It took eight episodes, but we finally got some progress on the Alan story that was first teased at the beginning of the season. Admittedly, it might be a little wishful thinking calling it progress, and not the end of the story. The end of the episode, and the show’s penchant for disappearing characters as quickly as they appeared, certainly suggest that option. But I’m not ready to write Alan off for sure just yet. Along the way, Sock was up to his old tricks, Ben’s granny returned, and Sam found himself in a contest with Morgan. Good stuff.
Let’s start with the side stories and work back to Alan. I liked all three, but the results were not good for any of the boys. Starting with Sock, Kristen has barely left the building and he is already up to his old tricks. Count it as a positive vote for that decision, because this was vintage Sock shenanigans. As vintage as shenanigans can be after 20 episodes anyway… However, as we’ve come to expect, these plans never quite work out how he imagines they will. The reveal at the memorial, “This is Nate, my boyfriend. Maybe you could help Nate too.” was perfect. Hopes dashed, again. All things considered though, Sock probably came out on top in all of this. As far as we know, nobody is actively gunning for him. We can’t say the same thing for Ben and Sam.
Ben, he tries so hard to keep all the balls in the air. I hadn’t even considered what his granny’s reaction to Nina would be, but as soon as she showed up on screen, it was the first thing that came to mind. Those fears were confirmed when she got her first look at Nina. Still, even after that, I was actually ready to buy in to Nina and Granny bonding in the garden. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t meant to be. The puppy-prompted transmogrification put a quick end to that idea. And it only got worse from there. Now that Ben has broken up with Nina, she’s out for revenge, and that could get ugly. Thankfully, the blow was lessened somewhat by the Straw-To-Matic scam.
Even with a jilted demon coming after Ben, Sam might have had the worst of it after his competition with Morgan. A competition he didn’t want any part of to start with. I was sure from the start that, try as he might, Sam was going to win the competition. I just never figured Jerry would actually follow through on his threats where Morgan was concerned. But what a nice twist that is. Suddenly Morgan has gone from an annoyance, to a real threat.
And that brings us to Alan. It has been a long wait, but I really like the answer. The devil can’t resist a competition. It’s a classic, and sets things up so well for an impending showdown between Sam and Jerry. Of course, it couldn’t be that easy. There are five more episodes to go, after all. Sam is missing that crucial piece of the puzzle that he needs to get Jerry to agree to a competition. As Sam and Andi sat at the bar, counting all of their unhatched chicks, it was pretty clear that a wrench was headed for the works. While I would like to see Alan again, I don’t have high hopes that he made it out of the Las Vegas stopover. Either way, I’m confident Sam will find that missing piece. The Alan story was also the best use of Andi this season. Having her on the mission to get Sam out of the deal works well.
All things considered, “The Home Stretch” was another very good episode, which makes the latest ratings news and renewal predictions all the more frustrating. Things aren’t looking good for a third season of the show, but at least it looks like it’s going to go out strong.
Clacked by Brett Love
on Apr 22, 2009 @ 11:00 EST5EDT
