Speechless" core.

[tennisgurl]

I thought the Jimmy plot was fun, and Maya getting hot and bothered by him being more like her was pretty great. 

Thought it was sweet when everyone came together for Ray and his silly plan, and how Ray decided to make his charity real. It does sound like a good idea actually! 

Rays girlfriend is cute, I loved her little wave when Ray announced she was his girlfriend at the gala. 

[GRChereck]

6 hours ago, AConspiracy said:

I didn't like the Jimmy work plot. It just felt like a tacked-on sitcom setup and not part of the "Speechless" core.

While s.1 was all about exploring who these characters are and how they relate to one another, what I heard / read about s.2 before it started was that it's supposed to start expanding their world a bit -- filling in information that s.1 rarely if ever dealt with (about the kids' school, Jimmy's job, Kenneth's personal life and, eventually, Maya's extended family) -- while still ultimately coming back down to the family dynamics. 

Personally, I like that idea in theory: Putting the characters into a broader range of situations could be a good way to further explore who they are as individuals while deepening their relationships; and I think it especially makes sense to allow Maya some space to figure out who she is outside of her role as a mother, especially her bond with JJ as he continues to assert his independence from her (indeed, I found it telling in "We're Back" that, without JJ there to structure her life around, she had to learn to better organize her time by relying on a neighbor's schedule).

But I also find it odd that we've just had two episodes in a row where she tried to help other characters -- the new special-needs parents who'd come to Lafayette High in "First Second First Day," and her own husband in this episode -- by encouraging them to use the "fighting for JJ" skills she'd developed over the years, only to discover that her fiery approach won't work for everybody. I hope this sort of plot doesn't repeat itself too much; while 2x2 had a great moment of vulnerability and humility for Maya as she finally admitted she didn't know what she was doing and asked for help (much to Dr. Miller's hilarious shock: "The f*@& you say??"), I was a bit disappointed that her scene with Jimmy in 2x3 (after he had taken her advice, but still ended up coming home just as tired and even more miserable) didn't quite land as well as it could have. :\ 

I think with a bit more breathing room -- maybe just a couple lines or so of Maya and Jimmy acknowledging their fundamental differences -- it would've gone a long way towards nailing s.2's goal of using outside situations / characters to further enhance development of the main characters. 

Plus, I liked Jimmy's acknowledgement that "I need to be the kind of boss that turns ME on" :D ; too bad we didn't really get to see an example of that in this ep (aside from his scheme to hire back that guy he'd fired), but I hope we'll get to see him figure out his "boss" style as this season goes on. 

 

4 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

Thought it was sweet when everyone came together for Ray and his silly plan, and how Ray decided to make his charity real. It does sound like a good idea actually!

YES! :) While s.1 played a bit with two-episode arcs (JJ's crush on Claire on 1x6 and 1x8, the 1x19-20 two-parter, JJ wanting to go to camp in 1x22 and 1x23), between the JJ's Dream charity and the new special-needs students at Lafayette (for whom Maya will be training aides in next week's episode), it sounds like s.2 might be playing more with serialized storylines... Also, as self-centered and smug as Ray can be, and as often as his pretending-to-be-something-he's-not plots tend to backfire on him, I found this one refreshing in how this one not only worked out but also inspired him to actually try to do some good.

Edited October 12, 2017 by GRChereck
clarity

[kathyk24]

I thought this episode was an improvement over last week.  I loved the Jimmy at work scenes and how Maya tried to help him. I didn't like the fake charity plot. I get angry when I read actual stories like this so I didn't like it celebrated here. It was also out of character for JJ to agree to it. He's already objected when someone has tried to use his disability for personal gain in Inspirations and Hero last season.

[neuromom]

I liked that we got to see Jimmy at work, and it was funny when Maya coached him to be more assertive, then got turned on by it. But what I really liked was when Jimmy came home and said he was “tired”, she didn’t push him. She immediately “turned off”the “sex kitten” and “turned on” the “supportive wife” - sitting on the bed, crossing her legs and just listening and being non judgmental.

The exchange between Dylan and Joyce was funny!

[GRChereck]

2 hours ago, neuromom said:

I liked that we got to see Jimmy at work, and it was funny when Maya coached him to be more assertive, then got turned on by it. But what I really liked was when Jimmy came home and said he was “tired”, she didn’t push him. She immediately “turned off”the “sex kitten” and “turned on” the “supportive wife” - sitting on the bed, crossing her legs and just listening and being non judgmental.

Good point. :) I do like that, despite her having the hots for "Stern Jimmy," she still ultimately encouraged him to "try and find a way to be the boss and be you."

[71dude]

I liked the return of bully JJ, Jimmy in the wheelchair eyeballed by JJ ("I gave you the fancy one") and Ray's history as the family buttmonkey. Mason Cook nailed his scenes as always - I'd like to see Ray paired with Kenneth, which we haven't seen too often.  Dylan and Kenneth also are a great combo.

[Bobbin]

I got a kick out of J.J. running into Ray and running over his foot ("Don't take me for granted -- I'm your big brother, not your prop!").

[SnarkySheep]

Count me among those who didn't care for the fake charity plot...and the way that the family rallied around so Ray wouldn't fall on his face with it. Yes, it's awesome that they wanted to support him, but NOT in this case. The family would have been 100% right to simply let Ray take the fallout for his lies.