What I’m Watching: Life in Pieces

Life in Pieces: Season 3, Episode 7 “Thirty-Five Teacher Escape Lottery” (B)

I wouldn’t say that I’m particularly good at determining people’s ages, but I think that any person in their right mind would be able to tell that Jen wasn’t turning 53. Moreover, it’s just a common practice of decency and politeness in the customer service industry that you don’t emphasize someone’s age or suggest that someone is a grandmother when all you’re doing is misreading the situation around you. It was entertaining to watch, and who would have thought that Clementine could be just as persuasive with little girls as she is with teenage boys? Zoe Lister-Jones has always been my favorite actress on this show, and this rare moment of extreme self-pity rather than anger at someone else was fun to watch. Another unexpected discovery was that Tyler’s adult girlfriend, Christine Woods’ Lesley, was Sophia’s teacher. She didn’t make it all that awkward, but she did manage to be extremely unprofessional and petty by picking favorites in class and then switching back to her original choice when Tyler broke up with her. She doesn’t seem to be going anywhere after Sophia sent her flowers and wrote her a note on Tyler’s behalf, and he’s never been a particularly effective communicator in isolating what he really means when he says or does the wrong thing. John fell for that escape room theft in a big way, and now the family is left with no stuff in the house, which I imagine will be milked for future plotlines. I’ve enjoyed watching Colleen’s frugality get her into trouble in the past, and her forgetfulness and tendency to lose stuff took center stage in this half-hour which, most prominently, led Matt to determine that he just needs to be on her side sometimes even if he finds the lottery ticket tucked under the visor of her car.