What I’m Watching: Atypical (Season Premiere)

Atypical: Season 2, Episode 1 “Juiced!” (B+)

It’s very nice to have this show, one of last year’s best surprises, back for a second season. The fallout from the two major revelations in the finale – Elsa’s affair and Sam being in love with Julia – were going to have consequences, but they’re considerably different here than they would be on any other show. Casey, preparing for a big life change of her own, was so intent on continuing to tease and torment her brother so that she could be consistent in her behavior, and that worked for a while until he reached a breaking point, which prompted him to throw orange juice on the only part of her uniform that wasn’t damaged. At least she’s mature enough to know that the best apology she could hope for from him wasn’t a direct admission of guilt and remorse for that specific action but a thoughtful gift for her first day of school. Julia, who has never been terribly professional, handled herself moderately better when Sam showed up to talk to her, and he still wants her to be his therapist, especially after experiencing so many different options, including one that he actually thought was a rabbit. Elsa is struggling immensely to continue to parent her two children who have lost respect for her because of her infidelity, but the way they were treating her was far more civilly than how Doug acted when he finally showed back up. Kicking her out immediately wasn’t kind, and I think we all know that a single-parent household with a different parent present isn’t going to be any better for Sam or the family as a whole.