Is Eddie headed towards a romance with his hit-and-run driver? Is that just too weird?
Our TV Fanatics, Jack, Jasmine, and Christine, are here to debate Eddie and Nicole, Charlie’s sudden appearance, Inez’s reasons for walking out on Gary, and more.
And does Regina have politics in her future after A Million Little Things Season 5 Episode 7? Read on to see what our round table thinks…
Are Eddie and Nicole headed toward a romantic relationship? Is her hitting him with her vehicle and leaving him paralyzed too big of an obstacle to get past?
Jack: I find it strange that Eddie has feelings for the woman who ran him over, but soapy dramas do that kind of thing, so I guess it’s possible.
Jasmine: I find this utterly ridiculous, and like they’re just rushing to put Eddie with someone for a happy ending for the sake of it. They’ve definitely gone full soap with this move, and I don’t care for it at all.
Christine: Yeah, this seems like a bridge too far. I can understand that Eddie may be able to forgive her and move on. But it was clear he had a flashback when he saw her truck.
I can’t imagine he could get past what she did to the point of having a lasting romantic relationship. That’s a soapy twist that’s hard to get behind.
What are your thoughts on the time jump that has Eddie going from trying to talk to Delilah to Charlie already living with Eddie part-time?
Jack: I was wondering why Charlie was living there and why she wasn’t asking where her mom was. I don’t mind the time jump, but more of an explanation would have been nice.
Jasmine: I spent the first 15 minutes of this episode confused and grew paranoid that I was watching the wrong thing and had missed something.
They needed more of an explanation, at the very least. But we missed out on Eddie sticking up for himself, him actually reuniting with his kid for the first time in ages, all of it. Those are just great character moments we should’ve gotten to see.
Christine: Yeah, I was disappointed. There’s so much we don’t know. Did Delilah fight him at all, or just stick her kids on a plane? Was there an adjustment period for Charlie, who barely knows her father?
It felt like there were a lot of missed opportunities here, and I wish we could have seen more of those moments play out.
Regina got played by Councilwoman Dottie Lewis. What, if anything, should she do about that?
Jack: Ugh. I don’t know if there’s anything she can do at this point. I suppose she could publicize what happened, but that could come off as petty or otherwise blow up in her face.
Jasmine: Aside from me trying to figure out if we had seen or heard about Dottie before, I hated that she got played.
Gina was painfully naive. And I don’t think there’s anything she can really do or any progress she can make. Unless they pull something outlandish like Gina running against her, I don’t know what can be done.
Christine: Jasmine, I think you got it right. I’m expecting this laid the groundwork for Regina to run for a council position against Lewis.
It’s clear they’ve been building to something for Regina this season, but unclear exactly what that is. So my guess is that Regina’s interest in the plight of the city’s homeless will lead her to politics and the belief that she can make a difference as someone who cares..
Is moving Walter to an assisted living facility the right decision?
Jack: Rome is right that Walter could wander off to parts unknown, burn down the house, or otherwise become a danger to himself or others. There are ways to protect against it, but he does still need more care than they can give.
The question is how to get him to go to assisted living. The whole reason he’s living with Rome and Gina is that he won’t accept other arrangements.
Jasmine: It’s tough, and I don’t think they’re as easily equipped to handle him as they thought. They could present the option of a home care aide again or a live-in one, or assisted living, and see if he prefers one over the other.
They could maybe look into some great facilities and introduce Walter to them so he’ll see that they don’t necessarily have to be this terrible prison environment he may envision.
Christine: It’s certainly a serious option. Walter has proven he can’t be left home alone safely, which means either getting a home care worker to stay with him or assisted living, and they need to be honest with him about that.
They could try both options. Many assisted living facilities allow people to stay for a couple of week trial run. And they can have another home care worker come in and see which works best.
And the expectation is always that the person will hate being there, but I have family who ended up loving their assisted living situation. It would be nice to see that on TV on occasion.
Inez walked out of Gary’s life after a disagreement with his father over Gary changing his name. Was she right to do that? And how do you feel about Aunt Inez being back in Gary’s life?
Jack: I don’t like the idea of a feud that lasted past Javier Sr’s death. My grandmother and her sister also didn’t speak for 25 years, and this storyline saddened me because it made me think of that.
It’s especially sad because Inez and her brother didn’t disagree that Gary was wrong to change his name — they only disagreed on whose decision it was. That was not worth 25 years of silence and Inez not being part of the family.
But I am not Mexican, so I can’t fully understand the depth of pain Inez felt over Gary’s decision to change his name; maybe that had to do with why she left for so long.
Jasmine: I hate that she walked out of Gary’s life and never came back over something like that. Regardless of her feelings, she shouldn’t have estranged herself from the family. Gary would have needed her more than ever when his mom bailed.
I also feel like it was a counterproductive thing for her to do, spawning exactly what she feared in the first place, a nephew who was ashamed of his heritage and who has since had a lifetime of identity issues.
She could have stayed, continued to pour into him the cultural things that she apparently always did, kept using Spanish with him, and so forth, and maybe it wouldn’t have taken him 30-something years to have pride in Javier and all that it represents.
I can understand the old school position Inez is coming from and how hurtful it is and the deep-seated things that may have stirred up, compounded by the fact that her nephew is biracial and already could pass for white, but she just dropped the ball, and I hate that. But I think it’s good that she’s back in Gary’s life and Javier’s too.
Christine: First, Javier was Gary’s father. The decisions that were made were his to make and not Inez’s. She could have voiced her displeasure but still been there for her brother and nephew. Instead, Gary lost his mom and Inez. It’s difficult not to see her as selfish for that.
It’s maddening and horribly sad that Inez never again spoke to her brother. What a waste. But I am glad she’s back for Gary and his family. There’s no going back, but at least she can try and make things right moving forward.
Gary described Maggie as neurotic since Javier was born. Do you disagree?
Jack: I think Maggie has become increasingly neurotic over the course of the series. I wouldn’t say it first began after Javier was born.
Jasmine: I agree with Jack. I’ll leave it there.
Christine: I think Maggie has gotten more neurotic since she and Gary got back together. I miss Dr. Maggie, who gives solid and sage advice and helps her friends.
Everyone has their moments, especially new parents, but Maggie has been a tear for a while, and it’s no fun to watch.
What, if anything, disappointed you during this installment?
Jack: I wasn’t disappointed, per se, but I was confused about Walter’s UTI. Maddox had suggested that was the cause of Walter’s memory issues, and obviously, that’s not the case, so why include it?
Also, I’d hope if daycare was closed for lice, the owners would do more than email all the parents and hope they saw the message! Why was the facility open for Eddie and Nicole to enter if it was closed for health reasons?
Finally, a big ugh to Councilwoman Lewis. Just once, can a show have someone who is appearing to do the right thing actually be doing it?
Jasmine: I just generally felt like this was a weak, nonsensical episode with weird pacing issues and random storylines cobbled together. I struggled to get into it after I spent the first ten minutes trying to figure out if I had missed an episode or something.
Christine: Yet again, we had more new characters we’ve never heard of pop up. This time it was Inez and Councilwoman Lewis. I get how they want to wrap up these character arcs, but I wish we could stick to the core group a little more during this final season.
And the pacing of this season is strange. We saw Gary’s professor once, and then she was gone. Delilah was only on for a brief phone call, and she couldn’t even finish that. And Greta and Katherine disappeared altogether this week.
What was your favorite quote, scene, or storyline from “No Place Like Home”?
Jack: I loved the scene with Theo, Charley, and Eddie at the table where Charley watched her birth video and saw that Eddie used to be able to walk. It felt like a very natural, realistic scene.
I also liked Walter saying he was proud of Rome during a lucid moment.
Jasmine: Gary and Inez making up and him learning that he used to know Spanish was sweet. I also loved that he was reading a bilingual book to Javier and joked about Maggie.
I think knowing that the actor himself, James Roday Rodriguez, has been candid about coming to grips with similar identity issues in recent years makes scenes like that more meaningful.
Christine: I loved Charley’s reaction to realizing her Dad used to walk and Eddie’s truthful but child-appropriate answer about not looking while he was crossing the street. The little girl who plays Charley is amazing, and I hope she sticks around for a while.
Now it’s your turn, TV Fanatics. Were you confused about seeing Charley with Eddie? Is Regina headed toward a political run? And was Inez’s visit a hit or a miss? Hit that SHOW COMMENTS button below to share your thoughts.
Then check out Jasmine’s A Million Little Things Season 5 Episode 7 review.
And you can watch A Million Little Things online here at TV Fanatic.
C. Orlando is a TV Fanatic Staff Writer. Follow her on Twitter.
