What I’m Watching: Grace and Frankie

Grace and Frankie: Season 4, Episode 8 “The Lockdown” (B)

Sometimes, this show goes a bit overboard with the randomness, namely the sudden escape of an orangutan – which Frankie knew by name – from the local zoo and the subsequent lockdown that nearly forced Frankie and Sol to miss the birth of their first grandchild. The cop showing up and agreeing to help them after a euphoric Grace promised to set him up with Mallory on a date was a silly plotline but one that worked well enough to help Frankie and Sol have a wonderful experience. Allison didn’t take much convincing to agree to a home birth after hating her twelve-year-old doctor, and her birth ended up being very fast and furious, with a bit of semi-calming help from Mallory and minimal contributions from Coyote (aside from his kiddie pool) and Bud. Grace had another chance to confront the realities of again head-on with her impending surgery and the thrice-in-a-lifetime experience of not being able to drink, which spawned an unexpected fourth stage that found her apologizing to a shocked Robert. Though Sol may believe that Frankie is his soulmate while Robert doesn’t believe in soulmates, it’s sweet to know that these two former couples do still get along well enough to understand each other, even if they were never the right romantic matches for each other. And Oliver’s marriage may not be headed in a great place, but at least Robert and Sol should be able to have some happiness with the distraction of the new baby before they have to revisit the things that have come between them.