Death and comedy don’t always mix.
Sometimes stories about loss and pain are too heavy, no matter how many jokes the writers include, yet they can give a comedy show more substance.
Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage Season 2 Episode 18 again highlighted George Sr.’s death, but the episode was anything but depressing.
George Sr’s Death Is Always Going To Be A Big Deal For Georgie
It’s slightly disconcerting that once or twice a season, Georgie has his father on his mind and the rest of the time George Sr isn’t mentioned at all.
Grief can be like that — people don’t always think about the person they lost while they go about their daily business — but it always feels abrupt when suddenly it’s time to remember George Sr again.
Ironically, one of the best beats in Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage Season 2 Episode 18 was everyone tiptoeing around Georgie, even though he didn’t even remember it was the anniversary of his dad’s death.
The humor was great — everything from Jim feeling bad about saying “knock ’em dead” to the side conversation about who got to do the jumble in the paper — and Georgie’s guilt when he finally realized he’d forgotten was a strong payoff.
I could understand Mandy not wanting to tell him, too.
Nobody wants to bring their partner down when they’re in a great mood by reminding them why they should be heartbroken today.
And honestly, Georgie going happily and successfully through his day was probably exactly what George Sr would have wanted.
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Still, Georgie needed to be mad at someone for forgetting, so I understood why he wished Mandy had told him.
Somehow, Georgie’s Grief Became a Competition With Fagenbacher
Most of the time, I have no use for Fred Fagenbacher.
Most of his storylines are obnoxious, unnecessary one-upmanship, Georgie and Reuben fighting back in a ridiculously immature manner, or slapstick that feels like a pale imitation of the classic plots of I Love Lucy.
This time, however, I don’t mind Fagenbacher’s inclusion. The idea that he would hijack the scoreboard tribute to put his company name on it was as annoying as it was in-character, and it gave Georgie a meaty conflict.
Fagenbacher never does anything out of the goodness of his heart, so it was completely believable that he’d try to use George’s memory to promote himself and stick it to Georgie.
It was a low blow, and Mary was completely right to call him out for it the way she did, especially after how he acted when she confronted him.
Fagenbacher’s flirtatious tone, inappropriate comments, and attempts to charm his way out of trouble with Mary were gross, but they also led to the best scene on Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage Season 2 Episode 18.
I’m not usually much of a fan of Mary. She’s too religious and judgmental for my liking.
But this time, I was cheering her on. I absolutely loved her putting Fagenbacher in his place — it was about time someone intimidated him.
Did you enjoy Mary’s confrontation with Fagenbacher?
Let us know in the comments! Don’t forget to share this article with your friends.
Mary can get righteously angry on behalf of her kids, and when she does, she’s much easier to take than usual.
Plus, she got Fagenbacher to back off, which seemed like an impossible task before she entered his office.
Of course, Fagenbacher donated $500 to Georgie’s scoreboard fund just to gloat about how much more money he had — right before he decided to buy a scoreboard himself.
I get that Fagenbacher likes to make Georgie feel small, but it seemed silly to do that and then turn around and spend even more money on the board itself.
I also wondered what would happen to the money Georgie had raised if the school was getting a board from Fagenbacher.
After all, he’d raised it in order to buy a board — so if Fagenbacher’s board had gone ahead, would Georgie have had to return the money?
That was so unimportant to the story that nobody even mentioned it, but I couldn’t help wondering about it. People don’t like donating to a cause that gets paid for by someone else.
Mandy Could Have Been More Helpful on Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage Season 2 Episode 18
I got why she didn’t want to pitch a story about her family when she had just started the job. However, if she knew about it, her boss could have assigned another reporter to cover it.
Mandy and Missy were both criminally underused in this episode.
Mandy went to Mary in the end, so maybe it’s unfair to say she didn’t do enough, but until that point, her main purpose seemed to be to say no to whatever it was Georgie wanted to do.
Missy had some funny lines, especially around crying on command in order to manipulate people around her, but her cigarette sales seemed to be mostly filler rather than being much of a story on its own.
C storylines are like that sometimes, but still, I felt like something was missing in Missy’s scenes.
What about you, Georgie & Mandy fanatics?
Did you want more of Mandy or Missy? What did you think was funny or not-so-funny about Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage Season 2 Episode 18?
Hit the comments with your thoughts, and don’t forget to share this article with your friends so that they can join the conversation.
Vote in our poll below to rank the episode.
If you enjoyed this article, check out our coverage of Ghosts and Elsbeth, which both also air on Thursdays on CBS.
Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage airs on CBS on Thursdays at 8/7c and streams on Paramount+ on Fridays.
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