It was clear at the ending of the previous episode of Grace and Frankie that the narrative drive for the remainder of the first season will be accomplishing two things: divorce and marriage. The first of these goals is completed with “The Elevator.”
The episode opens with everyone (including Bud) getting on an elevator after signing the divorce papers. Bud is there as he suggested the arbitrator that they used, but the elevator stalls before it makes it to the bottom. Grace proceeds to freak out over anxiety, and the others are forced to try and calm her down. Unfortunately for the group, Bud also begins to have a panic attack. They realize that this hasn’t happened since Labor Day five years ago, and everyone begins to reminisce.
Five years ago, it seems that Robert and Sol planned to tell their wives their secret during a weekend at the beach house. Before they can get the story out, though, Mallory and Mitch show up for the holiday weekend. To Robert’s dismay, it turns out that all of the children are going to be joining them at the house, so it’s obvious they won’t have a chance to reveal the secret. Tensions are high between the two older women, and it really goes to show the progression that the characters have made over just a few episodes when you consider where they are in the present day. Mitch and Coyote also exhibit a strong friendship in this flashback, but it’s also obvious that this is a time in which Coyote’s drug use is near its peak. Grace and Brianna get in an argument over Brianna losing her job while Grace works too hard, and the mother and daughter realize that they are alike in ways they didn’t realize before.
I’m going to keep from spoiling the reveals that come out in “The Elevator,” but I think that this episode will end up being an extremely pivotal moment in Grace and Frankie. There’s been a lot of subtle mystery throughout the entire first season of the show, and the nature of the flashback weekend here allows for a way of presenting answers to the audience without requiring an abundance of exposition. While it’s definitely hard to believe that so many things would come to a head in a single weekend, the understood suspension of disbelief that comes with a sitcom of this type let’s that pass over easily. The most important thing that “The Elevator” showed, to me, aside from the major reveals is that the cast and crew have completely hit their stride at this point in the season. Things have been working very well on Grace and Frankie for a while now, but this is the first episode that I feel could truly stand among the most well-written of the current era of the comedy-drama. A relatively short episode was able to tie all of the characters together in an extremely revealing story, and it’s incredible to realize just how far the series has come since the pilot. I don’t know what kind of drama will unfold in the final three episodes of the season, but I can’t wait to see what happens.
[Photo via Netflix]
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