I don’t know that Last Man Standing always outdoes itself. Sometimes, the episodes are really funny, or poignant, or both. Other times, they’re a little more like this one and will fade into obscurity. Though they all still have their merits, lessons, and good old fashioned laughs. Doing a sitcom on a major network is always hit or miss, because there are so many episodes. I’m not sure that “A House Divided” had quite enough material to fill an episode, but lets talk about it anyway, shall we?
This week on Last Man Standing: Kyle and Mandy’s displays of affection have become annoying to Mike and Vanessa, so they cut a deal. Kyle and Mandy will save their affection for behind closed doors if Mike and Vanessa will too, which proves harder than everyone thinks. Meanwhile, Kristin hires Eve to play music at the Outdoor Man Grill, but the results are undesirable.
I related most to the Kristin/Eve story. As the oldest of three children myself, it’s hard to begin to see your siblings as adults and reject the protective instinct. I’m the kind of person that has to make mistakes on my own, and my brothers are like me, so giving advice to my brothers wouldn’t work, and they would often put me through the pain of watching them endure the same things I endured. It never goes away, but as they prove themselves capable, it gets easier. So even though the story could have been improved by touching on why the customers didn’t like Eve’s music, there was still some truth and relevance to the story, and Amanda Fuller did such a great job playing “protective older sibling”.
I’m not sure what it was about the PDA story. Maybe I couldn’t relate. I moved out of my parents house before I got married. It did toss up a lot of great lines for Kyle and Mike, and was the most entertaining story of the episode, but it felt hollow to me. I laughed, but rather than the honeymoon money jar, helping them move out felt like the better choice. Of course, in a show like this, you can’t spread your characters out too far, but this is the first time in a while that it felt manufactured to keep the cast in close quarters.
Here are some other thoughts/funny moments:
- “I thought married people just threw things at each other”
- Maybe the best part of the episode: Mike asking Ed if he’s too affectionate
- Tip for all men: Never call your wife “Granny Spice”
- “We LITERALLY grossed them out!”
- “Oh God. I can’t go back to foster care.” – Kyle, AKA a grown man
- The episode’s best discovery was that Kyle is also Rain Man.
- Mike was horrified to find out he threw money at a problem and subsequently became a democrat. Perfect.
- Even though it didn’t go well for her, it was good to hear Eve singing again
So even though this episode had its ups and downs, it was still big on laughs and had some relevant cultural observations to make. I always enjoy the show, and “A House Divided” was no exception.
What did you guys think? Did you enjoy the episode? Let us know in the comments!
Last Man Standing airs Fridays at 8/7c on ABC
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