Maggie agrees to direct a play written by Gwen, while Emma gets hot and heavy with a new flame.
Jane Kaczmarek as Gwen has always been an interesting presence on Playing House. She returns in "Cashmere Burka" to further criticize her daughter and enjoy her friendship with Maggie. But the episode also gets to explore her own insecurities. Gwen is a huge reason why Emma and Maggie are the way that they are. The two of them are successfully raising a baby together and continuing to thrive in Pinebrook. Gwen sees that and wants to take a risk as well. That materializes in the staging of a play that she has written herself. Again, it's hilarious that Gwen uses famous people's names as her writing pseudonym. This time she uses Nell Carter - because Phylicia Rashad is no longer a name she thinks she can use because it's "not the right time for it." But the true purpose of this story is in showing that Gwen is just as human as the rest of the residents of Pinebrook. She goes over-the-top just like the rest of them. But in the end, her daughters are there to support her in the exact way that she needs.Emma never took her mother's play all that seriously. Maggie forced her into the lead role. Maggie thought it would be a good fit and bring Gwen and Emma closer together as a result. It did not do that. In fact, Emma was so distracted by her new romance with Dan to actually put in the work that the role required. She fed into Gwen's need to control everything in order for the play to be the most impressive spectacle the town has ever seen. Emma knew her mother would eventually take things out of control. And that does occur. Emma is fired by Gwen who decides she needs to be the one to replace her in the lead role.
Because of Gwen's need to change and control everything, she doesn't allow anyone else to do their jobs. Maggie isn't allowed to direct and Mark isn't able to construct a proper set. It's all because Gwen wants to flaunt her success in her "friend" Betty's face. The two of them have hung onto the one time that Gwen made a mistake in the past. Gwen has never been able to move forward and take risks because of that one mistake that others purposefully didn't forget and throw in her face constantly. This play is her putting herself out there in a way that is terrifying to her. That's why she wants to be the one in charge. She keeps thinking of better ways to improve the piece - even though Maggie constantly said it was a fantastic play as it was initially written.
Emma is more than happy to see her mother fail again in spectacular public fashion. Because both she and Maggie got fired, Emma no longer saw a reason why she needed to attend the event. But Maggie needed to support her friend in her time of need. It needed to be said that this play is an accomplishment Gwen should be proud of. Her over-the-top rewrites and direction shouldn't distract from the greatness of the original play. The confidence boost from Maggie and Emma is enough to get Gwen to go out on that stage and perform for the crowd. She was able to take that risk because of her daughters' encouragement. It's also a huge moment because Gwen refers to both Maggie and Emma as her daughters. They may have their huge differences. But in that moment, she was happy that the two of them got her to take the final step in doing something she was really proud of. That was incredibly rewarding.
It was also nice to see the beginning of Emma's new relationship with Dan continue. The two of them are still just getting to know each other. He happens to be a rabbi. A tidbit she learns while rehearsing the play at the Jewish Community Center. Sure, their bathroom conversation was awkward. But that didn't take away from the connection they were feeling for each other. It's a story being set up to have legs this season. This is actually a relationship that Emma wants to be in. She's not running away from it - at least not yet. She's willing to embrace their time together and his request to keep things as discreet as possible. Of course, that doesn't actually happen. But the two of them are happy with each other. That probably won't last and the story here wasn't as great as the main focus. But it's still nice to see a different side of Emma.
Some more thoughts:
- "Cashmere Burka" was written by Gavin Steckler and directed by Stuart McDonald.
- This isn't an especially busy or important episode for Mark. But the running gag of his changing neck lines was the most hilarious bit of the episode. They just kept getting more and more hilarious to look at - leading up to the end where he was sporting a semi-backless shirt.
- No Bruce or Zach at all this week. I hope that they are the ones offscreen taking care of Charlotte - despite the mishap they had last week.
- I support any relationship where the playful banter at the beginning is all about cheese consumption.
- From what little the audience actually heard from the play, it didn't sound all that great. But the way the various characters performed it made it very hysterical. Emma definitely seemed like she was going for the over-the-top laughs. Plus, the guy's insistence on playing his character like Marlon Brando was great as well.
- The number of scarves Gwen wore was amazing.
- Emma: "I'm not in my pajamas. These are my workout clothes... that I slept in."
- Emma: "Oh, this is awkward. I didn't expect to run into you here." Maggie: "In our house? Where we live?"
