What I’m Watching: Suburgatory

Suburgatory: Season 1, Episode 14 “The Body” (B+)

It’s been a long time since we’ve seen Lisa’s brother Ryan, and he definitely brings down the average intellect, though no one in this episode comes off as terribly smart. His victory dinner for wrestling allowed Lisa to shine, constantly ignored by her parents in favor of her brother and his esteemed body. His injury, and all of the funeral parallels, were amusing, and it was nice to see Lisa finally get what she wanted, or at least come close to it. For the record, venison marinara doesn’t sound too appetizing, and neither does tuna with shells. George gave an entertaining and extremely misunderstood pep talk to Ryan, and it’s always a treat to see George do some good old introspection. Tessa running for school office was never going to result in a win, but I do like how it turned out, with Tessa agreeing to drop out in exchange for having her opponents hire Lisa as their campaign manager, mainly because Dalia got bored. It was sweet that, though she was ignored, Lisa still got her favorite meal, thanks to Ryan and his time spent living her life and realizing what it’s like to be unpopular and in a wheelchair. One of the things I love most about ensemble shows is when characters that rarely interact get a chance to spend time together, and therefore Dallas’ visit to Noah’s to get her teeth whitened was very welcome. Dallas does look good with super-white teeth, and I wonder if finally expressing her true feelings to George is next on her list.