Better Things: September

September 15, 2017 9:44 AM - Season 2, Episode 1

Sam throws a party. Max brings her boyfriend. Frankie sings the blues. And, four Monopoly houses equals a hotel.

A great start to season two of this amazing show.

posted by Thorzdad (3 comments total)

This episode made me anxious the entire half-hour. And I wanted to punch Carlos so many times.

You can see the difference with Adlon directing, right? Or is it just me.

I'm not sure what to think about Duke. Max is always annoying, but that's okay with me because I had a teenage sister once. Until she became a teen, I'd always thought the media depictions of teen girls at home were caricatures. I'm pretty generous in my overall response to Max; I'm sort of affectionately annoyed.

Frankie continues to be the most fascinating of the three kids. I adore Frankie.

I've been thinking that Phyllis knows exactly what she's doing and enjoys getting away with getting a pass because she's "eccentric".

I didn't notice until now that all these characters have nicknames that can be construed as masculine.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 3:59 AM on September 16, 2017

"Arturo", I meant.
posted by Ivan Fyodorovich at 4:07 AM on September 16, 2017

Duke feels like a big problem in the making. Like she's going to become one of those middle-school girls in the bathroom that Frankie complained about last season. She doesn't seem to have many filters and is still riding that "mommy's baby" wave. Don't get me wrong, I love the character. But she seems to be way above her age.
posted by Thorzdad at 10:52 AM on September 16, 2017