Summary
Poppa’s House is at its worst in Episode 6, rehashing old jokes and conflicts like it’s running out of ideas.
Poppa’s House has an uncanny ability to make 20 minutes feel like an hour, and nowhere is that more true than in Episode 6, “Family Photo”. Rehashing plot points from earlier in the season already – there isn’t a world of difference between this and “School Days”, which also hinged on Poppa’s relationship with Catherine, or even last week’s “Disciplinarian”, which focused on Junior being soft and useless – would be an alarm bell in any sitcom, but especially in this one, which still hasn’t found its footing.
The central conflict of this episode hinges on Poppa not wanting Catherine to be involved in a family photo, which hardly seems worth the effort. Given that these two ironed out a lot of their differences back in Episode 4, it’s extremely weird that this is such a sudden point of contention.
I get that paying alimony for years stings. I get that a photograph can be a reminder of a failed marriage. But having to build an entire episode around Poppa’s inability to just let bygones be bygones for five minutes is pushing the boundaries of ridiculousness. Surely, the show can’t already be running out of ideas?
Once again, Junior is pushed to the forefront here, because the family photo hinges on him being able to broker a truce between his parents. Nina thinks he should stand up to them, but he doesn’t really do that; instead, he beats around the bush and plays guilt-tripping games with everyone until Poppa agrees to let Catherine be present just to shut him up.
Somehow, this means that JJ and Ivy get to be included in the photo as well. By this point, Poppa doesn’t even raise an objection, though JJ’s attire does lead to the one funny line of Poppa’s House Episode 6 (it’s the OJ glove one.)
Ivy’s inclusion in the photo feels like a way to keep her tethered to the plot, since her usefulness seems to be expiring rapidly. She also seems to have completely changed her personality. After expressing a modicum of interest in Poppa romantically, she’s now making uncharacteristic dirty jokes in his direction and crowbarring herself into his family affairs. I’m on record as wanting this to be the ultimate direction the show takes, but it’s moving a bit too quickly, like we’ve skipped over a few episodes.
And Junior is just annoying. He’s so great and charming in Shrinking that it’s bizarre to see him play such a coddled little loser in this, and the joke is wearing incredibly thin. Perhaps it’s wrong of me, but I always interpreted Poppa as the lead in Poppa’s House, but it increasingly feels like he’s being used as a background for Junior to pose in front of.
I think I’m done trying to defend this show. It’s rushed, sloppy, unfunny, and still hasn’t figured out what it wants to be about. Six episodes in that’s kind of unforgivable, and it’s easy to imagine that most people who were undecided on it have dropped out by now. It’s a real shame to see sitcom royalty reduced to this.
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