Mom S6E8 Review

Did you forget that Christy has a daughter named Violet? For a while it seemed like the show might have, but it turns out it has not. In the latest episode of Mom, Violet returns, and she has a lot to say about Christy from when she was drinking.


S6E8 "Jell-O Shots and the Truth About Santa"

The episode begins with Christy's usual complaints about her mom, but when a classmate refers her to a podcast where someone complains about their mom, that someone turns out to be Violet. Christy can't believe that Violet would talk about how bad of a mother she was when she was drunk to everyone, and eventually calls Violet from Bonnie's phone. Christy's awkwardness while leaving a voicemail is funny, but it also really shows how Christy and Violet don't talk. After Violet responds by playing the voicemail on her podcast, Christy decides to go to Violet.

After some initial angst from Violet that comes off as over-the-top (such as when Violet takes offense to Christy asking about Luke, assuming she thinks she couldn't get this apartment on her own), the mother and daughter get serious. Talking face-to-face, Christy and Violet are really able to tell the other how they feel. Violet recognizes how Christy has changed, but reminds her, and especially us in the audience, as we've only ever heard about Christy's drinking days, what life was like when Christy drank.

There's an understanding between the two, but the show doesn't use this to take the expected route. Instead of having them reconcile and decide to work together to repair their relationship, Violet tells Christy that, right now, she doesn't want them to have a relationship. In doing this, the show recognizes how complicated this relationship is, and it also gives good reason for the fact that Violet is going to continue to not be on the show. But the moment in the hall between Christy and Bonnie after this is a reminder that this is just for now, and gives the show the chance to re-introduce Violet at some point down the line (probably a couple of years from now, I would guess).

Compared against this nuance and ending that certainly isn't typical, the subplot about Adam and his bar feels out of place. Mom frequently does episodes with just one story, and this would be an episode where it would make sense to do that. Instead, we also get a forgettable story where Adam worries about how his bar will perform once it is opened. It's not that this story is that bad, it just lacks substance, and feels generic. Most of all, it just seems unnecessary.


The main story of this episode felt grounded and overdue. Mom can be a really funny show, but the part of this episode that worked best was when they didn't go for any jokes. Sadly, the subplot didn't even come close to the quality of the main one. Still, this was a strong episode.

Score: 9/10

What did you think of "Jell-O Shots and the Truth About Santa"? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Mom S6E6 Review

This episode revisits the money that Christy owes Jill after gambling away the money she lent her to bail Bonnie out of jail. Also, Bonnie and Adam venture into the world of tattoos.


S6E6 "Cottage Cheese and a Weird Buzz"

Trying to find some peace and quiet, Christy goes to Jill, where she really gets a good look at Jill's luxurious lifestyle. This is all a bit over-the-top, but then the episode gets to its point when Jill reminds Christy of the money she owes her. So, Christy works hard to come up with seventy-five dollars for Jill.

After seeing how Jill doesn't even actually care about the money once she has it, she gets enraged, and after a sequence of events that includes pushing Jill into the pool, Jill ends up telling Christy that she doesn't need to pay her back the money. At a gambler's anonymous meeting though, Christy is reminded that it's not about the money, but about her addiction, and that she needs to pay back the money so that it doesn't feel like she beat the system. This felt like a fairly typical Mom lesson, but it was still well done.

Meanwhile, after being called grandparents by a couple of teenagers, Bonnie and Adam decide to get tattoos. This story also takes a little while to get going, but eventually Bonnie is really enjoying getting tattoos, while Adam becomes concerned about her. While what Bonnie ends up learning, how tattoos age, isn't particularly interesting, Adam does learn a more interesting lesson, as he realizes he doesn't have any power over Bonnie's addiction, and begins going to Al-anon meetings.


This episode had a slow start, and some of the lessons the characters learned were either typical in Christy's case and uninteresting in Bonnie's, Adam's decision to go to Al-anon meetings is a good decision for him and a high point of the episode.

Score: 6.5/10

What did you think of "Cottage Cheese and a Weird Buzz"? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Mom S6E5 Review

Mom has dealt with tragedy many times, and it does it again with this episode.


S6E5 "Flying Monkeys and a Tank of Nitrous"

This episode deals with the death of Marjorie's husband Victor. Everything before Marjorie gets the call about him having another stroke feels like the episode is wasting time, but after this happens, the rest of the episode is all spent on his death, and Marjorie's lack of displaying grief. Christy, being Christy, desperately wants Marjorie to show emotion over Victor's death. She keeps prodding her to try to make this happen, despite everyone around her telling her not to.

The group takes a road trip to spread Victor's ashes. However, it turns out that the orchard that he wanted his ashes to be spread at is now a Costco. There are some good jokes about the Costco (such as Jill's experience of buying in bulk), and this is where Christy ends up making a seemingly uncharacteristically oblivious Marjorie react. This leads to a car ride filled with silence, which leads to an entertaining group text.

Marjorie ends up sharing that she's upset that she isn't grieving, and Wendy shares that people often mourn sick loved ones before they die. However, later Marjorie ends up crying as she remembers how one cat was Victor's favorite. While this moment is heartfelt, it somewhat counteracts Wendy's point from the car ride.


This episode took a different look at death than the show has in the past with others close to main characters that have died. There were a few issues with the execution of that, but overall this was a good episode.

Score: 8.5/10

What did you think of "Flying Monkeys and a Tank of Nitrous"? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Mom S6E3 Review

This episode continues this season's stories of Christy in law school and Bonnie planning for her and Adam's wedding. It also includes a guest appearance by Constance Zimmer.


S6E3 "Ambulance Chasers and a Babbling Brook"

Law school is a challenge for Christy, especially one class with a really tough professor, played by Constance Zimmer. She plays the hard ass professor well, especially when we see a slightly different side of her, when Christy sees her at a meeting and they talk.

However, the talking leads to dependence. Natalie, the professor, constantly vents to Christy (something Marjorie has a very funny line about), and Christy as a result feels that she is what's keeping Natalie sober. Because of their new friendship, Christy is doing well in Natalie's class, but she decides to give that up, knowing that this dynamic is unhealthy. It's a very Mom sort of story.

Bonnie and Adam are planning for their wedding this week, and that leads to a game of manipulation for Bonnie when she books a venue without asking Adam, and then has to convince him of it. It is really funny when Bonnie asks the others what she should do, and dislikes the honesty answers from Christy, Marjorie, and Wendy. (Also in this scene, there's a really funny bit where some fruit gets passed around the table depending on who needs it.) Bonnie's plan works, but has another result: Adam buying an old factory they looked at to turn it into a bar.

Bonnie and Adam's argument about this gets funny when she accidentally reveals her manipulative plan. In the end, Bonnie apologizes to Adam, and she comes around to his bar idea. There were some really funny moments in here, but really, it was a fairly generic story. It works though, because of that humor, and because of how good the dynamic is between Bonnie and Adam.


This was the type of episode that isn't the slightest bit groundbreaking, but proves that Mom is good at what it does. While a sense of familiarity hung over most of the episode, it still entertained as it provided humor in interesting stories. It was nothing exceptional, but this was a good episode of Mom.

Score: 8/10

What did you think of "Ambulance Chasers and a Babbling Brook"? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Mom S6E2 Review

The second episode of Mom's sixth season deals with Christy's gambling addiction, which the show had delved further into in the fifth season. Christy has been going to Gamblers Anonymous, but now she's not sure that she needs it. This episode also includes a guest appearance from the wonderful Yvette Nicole Brown.

S6E2 "Go-Go Boots and a Butt Cushion"

Christy isn't relating to anyone at her Gamblers Anonymous, and she expresses doubt that she needs to be there to her AA sponsor, Nora. Nora is entertaining in her matter-of-fact manner, especially when she asks Christy if she has taken steps to really try GA. Christy takes one of those steps, finding a sponsor. The woman she first approaches, who it turns out hasn't gambled for 3 days, is pretty funny. Christy then finds a sponsor in Ned.

Ned helps Christy figure out whether or not she actually has a gambling problem, suggesting she try controlled gambling. Bonnie's reaction when she finds out about this is really funny, especially when she discovers that the others don't agree with her. The funniest part here is when Bonnie wonders why she didn't get the controlled drinking option. After Christy gets a big check, she goes to the casino. It's a great, impactful moment when she calls Bonnie, needing her help. All of Christy's AA people show up, and each entrance is really funny, as is Bonnie's doubt that the money is in the trunk.

Bonnie also gets some great moments in the episode outside of Christy's story, as she has committed to driving their blind neighbor, Mr. Munson. This is entertaining because the two of them have always had a great dynamic in this show. That continues to be true in this episode. The best part of this is when he doesn't respond to the things she says because he's pouting because Bonnie won't let him drive her car again.

This was a stronger episode than last week's season premiere. When Mom deals with more serious issues, like this episode did, it tends to do a great job. This episode had a meaningful story for Christy, and entertained along the way. Also, Allison Janney was wonderful all throughout the half-hour, though that isn't anything new.

Score: 9.5/10

What did you think of "Go-Go Boots and a Butt Cushion"? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Mom Season 6 Premiere Review

Mom returns for its sixth season with Christy beginning law school. Additionally, the show is still heading toward Bonnie and Aadm's wedding, which I am excited to see happen. The season premiere addresses both of these ongoing stories.


S6E1 "Pre-Washed Lettuce and a Mime"

Law school is a challenge for Christy, especially considering how much she has going on in her life she has to balance. She shares this in a meeting, and it's funny when she adds on listening to Bonnie talk about Property Brothers to the list of things she has to do. While Anna Faris is endearing here, her struggle here feels very familiar--a bit too familiar. While this is a bigger challenge than her past work/school balance, it doesn't feel much different.

A flashback to Christy's first AA meeting is incredibly powerful, as she remembers how much of a challenge it was for her to not drink. Remembering this prompts Christy to keep going to law school, as she has done tougher things. This is followed by a heartwarming moment, where Christy decides not only to go back to law school, but to offer help to a new person at AA.

Meanwhile, Bonnie is working on planning her upcoming wedding. She has a funny monologue about how it's an event about her planned by her. Then, however, her part of the episode descends into a typical "woman mad at man for something that happened in her dream" story. At least Allison Janney keeps it relatively entertaining, and there are funny lines about how the woman Adam cheated with in her dream is gay in real life.


This wasn't the best Mom season premiere, but it was still an enjoyable episode. It is great to have the show back, and the humor is still great, but I wish that the episode had done more original stories than this. At least Anna Faris and Allison Janney were wonderful.

Score: 7/10

What did you think of "Pre-Washed Lettuce and a Mime"? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Mom Season 5 Finale Review

Mom has gotten the opportunity to air for an hour in this last week of its fifth season, with two back-to-back episodes to conclude the season. In the first half-hour, Bonnie ends up in jail. In the second, addiction issues come to the surface for Christy.


S5E21 "Phone Confetti and a Wee Dingle"

The episode begins with Bonnie in a dilemma, unsure if she should tell Christy that Patrick is getting married, because that could ruin weekend vacation plans she had with Adam. However, Christy finds out anyway. The mother and daughter end up going on vacation, but Bonnie gets herself in trouble when Christy goes into Dairy Queen and a police officer asks Bonnie why the car doesn't have license plates. Bonnie is funny as always in this scene, getting herself into trouble.

Bonnie spends some time in jail as Christy attempts to get bail money together for her. Bonnie and the police officer have an entertaining dynamic, and there was one exchange I especially liked: "You do know you have the right to remain silent?" "Yeah, that was never my thing." Meanwhile, Christy struggles with the fact that the ATM she has to go to is in the middle of a casino.

I feel like the seriousness of Christy gambling away Adam and Jill's money was glossed over in favor of comedic moments. The moments worked, but I would have liked there to be more weight to this. In the end, the police offer lets Bonnie go after bonding with her, which was a fairly nice ending. The very end of the episode has a funny moment, as Christy and Bonnie get pulled over, and Christy wonders if she has done anything illegal in Nevada that could get her into trouble.


S5E22 "Diamond Earrings and a Pumpkin Head"

While the first half-hour didn't go very deep into Christy's gambling issues, the second half delivered on that front. In the early parts of the episode, Christy is focused on paying Jill and Adam back for the money of theirs that she gambled away. However, things take a turn for the worst one night after Christy got off work. Chef Rudy makes an appearance, as entertaining as he always is, but a seriously bad influence, convincing Christy to join a poker game, where Christy loses money as well as the diamond earrings her friends got her.

At Christy's graduation party, the group notices that she isn't wearing the earrings. After trying to lie her way out of it, she admits what happened, and it infuriates Bonnie. This moment is intense, and Allison Janney is wonderful as usual. Christy leaves, and when Bonnie gets home she finds that Christy isn't there, even though her car is. Bonnie finds Christy walking, and it's another great scene between the two, with Allison Janney's talent on full display. Christy makes amends to her friends, then attends a gamblers anonymous meeting. It is wonderful to see Christy making this decision to better herself on her own, and this must be similar to her first day at AA. The end of the episode has some great news: Christy got into law school. Paying for it will be a challenge, but as Bonnie says, "one day at a time."

Also, throughout the episode, there is a great running story about Marjorie's jealousy of Christy's sponsor Nora (played by Yvette Nicole Brown). Marjorie being bitter at the diner is funny, as is when the two of Marjorie and Nora speak simultaneously at Christy's party. Nora is a great addition to this show (her response to Christy's favorite color line was hilarious), and if Yvette Nicole Brown's ABC pilot is passed on, I hope that Mom considers bringing her on full time by adding her to the main cast. As can be seen, her and Christy are getting closer, despite Nora's insistence on not being friends with those she sponsors.


This strong hour was a great way to wrap of this season of Mom. It did a great job of having Bonnie be her crazy self, but also motherly, and showing Christy dealing with serious issues in the form of gambling, plus there was a happy ending with Christy's law school acceptance. I cannot wait for this show to return in the fall.

Score: 9.5/10
Score: 10/10

What did you think of "Phone Confetti and a Wee Dingle" and "Diamond Earrings and a Pumpkin Head"? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Mom S5E20 Review

Christy is annoyed by Bonnie every week, but this week she is especially annoyed by her, and considers changing things because of that.


S5E20 "Ocular Fluid and Fighting Robots"

Bonnie has never been the nicest person, but in this week's episode she is extremely rude and selfish, much more than she usually is. This extremeness is used to prompt Christy to want to move out, and to make it more of a challenge when her sponsor tells her that if she is choosing to live with her mom, she needs to be nice to her. It is quite a challenge for Christy, and it wasn't really necessary to make Bonnie especially obnoxious to make this a challenge.

Christy's sponsor tells her to do nice things for Bonnie and not tell anyone about it. What becomes frustrating here for Christy is fairly obvious, Adam gets the credit. This frustrates Christy, but then she is happy when she sees how close Bonnie and Adam have gotten. The episode has a nice ending to this when Christy gets upset that now that she loves her mother, she's losing her. But the tag scene undermines things, as Christy thinks she is being helpful, but then when she discovers she wasn't, she blames Bonnie.


Despite the funny moments, this was not one of Mom's stronger episodes. The story felt forced all around, even though it did have nice sincere moments. I did like that a date has been set for Bonnie and Adam's wedding though.

Score: 4.5/10

What did you think of "Ocular Fluid and Fighting Robots"? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Mom S5E19 Review

A new building owner can mean change, especially when Bonnie Plunkett is involved. Christy is worried that she and Bonnie might lose their apartment in this week's episode of Mom, when Bonnie behaves the way we know Bonnie to behave. (Also, apologies for the delay in getting this week's review published, don't expect this to be a regular occurrence.)


S5E19 "A Taco Bowl and a Tubby Seamstress"

The episode starts out with Bonnie and Adam surprised that Christy is at home, and it's very funny to see how they are disappointed about this. Christy asks what they do when she isn't home, and Bonnie has a hilarious response: "Don't ask the question if you don't want to picture the answer." Then, the new building owner shows up, posing as someone who wants to rent an apartment. As a result of this, she quickly dislikes Bonnie, and the two's dynamic is quite entertaining. Bonnie doesn't want to do the work necessary to keep her job, even though not just Christy, but also Jill and Wendy try to talk some sense into her.

Marjorie insists on having a conversation with Bonnie about, as Bonnie puts it, "the underlying blah-blah-blah." Bonnie confesses that she doesn't want to do the work because she's worried that if she tries, this will become who she is. Marjorie motivates Bonnie to put in some effort, and she recruits Christy and Adam to help her. However, there is one new task for Bonnie, she has to evict the people more than two months behind in the rent if they can't pay. While initially this doesn't seem like much of a challenge for Bonnie, it turns out to be more complicated than it seems.

Bonnie pays a visit to the blind tenant, who is three months behind on his rent. She discovers that he is unable to pay because he has prostate cancer, and the VA doesn't cover the medication he needs, so those are taking the place of rent in his budget. This gives the episode an opportunity to show how Bonnie really does care about people now, and it does a wonderful job with that. Bonnie insists that she cannot evict him, and when she takes a stand, it leads to a great plot development, the building owner revealing that she doesn't know what she's doing, and really doesn't want to kick him out. Bonnie and the building owner coming together in the end is a great moment, and their tension is resolved in a wonderful way.


This was an excellent episode of Mom. Bonnie was given many moments to be funny all while she was realizing how far exactly she should go to keep her apartment. Also, the jokes directed at Christy this week were very funny, though perhaps a bit harsh.

Score: 10/10

What did you think of "A Taco Bowl and a Tubby Seamstress"? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Mom S5E18 Review

Yvette Nicole Brown guest stars in this week's Mom as another alcoholic, one who Christy turns to after Marjorie has a meltdown.


S5E18 "Spaghetti Sauce and a Dumpster Fire"

The episode begins at the grocery store, where Christy hilariously gets irritated when Bonnie keeps telling her she's wrong when she correctly guesses the brands of the things she wants. Christy then sees Marjorie getting angry at the guy working at the deli counter. This is very unusual for Marjorie, but it doesn't stop there. Marjorie is cranky when the women go to coffee, and then later when they get foot massages because they have a groupon, Christy and Marjorie get into a heated argument. There is also a hilarious bit here where Marjorie, Christy, and later Wendy, attempt to hurry with slippery feet.

Christy decides to get another sponsor, since Marjorie can't very well be her sponsor when she doesn't want to speak with her. This is where Yvette Nicole Brown's character comes in. She is very funny, and has a presence that has some similarities to Marjorie's, but is certainly different. As Christy meets with her, Bonnie, Jill, and Wendy sit at a nearby table and listen in, then act like they aren't listening when they are noticed. After Christy goes on a date that she finds boring, her new sponsor offers some advice, sharing that her sponsor forced her to go on a second date with a guy she thought was boring, and they have now been married for eighteen years. It's nice to see someone else with a lot of life experience and full of stories to help Christy.

Bonnie goes to Marjorie's to check on her, commenting all along the way how unlike her this is. This is quite unlike the Bonnie we met when the series began, and how she pretends to be, but really, it has become clear that Bonnie truly cares about these women, even Marjorie, the one she always complains about. After the conversation with Bonnie, where she had many funny lines, Marjorie shared at the next AA meeting about how getting older has affected her, and how that lead to the behavior we have been seeing in this episode. This was rooted in sincerity, and it was wonderful. At the very end of the episode, Christy and Marjorie talk, and Marjorie apologizes. Here too, the other three keep an eye on the conversation to see how it is going, with the episode ending with them running off once spotted.


This was a wonderful episode that delivered both many funny moments (and not just from the queen of jokes, Allison Janney) and a serious, important story that was handled very well. It was also really interesting to get a story about Marjorie, since we don't get too many of those.

Score: 10/10

What did you think of "Spaghetti Sauce and a Dumpster Fire"? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Mom S5E17 Review

This week's Mom deals with an AA meeting that the group of women lead in prison. After an incident occurs, Bonnie tries to put the pieces together.


S5E17 "Crazy Snakes and a Clog to the Head"

The episode begins in the aftermath of something that has gone wrong in a room at a prison. An officer comes into the room to ask the women what happened, and flashbacks reveal what happened in their day so far. Jill worried about how women in prison would relate to her story, and hilariously tried to pretend to be poor. There's also a hilarious line from Jill about Christy's story. It turns out that once a woman heard Bonnie's name, she attacked her, and a fight ensued.

Bonnie desperately tries to remember where she knew this woman from, and after saying "Tammy" a ton of times, and annoying Christy like crazy as a result, she finally remembers, right in the middle of when Wendy is speaking. What's even funnier than that is when Marjorie asks Wendy to finish, and Jill insists that what Bonnie's going to share is more interesting.

It turns out that Bonnie set Tammy on a poor track in life, though she forgot that she got her kicked out of the foster home they were staying in. Bonnie's perception of the past is very funny, as she doesn't get why the others are so disappointed in what she did. Bonnie makes amends, and actually feels bad once she realizes what she did. Eventually, she and Tammy end up on decent terms. The tag scene of the episode is very funny, as another meeting at prison goes just like the original one.


This episode had a lot of funny moments, especially in the first half of the episode. Bonnie, Jill, and Wendy were all very funny this week, and I really liked the premise behind it.

Score: 9/10

What did you think of "Crazy Snakes and a Clog to the Head"? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Mom S5E16 Review

Christy and Bonnie's respective relationships with brothers Patrick and Adam are both the focus of this week's Mom, when Patrick makes an offer and Adam experiences a loss.


S5E16 "Eight Cats and the Hat Show"

Bonnie is new to empathy, a word she hilariously had trouble remembering. She is trying to be understanding after Adam's dog has died, but it's been three weeks, and she feels that he should be over it by now. She also believes she is practicing empathy when she comforts Christy, worried that Patrick is going to break up with her, and Wendy, who is also worried about this break-up. This episode makes it clear from early on that there will be a lot of Allison Janney, which is definitely a good thing.

Bonnie gets excited when it seems that Adam is moving on from his dog's death, but then a commercial comes onto the TV that shows a person and his dog spending time together, which makes Adam get emotional. When Bonnie returns home she hopes to escape the crying, but discovers that Christy and Patrick have broken up. It is very funny when Bonnie tries to avoid conversation with Christy once she discovers that Christy is crying. It turns out that they broke up because Patrick asked Christy to move to Santa Cruz, and she didn't want to.

In an attempt to get Adam to move on after his loss, Bonnie gets Adam a puppy. It's something we've seen before on sitcoms, but it is still very enjoyable, and I especially loved when Bonnie got upset at the puppy for being unable to convince Adam to take him. "You had one job!" After unsuccessfully trying to get Wendy (whose living situation, with four other nurses, Bonnie describes as like a sitcom) and Marjorie (trying to turn her from a "crazy cat lady" to someone who "just loves animals") to take the puppy, Adam comes around, and decides to keep him. The episode also has a hilarious ending, where Christy gets mad at Bonnie when she sees her being motherly toward the dog, shouting "You had it in you all along!"

Meanwhile, Jill takes Christy on a shopping trip to cheer her up. There are some funny moments here, such as when Jill tries to get Christy to talk about why she turned Patrick's offer down, practicing her listening skills, and when Christy tries to find out how Jill's ex-husband's wife's life is going. Anna Farris is wonderful at the adorable awkwardness it takes for Christy to discover that this woman's life is going very well. On the drive home Jill cries, talking about how she moved all the way across the country for her ex-husband because she loved him. This causes Christy to realize that, even though Patrick is much better than other guys she has dated, she doesn't love him. I'm glad that the show is moving on from this romance, as it didn't work very well, and it told a strong story with the break-up.


This was one of Mom's stronger installments, with two stories that both provided many funny moments, and put Allison Janney at the center, while giving the other ladies their moments to do what they do best as well. Also, everything tied together quite neatly in this episode, with how the two stories were introduced together, and some of Jill's backstory was woven in with Christy's story.

Score: 9.5/10

What did you think of "Eight Cats and the Hat Show"? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Mom S5E15 Review

In this week's Mom, Patrick is in town for his birthday, but the girls helping Jill with her sobriety gets in the way of some celebration.


S5E15 "Esta Loca and a Little Klingon"

The episode starts at a meeting, where there are some very funny jokes about who will be invited to Bonnie's wedding. At this meeting, Jill shares how she keeps starting from scratch on her sobriety, and is once again on day one. That night, when Patrick is in town, and he and Christy are preparing to have sex, she receives a call from Jill, and goes to help.

The next day at coffee, Jill shares her plan to stay sober, and the scene has many great moments, such as how Wendy finds bowling sexy, and when Marjorie insists that they not accept gifts from Jill. At dinner that night, Christy gets a call and finds out that Jill is drunk again and needs help. Bonnie offers to go so that Christy can be there for Patrick's birthday dinner, but when he sees how she is worrying about Jill, he tells her she can go.

There are some funny moments when they pick up Jill, as she is trying to follow along with a telenovela. Patrick struggles with how Christy has been focused on Jill, as they can't even have sex in her bed that night, because she brought Jill home. In the morning, Patrick and Jill meet, and he realizes how important Christy's support is to Jill. The episode ends with a wonderful scene at a meeting, where Jill is embarrassed to be a "newcomer" again, but her friends encourage her, and assure her that no one there is judging her..


This was a strong episode with many funny moments, as well as a great story about Jill struggling to maintain her sobriety. The show really leaned into the ensemble of women in this episode, has it has more in recent seasons, and it really paid off.

Score: 10/10

What did you think of "Esta Loca and a Little Klingon"? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Mom S5E14 Review

In this week's episode of Mom, whose star Allison Janney just won an Oscar, Kristin Chenoweth guest stars as Jill's life coach, who ends up having conflict with Bonnie.


S5E14 "Charlotte Bronte and a Backhoe"

Jill is struggling with her eating issues, so her life coach comes to visit. Bonnie immediately doesn't like her because she takes her parking spot, and Marjorie ends up disliking her because she contradicts her message. It's really funny as the life coach tries to help Wendy, and when Christy sees Wendy actually being assertive, she decides to give an energy cleanse a try. The energy cleanse is very weird, but fairly entertaining because of that, and I really enjoyed Christy's line about a clump of bad energy being her childhood.

When Bonnie finds out that Christy paid five hundred dollars for this energy cleanse, she goes to talk to the life coach, who ends up getting Bonnie to open up. An emotionally open Bonnie is hilarious, as she gets irritated with herself for interrupting Christy. Meanwhile, Christy finds out that she almost got into law school, and just needs her test scores to be a little bit better. At the end of the episode, however, not everything is all great, as Christy and Bonnie find out that Jill relapsed, thinking she could drink a little bit of alcohol.


There were many enjoyable moments in this episode, and I really liked the ending, which took the difference in views between Marjorie and the life coach very seriously. I did find it a bit over-the-top though, and I wish they had delved into more.

Score: 8/10

What did you think of "Charlotte Bronte and a Backhoe"? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Mom S5E13 Review

Mom is back after three weeks off, and Jill returns as well after spending much of the season so far at a wellness retreat, where the writers sent her to cover for actress Jamie Pressly's pregnancy.

S5E13 "Pudding and a Screen Door"

The episode begins with Jill's return, and it's a dramatic entrance. There are some funny lines as the ladies wait in anticipation of Jill's arrival, and Bonnie is funny as she tries to figure out if Jill just lost weight, or if she had some work done. The girls, back together again, go out as usual, but one thing is different, Jill decides not to pay for everyone. With the others not having as much money as Jill, Christy looks for another solution. However, Jill is not a fan of this solution, especially when she feels uncomfortable sharing what she wants to share around someone who sits next to her. It is very funny when Wendy doesn't understand the process, and ends up with three drinks but no food.

The next time the girls plan on going out after a meeting, things get heated, as they end up fighting, and Jill lashes out. The women avoid each other, and Jill goes to a different meeting than usual. At this meeting, she shares how she has always been unsure as to whether or not people actually want to be her friend. Bonnie also ends up at this meeting, and when she hears Jill share, it leads to a sincere moment between the two of them, where a couple of funny lines are delivered as well, about when Bonnie experienced that.

Also in this episode, Christy is hearing back from the law schools she applied to, and the results aren't good. When she doesn't even get into the school that is supposed to be easy to get into, she keeps it from the other AA women. When she hears about how all of her classmates got into schools, and they are all drinking, Christy comes close to erasing the progress she has made with a drink. It's a powerful moment as she stares at the glass, and a wonderful relief when she gets a call from Jill in that moment where she needed it. At the end of the episode, the women are reunited, and Christy shares what she has been through. It's a wonderful final scene to the episode, showing how in the end, these women are always there for each other.

Jill's return led to some interesting conflict among the group, which in turn led to assurance of how much these five women care about each other, and showing us how they struggle on their own. The serious parts of this episode were executed with perfection, and there were some strong jokes, largely, as usual, delivered by Allison Janney.

Score: 10/10

What did you think of "Pudding and a Screen Door"? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Mom 100th Episode Review

In Mom's 100th episode, Baxter returns when Christy runs into car problems, and she is offered help from Adam and Patrick.


S5E12 "Push-Down Coffee and a Working Turn Signal"

When Christy's car breaks down, she has to rely on public transportation. Taking the bus places turns out to not work out very well for Christy. Anna Faris gets to show off her physical comedy skills a little bit on the bus. She refuses help from Patrick to get a new car, but after falling asleep on the bus, she accepts help from Adam.

Christy goes to Baxter to buy a car. I'm glad that the show decided to bring back an old cast member, but Baxter was not very entertaining. When Patrick and Bonnie find out how Christy was able to buy a car, an argument occurs, and Bonnie has a really funny line about how confused she is that people are yelling but no one is mad at her.


This was another disappointing Mom episode. There were a couple of funny moments, but just a couple in the whole half-hour. Also, the story of the episode wasn't very compelling, as nothing really happened once everyone found out Adam gave Christy money.

Score: 4.5/10

What did you think of "Push-Down Coffee and a Working Turn Signal"? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Mom S5E11 Review

Last week's episode was slower, but it ended with a "to be continued," adding intrigue for what is going to happen in this week's. Meanwhile, Bonnie and Adam's part of the episode deals with the fact that they are engaged, and what their future wedding would look like, if that wedding is going to happen.


S5E11 "Bert and Ernie and a Blessing of the People"

At the start of the episode, Christy is in traffic, just as she was at the end of the last episode. Once she arrives at Patrick's, after she has to use the bathroom before he gets home, the two prepare to have sex, but that keeps not happening. This is for a variety of reasons: reminders of Patrick's ex-wife in his house, loud people in the neighboring hotel room, Patrick focused on the fact that he isn't perfect, and Christy admitting that she had sex with someone else. None of these reasons that delay the two having sex were very interesting, and can easily be seen as build-up to the end of the episode when they did have sex.

Bonnie and Adam go to a wedding, and at the wedding they discover what they want at their wedding. However, this ends up being two different things. Adam is really touched by the ceremony, while Bonnie is inspired by the amount of money made at the reception. At the end of the episode, Adam tricks Bonnie into setting a date for the wedding by saying that they should stay the way they are and not get married.


Like last week's episode, this one was fairly disappointing. Not that much happened, and Christy and Patrick had few funny moments, and they weren't that funny. At least Bonnie and Adam provided some solid humor, and the ending had them committed to actually getting married.

Score: 6/10

What did you think of "Bert and Ernie and a Blessing of the People"? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Mom S5E10 Review

In the last couple of seasons, Christy hasn't had much in the way of romantic interests. This season has done more with that though, introducing both a fling she had earlier and a romance with Adam's brother. In this week's episode, both of those guys end up being part of the story.

S5E10 "A Bear and a Bladder Infection"

Christy is struggling with the long-distance relationship she is in with Patrick. When her old fling Cooper shows interest in her again, she ends up sleeping with him. This becomes a repeated thing, and while Christy thinks they are just having sex, Cooper develops feelings for her.

Christy tells Adam what happened after a funny scene where Adam worries about Christy because she said she was going to the grocery store and she was gone for a long time. Adam has a funny reaction, laughing at his brother, and then he reminds her that ground rules need to be set up when something isn't going to be a relationship. There is also a really funny part about how Christy is being like Bonnie, and Christy hates that.

In the end, Christy is honest with Cooper about what happened. The story in this episode is really simplistic, as Christy spends a lot of the episode talking to people about what she should do. At least it has some funny moments, and a nice ending where Christy goes to see Patrick. The episode ends with "to be continued" which makes me wonder where this story is going now, since I didn't think there would be that kind of ending here.

There wasn't much to the story in this episode, making it really in need of a subplot, one that Bonnie trying to cut out coffee wasn't. It was still a fairly enjoyable episode as it went on, with the good jokes that the episode had, particularly later on in the episode, though the early part of the episode wasn't that funny.

Score: 6/10

What did you think of "A Bear and a Bladder Infection"? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Mom S5E9 Review

Bonnie's brother Ray didn't stay away from Mom for long. In this week's episode, Bonnie and Adam have to come to his rescue. Ray isn't the only one with issues this week; Christy also faces something major.


S5E9 "Teenage Vampires and a White Russian"

At the start of the episode, Christy is fired, but she refuses to accept it. This refusal is really entertaining, as she performs her job despite her manager telling her that she is fired. I love when she tells Bonnie that she was fired but "it didn't stick." She keeps returning to the restaurant, and the entertainment continues. I especially loved the line "See, she called me waitress, customer is always right." The resolution here, however, seems to come too easily, as Christy turns out to have had a trick up her sleeve the whole time, she has dirt on the restaurant.

Adam reveals to Bonnie and Christy that Ray called him and needs him to bail him out of jail. Ray didn't want them to know, but they insist on coming along anyway. Bonnie wants Ray to get sober and come to AA meetings, but he doesn't want to do AA. Adam lets Ray stay with him, but Ray ends up getting high on cocaine and Adam kicks him out. Bonnie struggles with what to do, and she goes to Marjorie. This leads to a really sincere moment, where Marjorie tells Bonnie she has to let Ray figure this out on her own.


Christy's story provided most of the funny this week. While Bonnie had a couple of good comedic moments, she shined in her sincere parts of the episode. I wish that the Bonnie parts of the episode were funnier, and I wish that Christy's story had a better resolution, but otherwise I enjoyed the episode.

Score: 7.5/10

What did you think of "Teenage Vampires and a White Russian"? Leave your thoughts in the comments!

Mom S5E8 Review

Shortly before Christmas, Bonnie and Christy's house is robbed. So, this week they are searching for the person who robbed them.


S5E8 "An Epi-Pen and a Security Cat"

The episode begins at a meeting, where Christy reflects on how her life has changed in the last five years, Marjorie thanks the ladies for helping her through the last few weeks, and Bonnie showing off her engagement ring. There are some jokes in this scene, but unfortunately most could be seen coming a mile away. When Bonnie and Christy get home, they discover that their apartment has been robbed. The stolen items include Christy's laptop, which had her term paper on it. Christy puts up cameras in the apartment, and it's funny when she observes what Bonnie is doing when home alone. Wendy discovers that Christy's laptop is being sold online, so the women arrange to meet the person selling it.

The woman are surprised when they arrive at the apartment of Mary, another woman from their meeting. In their surprise, they start singing Christmas carols, which was enjoyable. They discover that her grandson lives with her, which leads to a great line from Bonnie: "On Law & Order this is where we would share a knowing look." Mary is defensive at first, but later discovers that her grandson has been stealing from women at the meeting.

After she stops showing up at meetings, Christy and Bonnie go to her apartment. Christy delivers what I think this the funniest line from the episode when she announces herself but not Bonnie when knocking on the door: "Let's let you be a delightful surprise." What follows is a sincere scene between Christy, Bonnie, and Mary where they have a meeting of their own. I really appreciated how the show handled this story, and it did a great job of capturing the show's tone. In the final scene, Bonnie tracks down the person that she stole from years ago and makes ammends, but hilariously tries to negotiate down the amount of a check she offers to write.


Some of the comedy in this episode was low hanging fruit, easy jokes that could be seen coming, but there were some other great ones. The story that this episode told did a great job of capturing one of Mom's messages, and it did a great job of incorporating Christmas into it.

Score: 9.5/10

What did you think of "An Epi-Pen and a Security Cat"? Leave your thoughts in the comments!