What I’m Watching: Better With You

Better With You: Season 1, Episode 9 “Better with Thanksgiving” (B+)

This show celebrated Christmas pretty early, and now it’s a far more appropriate time to celebrate Thanksgiving. I enjoyed the setup of the episode very much since it’s hard to create a new kind of Thanksgiving TV episode since so many have been done over the years (I caught at least two episodes of “Friends” with such a theme on Thanksgiving day, and I know for a fact the show did one almost every year). Vicky’s obsession with making an adventurous, disgusting-sounding turkey was entertaining, and I liked how Casey brought in his own family traditions. The puzzle contest provided some great trash talk lines like “I play on donating my winnings to a charity that teaches old people to do puzzles” and “you talk a lot for a guy with such a small vocabulary.” Ben as always was the frantic center of attention, suspected by Joel of having killed his mother since he was the last to see her. The truth proved much more interesting, of course, and it was fun seeing Mia and Ben trying hard and failing to keep the ring a secret. The story of the five signs why Maddie and Ben shouldn’t get married was clever, and it’s good that this horrific “valid life choice” phrase was addressed. Joel’s insistence that Ben should call him by his first name since it’s been nice years was funny, and the closing list of reasons why Christmas in New York City isn’t entirely exciting was rather amusing (and relatable).