GRChereck March 2, 2019 Share March 2, 2019 Quote Ray's attempt to manipulate Maya over an unfulfilled promise of mother-son time backfires when she calls his bluff. JJ tries a new aide after he and Kenneth agree to spend a day apart. Meanwhile, Jimmy's unsure how to handle Dylan's teen angst when she invites a boy over. Link to comment
GRChereck March 9, 2019 Author Share March 9, 2019 (edited) This was a fun one -- nice to see Lee again (this time giving JJ and Kenneth some perspective on the temporary nature of the aide relationship, and letting JJ borrow his own aide for the day), and Jimmy trying to intimidate Dylan's crush (Kai, a stereotypical bad-boy-with-a-surprisingly-sensitive-soul) was a hoot, as was Maya and Ray playing "chicken" with each other right up until they start going down that first water-park slide. :D Some very sweet moments, too: -- Kenneth wonders what he and JJ are going to do since JJ "couldn't make it one day" with a different aide (the humorless, low-energy Randy); JJ wants Kenneth to come to college with him, but as much as he'd love their arrangement to last forever, Kenneth says he'd only signed up to help him through high school; even so, he does offer to help him find another aide (presumably a licensed professional who can work with JJ at whatever college he ends up). -- Jimmy feels he keeps screwing up with Dylan because she seems unhappy no matter what he does about Kai (from trying to protect her, to bonding with him over music), but he's understandably put off by her "sick social game" (of wanting to use info about him to give herself an advantage over the "queen bees" in her class who are also crushing on him); after Kai overhears them arguing and leaves, and they go driving around to look for him, I loved their car-talk, with Dylan being refreshingly frank about not knowing what she wants yet knowing she's being unreasonable, and Jimmy reassuring her that this sort of weirdness is actually something he can handle because "weird is us." -- I found the Maya/Ray plot mostly silly, but liked how it gets real when her work life (she receives a call from the bank about a loan for her business) comes into play; as in "New JJ" (3x4), Ray initially relishes the attention she's giving him instead of JJ, but now he has the clothing-line to compete with; after he opens up to her about his concern, Maya praises him for his unusual honesty (as opposed to his tendencies toward manipulation and whiny passivity) and promises to make time for him, and he in turn promises more directness in asking for what he wants. Edited March 9, 2019 by GRChereck clarity 2 Link to comment
Mystery March 9, 2019 Share March 9, 2019 It was strange to hear Tina's voice coming out of Randy! 3 Link to comment
Aileen March 10, 2019 Share March 10, 2019 I could’ve done without a half hour ad for Great Wolf Lodge. Link to comment
bros402 March 10, 2019 Share March 10, 2019 I liked this episode - it has made things move forward a bit on the "What is going to happen with Kenneth after JJ graduates?" plot - which is good. 3 Link to comment
GRChereck March 10, 2019 Author Share March 10, 2019 7 hours ago, bros402 said: I liked this episode - it has made things move forward a bit on the "What is going to happen with Kenneth after JJ graduates?" plot - which is good. In a way, it was kind of the flip-side of their plots in "F-O-- Follow T-H-R-- Through" (when Kenneth breaks down and JJ first floats the idea of him being a coach) and "J-I-- Jingle T-H-- Thon" (JJ helps Kenneth get the girls' b-ball coaching job, admitting he'd been worrying about the big guy and wanted to leave him with something he can do) -- Kenneth wants to return the favor by helping JJ find someone else who can help ease him into the major life changes he'll be facing soon. :) 2 Link to comment
alexvillage March 10, 2019 Share March 10, 2019 I liked the episode, the interactions between parent/child. I also liked that JJ has a whole life that does not include parents. And showing JJ making decisions about his care, who is going to be his aide is what interdependence is about. I really liked that it wasn't spelled out, but silly written as a natural thing in disabled lives - because it is. It kind of amazes me how much those kids changed in three years. I was expecting it, of course, but I am still amazed. Minnie Driver is way to thin. 2 Link to comment
Aileen March 10, 2019 Share March 10, 2019 3 hours ago, alexvillage said: Minnie Driver is way to thin. She's always been slim. I think she looks healthy. 2 Link to comment
alexvillage March 10, 2019 Share March 10, 2019 2 hours ago, Aileen said: She's always been slim. I think she looks healthy. I wouldn't know. She seems to work out, I could see her muscles, but I still think she is too skinny. Link to comment
Mystery March 11, 2019 Share March 11, 2019 19 hours ago, Aileen said: I could’ve done without a half hour ad for Great Wolf Lodge. There was also the bit about the new Nissan Kicks (I think that was the car that JJ loved). Maybe this is how ABC is paying for the show. Link to comment
tennisgurl March 11, 2019 Share March 11, 2019 "I was trying to see if Kai had your best interests at heart, but now...do you have Kais?!" I liked all of the plots, even though they keep going back and fourth between Kenneth going to college with JJ. Sometimes he should go, and sometimes he shouldn't? Ray and Maya are usually a good combination, such a special boy! 2 Link to comment
ItCouldBeWorse March 11, 2019 Share March 11, 2019 12 hours ago, alexvillage said: Minnie Driver is way too thin. Yes, I noticed that, too. 9 hours ago, Aileen said: She's always been slim. I think she looks healthy. In her early movies, she played the friend who was not as thin as the stars. 1 Link to comment
kathyk24 March 11, 2019 Share March 11, 2019 I thought this episode wasn't as good as last week's I hated the Maya and Ray subplot it was so immature. I liked JJ working with a new aide however they ruined it by making Randy so dull. It would have been more interesting if JJ had bonded with another aide. I wonder how Kenneth wound up at the same theater as JJ? I loved the Dylan and Jimmy subplot. Dylan's freak out reminds me why I'm so glad I'm not a teen any more. Link to comment
possibilities March 11, 2019 Share March 11, 2019 My experience with aides is that 95% of them are horror shows, so Kenneth is a real TV contrivance. It wouldn't be funny to see JJ be stuck with incompetent and apathetic aides, but it would be realistic. I thought Randy was actually better than average, because despite his utter lack of enthusiasm, he was actually paying attention and seemed to be competent in the way that would probably not endanger JJ's life. My friend with a speech disability found that almost no one, even if hired to do so, was interested in letting her take the lead and most would actively avoid paying attention to what she had to say. So Randy's basic respect for JJ being in charge was alone enough to make him way better than usual. 4 Link to comment
bros402 March 11, 2019 Share March 11, 2019 6 hours ago, Mystery said: There was also the bit about the new Nissan Kicks (I think that was the car that JJ loved). Maybe this is how ABC is paying for the show. Hey, Subway worked for Community, if they have to advertise cars and water parks to keep Speechless on the air, sure, whatever. 1 hour ago, possibilities said: My experience with aides is that 95% of them are horror shows, so Kenneth is a real TV contrivance. It wouldn't be funny to see JJ be stuck with incompetent and apathetic aides, but it would be realistic. I thought Randy was actually better than average, because despite his utter lack of enthusiasm, he was actually paying attention and seemed to be competent in the way that would probably not endanger JJ's life. My friend with a speech disability found that almost no one, even if hired to do so, was interested in letting her take the lead and most would actively avoid paying attention to what she had to say. So Randy's basic respect for JJ being in charge was alone enough to make him way better than usual. JJ borrowed the aide from Zach Anner's character - of course he'd be good, he doesn't seem like the kind of guy who would keep a bad aide around. He'd probably tase a bad aide like he tased Maya 😛 5 Link to comment
NoReally March 11, 2019 Share March 11, 2019 I soured on Kai when he picked up Jimmy's Martin guitar and started playing it without permission. You don't do that with any guitar, but especially a Martin! 2 Link to comment
Mystery March 11, 2019 Share March 11, 2019 9 hours ago, bros402 said: Hey, Subway worked for Community, if they have to advertise cars and water parks to keep Speechless on the air, sure, whatever. The show Chuck used Subway, too. I used to go buy sandwiches on Mondays to support that show. 4 Link to comment
Driad March 11, 2019 Share March 11, 2019 The show sometimes has people who probably have not read a board like JJ's before, but they do it fairly easily. Isn't that something that takes practice? Wouldn't JJ have to spell more letters for each word than he would for Kenneth or a member of his family? Guessing they don't want to slow down the conversations. 1 Link to comment
GRChereck March 11, 2019 Author Share March 11, 2019 (edited) On 3/10/2019 at 10:35 PM, kathyk24 said: I thought this episode wasn't as good as last week's I hated the Maya and Ray subplot it was so immature... I loved the Dylan and Jimmy subplot. Dylan's freak out reminds me why I'm so glad I'm not a teen any more. While this ep didn't quite blow me away like last week's did, I found all three plots here about equally strong and thought they cohered surprisingly well: They were about all the characters either facing major life changes (Maya having become a working mom, JJ getting ready to graduate high school and go to college, Dylan starting to deal with all the angst and confusion that come with adolescence) or being affected by them (Ray fearing he'll have to take a back seat to a "new JJ," Kenneth having to let go of his little buddy after nearly three years, Jimmy's frustration at not knowing how to help his daughter or make her happy), as well as their efforts to work things out and help each other deal (Ray offering to be more open with Maya about things he wants after she assures him that she'll make time for him, Kenneth offering to help JJ find his next aide, Dylan opening up about her messy emotions and Jimmy reassuring her that this change in their relationship is something he can handle). However, I would agree the Maya/Ray one was relatively the weakest of the three, as there was a potentially interesting theme there involving motherhood and work-family balance, but rather than addressing that at the outset, the episode kinda treated Ray's concern more like a twist. On 3/10/2019 at 10:35 PM, kathyk24 said: I liked JJ working with a new aide however they ruined it by making Randy so dull. It would have been more interesting if JJ had bonded with another aide. I wonder how Kenneth wound up at the same theater as JJ? I think Randy was intended to be unsuitable for JJ in such a way that only underscored what great chemistry Kenneth has had with him; but yeah, I could imagine an interesting variation on this scenario with an aide who seems better than Kenneth in every way at first but then does something or reveals something about himself that ultimately puts JJ off. :\ As for your question, while it's possible Kenneth followed them there (though he denied it -- "I followed The Rock here!"), I think it goes to further underscore how the pair are so in tune with each other -- not only in taste / humor / interests, but they also get the same idea at the same time. :) Edited March 14, 2019 by GRChereck correction 1 Link to comment
SnarkySheep March 13, 2019 Share March 13, 2019 Was it just me, or was "Special Boy Time" about the creepiest possible term they could have used for Maya and Ray's outing?? 4 Link to comment
bros402 March 14, 2019 Share March 14, 2019 18 hours ago, SnarkySheep said: Was it just me, or was "Special Boy Time" about the creepiest possible term they could have used for Maya and Ray's outing?? I think there might have been 1 or 2 more things that could've been creepier. Or maybe not. I cannot think of a single creepier one. Maybe it was a competition in the writers room to come up with the creepiest sounding one - since it was from 10 years ago, so Ray was 6, so back then, cute, at 16, super creepy. So it might've been "Okay, what's something you can say to your kid when they're 6, but sounds super creepy at 16!" Random writer: "uhhh... special boy time?" head writer: "GENIUS!" 1 2 Link to comment
msrachelj July 31, 2019 Share July 31, 2019 On 3/10/2019 at 3:33 PM, alexvillage said: I wouldn't know. She seems to work out, I could see her muscles, but I still think she is too skinny. She is too thin. When did this happen? I can't stop staring at how skinny she is and it's hard to watch the show. (binge watching now, so that's why it's late) Link to comment
topanga July 31, 2019 Share July 31, 2019 10 minutes ago, msrachelj said: She is too thin. When did this happen? I can't stop staring at how skinny she is and it's hard to watch the show. (binge watching now, so that's why it's late) Yes, she is thinner than she was in her movies from the '90s and the aughts. I'm curious about how the older women in her family look. While many women gain weight as they get older, there are some women who naturally get thinner with age. On 3/14/2019 at 3:00 AM, bros402 said: I think there might have been 1 or 2 more things that could've been creepier. Or maybe not. I cannot think of a single creepier one. Maybe it was a competition in the writers room to come up with the creepiest sounding one - since it was from 10 years ago, so Ray was 6, so back then, cute, at 16, super creepy. So it might've been "Okay, what's something you can say to your kid when they're 6, but sounds super creepy at 16!" Random writer: "uhhh... special boy time?" head writer: "GENIUS!" I love the creepiness of it and the fact that neither of them realized how creepy it sounded until this year. 1 Link to comment
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