Today we have the first episode of the season where our characters get to go out into the world and experience interactions that aren’t with their immediate family. Ramona and Jackson make a plan to break Ramona out of her new school so she can go hang out with her old friends. Meanwhile, DJ brings Max to work so he can pick out a puppy and Steph lies her way into some guy’s pants.
Here are some thoughts.
1. You know what… this was actually a decent episode
I know I’ve been shitting on this show for my last three reviews. And for good reason! This is by no stretch of the imagination a “good show.” It’s clearly an exercise in extreme fan service. And if I’m being totally honest, there’s nothing really wrong with that. People have the right to make things for their fans and for their fans only. But I also have the right to shit all over it. That being said, this was the first episode where I actually started enjoying the antics of the Tanner family. Perhaps it’s Stockholm Syndrome, but the writing seemed sharper this go around, even if the premises were pretty cookie-cutter. Who knows, maybe the show is all uphill from here.
2. The running joke with Tommy and Steph looking at the ceiling is hilarious
Part of the reason I think this episode was a lot better was the running joke between Steph and Tommy. The first joke of the episode has Steph feeding Tommy (the baby) and he keeps looking up at the ceiling. And every time he does, Steph looks too, expecting to see something, and becomes increasingly frustrated when there’s nothing to see. There was something delightfully surprising about the joke. I can’t exactly describe it. It was just a good way to start the show, I suppose.
3. There is a straight up masturbation joke
In Jackson and Ramona’s class, they are building papier-mâché volcanos, because their science teacher is bad at his job. At the beginning of the episode, Jackson comes downstairs with his volcano and announces to the room, “I’ve been exploding my volcano all night!” To which Steph looks shocked and says, “Whoa! TMI Jackson.” Yup. There was a joke about a teenager masturbating in an episode of Fuller House. The feels like a first.
4. Max in his little suit
Max is so freaking excited. Today, he’s getting a puppy. And to show the world how excited he is, he has dressed up in his best suit. To go pick out puppies. This show is doing a lot of things wrong, but whoever cast this kid as Max, and whoever is in charge of his stories, is doing an amazing job.
5. We got our first look at the kids school
And guess what: pretty boring. Bringing characters out of their normal environments is always a good opportunity to mix things up and create new and interesting characters and settings. The best we got was a pretty normal science teacher and a mean girl named Lola. Such opportunity. Squandered.
6. Oh, DJ is a vet?
This is the first mention of what DJ actually does for a living, and I guess it was not what I was expecting. Sure, she’s easily the smartest character on the show, but somehow the possibility that she worked in a medical field never occurred to me.
7. Max’s storyline is easily the best part of the series so far
It’s just him in a room with about eight golden retriever puppies, trying to pick one to bring home. It’s mostly devoid of jokes. It’s just him. In a room. With puppies. And the actor is clearly having the time of his life (c’mon, who wouldn’t be?), so watching the whole thing unfold will make even the most stalwartly cynical viewer (i.e. yours truly) smile. And then when some nut job brings a skunk into the vet and sprays everyone, we get to watch a bunch of puppies play around in tomato soup while Max, Tommy and Steph marinate in giant vats of the stuff. That’s quite an image.
8. Steph is kind of a terrible person
She meets some guy at a coffee shop who, for some reason, is turned on that she has a baby with her. So obviously, she lies and tells him it’s her kid. And when he comes to the vet later, bearing coffee and bear claws, she lies again and says Max is also her kid. And then, at the end of the episode, when he comes by the house to pick her up for their date, she lies and says all the kids are hers and that Kimmy is her Au pair and DJ is her maid. Then she just leaves. And there are no consequences. What kind of story is that? Girl lies to guy, guy believes it, girl gets to date cute guy. End of story.
9. And Kimmy is definitely a terrible parent
Kimmy has an interesting arc this episode. She starts by giving Ramona twenty dollars instead of packing her lunch, basically saying Ramona likes her better when she does stuff like that and that’s why she’s doing it. And once she finds out Ramona tried to escape school, her “punishment” is to bring her back to her old school to visit her old friends and then get a mani-pedi. It’s not until DJ takes her aside to insist she improve her parenting that the real story comes out: she’s afraid to discipline Ramona because she’s been through so much. She just wants her to be happy. Which is kind of sweet, actually. But that doesn’t make Kimmy a good parent. In fact, I’d say she’s pretty resolutely a bad one.
10. I was wrong about guest appearances :(
No Bob Saget. Which was a genuine disappointment. I’m weirdly looking forward to the next time he shows up.
Check out previous reviews for Fuller House below!
