What I’m Watching: Grace and Frankie

Grace and Frankie: Season 3, Episode 12 “The Musical” (B+)

This was a rather dramatic penultimate installment, with Robert’s play going on despite a number of interruptions and Frankie recovering fine from her incident but facing the future with a much more trepidatious attitude. Steve’s many attempts to derail Robert and to offer to take over for him didn’t have any effect, partially because Peter believed in him, and Sol leaving along with the rest of the family during the play didn’t even affect his performance. The problem is that they approach the way that they have chosen to live their lives and how other people don’t always welcome that extremely differently, and it’s causing serious issues in their relationship. Frankie’s discovery that she had a stroke ten years earlier was enlightening, and there was a good deal of comedy to be found in her family members and friends trying to isolate the moment that it happened and separate it out from the many times Frankie was just being Frankie. It’s easy to forget that Jacob is in the picture given how close Frankie and Grace have gotten, and I suspect that, though she might have been totally up for going with him to New Mexico, this is what’s going to keep her where she is. I like that the crazy Allison is remaining a constant in Bud’s life as he’s realizing that maybe she’s exactly what he wants even though no one else appreciates or likes her. I’d be happy to see a major development in their relationship that would send everyone reeling as they realized just how permanent Allison really was going to be in their lives.