A girl at school, Kim, tells Barry that she's had a crush on him for years, but he brushes it off because he still isn't really over Lainey, and the JTP tells him to pursue her. Wanting Erica to apply to college, Beverly tells Erica that she is a winner, and she needs to go out in the world and win again. This leads Erica to try out for Jeopardy. Barry agrees to go out with Kim, but she turns out to be a "yellow" in the school's annual Color Day, leading Barry to believe she's a spy. Matt Bradley (a fellow yellow) tells Barry that the real reason he's leery is because he's not over Lainey, but Barry won't listen to him. Beverly and Murray's elation at Erica filling out application turns to immediate disappointment when they realize these are game show applications. Beverly tells Murray she'll "handle" it, but Erica gets a call from Jeopardy and now Bev and Murray are really in trouble.
Erica is practicing for Jeopardy, and even tells Beverly and Murray that she plans to become a "professional game show contestant." Adam hands Kim a note from Barry at their planned date, a note in which Barry tells her that he knows she's a spy. She runs off, crying. Adam tells Barry that he really doesn't think she's a spy, but now Barry has convinced himself that Adam is actually a Color Day spy. Erica bombs her Jeopardy interview. Barry has a meeting with Matt Bradley, and asks him for advice about Lainey and Kim. This leads Barry to stop being convinced that Kim is a spy, and he goes to ask her out again on Color Day. She... is not on board with this, and yells at him about how badly she's going to beat him on Color Day.
Color Day is tied, and it's all down to the dizzy bat race. Coincidentally, Barry is pitted against Kim. Kim falls down, and Barry seemingly has an easy win ahead of him. Even though she yelled at him, Barry carries Kim to the finish line and Color Day ends in a tie. Beverly and Murray cheer Erica up after her Jeopardy failure, which is enough to convince her to apply to college again. After he tells her it's too soon after his breakup with Lainey, Barry and Kim agree to just be friends.
Wrap-Up:
This was a really strong episode. It wasn't one of the season's best, but it still had two interesting stories that kept me interested and utilized (almost) all of the characters in a meaningful way. Neither story was wholly unique, but there was still enough uniqueness in each that I could thoroughly enjoy them both. The plots both felt a lot like ones you would find in a finale, so I'm interested to see how much they develop in these last few weeks of the season. I mostly enjoyed Barry's story line because it finally showed some signs of him moving on from Lainey and becoming happy once again. The episode set up an interesting future relationship for Barry, and the Kim character is likable enough in her first appearance that I could definitely see myself rooting for her and Barry's relationship. Erica's story also set up a clear direction for her character, which I appreciated. She spent the entire season pretty much lost, and I hope that her potentially heading back to college will mean that she'll take charge of her life. I'm excited to see how she grows next season after what feels like a regression this season. All in all, a solid episode that should ensure an interesting end to the season. I'll be back to review the show once it returns in early May, so make sure to be back then to see my thoughts on the final episodes of season 6!
Score: 8.5/10
Grade: B+
