"Coupling" is the first episode of this season to mine the comedic gold waiting in the now packed Otto house. It starts off with eight people sharing one bathroom!
Sure enough, the hormonal tensions are running high. Taylor surprises the family with the news that Trip is staying over in her room. Cooper is jealously sparring with Oliver as he spends more and more time with project partner, Trevor. And Anna-Kat gets mono from visiting stay-over guest, Franklin.
Hurray, this is one of the better episodes with sharp writing and deft juggling between story lines. Since the writers are essentially the same team in every episode, kudos must go to director Alisa Statman who is clearly bringing her MODERN FAMILY experience to make this episode fire on all cylinders.
While Greg and Katie struggle to deal with the fact that Taylor is having sex under their roof, Doris (Ali Wong) advises Katie that she has to grow up or risk growing apart from the kids. Greg and Katie waver between condemning and encouraging the in-house nookie.
Continuing the long running gag of "is he or isn't he gay", Taylor again calls Cooper, Oliver's boyfriend; Katie hopes Oliver will marry Cooper ("it would be nice for him to marry money"); and the parents snigger about giving the boys a sex basket to relieve their squabbling. WTF? Here's hoping Cooper and Oliver resolve their frustrations soon - it might be time for them to have their own "Florida Home-run."😄
Harrison Cheung is the author of the award-winning biography of Christian Bale (BenBella Books) and a contributor to Brave New Hollywood and The TV Ratings Guide.