Jack goes to Florida with Liz (who joins him fearing she’s
not spontaneous enough) to see the in-home nurse Martha who took care of his
mother. Turns out she had a secret lesbian relationship with his mother. Liz
keeps pushing him to accept it, and Jack finally breaks. He’s discovered that
his mother was in fact very happy (a shocking revelation for him), and that her
last words to him telling him to be happy weren’t spoken out of mockery but
rather out of concern. (Is Jack Donaghy actually happy with all the success,
power, and prestige he’s accumulated? Are we to see him make a change in his
life in these last few episodes?)
The best part of this story is a scene where Liz and Jack
are forced to share a bed, and Liz broaches the subject that’s crossed most our
minds: why haven’t the two ever dated or at least hooked up? Martha even points
out how they bicker and argue like a married couple. Liz acknowledges that
obviously it’d be weird and tawdry if they ever did but that it’s peculiar how
it’s never crossed her mind. The relationship is at the heart of the show, and
the series’ willingness to examine it and many of the core foundations of the
show up to this point have been great. We know there’s no sexual tension there;
it’s a mentor-mentee relation, but if this sort of thing were to happen in
real, you’d have to imagine it would be hard for there to be no sexual tension
or awkwardness on some level. There was in fact an episode (Season 5’s “Gentleman's
Intermission”) where Jack’s former wife Avery Jessup is fearful of their
closeness.
(In a story who's only real purpose is to set up the final story arc of the series) Back at TGS, Tracy and Jenna are oddly enough left in charge
of overseeing everything. They make Kenneth sign an affidavit swearing against
Hazel’s claims, but he doesn’t feel comfortable and it leads to him descending into
a bizarre Fonzie caricature. The two of them feel bad and have Kenneth admit
the truth to legal, which imperils TGS just in time for the last three
episodes.
Stray Observations:
-“The last time I said ‘good news’ was when I taught my pets
‘News’ the meaning of Christmas”
-Florida Emergency Services include aid for: anacondas in
pipes, Indian bones in the sink, and being unable to find JAG on tv.
-Hazel’s real name is “Richard Drench”
-“Let me show you some hospitality. This is Florida. Let me
boil you a bottle of Gatorade. Is blue good for you?”
-“You’re kind of a slut” “I did sleep a lot with Jenna
during season 3”
-“You’re allowing Tracey Jordan to criticize your life
choices?” – Cut to Tracey and Jenna holding a door to stop an avalanche of
oranges.
-I've never been a fan of Hazel which is a shame because I like Kristen Schaal in everything else she does.
Grade: B
What did everyone else think?
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