Last Man Standing Review: “Boyd Will Be Boyd”

Another Friday has come and gone, and Last Man Standing is still telling realistic and relevant family stories. Comedies are so tough to maintain in the modern TV era, but Last Man Standing  brings consistent laughs and does so well with the “family sitcom”, a genre that has nearly become extinct on modern television. “Boyd Will Be Boyd” was a laugh packed, emotional episode that really showed growth in several characters.

This week on Last Man Standing: Mike wants to take Boyd hunting on his 10th birthday, observing a Baxter family tradition. Ryan buys Boyd a gun, confident that Boyd won’t shoot a living creature. Preparations for Mandy and Kyle’s wedding are fully underway, and since Kyle’s mom is a ne’er-do-well, Vanessa offers to do the mother-son dance with him.

One of the things I love about this show is how well the characters grow and thrive. So many people have written this show off because of the Mike’s conservative political views. I’m not going to get political, but people fail to realize that people who lean conservative are actually people. Anything between Ryan and Mike is so hopeful and wonderful because they’re two polar opposite characters who still very much disagree (A LOT) but have formed a mutual respect, because there’s more to them than their political views. People who are active in today’s political spectrum (or even active in political Facebook comments) could learn quite a bit from Last Man Standing. 

I don’t know about you guys, but I got really emotional during Vanessa and Kyle’s story. I’ve always thought it was sweet that the Baxters served as a surrogate family for Kyle, but for whatever reason, I was moved to tears by their interaction at Outdoor Man toward the end of the episode. It’s likely just because Kyle is such a sweet character who is deserving of love, and got exactly what he deserved in that moment. It’s another one of those moments that reinforces just how far love and compassion will go in relationships. Also, I loved their dance. Hilarious.

As always, here are some of my favorite quotes/moments from the episode:

• “Pigs aren’t smart. Only 1 in 3 knows how to build a house out of bricks!”- Eve
• “There’s a point where even Karl Marx would slap you!”- Mike
• “It’s getting harder and harder to put weapons in the hands of children”- Mike
• “Actually, his name was Bill and he made soap”- Mike, re: his heritage
• “It’s like Where’s Waldo, except Waldo’s my mom and Waldo is hammered”- Kyle
• I’d really like to see that Make America Great Again hat full of pork chops
• “We’ll be shooting down your hopes and dreams, and that’s what I’ll be having for dinner.”- Mike
• “What, did you run out of Kale at your house?”- Mike again!
• “Sometimes the worst thing is when a kid turns out to be just like his dad. Just ask that fat kid who runs North Korea!”- Outdoor Man Vlog

Mike did a lot of the punch line delivery this time around, but it was a really stellar performance by everyone. Season 6 has done a lot of delving into Ryan and Kyle, in particular, which I’ve really enjoyed. This material can be connected with on a deeper level, and I very much enjoy watching it!

What did you guys think? Did you enjoy the episode? Let us know!

Last Man Standing airs Fridays at 8/7c on ABC