The Goldbergs Season 6 Episode 21 Review

It's the last Goldbergs of the month (but not the season!), and it's clear that the show is preparing for its finale. Barry is competing in the school year-ending Color Day (and maybe finding a new love?), and Erica is looking ahead to her future once again, with plans vastly different than the ones her parents have for her. I don't know for sure if this episode will be good, but the title references a Weird Al song, so I'm pretty sure we're in for a good episode.

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+

The Goldbergs Season 6 Episode 17 Review

This week's Goldbergs features a tribute to the sitcom Perfect Strangers, a new cousin, the Frentas(!), and discussion of Beverly's upcoming cookbook.

Beverly is working on her cookbook, and is testing recipes on the entire family, to an extreme degree. Pops tells the kids to get ready for their arrival of their Russian cousin Gleb, who they've never met. When Gleb arrives, he's a lot different than Pops described him, but Pops tells the kids to try and make him comfortable. Beverly annoys her friends with her constant talk about her cookbook, and they leave following an argument. Using Perfect Strangers as inspiration, Barry tells Adam and Erica they can to use Gleb to their advantage, which they don't want to to at fist. It's only once Barry goes around their back and does the plan anyway that they're convinced that it's a good idea. Beverly invites the Frentas over again, and they challenge her to listen to them instead of spending all of their time together talking about herself. They tell her that if she can withhold talking about her life for ten minutes, they'll let her talk about herself all she wants for the next few times they meet, no questions asked. She doesn't come close.

Gleb tells Pops that the kids have been using him to get what they want, and he's really upset about it. He tells them to show Gleb what America is like, but the end up insulting him further. Pops realizes that he's spoiled the kids rotten, making them selfish. Beverly discovers that the Frentas are having brunch without her and even replaced her with someone else. They talk for a bit, but she gets insulted and storms off. Pops takes everything he's ever gotten for the kids and gives it all to Gleb, and the kids demand that he gives it back. Beverly stops by Bill's house to hang out with him and Murray, but she doesn't fit and and leaves them too.

Murray tells the Frentas (whose names he does NOT know) that Beverly is a really good friend who always talks to the family about her friends, and they go patch things up with her. Beverly is touched, and she even agrees to include their recipes in her cookbook. The kids apologize to Pops for the way they acted. Though he's grateful, he tells them that Gleb is the one that really deserves an apology. They apologize to Gleb, and then take him to the Phillies game.

Wrap-Up:

I really enjoyed this episode, and found it to be one of the funnier recent episodes. While it felt a little outlandish at times, it was good, pure fun and both plots were really enjoyable. I found it hard to believe that Murray and Beverly wouldn't interact with Gleb all week, which did detract from my enjoyment of that story, but it was really funny nonetheless. The ending was particularly rewarding, and it was nice to see the Goldberg kids having some fun together with their long-lost cousin. The plot with Beverly was the standout for me, however. My love for the Frentas has been well-documented in these reviews, and their mere appearance can elevate even the worst of episodes. The most importance re-appearance of this episode, however, is the living room. I loved that episode so much and I was so happy to see the Frentas meeting there this week. Seeing them finally say something about Bev's tendency to go on (and on and on and on) about her family is something that I never really knew I wanted to see, but it was great to see the show shake things up. It was also wonderful seeing Murray have an interaction with the Frentas, and having him be the one to help Beverly and the Frentas fix their relationship was clever. On a related note, it's great to see David Koechner making more frequent appearances on the show this season. Seeing his Bill and Murray get closer over these recent seasons has been a small but very important bit of character progression for our beloved family's patriarch, and it's nice to see them spending time together, however boring that time may seem. My only complaint about this episode is that it was, in some way, yet another tribute episode. While these used to feel really special (the Dirty Dancing episode from season three remains a notable standout), they're now just something I expect from the show, and I'd love to see them used less frequently and be more spaced out.

Score: 8.5/10
Grade: B+

The Goldbergs Season 6 Episode 14 Review

Valentine's Day is here on The Goldbergs, and that's not a good thing for any member of the family. Adam and Murray fight over (getting rid of) Beverly, while Barry remains upset over Lainey leaving him and ruins things for Geoff and Erica in the meantime.

It's Valentine's Day, and Barry is depressed because he'll "never love again," though the JTP is able to cheer him up. Adam gets a candy-gram from Beverly at school, which is just the start of Beverly interrupting his Valentine's celebrating with Jackie. The Ericas' band is struggling without Lainey, and Geoff offers to help them find a new member. It doesn't go well at first, but they eventually find someone, the Kremps' nephew Evan. Barry tells Geoff that Evan is moving in on Erica, and Geoff starts getting jealous. Adam tells Beverly that they need to spend Valentine's Day apart. Beverly decides to spend it with Murray, and Murray isn't fond of this idea. Murray sabotages Adam by making Beverly think that Adam wrote a beautiful poem for her, which makes Beverly want to have dinner with him on Valentine's Day instead of Murray.

Adam and Murray keep lying about the other giving Beverly various nice Valentine's gifts, so much so that Beverly doesn't even know who she's going to dinner with now. After getting advice from Barry, Geoff yells at Evan, which causes Evan to leave. This angers Erica, who tells Barry not to get in Geoff's head. He responds by telling her that he just didn't want Geoff to get ditched like he did. Beverly stops by the Kremps' flower shop, and Virginia tells her that, despite Murray's name being on the card, Adam was the one who bought the flowers. She also gives her theory about why this happened, saying that Murray and Adam are trying to pass her off on one another. A hurt Beverly heads home and confronts Murray about this. Murray apologizes and tells Beverly that he loves her, which makes her forgive him. Erica and the JTP track Barry down and help make his Valentine's Day special.

Wrap-Up:

I really enjoyed this episode, and felt that it was one of the show's most original episodes that they've aired this season. Obviously both plots had familiar elements, but they both felt fresh and new, and were really fun. I'm glad that the show is actually showing Barry's heartbreak over Lainey, and aren't just having him move on quickly. One of the biggest problems I've had with the Goldbergs is the fact that there's no real character development in these recent seasons, but this is a step in the right direction towards developing Barry's character more and making him more mature. The ending of the plot with Barry and Erica was very heartwarming, and the entire plot was really enjoyable to watch, even if it wasn't as funny as the other plot. Adam and Murray dueling over who will be stuck with Beverly was one of the funniest things I've seen on this show in a very long time, even though I felt terrible for Beverly when she finally realized what was happening. All in all, this is one of the stronger Goldbergs episodes plot-wise in a really long time, and it's probably my second-favorite episode of the season overall, behind the midseason premiere.

Score: 9/10
Grade: A-

The Goldbergs Season 6 Episode 12 Review

This week on the Goldbergs, Beverly tries to pursue her dream of being a lawyer (which she practically is already!), and Barry tries to get into college now that his relationship with Lainey is over.

Barry is freaking out because everyone else has been preparing for college while he hasn't. Murray offers to help him find a school, but Barry picks a school at random and he decides to apply to it. After being injured in a car crash, Beverly decides to request a stop sign to city hall, and she asks Adam to help with it. She goes to the comptroller, not fully understanding what he does, and she and Adam present their video to him. The video is confusing, but the comptroller grants the stop sign. This goes straight to Beverly's head and convinces her to become a lawyer.

Murray advises Barry on his college resume, telling him to stretch the truth to make it more impressive, no matter how insane it sounds. After learning how to become a lawyer, Beverly decides not to become one after all, because she "already kinda is" one. Barry's fellow JTP members get angry when he tells them about his lies on his resume, which makes him rethink it. Meanwhile, Erica reveals to Beverly that she's given up on her dream of becoming a rock star.

Murray tells Barry that a Tufts alum is at the house to talk about his resume, and during the interview, Barry admits that he lied on the resume. Beverly tells Erica that, because of her urging, she has a new dream: writing a cookbook. She also encourages Erica to give her music dream another try. After reading Barry's real essay, Murray tells him that getting into college isn't more important than his happiness and that he's proud of his growth.

Wrap-Up:

This was a solid episode, but I can't help but feel like it left something to be desired. It had plenty of funny moments in it, for sure, but I just didn't enjoy it as much as I've enjoyed most of the episodes this season. It was definitely one of their weaker outings, because both of the plots felt incredibly familiar. While I still enjoy the show, it's gotten very predictable as of late and I need something them to shake things up a bit. This episode was pretty much just business-as-usual, and the best they can go for with that approach is an average episode. The episodes may be funny, and the actors may give it their all, but the underlying feeling of familiarity always hurts it. However, I did enjoy seeing Beverly find a new passion, and her new goal of writing a cookbook should provide for some unique storylines in the future. Murray bonding with Barry was very sweet, but we've seen similar endings to Murray/Barry plots before and that makes the moment less emotionally impactful. All in all, this episode could have been a lot better, but still gave us some strong moments and the ending of Beverly's plot gives me hope for the future of the show.

Score: 7.5/10
Grade: B-

The Goldbergs Season 6 Episode 12 Review

Last week's episode of The Goldbergs was very emotional and led to the end of a longtime couple. This week doesn't let us off the hook, as many members of the Goldberg family still grapple with Lainey's sudden exit. Plus, Adam tries to get away with skipping a gym class activity and ends up making an unexpected bond.

Adam's class is being forced to run the mile run in gym class, so Adam does the only thing he can think of to get out of it: he complains to Beverly about it. Beverly writes him a note, and while Coach is disappointed, he gets out of running. All of Lainey's loved ones are still upset about her departure. Murray's not happy either, but his problem is just that everyone is hogging the living room. Beverly tries to help, but makes things worse, so now Jeff and Murray have to work together to cheer everyone up. In class, Coach Mellor announces that he'll be leaving William Penn in order to become a wrestling coach. Murray decides to get Beverly away from the kids and Bill, and takes them out for a fun day together. The Pina Colada Song gets stuck on the car radio, and Murray can't turn it off. It keeps playing over and over, and everyone is angry now. The kids in Adam's class mean their new coach, Coach Green, who has a fun (?) belief in aliens that costs him the job.

Coach Mellor decides to bring in his brother as the new coach, but he's way worse than their original Coach Mellor. OG Mellor gives Adam some advice, to not be like a former Boston Marathon winner that cheated, which gives Adam the idea to cheat with Pops' help. Unfortunately for Adam, the original Mellor is there for the run and knows exactly what Adam did. The entire family is going crazy because of the Pina Colada Song, which leads to Murray breaking a traffic law and getting a ticket. Following an argument, Murray admits that he also really misses Lainey. Murray is now even more depressed than everyone else, and the family sings The Pina Colada Song to cheer him up. Adam runs the mile run for real this time, and that makes Coach Mellor proud.

Wrap-Up:
While not as strong as last week's midseason premiere, this was still a solid episode of my favorite '80s family. The plot focusing on Murray cheering up the rest of the family was definitely the better of the two, and I thought Bill was really hilarious in it. I really hope that he sticks around even though Lainey hasn't. I'm glad that they didn't just pretend that the characters were fine with Lainey's sudden move, and actually gave them time to grieve and come together as a family. Murray talking about what she meant to him was the episode's most emotional point (and there were quite a few tug-at-your-heartstrings moments), and it's a side of Murray that we rarely see, especially for anyone outside of the family. Adam's plot with Coach Mellor wasn't as good, but still had some strong moments, particularly the ending scene when we saw how much Coach means to Adam. They don't always have the best relationship, but it was nice to see them bonding and even better to see how proud Coach was of Adam. We all know he's just a big ole' softie at heart, and the ending proved that. It was very moving.

As a side note, I thoroughly enjoyed the Charles Barkley cameo, especially since much of the episode focused on getting to a Sixers game. Nice touch, Goldbergs!

Score: 8.5/10
Grade: B+