Round Two: Family Tree

Family Tree: Season 1, Episode 2 “Treading the Boards” (B+)

With this second episode, I’m confident that I like this show, though it’s definitely among the odder entries I’ve seen. Michael McKean really is very funny as the show’s patriarch, and Chris O’Dowd serves as a good lead. We didn’t see much of his sister Bea in this installment, but what we did was rather amusing, and I’m sure that she’ll be back to play a bigger part in episodes to come. Tom’s search for information about his grandfather progressed considerably as he discovered that he was not actually Asian, as his father had colorfully commented on, but an actor who had been dressed in makeup. The trip to the theatre was entertaining, partially because of Pete’s antics but also because of the discovery that Tom’s grandfather was part of a horse costume, which of course prompted Pete and Tom to enter a race with said costume. The silliness of why his ancestor’s partnership with his other half dissolved was emphasized appropriately, and I love that the two-legged animal won the race. My favorite part of the episode, however, was something similar to last week but done just as well in this installment. Pete managed to find another winner in Tom’s date, who this time didn’t believe in dinosaurs but instead was obsessed with bones, which Tom seemed to find so peculiar and disconcerting. The length of that scene was incredible, and I hope that such interactions become a regular and consistent part of this show since so far they’ve been wholly worthwhile.