Episode 1:
The entire family is on vacation in the jungle to celebrate John and Joan's 50th anniversary. Though they're hungry, they are rushed off to their rooms quickly and can't even eat. The rooms are disgusting and awful, and Tim and one of his daughters both got bit by bugs. Lark loses her stuffed armadillo, and refuses to go to sleep before they get it. Greg installed a GPS tracker in it, but won't go out to get it because it's outside. Jen shames him into going, but he quickly retreats back into the room. However, he goes back out. The armadillo starts moving, which causes Greg to freak out. It turns out that the hut employee was the one who had it, and he gets it back for Lark. However, the toy is full of bugs and they have to get rid of it anyway.
Story 2: Be My Little Baby:
Sophia gets stuck hanging out with Heather, even though she wants to hang out with Tim, Sam and Tyler. Sam and Tyler tell her to blow Heather off and even try to convince her to have another child so she doesn't have to fill the role of "the baby" anymore. However, Heather doesn't get the message. Sophia tells Tim about it, and Tim tells Heather that Sophia doesn't want to be treated like baby anymore. Heather feels like a terrible mom, but she makes up for that the next day by letting Sophia go zip-lining. However, Sophia gets scared right before she's about to zip-line, though Heather also doesn't understand that and makes her go.
Story 3: Colleen's Last Resort:
Colleen tells Matt that she booked a room at a much nicer hotel, but Matt doesn't want to go because it's a family vacation. After a snake shows up in their bed, they end up going. Everyone is suspicious of them the next day when they look clean, rested and happy. Tim spots Matt and Colleen's hotel keycard, and Matt and Colleen are found out. Greg is ready to snitch on them, but Colleen offers a compromise: they will all stay in the room together starting that night, which really puts a damper on Matt and Colleen's vacation.
Story 4: 50 Short Years:
John proposes to Joan that they get a room at the same hotel that the rest of the family is staying at, though Joan instantly shoots the idea down. The next day on their guided tour, John wants to ditch it which Joan wants to keep going. However, John is able to convince her to sneak away. This leads to them getting lost. They end up finding a road, and they ask a bus for a ride. They hop on the bus, which is from the resort, and discover their entire family. Joan is heartbroken and declares that their children "suck." However, Colleen is able to fix things by giving John and Joan their room and sending the rest of the family back to hell.
Wrap-Up:
I thought that this was a great return, mainly because it focused on the family and their bonds, instead of the often-weak pregnancy-related stories like last season. It was really fun to see the entire family on the vacation from hell, and many of my favorite characters all got something to do. My favorite story was the fourth one, as it was a culmination of all of them and was a really great way to wrap up the episode. The second story felt pretty familiar, and wasn't very original, but I still enjoyed it despite the issues with it. The first and third stories were both solid as well, with some really funny moments in both. This premiere gives me hope that this season will be better than the third, and made me very excited for the rest of the season. It's great to have the show back, and I never realized how much I missed it.
Score: 9/10
Grade: A-
Episode 2:
Tyler's band isn't attracting an audience anymore, which leads to Tim taking him to record a demo at a studio to raise his spirits. The recording doesn't go very well though, and Tyler thinks he's terrible. He decides to quit music altogether. Tim tells Tyler about his time as a diver, saying that even though diving wasn't for him, it did lead him to his eventual passion. He also tells Tyler that he can go back to making music if he wants to. After this talk, Tim decides to try diving one more time.
Story 2: Rough Pregnancy:
Jen tells Greg that his "nose breath" makes her want to vomit. She also tells him about a bunch of other things he does that she hates, and he tries not to do any of them anymore. However, Greg finally can't stand her demands anymore and he tells her how he feels. This leads to her turning the A/C all the way down to the 50s, and they get in a war over the thermostat.
Story 3: Good Care:
John brings Joan home from the hospital after her injury in the jungle, and he pledges to take care of her until she is better. Heather helps him out with making food, but John wants her to keep it a secret from Joan. He takes advantage of her kindness though, and asks her to make both Joan and him smoothies (or, in his case, a milkshake) and tells her to go to the market. Joan thinks that the food is a bit too good, though, and gets upset that she's had to take care of the cooking and cleaning for five decades while John was perfectly capable himself. When John starts requesting more and more intricate food, Heather walks out. This leads to John giving Joan food of much lower quality, and she gets suspicious. John confesses to her that Heather was the one doing it, which makes Joan very happy, since it means that she's married to someone very, very incompetent, and not someone lazy.
Story 4: Meet the Parents
Morgan, the mother of Matt and Colleen's prospective baby, is a bit of a mess, but Matt and Colleen do their best to make a good impression on her. However, another set of prospective parents come in to meet with her, and Matt and Colleen start to doubt that they'll get the baby. They go to the adoption agency and request to see Morgan again to try to convince her to give them her baby, but she's already on her way home. They are able to track her down before she catches the bus. She tells her that she loved the book that they gave her because of the picture of them as Minions, and she tells them that she is giving them her baby.
Wrap-Up:
This episode was weaker than the premiere, but was still better than most episodes last season. The third story was the only one that I'd actually describe as being "great," but the other three were all decent themselves. John and Joan were both so funny in story 3, and Joan's line about John being "very, very incompetent" was by far the funniest line in the entire episode. I always love their stories, so it's not a surprise that this one was my favorite. The fourth story was also far better than I anticipated, considering how much I disliked the Matt and Colleen baby stories last season. It wasn't anything spectacular, but it actually did make me look forward to their storyline moving forward, as I think their new life with their baby's biological mother is going to be interesting. The other two stories were both pretty mediocre, but both still had enjoyable moments, especially the second story, which had a weirdly sweet ending. All in all, a decent-yet-uneven episode that was still solidly enjoyable.
Score: 8/10
Grade: B
