What I’m Watching: Grace and Frankie

Grace and Frankie: Season 3, Episode 11 “The Other Vibrator” (B)

This was an interesting episode, but also one that felt a little bit strange. It’s fair to assume that Robert and Sol have gone through more trying experiences with the world reacting to their being gay than just their wives being distraught by the shocking revelation, but we haven’t seen much of that on this show. In fact, everything is very casual and the stakes really aren’t high at all. Therefore, seeing Sol stand up to hatred outside the theater where Robert is going to make his big debut was startling, and turning it into a comic moment where Robert ended up throwing water on a kid felt inappropriately comical. Robert spotting his husband engaged in a petty battle with a bigot might have been meant to suggest something about Sol’s maturity and his need to hog the moment, but I’m not really buying it. I was much more fond of the introduction of a nemesis for Grace and Frankie as they dealt with a competitor who was trying to steal their idea, in the form of a fantastically sassy Peter Gallagher, who was ready to flirt with Grace and then promptly lost interest when Frankie got in the way. Frankie’s apparent stroke at the end of the episode was troubling, and the only comfort is knowing that this show has already been renewed for a fourth season and its title isn’t changing. I was also happy to see Bud stand up for himself and lash out at Coyote for the family’s constant mockery of the woman that he actually likes and can see himself marrying someday.