Adam is participating in a contest to win a shopping spree at Toys R Us, which he has dreamed of winning for years. Meanwhile, the Ericas and Lainey decide to go on Star Search and they want to use Lainey's song. The only problem is that it's about Barry and it makes Erica really uncomfortable. This prompts Erica to record her own song in the mall recording booth. Adam tries to film his entry for the shopping contest, but the Frentas think he's too old to be playing with toys. Beverly asks Murray to introduce Adam to a different hobby, stamps. Lainey and Other Erica confront Erica about her demo tape from the mall, which leads to Erica's departure from the band. Murray shows Adam his stamp collection, and Adam uses those stamps to mail in a ton of entries for the Toys R Us shopping spree, which he still loses thanks to record participation.
Lainey and Other Erica are also recording their Star Search entry, which is also going to be Bohemian Rhapsody, much to the dismay of Erica. Meanwhile, Adam tells Beverly he used all of Murray's stamps and it's pretty clear that this is a major problem. Erica's recording her audition for Star Search live at the mall, and it goes pretty terribly, dismantling her solo career. Beverly helps Adam out with the stamp collection by replacing them all, but Murray notices that they aren't his stamps. Murray's incredibly angry, especially when he learns that it was all because of toys.
Erica tells the band that she fired her manager, but they don't buy it. They start to record their audition, with
Wrap-Up:
This was my favorite episode of the season. Both of the plots were incredibly strong, and I laughed more at the episode than I have at any episode this season. Murray's love for stamps was pretty funny, but also really sweet when we learned why he loved them. That helped it actually make sense, because Murray really doesn't seem someone whose hobby would be stamp collection. Erica's plot, especially the part involving Lainey and Barry's "beautiful" rendition of Bohemian Rhapsody, was hilarious and the best material she's been given all season. All in all, this episode had the ingredients of a real classic.
Score: 9/10
Grade: A-
