Wednesday, May 19, 2021

What I’m Watching: Home Economics

Home Economics: Season 1, Episode 6 “The Triangle Shirtwaist Fire: An Oral History (Used), $11” (B+)

I laughed a number of times during this episode, and it was also nice to meet Emily and see that she was her own person with a distinct personality and some humorous dynamics with the members of her ex’s family. I knew I recognized actress Justine Lupe from somewhere, and I think that’s from her role as Willa, Connor’s girlfriend, on “Succession.” She played this part perfectly, making Emily likeable but also a bit prickly, incredibly mean to Tom and the embodiment of cool for a far too obsessed Denise. I liked the twist that she had made Alec up as a way to make Connor jealous since he and Gretchen were spending so much time with Connor’s family, and that they immediately jumped back into congenial parental roles as soon as their daughter needed them. Tom and Marina crashed and burned spectacularly in their ill-fated attempts to pick people up to show that they still had it, and it was sweet – and a bit scandalous – to see them ultimately settle on each other after no one else could last more than a minute with either of them. Sarah realizing that she was bad at gifts was like Tom realizing that his skills don’t lie in being fun, and it was very funny to see her impress Denise and Emily by switching the card on her terrible gift with Tom and Marina’s so that she got all the credit for their far better present. It’s nice to find a show like this that makes such great use of its entire ensemble. In somewhat surprising but great news, this show will be back for season two!

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