Sue dreams up a new invention. Kevin starts summer school. Bill suffers an awkward mishap at the pool. A promotion stokes tensions at the airport.
In 2018, it makes no sense to provide full-length reviews of each individual episode for shows released all at once on the streaming services. Sure, there are some shows out there that value the power of the episode. They do make a point in differentiating each episode to ensure it's not just one big slog to the finish. However, the ability to watch the entire season at one's own viewing pace has largely changed the way we consume and discuss these shows. So, some brief summary thoughts are really all that's actually necessary with these seasons. As such, here are my latest thoughts on the next episode of Netflix's F Is For Family.
"The Stinger" was written by Marc Wilmore and directed by Olivier Schramm
Rosie would absolutely love to quit his job at Mohican Airlines. He's not appreciated there. Frank has the best of intentions but he doesn't fully understand the struggle for Rosie. The show hasn't always done a great job in talking about the racial issues of the time. But here, it does highlight how Rosie accepts that he will be going back to this crummy job because he still has a family to support. It may be frustrating. The reasons for his lack of promotion may be completely financial by a business that is floundering following the deaths of its vice president and his nephew - who are honored with a memorial here. But it also plays things very true to the reality of the situation in this possibly being the only job for Rosie that will allow him to support his family. It's the same feeling that Frank has felt time and time again over the course of the series. He loves his family and is constantly aggravated by them. His story ends here with him actually not wanting to go back home because he doesn't know what version of his family he is going to get. Things have been so chaotic in the Murphy household as of late. Sue is pregnant and dealing with the struggles of her job while Kevin is now attending summer school. Bill and Maureen have their own problems going on. But they aren't the priority in Frank's eyes. Instead, he is terrified of walking through the front door and having to calm door a hysteric Sue. That's so absolutely condescending and demeaning. He believes it shouldn't be that difficult to figure out how to get a slide projector to work. Maureen can even do it. However, Bill understands that he needs to put on that brave face and be the supportive husband because of everything that Sue is going through at the moment for him and their family. And yes, inspiration does strike here. In the opening episodes, she has just been trying to repeat the success of the Salad Tosser in order to stick it to Henrietta for taking credit for the invention. However, she has just been applying the same technique to other vegetables. It hasn't had the same success. And now, she essentially comes up with the idea to attach many different household tools together so it's more convenient for the consumer. It's not a bad idea in the slightest. The way that she is pitching the product though shows how much she is struggling. It was her passion in the first place that got Henrietta so excited about the salad tosser. She knew that it meant something personal to Sue. Here, Sue gets the idea while being examined by her OB-GYN. It's so awkward. But it's a tool that could be useful if marketed correctly. Vivian still has the connections to get a functional prototype made. However, Sue comes across as intimidating and demanding when pitching the product to the women of her community. She isn't being a cheery saleswoman who knows how to play to the room to make the women envious of this product. She isn't being concise. Of course, she still enjoys the victory of making her first sales. It's a step in the right direction. It means that she is somewhat happy at the end of the day. And yet, that's not an emotion that Frank will get to experience because he instead retreats to Chet's house where it's easy to hear about all of his insane plans for the additional room they plan on building onto the Murphy house. Elsewhere, Kevin is first isolated at summer school only to eventually earn the respect of the other students there because he stands up to the teacher. And finally, Bill actually makes a connection with Bridget even though it comes after a moment of pure embarrassment at the public pool.
