The episode begins with Adam and Dave Kim creating a tribute to Weird Science, when Erica comes in to get her bras so she can go to college. Murray and Beverly are about to take Erica to college, but Beverly wants a kiss first. Erica does not want a kiss, and so they start fighting. All of this means that Murray's in for a super fun ride to college. At the college campus, Beverly is having a hard time saying goodbye to Erica. She only has a few hours, which she is NOT okay with. So she tells Erica's RA to give Erica some special treatment. She basically wants him to be Beverly 2.0. Then Erica comes back, before Beverly can threaten/demand more from the RA. They head to Erica's room, where she meets her roommate, Other Erica. Beverly annoys Erica with her outrageous demands such as getting rid of a hotplate (a hotplate killed Buddy Holly, she says). Barry is trying to find love, and nobody wants to bite. He's not pleased, and he takes it out on Adam by stealing his pudding. Barry's created a plan to find love and make himself cooler. One of them includes harassing Adam. Adam's not happy with this, and he and Jackie decide that they need to find Barry a girlfriend. Back at college, Erica want Beverly out, especially after Beverly's turned Erica's dorm room into her bedroom from home. Beverly guilts Erica into letting her stay, because of course she does. At school, Adam is trying to "weird science" a girl for Barry, so he wants Barry to make a list for him so he can make the perfect girl. Barry needs confirmation that this will work, so he asks the science teacher, who says it's totally possible. Adam doesn't get why the teacher did this, and he tells Adam that like Adam, he's also got an idiot for a brother.
Beverly can't sleep, so she's assembling a "safety credenza." Erica isn't happy about it, because she's in college, and doesn't need a credenza. The RA shows up, and tells Erica about a mixer. She tells him he's got company, and he thinks that it's of the romantic kind (and not of the Beverly kind), and he rats out Beverly. Then, a fire alarm goes off. Beverly starts freaking out, and when she smells smoke, she runs out with her handheld siren to alarm the others. Erica is humiliated, but Beverly doesn't let up. Back at the Goldberg home, Adam, Pops, and Barry are "Weird Sciencing" a girlfriend for Barry, with Jackie's help. Barry gives his list of requests, but Adam tells him it's not working. He needs to be able to find an actual girl that exists, and Barry's list is insane. But Barry won't listen, and so Jackie is left with an impossible task: finding the girl Barry described. At college, a bunch of kids laugh at Erica, and she wants Beverly gone immediately. They get in a fight, and Erica storms off, leaving behind a super depressed Beverly. Adam tells Barry that Jackie has found a girl for Barry, and it's Carla. Barry isn't pleased, because she's not even close to what he wants. Adam ends up yelling at Barry, telling him he isn't gonna have a bunch of girls fighting over him. Barry gets upset and walks away.
Adam tries to make nice by giving him a schedule of beatings he'll be giving Adam. Barry initially refuses, but he forgives Adam when he offers to let Barry pants him in public (while wearing sweatpants!). At college, Erica starts to take down all of the things Beverly put up, but she begins to actually miss Beverly. She actually realizes that she's actually super fortunate. So she goes to say goodbye to Beverly, and it makes Beverly super happy. She even gives Beverly some kisses. One of the girls at school actually likes that Barry's being nice to Adam, so we've probably found Barry's next love interest.
This was a really enjoyable premiere, and it's great to have the Goldberg family back after all of this time off. This was a refreshing start to the season, as the dynamics of the show are likely to change significantly with Erica now at college. Erica's story was superior in this episode, with Barry's being good-but-not-great. I did enjoy the Dave Kim appearance at the beginning of the episode, as well as Jackie's appearance, as she's a fun character that I'd like to see even more of. I missed Lainey in this episode, but it's understandable while she's not there and I'm glad to see that Barry's trying to move on. As always, I loved Wendi McLendon-Covey in the episode and she was the highlight of the episode. I'm excited to see what other hijinks ensue for the Goldbergs in the upcoming episodes of this season, and make sure to join me next week for another review.
My Score: 8.5/10
My Grade: B+
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