Of the many things Playing House does well, perhaps its sense of community is its most impressive. For a show that’s only produced six and a half hours of television, the stable of minor characters it has around its main cast is surprisingly deep. More importantly, how it uses this wide array of personalities and relationships to turn Pinebrooke into this living, breathing little town is essential to the show’s philosophies about friendship and family – and in episodes like “Cashmere Burka,” where the stakes are fairly low, being able to fall back on those tenants is important.
While “Cashmere Burka” is neither the most poignant or funny episode of Playing House, it does allow the show to dip even further into its B-squad, bringing back characters like Candy and Ian to fill out the JCC Players roster, rather than one-off guest stars or extras. It’s a small touch, but an important one, an unspoken reminder both of the many colorful people living in the wonderfully quirky Pinebrooke, and how the extended family of the town play an important role in guiding Emma and Maggie through their lives. None of these themes are really explored in “Cashmere Burka”; the episode instead focuses on Gwen’s relationship with her faceless WASP frenemies, but the show’s emotional foundation remains ever present, even in lightweight installments like this one.
On a story level, not much of “Cashmere Burka” really lands; Emma’s budding romance with Dan in particular feeling forced into the episode, a story accelerated only to give some kind of dramatic arc to one of the show’s main characters (Emma gets into a fight with Gwen, but this is more about Lennon Parham saying “WHET!” more than anything). Dan’s shifts of characters just aren’t really that engaging, and as much as we all enjoy a little romance, their “adorable” moments together don’t jive with the rest of the script, which is halfheartedly trying to build conflict between Gwen and the world around her.
Because none of the stories really commit in the same way previous, superior Playing House episodes have done, “Cashmere Burka” is almost instantly forgettable. This isn’t to say “Burka” needed to be a deep episode, but none of the jokes or stories elevate themselves to that hyper-energetic place House‘s climatic moments revel in. It makes for a very muted story about Gwen’s latest attempt to express her frustrations at suburban life. Without any real character connection to Emma and her issues with her mother (she doesn’t even really seem to care much about the play, before or after she gets fired), the A-plot never has a chance to take off, and the other stories follow suit, an episode that works more as a reminder of the wide swath of personalities inhabiting Pinebrooke, rather than the various journeys occurring within them.
Other thoughts/observations:
– Tina’s latest request is to dress Mark, which leads to increasingly hilarious shirts on Mark through the episode (ending with the hilarious of image of him in a t-shirt with a plunging back line).
– There’s just not enough Maggie in this episode; it’s as simple as that.
– Ian really needs to work on his Brando, though his “MAAAAGGIE!” scream was perfection.
– All of Mark’s alternative descriptions of vagina are hilarious. “Barn door that babies come out of” is the highlight of the bunch.
[Photo via USA Network]
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