What I’m Watching: Grace and Frankie

Grace and Frankie: Season 4, Episode 11 “The Tub” (B+)

Well, this was quite a change to see for Grace and Frankie at the start of this episode, with an informative flashback to explain how it is that they discovered that maybe they shouldn’t be quite as independent anymore. I’m not sure we’ve reached that point just yet, or whether their new living situation is going to be permanent, but both of them experienced an unfortunate downturn in this episode. Grace got sentimental when she visited Phil’s site which had a banner on it that read “no longer in business,” and she made the mistake of trusting a contractor who seemed quite trustworthy at first but appears to have ruined the house and robbed them instead. Frankie was thrilled to drive her granddaughter around, but her track record behind the wheel wasn’t great to begin with, and therefore the fact that she followed an ice cream truck which led her to right by the Mexico border isn’t all that surprising. Bud, who is usually frustrated but still amused, didn’t seem to find much humor in this situation at all. I’ll be curious to see how assisted living suits them, since something tells me that they both might warm to some of the amenities more than they expect. It was a relief to see that Robert and Sol were both equally perturbed by the suggestion of an open marriage, despite support for the idea from Peter and an eager visit from the dashing young Roy. It’s a sign that maybe their troubles will soon be behind them.