Melissa & Joey – Episode 1-9 Review

Reviews, Shows

After last week’s disappointing episode, this week’s Seoul Man was a definite improvement. Two interesting plotlines and some good comedy make it one of my favorite episodes so far.

When another politician is publicly ridiculed for employing undocumented immigrants, Mel’s boss forces here to demand Joe’s birth certificate and proof of citizenship. There’s a small problem – he has no idea where they are, and Mel can’t look them up because he was born on a military base in Korea. Because of his involvement in Mel’s brother-in-law’s scandal, and his divorce, every piece of paper he owns is stuffed into dozens of file boxes, which the family only has one day to look through. Finally, right after Ryder creates fake documentation on his computer (but tells Mel and Joe he found the real papers), Joe’s mother calls with the news that she has the documents and will send them overnight. Realizing that Ryder’s documents are fake, he has to rush down to save Mel from committing a felony by submitting the forged papers to her boss.

Meanwhile, Lennox and her friend are dateless for the dance, so Mel suggests that the girls go together, like she used to do in high school (then she would steal someone else’s date). But the girls create a mess of controversy when they try to get a couple’s ticket in order to save money, and the school forbids them from attending as a lesbian couple. The misunderstanding is resolved when Mel “outs” her niece as straight to the inquiring press, much to suddenly popular Lennox’s disappointment. 

This episode has two of the best story lines in the whole season. Lennox the fake lesbian is absolutely hilarious, especially her reaction to Mel outing her. The main story of Joe’s documents seems like a reference to when Mel suspected him of only being her nanny to look for her brother-in-law, in that it reminds us that Mel hired him on the spot and didn’t ask questions. It makes me wonder what else we might learn about Joe’s past during the course of the season.

And, of course, I love Ryder for trying to save Joe’s job. Sure, he commits a felony by doing so, but it shows he has a good heart. It’s also stands to reason that he wouldn’t want Joe, the only other male in the house, to leave. And like when he gave away his stuff to another victim of the scandal, it shows that Ryder is going through a rough time at the moment. In this case, it also shows that Ryder needs someone to show him right from wrong. I’ve said this before, but I really hope he gets more of his own story lines in the near future. 

Since last week’s episode wasn’t the best, I was relieved when Seoul Man was much better. And of course, I’m looking forward to In Lennox We Trust next week.