GRChereck November 9, 2018 Share November 9, 2018 (edited) Quote Seeing the kids believe she exists to solely serve at their pleasure, Maya takes the stage to prove she has so much more to offer. Kenneth finds JJ a job, and JJ finds an unlikely rival. Ray goes undercover informing parents on his classmates' social lives and gets in too deep. Edited November 9, 2018 by GRChereck Link to comment
GRChereck November 10, 2018 Author Share November 10, 2018 (edited) First of all, PEPPER! :) Also, nice to see Jimmy's friend Dane (from 1x22 "May-Jay") again, though it's a shame he turned out to be kind of a dick in this episode -- using Ray to rat out his daughter and other Lafayette students (and encouraging Jimmy's more selfish side by plying him with seafood -- nice callback to his shrimp allergy, by the way...). Loved how Jimmy and Dylan ended up turning the tables on Dane and the other concerned parents without exposing Ray as the "mole" to the other students; and loved the use of Harry Nilsson's "Jump Into the Fire" (1971) (another 'Goodfellas' reference, I'm guessing...) while Ray was doing Dane's bidding. xD The Maya and JJ/Kenneth plots touched on some interesting ideas, but I felt like both could've used more room to breathe -- especially the latter, as discrimination against disability in employment is certainly a worthy subject, but JJ feeling ready for a job kinda came out of nowhere (he'd supposedly applied at and been rejected by 20 other places before Kenneth's announcement that his supermarket had hired him for an unspecified position) and his rivalry with Quincy the cardboard cutout just seemed silly. Even so, I liked that JJ eventually got a chance to show what he could really do (even if it was simply by virtue of having read the store manual that everyone else ignores, so he's the only one who knows the error codes for the self-checkouts and how to address them). After last week's episode, in which Maya went overboard with mothering Ray (to fill the hole in her life vacated by the increasingly autonomous JJ) and realized she needed to "find something else" to fill her time, this was another necessary step in which she had to learn to start seeing herself differently from the nurturing role she's prided herself on for so long -- regardless of how others (especially her own kids) see her, she must back off a bit from constantly acting on her maternal instincts and trust them to figure out how to take care of themselves more often. Also, we finally get a bit of Maya's education / career background -- she "did tons of plays in college." (Bonus: Mr. Powers and Joyce the Physical Therapist -- two of the funnier side characters -- finally got some scenes together!) Edited November 10, 2018 by GRChereck typos 3 Link to comment
kathyk24 November 11, 2018 Share November 11, 2018 I liked this episode more than last week. I loved the theater group and how Maya's mom skills came in handy. However I I hated JJ's storyline. Unemployment is a real issue for people with disabilities and the show made a joke about it. Also JJ is a good kid who is too smart to resort to vandalism. 2 Link to comment
bros402 November 11, 2018 Share November 11, 2018 I liked this episode and I did not like JJ's storyline at *all* - Kenneth should have had a job already picked out for JJ with appropriate accommodations - he could've worked a customer service job with some accommodations - maybe have a camera on his board that projects to a TV (Since you know, they have a few screens at the customer service counters to display store messages, lottery numbers, whatever the manager wants) - if they had the equipment to do that, that could've worked. Instead, they had JJ go "well I had to prove myself and show you how I could do this job that you gave me without having a thing in mind!" That isn't how things work. The Maya plot was good, the Ray C-plot was enjoyable, the JJ plot was one of the worst storylines this show has done, imo. 3 Link to comment
readster November 11, 2018 Share November 11, 2018 5 hours ago, bros402 said: I liked this episode and I did not like JJ's storyline at *all* - Kenneth should have had a job already picked out for JJ with appropriate accommodations - he could've worked a customer service job with some accommodations - maybe have a camera on his board that projects to a TV (Since you know, they have a few screens at the customer service counters to display store messages, lottery numbers, whatever the manager wants) - if they had the equipment to do that, that could've worked. Instead, they had JJ go "well I had to prove myself and show you how I could do this job that you gave me without having a thing in mind!" That isn't how things work. Yeah, the family and I were visiting my parents and we were all watching this episode and my stepfather went: "It's not 1991 anymore, this doesn't work and not when your caregiver is the boss." That's something I don't like it when the show wants the characters to really be doing something they would never do. Especially when it comes to Kenny. JJ could have done tons of things and I have seen plenty of disabled people working in grocery stories. In JJ's case, he could have not only been doing customer service, but even helping with paper work. It was badly written. It's times like this that they writers of the show have to take things seriously and not do things for the sake of a laugh. Link to comment
Browncoat November 11, 2018 Share November 11, 2018 Don't they ever let the dog outside? Shouldn't that dog be housebroken by now? Why are they picking up dog poop INSIDE the house?!?!?!? 2 Link to comment
postermen November 11, 2018 Share November 11, 2018 When they show JJ's paycheck it shows his address is 238 Brookhurst Drive, coming from Payroll Account 's address at 128 Talbert Ave. When the address for the party is shown in the phone, it says 126 Talbert . 1 Link to comment
kathyk24 November 11, 2018 Share November 11, 2018 10 hours ago, readster said: Yeah, the family and I were visiting my parents and we were all watching this episode and my stepfather went: "It's not 1991 anymore, this doesn't work and not when your caregiver is the boss." That's something I don't like it when the show wants the characters to really be doing something they would never do. Especially when it comes to Kenny. JJ could have done tons of things and I have seen plenty of disabled people working in grocery stories. In JJ's case, he could have not only been doing customer service, but even helping with paper work. It was badly written. It's times like this that they writers of the show have to take things seriously and not do things for the sake of a laugh. They should have showed JJ applying for jobs and getting rejected. Why is he spending more time with Kenneth and not his family? JJ hasn't had a good storyline with Ray or Dylan all season. 3 Link to comment
bros402 November 12, 2018 Share November 12, 2018 18 hours ago, readster said: Yeah, the family and I were visiting my parents and we were all watching this episode and my stepfather went: "It's not 1991 anymore, this doesn't work and not when your caregiver is the boss." That's something I don't like it when the show wants the characters to really be doing something they would never do. Especially when it comes to Kenny. JJ could have done tons of things and I have seen plenty of disabled people working in grocery stories. In JJ's case, he could have not only been doing customer service, but even helping with paper work. It was badly written. It's times like this that they writers of the show have to take things seriously and not do things for the sake of a laugh. I don't know if JJ could've been helping with paperwork - well maybe in the back, but definitely not a customer facing paperwork position. But are the positions in the back entry level? They could've even had JJ be a greeter and it would've felt better, because at least that is an actual job many stores have - not taking the "job" of a cardboard cut-out. If they wanted something comedic, they could've had JJ be loss prevention - those guys aren't allowed to touch customers anyway - JJ could just roll around the store and watch people! 3 Link to comment
GRChereck November 12, 2018 Author Share November 12, 2018 (edited) 19 hours ago, kathyk24 said: They should have showed JJ applying for jobs and getting rejected. Why is he spending more time with Kenneth and not his family? JJ hasn't had a good storyline with Ray or Dylan all season. That's why I said, his wanting a job seemed to come out of nowhere. :\ I suppose it was probably meant to be the next step for him after having lost the poker game last week -- like after having done something stupid and risky just to prove he could do it (because Kenneth said "you can't"), I could see him wanting to prove himself in a more responsible way. But I agree, a little more build-up to a story like this would've been nice. And yeah, I hope JJ gets to have some pairings with his siblings -- he's sort-of had one each with his dad ("London pt.1") and his mom ("Into the Woods," though that one also had him paired with Lee for much of it), but it would be sweet to see the show get into how Ray and Dylan feel about their big brother possibly leaving them to go out on his own (especially considering how concerned they were about his future in s.1, as revealed in "Cheater"). 3 hours ago, bros402 said: They could've even had JJ be a greeter and it would've felt better, because at least that is an actual job many stores have - not taking the "job" of a cardboard cut-out. If they wanted something comedic, they could've had JJ be loss prevention - those guys aren't allowed to touch customers anyway - JJ could just roll around the store and watch people! Good points. :) I think the thing that stuck in my craw the most about the JJ/Kenneth plot was that I would think Kenneth really should've known better than to treat JJ as a pity hire -- especially after his parents directly expressed their concern that he was just doing a "favor for a disabled kid," rather than trusting JJ with a real responsibility that he actually believed the boy could handle -- and a little more insight into what the hell he was thinking would've been welcome (hence, why I thought this plot especially needed some more room to breathe; I can't say the Maya or Jimmy plots had anything I would cut, but I certainly agree the rivalry-and-vandalism stuff with JJ and "Quincy" was a bit much). Edited November 12, 2018 by GRChereck typos Link to comment
balmz November 12, 2018 Share November 12, 2018 was mixed on the episode, didn't care for maya plot, the ray plot was weird and creepy, did like the callback to jimmy's allergy,, as for jj's plot i understand his and other people on here pov and thoughts but as someone who has struggled to find work of any kind and actually wasn't considered qualified enough to stock shelves( yes that really happened and it still hurts a decade later) i would have just have been happy to have a job of any type period even if a cut out could do it Link to comment
tennisgurl November 12, 2018 Share November 12, 2018 Pepper in an angel costume! So freaking adorable! I liked the Ray and Jimmy plot, loved the Maya plot (she was meant to be a double threat!) and I thought that JJ plot was seriously half assed. You could make a whole story arc out of JJ trying to find a job, getting rejected, and the struggles of a person with special needs getting a job. It felt weirdly like several better stories all rolled into one crappy one. I expect better from Speechless, I usually hold them to a higher standard than that story. 2 Link to comment
bros402 November 13, 2018 Share November 13, 2018 13 hours ago, balmz said: was mixed on the episode, didn't care for maya plot, the ray plot was weird and creepy, did like the callback to jimmy's allergy,, as for jj's plot i understand his and other people on here pov and thoughts but as someone who has struggled to find work of any kind and actually wasn't considered qualified enough to stock shelves( yes that really happened and it still hurts a decade later) i would have just have been happy to have a job of any type period even if a cut out could do it I have struggled to find work too - 5 years out from finishing my degree, nothing. Haven't been able to look for 3 1/2 years, but still. 13 hours ago, tennisgurl said: Pepper in an angel costume! So freaking adorable! I liked the Ray and Jimmy plot, loved the Maya plot (she was meant to be a double threat!) and I thought that JJ plot was seriously half assed. You could make a whole story arc out of JJ trying to find a job, getting rejected, and the struggles of a person with special needs getting a job. It felt weirdly like several better stories all rolled into one crappy one. I expect better from Speechless, I usually hold them to a higher standard than that story. Yup! They could've made it a multi-episode arc, but instead they went entirely for laughs with a total miss. If they had stayed with JJ quitting, they could've made this into a season-long arc where JJ tries to get a job and sees what kind of things he could do - they could make a career interest inventory entertaining - those things ask all kinds of weird questions 2 Link to comment
SnarkySheep November 19, 2018 Share November 19, 2018 Pity hire or no, I highly doubt Kenneth has the authority to hire an employee with no clear (or actual) job duties... Link to comment
readster November 19, 2018 Share November 19, 2018 35 minutes ago, SnarkySheep said: Pity hire or no, I highly doubt Kenneth has the authority to hire an employee with no clear (or actual) job duties... Especially if they are getting paid as a company employee. You can't pay them under the table and JJ is 18, he does have to report taxes. Link to comment
bros402 November 20, 2018 Share November 20, 2018 12 hours ago, SnarkySheep said: Pity hire or no, I highly doubt Kenneth has the authority to hire an employee with no clear (or actual) job duties... Probably hired him as an associate or one of those generic catch-all job titles stores have. 1 Link to comment
Recommended Posts