S10.E17: The Wild

[paulvdb]

Quote

Mitch, Cam and Phil crash Jay’s annual hiking trip to find an elusive bald eagle after Gloria asks them to keep an eye on him. Meanwhile, Gloria, Alex, Claire and Haley get together to plan her baby shower.

Airdate: March 14, 2019.

[NUguy514]

Dreadful.  Just dreadful.

[AnimeMania]

I did kind of laugh that they use exercise balls as furniture at Haley's job and that pregnant Haley is so fat her ball popped.

I guessed that Mitch only throw his backpack two feet.

[Suzn]

Apparently this episode landed like a lead balloon, given the lack of posting/interest.  I'm watching out of morbid curiosity rather than real interest or enjoyment.

Because they have such a bad record with animals, both wild and domestic, I was very afraid when Gloria mentioned Jay "hunting" a bald eagle. So the only bright spot in the episode was Jay's smile at seeing the eagle.

[Mrs. Hanson]

It was really obvious, in a sad sorta way, that this episode was written by either one male or two males.  I have put together plenty of furniture on my own - I never panicked and said "Oh my gosh!!!  What will we do?"  We, I don't know......got the job done?

As a hiker the whole hiking thing made my eyes roll - no one carries that much clothing.  Everyone carries water and food.  That was a rustic cabin??   

Nice to hear about Jay's annual trip NOW.

[abronfeld1]

Just awful. I smirked once.

[ljenkins782]

12 hours ago, AnimeMania said:

I did kind of laugh that they use exercise balls as furniture at Haley's job and that pregnant Haley is so fat her ball popped.

I'm a little over the fat jokes around Haley's pregnancy considering she's supposed to be carrying twins on that little frame and still isn't "fat." Also, those exercise balls are for abs and  a pregnant person really shouldn't be on one. 

Quote

It was really obvious, in a sad sorta way, that this episode was written by either one male or two males.  I have put together plenty of furniture on my own - I never panicked and said "Oh my gosh!!!  What will we do?"  We, I don't know......got the job done?

I'm the world's worst at both measuring AND reading assembly directions so I could relate to the issues, but it didn't ring true that control freak Claire would be okay with a half-assed project. 

The show is circling the drain so hard for me at this point, but my hands-down least favorite has become Gloria. WTF is she doing with her voice? I can only assume that her natural accent has faded, but whatever she's doing to try to replicate it makes it sound like she has a head injury. 

I DVR the repeats of earlier seasons so the difference is especially jarring when I've just listened to her speak in an earlier episode and then hear her now. Remember the episode where she went to Joe's speech therapist and was using this strange, stilted voice to do her vocal exercises? Well, that's pretty much what she sounds like all the time now. 

[SHD]

I'll be honest - I did laugh out loud when Claire was trying to explain her crib mistake away by saying there was a big gap so the babies could visit each other and then the partition guillotined the stuffed animal.

The crib slide taking out the pizza guy was a nice bit of physical comedy, too.

It was kind of nice to have an episode without Manny, Lily, Joe, or Luke.

[Blakeston]

Remember the episode of Frasier where Frasier and Niles go to a cabin with their father, and get trapped there overnight, and so they get drunk and confront their father over how they never say "I love you" to each other?

If you don't remember, Steve Levitan certainly does!

[MaryMitch]

I have never seen such a crib in my life! I googled them, and they do exist, but that is one of the stupidest ideas ever. If you have twins, you get 2 cribs. Then you can sell them individually when the babies are older. I can't imagine having one of those monstrosities in my house! Anything for the plot, I guess.

I loved the guys in the woods. I covet Cam's pjs.

[tennisgurl]

Jay smiling when he saw the bald eagle and then saying he didnt so they could all go camping again was a nice moment. Certainly the highlight. 

Not a great episode by any means, if this show is even capable of pulling off great episodes anymore. It can still have some good ones, but everything just seems so stale now, like even the cast and writers are bored. 

I did giggle a bit at the ridiculous crib cutting the head off the not baby. 

[biakbiak]

I did like that the women rallied around to help Big Head because the show is so internally focused they rarely help others.

[lynxfx]

9 hours ago, biakbiak said:

I did like that the women rallied around to help Big Head because the show is so internally focused they rarely help others.

I just like that the actor will always be referred to as Big Head. 

[xander874]

I thought I was just in a bad mood when I watched this terrible, terrible episode but glad to see I'm not alone. I usually like when they do group things but this was all over the place. The whole thing with the ranger offering some random abandoned cabin was just so weird I couldn't get past it. I get bears are scary but the level of angst was so over the top I wanted to scream. It's not like they are lurking behind a tree with a machete to hack you to death. Stupid.

The ladies plot was only slightly less worse. Gloria becoming a white woman is something that has never been mentioned and will never be addressed again so dumb point. And there is no way Claire could be a success in her business if she is so clueless about spacing. Dumb. And Haley has been ordering tons of pizzas and no one has noticed the doorbell ringing at midnight?

Sorry I am sure I am over-complaining but this show needs to end. They still have moments of brilliance, but they are coming farther apart. Please let them do a shortened season next year just to wrap it up.

[DrSpaceman]

Uhhhh.......what everyone else said. 

Not much more to add. 

Didn't realize that was Big Head until it was mentioned here. 

Just so much bland sitcom tropes.....disappointing. 

Also the scene with Claire at work trying to read the blueprints......who were that guy and girl in the background?  Did they work there?  Because they looked like they were about 13 or 14. 

Edited March 15, 2019 by DrSpaceman

[Aryanna]

I've been bored by some of the episodes this season but this episode went way beyond that. It was just terrible. The humor seemed really broad in this ep. You could see the setups and the jokes coming from a mile away. Not clever at all. In earlier seasons they had some very clever jokes and humor. It was as if this was done by a first time writer. The dialogue was so stilted. It was as if in the beginning of writing this ep they went through each character and said "That's gonna be their thing this episode." Claire's thing was spatial thinking, Gloria's was becoming white, Jay's was feeling like a burden and so on.

Edited March 15, 2019 by Aryanna

[Ottis]

On 3/14/2019 at 11:09 AM, Mrs. Hanson said:

It was really obvious, in a sad sorta way, that this episode was written by either one male or two males.  I have put together plenty of furniture on my own - I never panicked and said "Oh my gosh!!!  What will we do?"  We, I don't know......got the job done?

I didn't view that as a woman thing. I viewed that as a Claire thing, since they set her up as being bad at spatial reasoning. Their error was that the rest of the women didn't really do much, and kept following Claire's lead, which made no sense to me.  I thought maybe Gloria or even Haley would knock it out of the park. but neither stepped up and also neither was bad at it. They were just there.

The dumber thing was that they built it downstairs for a room upstairs. What? 

I also don't understand how Cam had time to change clothes so often, without the rest of the group killing him. One or two of those timed out (lunch, or whatever), but they would have had to have waited for him other times.

The larger issue is, how many times can they go to the "Jay doesn't/does love me" well? That should be settled by now.

Also, I laughed at Haley's ball popping. I'm sorry.

Edited March 16, 2019 by Ottis

[ari333]

I kind of liked it. (My bar is low)

[SoMuchTV]

22 hours ago, biakbiak said:

I did like that the women rallied around to help Big Head because the show is so internally focused they rarely help others.

13 hours ago, lynxfx said:

I just like that the actor will always be referred to as Big Head. 

6 hours ago, DrSpaceman said:

Didn't realize that was Big Head until it was mentioned here.

Can someone help me out (is it just me?) about Big Head?  All I can think of is the Big Giant Head (William Shatner) from 3rd Rock but I'm pretty sure that's not it.  The actor who played the pizza guy?

[readster]

4 hours ago, Ottis said:

The larger issue is, how many times can they go to the "Jay doesn't/does love me" well? That should be settled by now.

Also, I laughed at Haley's ball popping. I'm sorry.

Yeah, I don't get why they want to keep acting like Gloria can't get in her head that Jay likes to do stuff on his own. She acts like she hasn't been married to him for over a decade, had a child with him and seriously just wants to do his thing. Same goes with Gloria always NEVER admitting she does something wrong. It's someone else or something else, or that ghost that did it! Time to move on!

  Sorry, no way did Haley hide that many pizzas without anyone knowing it and also, if a Yoga ball popped from a pregnant woman with twins then how the hell do they support people who are 500lbs plus in flexible seating rooms? Yeah, seriously, if it is just one more season, do 13 episodes and just end this.

[biakbiak]

19 minutes ago, SoMuchTV said:

Can someone help me out (is it just me?) about Big Head?  All I can think of is the Big Giant Head (William Shatner) from 3rd Rock but I'm pretty sure that's not it.  The actor who played the pizza guy?

He plays a character on Silicon Valley who nickname is Big Head who is unintentionally very very lucky. 

[seacliffsal]

I enjoyed the episode-especially the men bonding together.  Cam has consistently been too much for me so I just ignore his story line and it makes the episode more enjoyable for me.  I was so glad that Jay saw the eagle at the end and I appreciate an earlier poster stating that Jay said he wouldn't tell anyone so that they would go camping again as my DVR cut that portion off.

I get the crib design-parents could put it in a corner and maybe it's a better use of space, but it just looked so strange.  And, I agree with others-the unintentional cutting off of the stuffed animals head made me laugh.  

I really hope that every episode from now on does not focus on Haley's pregnancy.  It seems like the writers think her pregnancy is hilarious and I just don't agree: the garage studio apartment, the shower, the crib...

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

I enjoyed the parts where Phil wouldn't shut up and it was getting on Jay's nerves,lol.  Phil was a nervous wreck trying to keep from saying anything for 30 seconds. Reminded me of that character that Kristin Wiig does on SNL that can't keep her mouth shut for nothing,lol. She's hilarious , especially when she sticks her fist in her mouth to keep from blurting something out. 😀

Edited March 17, 2019 by One4Sorrow2TooBad

[jhlipton]

This was horrid, and these were not the characters who have appeared in all other MF episodes.  There's no way that Claire worked at 2 closet companies (her dad's and the new one) and was seen as competant if abraisive if she was that bad at spatial awareness.  She's preesented their closets at trade shows, for crying out load.  And Gloria complaining about "losing her edge" didn't work for me either.

The men were a bit better, although Phil having to talk to fill the silence kind of came out of nowhere.  At least the physical comedy that Ty Burrell is so good at was fun as he tried so hard to stay in his "happy place".

[ElectricBoogaloo]

On 3/14/2019 at 11:42 AM, ljenkins782 said:

those exercise balls are for abs and  a pregnant person really shouldn't be on one. 

A lot of pregnant women use them instead of chairs because they can be more comfortable, ease back pain, and are easier to get on and off than a chair. One of my coworkers did that with both of her pregnancies several years ago. It's just been in the mainstream media more often since last year because one of the Kardashians was shown sitting on an exercise ball while pregnant.

[MaryMitch]

5 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

A lot of pregnant women use them instead of chairs because they can be more comfortable, ease back pain, and are easier to get on and off than a chair. One of my coworkers did that with both of her pregnancies several years ago. It's just been in the mainstream media more often since last year because one of the Kardashians was shown sitting on an exercise ball while pregnant.

My niece brought one into her hospital room to use in labor; I think as you say it was a comfort thing (although she ended up being hooked up to an IV so stayed in the bed).

What was unfunny was that Haley broke the ball, presumably because she's too heavy? Give me a break. I'm tired of "pregnant women are fat."  They are not FAT, they are PREGNANT, and they are sensitive about it. My dad jokingly called my niece "Big Momma" (she WAS pretty big) and she got really upset about it.

[readster]

9 hours ago, MaryMitch said:

My niece brought one into her hospital room to use in labor; I think as you say it was a comfort thing (although she ended up being hooked up to an IV so stayed in the bed).

What was unfunny was that Haley broke the ball, presumably because she's too heavy? Give me a break. I'm tired of "pregnant women are fat."  They are not FAT, they are PREGNANT, and they are sensitive about it. My dad jokingly called my niece "Big Momma" (she WAS pretty big) and she got really upset about it.

No kidding and yoga balls have been used as flex seating for students AND teachers and administration so they can get out extra wiggles because they can bounce and it also helps to re leave tension. The joke on "being fat" is so cliche and now, MF has truly used every cliche (which I'm sure they will) on Haley's pregnancy and will most likely deliver the baby some place that isn't the hospital with either a sibling or family member instead of a REAL doctor. While you are not your normal weight, especially caring twins, which a few of my friends carried. It was NEVER to the point it would pop a yoga ball. Those can take up to close to 350 lbs. I completely doubt Haley was that far over or the yoga ball was so old that it was it was the last straw for it. I've seen yoga balls almost 8 years old that still hold very well, but lose air faster before they pop.

[vibeology]

Why did they need to bring the crib upstairs? Doesn’t Haley live in the basement?

[biakbiak]

9 minutes ago, vibeology said:

Why did they need to bring the crib upstairs? Doesn’t Haley live in the basement?

I believe it was mentioned that they are living upstairs in Hailey and Alex’s old room. I guess Alex will go to the basement if she moved back when school is over.

[Mrs. Hanson]

14 hours ago, biakbiak said:

I believe it was mentioned that they are living upstairs in Hailey and Alex’s old room. I guess Alex will go to the basement if she moved back when school is over.

Nothing screams maturity like living in your childhood bedroom with your high school boyfriend and twins as an unmarried 24 year old.  (I am being sarcastic, btw)

It has been said before but why does Dylan need to live there?

[biakbiak]

1 hour ago, Mrs. Hanson said:

has been said before but why does Dylan need to live there?

 Because they are a couple who are having twins so want to live together and Claire and Phil didn’t want them living in a partially converted garage.

[readster]

22 minutes ago, biakbiak said:

 Because they are a couple who are having twins so want to live together and Claire and Phil didn’t want them living in a partially converted garage.

Or with Roommates who are just as equally dumb like Dylan.

[Mrs. Hanson]

56 minutes ago, readster said:

Or with Roommates who are just as equally dumb like Dylan.

Okay so.....(yes I am thinking way too much over this) why does Dylan have to live there?  I can see housing and feeding my pregnant daughter but the guy who knocked her up?  No.  And if he said to me "I have no place else" well.....you shoulda worn a condom.  (I am really harsh on tv characters, I know.  I am kinda harsh in real life, too!)

[biakbiak]

3 hours ago, Mrs. Hanson said:

Okay so.....(yes I am thinking way too much over this) why does Dylan have to live there?  I can see housing and feeding my pregnant daughter but the guy who knocked her up?  No.  And if he said to me "I have no place else" well.....you shoulda worn a condom.  (I am really harsh on tv characters, I know.  I am kinda harsh in real life, too!)

Because Hailey wants to live with Dillon and was willing to do it in the craptastic apartment so she would have chosen living with Dillion over living at home. Claire and Phil didn’t want that so they invited him. 

[One4Sorrow2TooBad]

5 hours ago, Mrs. Hanson said:

Okay so.....(yes I am thinking way too much over this) why does Dylan have to live there?  I can see housing and feeding my pregnant daughter but the guy who knocked her up?  No.  And if he said to me "I have no place else" well.....you shoulda worn a condom.  (I am really harsh on tv characters, I know.  I am kinda harsh in real life, too!)

I hear you Mrs. Hanson.  TV is overly saturated with storylines on shows with women who end up with an unwanted pregnancy OMG, with all the available birth control available now, why aren't people taking precautions? Add to this stupidity is the chance of getting a STD because of unprotected sex.   

[ItCouldBeWorse]

23 hours ago, biakbiak said:

I believe it was mentioned that they are living upstairs in Hailey and Alex’s old room. I guess Alex will go to the basement if she moved back when school is over.

Alex is home all the time. She must be sleeping somewhere. 

[SanDiegoInExile]

On 3/17/2019 at 8:32 AM, MaryMitch said:

What was unfunny was that Haley broke the ball, presumably because she's too heavy? 

I believe Haley said she spiked it with her high heel.

[readster]

21 hours ago, One4Sorrow2TooBad said:

I hear you Mrs. Hanson.  TV is overly saturated with storylines on shows with women who end up with an unwanted pregnancy OMG, with all the available birth control available now, why aren't people taking precautions? Add to this stupidity is the chance of getting a STD because of unprotected sex.   

Oh you be surprised how many men and women 17-25 just whip it out and don't think twice about it. Especially when everything no Social Media and other places hammer it into their heads with free ads. People still apparently don't get: "Hey, that could happen to me."

[seacliffsal]

Or they don't care if it happens because there's always going to be somebody there to help them and take care of things...like Clair and Phil.

[readster]

13 hours ago, seacliffsal said:

Or they don't care if it happens because there's always going to be somebody there to help them and take care of things...like Clair and Phil.

Yes, that's the problem with this current generation from 14-27. They feel that someone is always there to bail them out. However, here is the problem, why some people are living longer these days, many are dying by 55 from over set stress and yes, it's because they are doing more than they should be at that age. Like STILL raising their kids or grandkids because they raised them so dependent on others. I'm in education, you be surprised how many ready to graduate are still: "Mom, get me out of this, I did something student." Instead of: "Your mess, you are 18 learn to clean it up yourself now." It's: "Oh my poor baby, I'll fix those fuckers!" Then a few years later, these kids are truly adults and then go: "I can't keep a job!" "Why can't I just sleep in? I'm tired!" Yeah, welcome to the real world, what your parents SHOULD prepare you for. Not, how to just do the bare minim and think everyone is going to bail you out.

[SnarkySheep]

IDK why Gloria would say she's acting "like a white woman"...she IS a white woman. Gloria's race is white; her ethnicity is Hispanic.

In any case, it didn't really make sense, as the behavior she was citing seemed specifically that of wealthy stay-at-home mom types, a la American Housewife, not a particular race.

[Mrs. Hanson]

On 3/20/2019 at 8:05 AM, readster said:

I'm in education, you be surprised how many ready to graduate are still: "Mom, get me out of this, I did something student." Instead of: "Your mess, you are 18 learn to clean it up yourself now." It's: "Oh my poor baby, I'll fix those fuckers!" Then a few years later, these kids are truly adults and then go: "I can't keep a job!" "Why can't I just sleep in? I'm tired!" Yeah, welcome to the real world, what your parents SHOULD prepare you for. Not, how to just do the bare minim and think everyone is going to bail you out.

I am in education, too:  SING IT!

[readster]

1 hour ago, Mrs. Hanson said:

I am in education, too:  SING IT!

Truth! 

[love2lovebadtv]

On 3/18/2019 at 12:41 PM, Mrs. Hanson said:

Nothing screams maturity like living in your childhood bedroom with your high school boyfriend and twins as an unmarried 24 year old.  (I am being sarcastic, btw)

It has been said before but why does Dylan need to live there?

I've been trying to figure that out, too. 

On 3/18/2019 at 2:26 PM, biakbiak said:

 Because they are a couple who are having twins so want to live together and Claire and Phil didn’t want them living in a partially converted garage.

Sorry, I don't see how Dylan is their responsibility. 

On 3/18/2019 at 3:46 PM, Mrs. Hanson said:

Okay so.....(yes I am thinking way too much over this) why does Dylan have to live there?  I can see housing and feeding my pregnant daughter but the guy who knocked her up?  No.  And if he said to me "I have no place else" well.....you shoulda worn a condom.  (I am really harsh on tv characters, I know.  I am kinda harsh in real life, too!)

This seems to be the done thing nowadays and, as a parent, it scares me. Thinking back to when I was younger, I can't imagine wanting to live like that in my parents' house. If you live with the boy, you do that on your own. And if you live at home, the boy lives elsewhere and comes to visit you and the baby. I guess I'm old fashioned. 

On 3/18/2019 at 7:44 PM, biakbiak said:

Because Hailey wants to live with Dillon and was willing to do it in the craptastic apartment so she would have chosen living with Dillion over living at home. Claire and Phil didn’t want that so they invited him. 

I hope they don't make the mom and step kids a thing. 

On 3/19/2019 at 6:40 PM, readster said:

Oh you be surprised how many men and women 17-25 just whip it out and don't think twice about it. Especially when everything no Social Media and other places hammer it into their heads with free ads. People still apparently don't get: "Hey, that could happen to me."

So true. I think this is true for older men and women who should know better, too. 

On 3/21/2019 at 3:30 PM, SnarkySheep said:

IDK why Gloria would say she's acting "like a white woman"...she IS a white woman. Gloria's race is white; her ethnicity is Hispanic.

In any case, it didn't really make sense, as the behavior she was citing seemed specifically that of wealthy stay-at-home mom types, a la American Housewife, not a particular race.

I consider Gloria to be a hispanic woman of color, especially since that's how she sees herself. I agree with you that Hispanic isn't a race, and our society is hung up on categorizing people in odd ways. My kids have been checking off the other box on forms. But when we went to the allergist, I noticed a different box had been selected on the computerized form based presumably on the medical assistant's perception. If my husband had taken them, they probably would have had a different box checked off. Hubby and I are from the same place but are different colors. 

I don't like the stereotyping that white people are boring. Or that people from Colombia all look one way and have ties to the cartel. But then, this show is full of stereotypes.

[biakbiak]

5 minutes ago, love2lovebadtv said:

orry, I don't see how Dylan is their responsibility. 

I wasn’t suggesting that he was their responsibility but Hailey did not ask to move back home and she did not ask her parents to let Dylan move in to there home (this time). They were both fine living in that horrifically crappy apartment becuase they love each other and want to live together. Claire and Phil made the decision that they didn’t approve of the crappy apartment so made the decision amongst themselves to invite them both and the babies to live in their home.

[possibilities]

Dylan and Hayley are both working. It's not like he's just loafing around being kept by her parents or something. I think it makes sense that if they are going to be a couple and raise twins, they should live together. It would be much more of a burden on Hayley to have to raise them without him, or have the babies shuttling back and forth to wherever Dylan was living, as though they were divorced.

Actually, multi-generational households are not a new idea. In the past, it was very common.

I don't see anything wrong with it. If they are going to have the babies, it's actually better for all concerned if they are able to do it as a team, and not have to split just because rent is crazy expensive relative to wages.

Edited March 24, 2019 by possibilities

[SnarkySheep]

On 3/24/2019 at 12:01 AM, love2lovebadtv said:

I consider Gloria to be a hispanic woman of color, especially since that's how she sees herself. I agree with you that Hispanic isn't a race, and our society is hung up on categorizing people in odd ways. 

Yeah, I can understand someone doing that...but considering that Sofia Vergara is a natural blonde, she really doesn't seem like one of the folks who can claim that. YMMV, of course.

[love2lovebadtv]

On 3/25/2019 at 11:39 AM, SnarkySheep said:

Yeah, I can understand someone doing that...but considering that Sofia Vergara is a natural blonde, she really doesn't seem like one of the folks who can claim that. YMMV, of course.

If she considers herself a woman of color, I respect that regardless of her hair color. I don't think it's fair to say she can't claim to be a person of color based on someone else's opinion. I'm not familiar with her family history but I have seen pictures of her father walking her down the aisle. A medical assistant in my allergist's office changed the ethnicity on my form, assuming I had made a mistake because I don't look to her like what I said I was. 

On the other hand, though, I didn't like Gloria's constant referring to white people, as if people can all be lumped together by their skin color. Her lifestyle is more that of a woman with lots of time and money on her hands. All white don't share this lifestyle, and not every woman who has a similar lifestyle identifies as white. Claire identifies as a white woman, but she's never had the same kind of lifestyle that Gloria has. Even before Claire went to work outside the home, we never saw her behave like Gloria and her friends. Also, I'm pretty familiar with some parts of Colombia and it's home to people of different races. 

[jhlipton]

On 3/21/2019 at 12:30 PM, SnarkySheep said:

IDK why Gloria would say she's acting "like a white woman"...she IS a white woman. Gloria's race is white; her ethnicity is Hispanic.

Race and ethnicity are pretty tangled subject -- that's why we have a whole forum devoted to them!  :)