What I’m Watching: Life in Pieces

Life in Pieces: Season 1, Episode 17 “Hair Recital Rainbow Mom” (B-)

The first three segments of this episode were very silly, and the last one was considerably more substantive and much more unexpectedly dramatic. John dyeing his hair to try to look young definitely produced a disturbing, off-putting effect, and that came to a screeching halt when some unknowing retail employee asked Joan a question in which she referred to them as mother and son. Precocious Sophia really knows how to game the system, fully aware of how bad she is at piano, somehow skilled at playing the wrong note every time, and therefore asking to go right before the kid who always wets his pants closes out the recital. Preschool is an inevitable topic for any show that features children, and Greg managed to invent a mystical option that really doesn’t exist yet still got everyone talking as if it was real and they were very familiar with it. And then there was the final segment, where Matt got to meet Colleen’s mother, who I did not immediately recognize as Mercedes Ruehl, who won an Oscar for her supporting role in “The Fisher King.” More importantly, Matt deciding that he should ask Colleen to move in with him resulted in her coming to a very different conclusion. It’s fair that this show should explore heartbreak along with happiness, but it’s so sad to think that this is the end for them. Something tells me it won’t be, but things aren’t looking too good right now and it’s going to be hard to perk Matt up enough for him to fight for her.