S03.E21 Locked in the Basement

[AnnaRose]

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American Housewife | 60 METASCORE

Locked in the Basement (Season 3 | Episode 21)

8:00PM EST Tuesday | ABC

Much to Katie's dismay, Anna-Kat becomes best friends with Chloe Brown Mueller's daughter, Penny. When Katie takes extreme measures to avoid Chloe and keep the girls apart, Anna-Kat and Penny are forced to take matters into their own hands. Meanwhile, Greg encourages Oliver to be honest with his girlfriend and not hide his passion for ballet.

Airdate: May 7, 2019

[ItCouldBeWorse]

I was waiting for Oliver's basement box of ballet equipment to be thrown out or donated. So now he's supposed to lie to his girlfriend about going to rehearsal or a performance?  And then she can think he's cheating on her? How dull.  At least she won't have to hear him talk about getting in to Harvard due to his amazing ballet ability.

[readster]

11 hours ago, ItCouldBeWorse said:

I was waiting for Oliver's basement box of ballet equipment to be thrown out or donated. So now he's supposed to lie to his girlfriend about going to rehearsal or a performance?  And then she can think he's cheating on her? How dull.  At least she won't have to hear him talk about getting in to Harvard due to his amazing ballet ability.

I didn't like that part at all. I get Katie's reaction to Greg's old hobby was totally Katie, but at the same time her response: "If I would have known that, I would have dropped you." You know what people! People have hobbies, they might never make sense, but when you have a talent that is pretty good like that. You don't shame them. Same with Oliver's situation, him bringing up his Harry Potter phase and so forth. His girlfriend thought that was nice. It's just a losey lesson and I can't feel sorry for Chloe. She shames and talks about how horrible everyone is and how great having money (when you were left by your ex) and took all the money you could. Make your kids see that your life is miserable, but want them to be just like you. Sorry, at what point do you get a reality check that maybe, just maybe you suck as a person. Also, writers, I get it's a joke, but if someone was eating carrot soup every day, they would be bones. 

[Snow Apple]

12 minutes ago, readster said:

Also, writers, I get it's a joke, but if someone was eating carrot soup every day, they would be bones. 

And her skin would take on an orange-yellow tinge. 

[Yeah No]

Yeah, I didn't like the message that it's better to hide lame-o aspects of yourself until well into a relationship, and Katie's reaction was too negative.  At the very least they should have made her put a positive spin on it, like say it's a good thing Greg had such redeeming qualities in spite of that.  And I think it would have been better if Oliver had revealed his ballet to his girlfriend just to have her say it was something she found endearing about him.  Why not?

Also, maybe it was naive of me but I did hold out the hope that perhaps Katie and Chloe could have come out of this as friends.  I think it would have been better if they had, then perhaps something at the very end would cast doubt on whether that was going to last.  I actually think it would have been better if the show could have worked them into "frenemies" - I think that would be funnier than just keeping them outright enemies, plus they would at least try to make the appearance of "getting along" for their kids' sake.  Then the girls could find ways to keep making their mothers have to act like friends in spite of themselves.  It's called comedy, TV producer folks.

[readster]

1 hour ago, Yeah No said:

Yeah, I didn't like the message that it's better to hide lame-o aspects of yourself until well into a relationship, and Katie's reaction was too negative.  At the very least they should have made her put a positive spin on it, like say it's a good thing Greg had such redeeming qualities in spite of that.  And I think it would have been better if Oliver had revealed his ballet to his girlfriend just to have her say it was something she found endearing about him.  Why not?

Also, maybe it was naive of me but I did hold out the hope that perhaps Katie and Chloe could have come out of this as friends.  I think it would have been better if they had, then perhaps something at the very end would cast doubt on whether that was going to last.  I actually think it would have been better if the show could have worked them into "frenemies" - I think that would be funnier than just keeping them outright enemies, plus they would at least try to make the appearance of "getting along" for their kids' sake.  Then the girls could find ways to keep making their mothers have to act like friends in spite of themselves.  It's called comedy, TV producer folks.

I agree on both, same with Oliver's new girlfriends saying it was endearing and even: "Wow, you are a modern guy." Same with Katie's reaction to Greg's dummy. Another way could have been: "Why didn't you ever do this for all the talent shows or things you like to do?" Because it would still been in character and a better spin on things. It's like when you reveal you have debt to a spouse from before you met do to: "moving, bad relationship, ect." You don't come right out and say it, but if they then say: "If I would have known that, there would have been no marriage." Because you know, people don't struggle or get crap sent to them. 

[Grundoon59]

I understand what prior posters are saying but I am enjoying the show and I have a new favorite line - "She's the cilantro of people."  I confess that may find its way into a conversation soon. 

[JenLily]

I loved Katie showing the girls the ice cream cones and then dropping them on the ground. For every action. . . 😂

[AnnaRose]

1 hour ago, Grundoon59 said:

I understand what prior posters are saying but I am enjoying the show and I have a new favorite line - "She's the cilantro of people."  I confess that may find its way into a conversation soon. 

I loved that - I hate cilantro and plan to work that line into conversation in the future.

[Bobbin]

I didn't care for any of the messages in this episode. This show is becoming to The Neighborhood like Married ...With Children was to Father Knows Best. There is enough hate in the world, and as this episode proved, hate ain't funny. Dial it back. Find another theme.

Modern Family did the ventriloquist past life much better ("Gloria married her dummy!"). Man up, Greg, call Katie out. And once again, they talk about Oliver's dancing, but refuse to show it, and even denigrate it. What was the point of making Daniel Dimaggio take lessons? I'm glad Anna-Kat and Penny are buds, a welcome balance to the Katie-Chloe war, with two tots behaving like real children. Good for Penny, after her mother's and Katie's extravaganza that was supposed to be just a little girl's birthday party.

ETA: Okay, I did laugh at Taylor's misunderstanding her school project -- and the class it was for! Good for Anna-Kat in refusing to help further. I have a feeling her lecture to Taylor got through better than Katie's version might have.

Edited May 8, 2019 by Bobbin
Added thought.

[iMonrey]

I got a kick out of Greg and his ventriloquist dummy Brad, and Oliver's reaction to it. I'm one of those people who finds dummies extremely creepy. I loved when Oliver barged upstairs and Greg tried to answer thru Brad and Oliver said "I'm not talking to him." Then he dropped a truth bomb on Greg and Brad's mouth dropped open, LOL. 

Also got a kick out of Chloe only eating carrot soup. And then Katie was momentarily fooled into thinking she had a medical condition only to find out it was "age." "Age IS a condition! It kills people!" Technically? True.

The stuff with Taylor and Ana-Kat was kind of lame but I did get a chuckle out of Taylor asking if her teacher would notice her report was written by two eight-year olds, and Ana Kat saying her gut was telling her the teacher wouldn't notice a difference.

[Yeah No]

15 hours ago, Grundoon59 said:

I understand what prior posters are saying but I am enjoying the show and I have a new favorite line - "She's the cilantro of people."  I confess that may find its way into a conversation soon. 

I just hope this show gets renewed.  From what I've read, the network still has it 'on the fence'.  An awful lot of shows I watch are in that category these days.

[readster]

6 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I just hope this show gets renewed.  From what I've read, the network still has it 'on the fence'.  An awful lot of shows I watch are in that category these days.

If American House Wife gets cancelled and so does Speechless and they give Splitting UP together another season. I will cry major foul on the show and that SUT has pictures on someone.

[AnnaRose]

8 hours ago, Yeah No said:

I just hope this show gets renewed.  From what I've read, the network still has it 'on the fence'.  An awful lot of shows I watch are in that category these days.

I don't think American Housewife will have any problem being renewed - it's one of ABC's strongest sitcoms.  I'm much more worried about the awesome The Kids Are Alright that follows it - its ratings are decent but not great, so it's been on the bubble, even though it is the most critically acclaimed sitcom ABC has.

[readster]

3 hours ago, AnnaRose said:

I don't think American Housewife will have any problem being renewed - it's one of ABC's strongest sitcoms.  I'm much more worried about the awesome The Kids Are Alright that follows it - its ratings are decent but not great, so it's been on the bubble, even though it is the most critically acclaimed sitcom ABC has.

Right so at least it has that in it's corner. I just get upset when a show that is doing very lousy in ratings and everyone pretty much agrees it sucks gets a renewal and others done that are much, much better.

[SnarkySheep]

On 5/8/2019 at 11:58 AM, JenLily said:

I loved Katie showing the girls the ice cream cones and then dropping them on the ground. For every action. . . 😂

Anyone else find themselves involuntarily calculating how much money was just lost on that lawn?

From an ice cream truck, and in a ritzy community?? That was probably a $20 puddle by the road...

[theatremouse]

Waste of perfectly good ice cream.

[Court]

The Katie-Chloe rivalry is my favorite so I loved this episode. I do agree that Oliver needed to tell his girlfriend about ballet.

[paulvdb]

I agree. Oliver's girlfriend is not Katie. She would not react in the same way.

[OpalNightstream]

That was one LOUD episode. 

[msrachelj]

Katie is a nasty shrew and Greg is a pussy. Why do they show men in sitcoms as such idiotic second class citizens and women as bitches? My husband refuses to watch these shows with me and I can understand his point of view, being a man. Time to get with the times television! It gets old after a while. And the message this week was, hide your true self. WTF?! I'm starting to hate this show, but I love the kids (except maybe the older daughter) and their friends. 

[readster]

1 hour ago, msrachelj said:

Katie is a nasty shrew and Greg is a pussy. Why do they show men in sitcoms as such idiotic second class citizens and women as bitches? My husband refuses to watch these shows with me and I can understand his point of view, being a man. Time to get with the times television! It gets old after a while. And the message this week was, hide your true self. WTF?! I'm starting to hate this show, but I love the kids (except maybe the older daughter) and their friends. 

Then add in the bitching controlling "house wives" that are divorced or their husbands just throw money at them and don't sleep with them. Can't shows at some point just get that people get married for at least love than apparently they were "rich". Unless they inherited a company or money, I'm sure all these people started at the bottom of company at one point and were living paycheck to paycheck. Oh no, they are running through money like it burns a hole in their pocket. Telling their kids to eat a certain way and basically going: "this is how I view the planet and you will conform to it." Just enough!

[Lone Wolf]

I liked this episode the first time I saw it.  In 1996.  When it was released in theaters as House Arrest.