Last Man Standing was in the news last week for its controversial episode about “safe spaces” and “microaggressions”. Though I applauded the series for exploring an issue that most shows won’t touch, the internet wasn’t as kind. This week’ s episode didn’t tackle anything nearly as controversial, and I actually kind of missed the controversy. I guess it fell back into safe mode, which was fine, but a little bit disappointing.
This week on Last Man Standing: Vanessa is getting restless at home, much to the chagrin of her family. Given that, Mike attempts to help her find a teaching job, but she keeps losing out to younger women. Meanwhile, Eve mediates a zombie apocalypse competition of sorts between Ryan and Kyle, to see who has the best zombie knowledge.
As you can probably tell, this topic wasn’t so controversial as last week. Though they still went through trials with Vanessa wanting plastic surgery so that she could look younger and keep teaching (I didn’t buy any of that), and it addressed beauty standards and things moving toward the younger generation, it just wasn’t as poignant or relevant as it could have been.
My favorite story was about the zombie apocalypse competition, precisely because it was unabashedly silly. They didn’t try to make us believe that Ryan and Kyle were really at odds or staking their lives on the competition. It took two of the best characters and explored a fun, innocent story. Though improvements could have been made, this story fit within the world and made much more sense.
Now, none of that is to say that the episode wasn’t funny, because it still had some great, hilarious moments. Here are some of my favorites:
- “You’re just trying to get out of the dance lessons.” “Uh. YEAH!”
- “When they put an apple on the desk it’s a MacBook Pro”- a strong incentive for teaching a private school
- This episode’s best moment: Mike schooling Chuck in the ways of acting.
Anytime Mike and Chuck work together on a story it becomes a great one. Perhaps the best part of this show is Tim Allen’s chemistry and banter with Jonathan Adams. Adams was a strong addition to the cast.
It turns out that this was not my favorite episode of Last Man Standing. But, it still makes good points and explores the stories of characters that otherwise may not get their stories told. Exploring the pitfalls of teaching, for instance, makes for a relevant issue in today’s society, when education is becoming less of a priority. Best episode ever? No, but “Help Wanted” is certainly still worth watching.
What did you guys think? Did you enjoy the episode? Let us know!
Last Man Standing airs Fridays at 8/7c on ABC
Follow Us
