Round Two: American Housewife

American Housewife: Season 1, Episode 2 “The Nap” (B)

I want to like this show, especially because I think Katy Mixon is great, and this second episode was pretty much exactly like the first, appealing and sort of funny while not being totally well-rounded. Centering the episode on Katie wanting to get a nap was somewhat simplistic, but it represented just how much of a nonstop job her role as a mother is. Greg’s part in the whole thing was initially quite deplorable, as he stayed home because he thought he was getting sick, forcing her to take more things on when she was already exhausted, and then failed to appreciate just how she was feeling before eventually doing the right thing and letting her get some rest. This is hardly the first time a TV mom has stopped the car and made her children get out, but you have to give her credit for assigning appropriate punishments, like picking up trash for her son and not picking up trash for her daughter who needs to spend more time studying and less time on physical activities. Going to war with Kate Flannery’s Crossing Guard Sandy proved very funny, and she really doesn’t seem to be learning her lesson at all, pouring her heart out to Sandy when she got the boot put on but then being threatened with even harsher consequences on her next offense. Pants-unbuttoning aside, this episode was less full of references to Katie’s size, which I take as a positive since it was able to focus on better and more worthwhile things.