Splitting Up Together - General Discussion

[Aethera]

This topic replaces the old Splitting Up Together forum which has been vaulted at the location below:

http://forums.previously.tv/forum/3241-splitting-up-together-v/

[childeroland]

In episode 8 of season 2, why was Martin peeved about Ali Larter's character receiving child support?

[Armchair Critic]

Yay Martin let Paige's call go into voicemail. 

[kazza]

(Unpopular opinion) I still like this show and want Martin and Lena to get back together, totally because the leads are so charming. 

What did the babysitter mutter after getting paid (and after saying she literally had nothing else to do)? I rewound 3 times and still didn't understand. 

For a second I thought Lena was going to kiss the teacher. 

At the end, was Martin again withholding as a means of getting back at Lena somehow? I thought she'd said she was fine by then. 

I think I missed how Lena's sister and the waiter got together but the premise cracks me up. Like everything else on this show it's goofy and unreal. 

[ItCouldBeWorse]

11 hours ago, kazza said:

What did the babysitter mutter after getting paid (and after saying she literally had nothing else to do)? I rewound 3 times and still didn't understand. 

She said she ate all the cookie dough. (closed captioning)

Edited January 9, 2019 by ItCouldBeWorse

[Brian Cronin]

10 hours ago, kazza said:

(Unpopular opinion) I still like this show and want Martin and Lena to get back together, totally because the leads are so charming. 

What did the babysitter mutter after getting paid (and after saying she literally had nothing else to do)? I rewound 3 times and still didn't understand. 

For a second I thought Lena was going to kiss the teacher. 

At the end, was Martin again withholding as a means of getting back at Lena somehow? I thought she'd said she was fine by then. 

I think I missed how Lena's sister and the waiter got together but the premise cracks me up. Like everything else on this show it's goofy and unreal. 

The leads are super charming, especially Lena, who is played so phenomenally by Jenna Fischer that I can't get over how much I love the character.

The trouble with the show is that it got them together when it didn't want them together, so it had to then come up with reasons why they had to be apart, and that mostly involved making Martin into a gigantic raging asshole. They tarnished his character so much that they've spent most of the last few episodes going out of their way to redeem him, but they just went way, way too far with making him a dick that I think Lena would have to be a bit of a fool to ever take him back.

And all just so that they would break up again when they didn't need them to get back together so soon in the first place! Agh!

I love Lena so much, though, that I will live with a fake happy ending where they get back together. I sort of "need" that to happen since the show is almost certainly being canceled, so I would like to have it wrap up before it ends. I imagine that the creators know it is likely going to get canceled, so they're probably writing the season finale with that in mind (I'd love for them to get one of those fluky renewals that are happening with more and more frequency these days, but I doubt it). 

[luna1122]

I love this show. it's just so weird and charming and weird and quirky and weird. I could watch Jenna Fischer be high every episode. Or not high. Lena might kind of driver me crazy in real life, but JF is so funny. I love Oliver Hudson too.

I also love Lena's sis and the waiter, who I keep thinking is gay, tho that's no doubt cuz the actro plays Andre Braugher's hubby Kevin on Brooklyn 99.

I don't really understand why no one much is watching this, and I'll be sad if it's cancelled.

[Whimsy]

On 1/9/2019 at 9:25 AM, Brian Cronin said:

I imagine that the creators know it is likely going to get canceled, so they're probably writing the season finale with that in mind (I'd love for them to get one of those fluky renewals that are happening with more and more frequency these days, but I doubt it). 

It's just too bad that all of Emily Kapnek's shows get cancelled so soon!  I've really enjoyed this one, Selfie and Suburgatory.

[BTBAM310]

4 hours ago, luna1122 said:

 

I also love Lena's sis and the waiter, who I keep thinking is gay, tho that's no doubt cuz the actro plays Andre Braugher's hubby Kevin on Brooklyn 99.

 

While watching this, my girlfriend said "isn't he gay?" and I told her she was thinking of his character from Brooklyn Nine Nine. I also reminded her that he's on The Good Place too.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

On 1/10/2019 at 3:51 PM, BTBAM310 said:

While watching this, my girlfriend said "isn't he gay?" and I told her she was thinking of his character from Brooklyn Nine Nine. I also reminded her that he's on The Good Place too.

In real life, Mark Evan Jackson is married to a woman.

[Aileen]

It was nice to see Rowan Blanchard pop up on the show. I hope it wasn't a one-off. I thought that the Mae storyline kind of came out of nowhere but I thought it was well-done. 

I do agree with others that this isn't getting renewed, so we're fast-tracking to a happily ever after ending for Martin and Lena.

[luna1122]

I don't really know Rowan Blanchard but she made an impression. China was an annoying know it all teen, but she has great presence. I loved how the whole thing with Mae was handled.

I continue to find this show charming and adorable and unique, and continue to be baffled that it hasn't much of an audience.

Martin: "I really want you to taste my nachos next time. They're really good!"

[Lifesabeach]

I have watched this show from the start but I must admit I found this weeks episode unappealing.  I don’t have children so maybe some would say I don’t get an opinion on their teens but watching them, especially the daughter, be so disrespectful and condescending to the mom, was unsettling.  Makes me even more grateful that I chose to not have kids.  The show is soooo much better when there is little focus on the kids, except the youngest, he is still pretty cute.  If there are more episodes like this I won’t be sad If it is cancelled.

[Madding crowd]

I was fuming at how disrespectful Mae and her girlfriend were to her mother. I’m as laid back as they come but I would never let my kids talk to me that way.

[geauxaway]

I’m with you @Madding crowd .  I just watched the episode and could not believe it.  Furthermore allowing your teens to be with their bf/gf and the door closed?  Oh hell no!  Is that really a thing these days?  25 years ago when I was in high school it completely was not.  Sure we still found ways to make out, but not on my bed (unless my parents weren’t home lol).  

I wanted to mouth smack Mae and China.  Wow!

[readster]

On 1/19/2019 at 6:59 PM, geauxaway said:

I’m with you @Madding crowd .  I just watched the episode and could not believe it.  Furthermore allowing your teens to be with their bf/gf and the door closed?  Oh hell no!  Is that really a thing these days?  25 years ago when I was in high school it completely was not.  Sure we still found ways to make out, but not on my bed (unless my parents weren’t home lol).  

I wanted to mouth smack Mae and China.  Wow!

They keep portraying the parents on this show to be: "We have to be strict, but we have to be fun." to: "Oh hell no! What are you thinking! Even though I'm counteracting myself." My nephews during this age were NOT allowed to be alone in their room with their girlfriends. My nieces now who are almost done with high school, my brother-in-law and sister-in-law would hang any boy upside down and toss him on the fence if they even tried that. The writers of this show DO NOT know parents and kids these days. They either over exaggerate helicopter parenting, friend parenting or act like they are all super hormone crazed that they would go after a teacher if the shoe fit.  

[Brian Cronin]

This continues to be such a bizarre show. Hudson and Fischer just ooze chemistry and they are so adorable together, but the show can't just have them be together just yet so it is this weird mix where they're all super adorable with each other and it doesn't actually go anywhere. It's bizarre, but I'll put up for how adorable Fischer is and how well she plays Lena's reactions when Martin makes her happy. 

[wendyg]

I like the original family characters, even the kids, but I think I'm done: I can't stand the extra characters that are getting more play this year. I don't think the show has much choice, since there's a limit to how much time you can spend on just the one couple, but still. Ick.

[Rebky]

I think the actress who plays the teen daughter missed her true calling.  She should have been a ventriloquist.  All that talking and not moving her mouth.

[thesupremediva1]

I watch religiously and adore Jenna Fischer and Oliver Hudson and Lindsey Price. I just need a lot more Lena and Martin and real conversations, and a lot less filler. And maybe a good honest family conversation with th kids about what has been going on. 

[MoreCoffeePlease]

I am obsessed with Lena's clothes ... nice job by the costume designer ... Lena re-wore a cute pink top with ruffly short sleeves that she wore in a previous episode. Yes, I notice this stuff!

I enjoyed the episode. I liked the plan for their 'tres cas' dinner, and the fact that Lena dressed up but said it was the only thing clean that she had. And of course Martin's new jeans with the sticker on.

The dog falling into a narcoleptic spell was cute.

[ItCouldBeWorse]

48 minutes ago, MoreCoffeePlease said:

I liked the plan for their 'tres cas' dinner, and the fact that Lena dressed up but said it was the only thing clean that she had. And of course Martin's new jeans with the sticker on.

And his deep red Valentine's-colored shirt.

[luna1122]

This episode was adorable. The Thelma and Louise road trip, the car, the headscarves (Tho i'm surprised nobody wanted to be Thelma, she's the one who got to bone the hot hitchhiker). I loved the whole country bar scene, and I loved Martin sweeping Lena off her feet. They have chemistry, and damn, when Oliver Hudson was line dancing all low key and smooth...he is so pretty. Loved his reaction to Sugar Beard: 'Is Maya crazy? This guy is a smokeshow!'

And I loved that, in the end, despite what they saw in the hospital, they took one another's hands instead of pushing one another away.

If the show doesn't come back, I'll be sad, but it was a mostly happy ending.

[funnygirl]

3 hours ago, luna1122 said:

And I loved that, in the end, despite what they saw in the hospital, they took one another's hands instead of pushing one another away.

If the show doesn't come back, I'll be sad, but it was a mostly happy ending.

I'm really happy that Lena and Martin have reunited, and I also loved that they held each other's hands when they saw Lisa Apple. Whatever happens next, I hope they face it together. 

There are still quite a few episodes left, so it's not over yet. I do hope that the season does end with the family intact and happy, just in case this is it. 

[luna1122]

1 hour ago, funnygirl said:

I'm really happy that Lena and Martin have reunited, and I also loved that they held each other's hands when they saw Lisa Apple. Whatever happens next, I hope they face it together. 

There are still quite a few episodes left, so it's not over yet. I do hope that the season does end with the family intact and happy, just in case this is it. 

oh, I thought this was the season finale, for some reason. Yay for more episodes.

[janie jones]

8 hours ago, funnygirl said:

I'm really happy that Lena and Martin have reunited, and I also loved that they held each other's hands when they saw Lisa Apple. Whatever happens next, I hope they face it together.

I came here for explanation of the ending.  Is Lisa Apple the woman who came by on the gurney?  Who is she?  Are we supposed to infer she's having Martin's baby?  (I haven't seen every episode.)

[funnygirl]

30 minutes ago, janie jones said:

I came here for explanation of the ending.  Is Lisa Apple the woman who came by on the gurney?  Who is she?  Are we supposed to infer she's having Martin's baby?  (I haven't seen every episode.)

Lisa Apple was the woman on the gurney. Her and Martin had dated in season 1 and at the end of season 1, after they had already broken up, she was seen buying a pregnancy test. I forget the details, but I think when she was confronted, she claimed to not be pregnant. So I think we're supposed to think as Lena and Martin think - that she's having Martin's baby. 

[janie jones]

Thanks, @funnygirl!

[readster]

1 hour ago, funnygirl said:

Lisa Apple was the woman on the gurney. Her and Martin had dated in season 1 and at the end of season 1, after they had already broken up, she was seen buying a pregnancy test. I forget the details, but I think when she was confronted, she claimed to not be pregnant. So I think we're supposed to think as Lena and Martin think - that she's having Martin's baby. 

Right, and it's also showing why everyone hated the story and was created just to keep Lena and Martin apart. It's happening again. Especially, when she hasn't been heard of the rest of the season. However, it coming back is very unlikely the ratings are worst than they were last season. 

[Irlandesa]

3 hours ago, funnygirl said:

I forget the details, but I think when she was confronted, she claimed to not be pregnant.

Right.  And I think we saw her one other time this season when Maya was at her gynecologist's.  I think Lena got into an elevator with a lot of people and then got out.  A pregnant Lisa was in the back.  Since this show will likely be cancelled, I'm at the hoping it's not Martin's stage.

This episode made me really happy.  While I get it's a divorce comedy, Lena and Martin have really good chemistry so seeing them flirt or get together makes me happy.  And yes, Martin was very sexy doing the line dance.  So was Sugar Bear who was perhaps a bit too intense--but then looking at how Maya is basically inventing a relationship between her and Gene, perhaps intense is the best match for her.

[bluebox]

I'm glad the show runners appear to be wrapping things up to the happy ending and quitting the push/pull with Lena and Martin. The first scene in the saloon with Martin almost felt like a daydream sequence, I wasn't expecting them to get back together until the finale. Glad to see their hand came together at the end and not apart. Maybe the twist will be that Lisa Apple's baby isn't Martin's, but with the turtles at the end that doesn't seem to be what they're hinting.

[readster]

1 hour ago, bluebox said:

I'm glad the show runners appear to be wrapping things up to the happy ending and quitting the push/pull with Lena and Martin. The first scene in the saloon with Martin almost felt like a daydream sequence, I wasn't expecting them to get back together until the finale. Glad to see their hand came together at the end and not apart. Maybe the twist will be that Lisa Apple's baby isn't Martin's, but with the turtles at the end that doesn't seem to be what they're hinting.

I think the writers under estimated how much the main two would have such chemistry no matter what they tried to write in. Also seeing they got an order for a final set of episodes so early pretty much was being told the show would not go on another season. The thing with Lisa  Apple is that it was thrown in CASE they had another season. Two endings originally were filmed for the first season in case they came back or not. The problem was they have been having Lisa in the background showing she did lie about being pregnant. However, teasing it here and there just leads to the fact the writers left it open in case the show continued. However, they seriously need to just have it where the baby isn't Martin and have both him and Lena just realize: "Well, the lack of sex was just us not bringing it up, we have to talk like adults now." 

[grayson]

This episode was so much fun with the "Thelma and Louise" road trip and the gentlemen's line dance at the saloon! Tiny Arthur was so cute in his cowboy hat. I have loved this show from the first season and hope it is renewed.

Edited February 21, 2019 by grayson

[LucyEth]

I knew Lisa Apple would be back, it was just a matter of time, so the ending did not surprise me at all.  I really enjoyed this episode, it was fun.  So glad Maya realized that waiter is not for her. 

[Aileen]

I TOTALLY missed the elevator scene earlier in the season. Thank goodness for google images.

[Brian Cronin]

The hand holding was shockingly adorable. Good for the writers to go that route there. 

[morakot]

The ending tag where the kids are looking at the tortoise and the eggs that had hatched makes it clear that the Apple baby is Oliver's. They note first that Josh (the tortoise) has three offspring ("just like us") and then they notice a new egg laid on the other side of the tank. They clearly state that the new egg is a part of the family and that they will love it "just the same". 

[PortaBella]

When I settle in over the weekend to watch the shows I've recorded that week, Splitting Up Together is always the one I anticipate the most.  I usually won't watch it first because then I feel a bit deflated that it's over, but I do replay it a few times because it simply makes me so happy.  Everything about it, especially the core family.  The peripheral characters are fine, but when it's just the five of them, or the two parents, I'm in heaven because the interactions are filled with humor and heart and that's not an easy thing to write and/or play where it hits just the right note.  But it does here every time, and I am hoping that it will get another season.  Another five seasons!!!  Oliver Hudson is a remarkable mix of male brawn and sweet undertones.  

[MoreCoffeePlease]

Such a cute scene with Lena and Martin in the beginning when she revealed her feelings to him. Loved him bringing her water with lemon in gorgeous mason jars! (The house, the decorating, the clothes ... all of it is envy-worthy.)

[LucyEth]

Lena is almost too good to be true, but I liked it.  Can't imagine where this is going for Lena and Martin.  

[MoreCoffeePlease]

Martin has rights, which I guess he needs to explain to Lisa Apple. Either he or Lena could also tell her that he is a great dad ... why would she deprive her child of having a father?

I enjoyed the scene where the self-absorbed friend comes to the hospital to check on Lena. She had gotten a haircut and explained how she "came right over", after having gotten the haircut.

[SoMuchTV]

I’ve been watching this, because it’s in a block of shows I’ve watched/recorded, but never really liked liked it. Didn’t especially care for the kids, the friends, the relationship in general. But for some reason, I’m starting to warm up to it a bit. I guess It’ll be cancelled now. 

ETA this is after the 3/19 episode where Lena was helping with the baby, which just seems like such a messed up situation!

Edited March 20, 2019 by SoMuchTV

[ItCouldBeWorse]

So Lena as n Martinvare getting it on while poor Mae is left to herself with the knowledge that she has a baby sister she doesn't know, and may never know, and can't even share that info with the elder of the brothers? Shes right about her family being really screwed up.

I guess Martin will need to start paying child support for the baby he's not allowed to see if he wants to keep Lisa and Annie nearby.

[LucyEth]

The first sign of trouble.  Martin has Annie Apple as number one in his mind right now.  Lena was talking about Mae and he says no I meant Annie.  I wish Maya would have her baby already!

[Armchair Critic]

6 hours ago, LucyEth said:

The first sign of trouble.  Martin has Annie Apple as number one in his mind right now.  Lena was talking about Mae and he says no I meant Annie.

Lena is so great, I hope Martin doesn't screw it up again. I never cared much for Oliver Hudson, probably from watching him play a jerk on Nashville, but I really like him in this part. And as a Michigan girl I enjoyed him singing Bob Seger to Annie.

Edited March 27, 2019 by Armchair Critic

[luna1122]

I love how they're handling this whole baby situation, at least in terms of emotions...would ANYone else be as understanding and kind as Lena here, in real life? I don't know but I love it. I love Martin not getting upset with her for getting involved in Annie Apple's life, even when he asked her not to. I love how encouraging they both are about it all. I also have the very largest crush on Oliver Hudson. I always did, even when he was kinda evil on Nashville, but I ADORE him here. I seriously 'ship Martin and Lena now.

I don't think--or at least, I hope--that Martin focusing on Annie won't cause a rift. It's only natural that he would.

Still no news on whether this show is getting renewed? They're calling next week a 'season finale' but I guess it could still be a series finale. I hope not.

[alexa]

It is funny the moment I finally gave up on the show, it started to get good.  lol.  I tried to watch it for so long and it kept getting worse and worse, etc, but I guess now that they know they are being cancelled (assuming that is the case) they are finally warming up the storylines to something I can like.  I have enjoyed the last two episodes quite a bit.  

[ItCouldBeWorse]

2 hours ago, alexa said:

but I guess now that they know they are being cancelled (assuming that is the case) they are finally warming up the storylines to something I can like.  I have enjoyed the last two episodes quite a bit.  

I think those episodes were filmed quite a while ago.

[Madding crowd]

I really like Oliver Hudson and Jenna Fisher and think they have good chemistry together. I can’t stand Lisa Apple and think Lena being so cool about the situation would never happen.

I also don’t think the older kids look anything like the parents and I find Maya annoying. I do like the show but if the couple is no longer “splitting up” I don’t know how they can keep up the story.

[LucyEth]

2 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

I do like the show but if the couple is no longer “splitting up” I don’t know how they can keep up the story.

I don't think they can, the only thing that can happen is Lisa and Annie Apple causing a rift between  Lena and Martin.  I am almost sure they end up separated again.