Cougar Town Review: Episodes 3-6

Cougar Town: 

Review Roundup

This review roundup of episodes 3-6 uses a simple pros (+), cons (-) and in between (+/-) format . 

'Between Two Worlds'

+ A central theme of "what is in a name?" between Jules and Bobby. The story for Bobby was rather interesting as he called himself "Ron Mexico" and was ultimately treated more pleasantly whilst going about his day to day business. The story concluded well with Andy's intervention, tying up Bobby's whole scenario rather neatly, but it also showed  a profoundly emotional, insecure side of Bobby. This was great as we are more used to his positive demeanour.

+ As for Jules, the premise was a result of Graysons unhappiness of keeping the Cobb name rather than taking his own surname, Ellis. The development wasn't as strong as Bobby's plot, purely because Jules still remained rather stuck, but at least she came to a compromise with Grayson.

+ A nice little side story between Travis and Laurie as she subtly highlights the ways in which Travis helps distract people, which Laurie considers an act selflessness. It was an interesting story of love, although it is hard to know where it may lead and end up with these two characters.

+/- Within Jules's central storyline there was also a need from her to create confrontation with Grayson. It was interesting but yet was another instance of something we have already seen before. 

- Ellie was a bit on the sidelines in this episode, almost acting as a narrator of what was going to happen between Jules and Grayson.

In conclusion it was a nice touching story, particularly for Bobby being lost with himself and Andy coming to his rescue. But still there is an issue of a slight sense of deja vu within some of the other plot points. Luckily the overall focus still developed well.    

7.7/10

'I Should Have Known It'

 

+ Finally Tom had a slightly grander role in this episode! The whole situation with Jules and Laurie's nosiness as to why Tom had a girlfriend was a little silly and over the top with their stake out and such, but it was funny nonetheless, particularly with Laurie's attempt to break in towards the end. It was an unfortunate ending for Tom, regarding his love life, but at least he became more involved with the Cul de Sac Crew.

+ Side story for Travis, Ellie and Bobby was also a great bit of light hearted fun. Fans have known Bobby to be a bit sloppy when going out on dates with women, example Angie (Sarah Chalke) last season, and it was fun to see a hardened character like Ellie attempt to get Bobby to be more sensitive and traditional towards women. 

+ What was even greater with this side story was its sudden shift to a more serious situation resulting in a heated conversation between Ellie and Travis which proved Trav's intense protectiveness over his dad and his shortcomings. 

+/- Andy and Grayson got the short straw in this episode with them trying to amend the absurd rules that their wives have created in the household. It was a merely a bit of boyish silliness between the two but was still fun.

Overall this episode was really enjoyable. Each individual story was interesting, but what worked even better was how they weren't conceived as three separate plots but instead each character was woven into all the stories. e.g. Ellie played the role of the "cleanup lady" for Jules and Laurie in between her part with Bobby and Travis.It was very well done and flowed naturally.         

8/10

'Running Down A Dream'

 

+ Andy, Travis and Laurie's joint storyline was very funny with Andy mocking the snobbery nature of both these youngsters "creative vocations". A particular moment with Andy's query of what defines high quality photography was the highlight as it was easy to understand this case, as we live in an era of camera phones and Instagram. It was great to see an elder like Andy put Travis and Laurie in their place.

+ Ellie on the search to go back to work, resulting in a joint venture with Bobby with his fraudulent burger van provided some great banter between the two, but also created a great way for Ellie to vent her insulting personality to the townsfolk.    

+/- Although not as strong as the other characters plots, it was interesting to see Jules unsatisfied with her job as a real estate agent, primarily due to a very indecisive couple. Grayson was very funny, watching his displeasure and twitchy reaction of his wife working with him at his bar. 

Personally it was reminiscent behaviour of Dr Cox's reaction when Jordan began work at Sacred Heart in Scrubs, knowing that the writing team is the same, it somewhat brings across the idea that stories are simply being rehashed but in a different setting. But to be honest it wasn't a major problem. At least there was a nice conclusion with Jules getting back on her feet with her real estate job.  

Overall the episode had a good theme, questioning if each individual were in their dream jobs. For the most part it was a light hearted episode with no real life altering realisations, but there were a few nice instances of slight changes in character as a result of this.

7.8/10

'Restless'

+ Very heartfelt story for Bobby, learning how he understood the mistakes he made during his marriage to Jules and how he tried to fix it up through a journal of "do's and don't's". But it was also great to witness how he manages to keep his emotions together with his good friend Grayson, now married to Jules.

+ There was a brilliantly funny little green screen scene with Travis and his date for Valentines Day. But more importantly was Travis's input when needed, to almost protect his dads integrity. It was great to see this recurring theme remain prevalent in this episode.

+ Ellie and Andy's little Valentines tradition was also rather humourous, with Andy taking full advantage of Ellie, quite literally, even when she was not at all enthused.

+/- The setup for Jules story was pretty good with Grayson's injury. The major issue was an underlying problem which didn't detract attention away from all the other characters storylines. The ending was also very satisfying, as it was extremely simple, which made it all the more moving and emphasised how much Jules needs attention to keep herself going.    

- It was unfortunate that Laurie's role was rather small in this episode. It would have been nice to have had a least a small heartfelt video chat scene with her boyfriend in Afghanistan. But at least the input she did bring to the episode for Ellie was nice.         

As you would expect, it was an episode that ticked all the boxes for a cliched Valentines episode with nothing but a nicely tied up ending about the true meaning of love. But nonetheless it was still a great episode. Perhaps it is because Cougar Town is different in that it is a single camera setup sitcom, without the live studio audience or canned laughter, but it is a prime example of a sitcom that pushes itself a little bit further than others to create a more compelling, true to life tale.   

8.2/10