Round Two: Life Sentence

Life Sentence: Season 1, Episode 2 “Re-Inventing the Abbotts” (B)

In its second outing, this show demonstrated some of its staying power while painting a decent picture of how it’s going to work now that the initial shock value of Stella’s cancer being gone has passed. Some of what’s going on is considerably more dramatic than the rest, like Wes finding out that he might be deported since the authorities believed that his marriage to Stella was just to be able to maintain his green card. It’s very true that the couple doesn’t seem to know each other at all, and the way that they answered the questions cast plenty of suspicion on their status, but they managed to make a great case for it that got them approved. What this show is doing well is showing how everything that Stella experienced may have been different for those around her, like all the positive memories she has from the house were actually devastating developments from her mother’s perspective, inspiring her to try to sell the house and move on as quickly as possible, something that her father wasn’t ready to do. After airing lots of awkward sentiments, things seem to be better in the family, with Elizabeth headed off to a writer’s retreat, much to the chagrin of her husband, and Aiden confronting the consequences of his actions, which may mean spilling the beans to the husband of the woman he’s impregnated. Stella isn’t doing great with her newfound job, earning one lucky customer a month of free coffee because he confirmed her overshare, though I think she’s charming enough that she can make it work.