So before we get into the details of this episode, I want to just clarify the proper usage of puns. You’ll notice that the title stated above is, indeed, a pun. Simply based on the title alone, you would assume two things about this episode: 1) that the episode has something to do with partnerships (it does), and 2) there would be some sort of thematic reference to the metaphor of ‘ships passing in the night‘ (it does not). To me, this is indicative of the show as a whole. The pun in the title is not clever. It has the passing appearance of cleverness, but once the episode is watched, it becomes clear the title was chosen for its cuteness and the need to make a title with the word ‘partnership’ in it. A better title would have combined the word partnership with the greater themes of the episode, which in this case are high stakes decision making, getting overlooked, exceeding expectations, and the dichotomy of love and professional duty. A better title might be ‘Loose Lips Sink Partnerships,’ a reference both to the storyline with the kids and to the Kimmy and Steph storyline. But the writing on this show is lazy. So why would they bother to give their episodes proper titles?

Here are some (more) thoughts.

1. The episode begins with Max taking a massive shit (I’m not kidding)

The episode starts with Ramona dancing alone in her room. Why? I do not know or understand. Suddenly, baby Tommy (unsupervised, by the way) crawls into her room covered in toilet paper. Max calls from the other room saying he has a situation. Ramona brings him Tommy and he takes off a few sheets of toilet paper. He reconsiders and takes a whole handful. Then he says “You know what? Just give me Tommy,” then he takes the baby, who is covered head to toe in toilet paper, INTO THE BATHROOM WITH HIM. Meaning, he needs all that toilet paper. Tommy is about to watch his brother take a shit of staggering proportions.

2. Yes, Bure is on ‘The View’

Steph comes home after a late night of partying and is considering which shows to watch in bed. She mentions ‘The View.’ DJ tells her to watch that one. Ha ha ha. DJ is a host on ‘The View.’ What funny. Much laugh.

3. DJ is kind of terrible and makes ridiculous requests

DJ has hired Kimmy to plan the party for her bosses retirement, which Kimmy has given the theme of ‘old people.’ But DJ tells her she has to change it to ‘Indian theme’ (see below for why this is terrible) and she has to do it on a dime and DJ makes no attempt to apologize for the inconvenience. To Kimmy’s credit, she doesn’t bellyache about and actually gets it done. But DJ is exceptionally good at being demanding and not giving a shit about what her needs require of her loved ones.

4. There is a cow.

Yup. Steph gets a cow for the party and it ends up in the house. That’s… yup.

5. Were Jackson and Ramona pirating?

Jackson sneaks his moms computer so him and Ramona can watch an R-rated movie. I just thought they would use her Netflix account, but instead it looks like they were trying to torrent a file and accidentally picked up some malware. Which is extremely unlucky for them. They must really not know what they’re doing, because picking up a virus from a torrent requires being pretty stupid about where you’re getting your shit from. Also, the virus they got requires them to pay $100 to remove it, which is ridiculous. Any hacker worth their salt would put a much larger price tag on something like that.

6. Max is a star that will never stop shining

Apparently, he was just sitting with his back to Ramona and Jackson in a giant swivel armchair waiting for them to fuck up. Because the moment they do, he swivels around to ‘offer his services’ which consist of giving them the extra $50 they need to pay the hacker. The look on his face when he has the upper hand is 100% delightful.

7. DJ’s predicament is actually pretty compelling

She thinks now that Dr. Harmon is retiring, she’ll be able to take over the practice. Wrong. Matt, Dr. Harmon’s son, is taking over. He even explains to her that it’s kind of her doing that he’s taking over. After all, she’s the reason Matt is staying in San Francisco, so that’s the reason he’ll be taking over. It’s kind of remarkable to watch DJ realize it was her wanting Matt that cheated her our of owning her own practice.

8. I’m sorry, I have to reiterate the excellence of Max

You know how he got all that money? From allowances, couch cushions, things like that. But also by stealing change out of wishing fountains. WHAT. Are you KIDDING ME? Max is clearly the greatest character on this show.

9. Cultural appropriation

Click the link above to get an understanding of why this:

is not okay. It’s written by someone who is actually Indian. This is why it’s not cool to reduce an entire culture to a couple stereotypes. It’s deeply insulting and reeks of colonialism.

10. Okay. That’s a good resolution

DJ considers branching off and starting her own practice, but then Matt convinces her to become partners with him and they can run the practice together. That’s a pretty swell compromise, but hopefully they won’t break up. That could get messy.