What I’m Watching: Grace and Frankie

Grace and Frankie: Season 1, Episode 5 “The Fall” (B-)

I’m not sure how exactly to feel about this episode. Featuring only three main characters over the course of the episode, with a brief appearance by Robert mixed in, was effective in a sense because it allowed their personalities to be fleshed out, particularly Brianna, who opted to spend time setting her mother up on a dating website and getting high with Frankie instead of living it up on a Saturday night. The downside to that was that we didn’t get any other character development, though I guess Grace and Frankie really are meant to be the stars and the rest of the cast are just supporting players. While it worked emotionally, having the majority of the episode take place in Grace’s head doesn’t do much for the story, particularly because Grace has just conjure up an imaginary scenario in which Frankie showed herself to be a true friend and will now attribute a closeness to her that isn’t rooted in reality. Frankie has always been the nicer person, of course, but it might have nice for them to actually experience getting closer in real life. I enjoyed the casting of Corbin Bernsen as the doctor who Brianna immediately identified as a potential romantic match for Grace and who then, in her dream, was rather oblivious and ready to operate on her hip without her consent. It’s a shame she blocked him from her list since it would have been nice to see his true nature and if he would have been just the right fit for Grace.