Being There: This Is Us "I've Got This"/"One Small Step"

 

"I've Got This"

As Kevin and Madison take on parenting twins at home, later on, Kevin invites Kate and Toby to have a get-together dinner. But for Toby he's waiting on word about the job interview that turned out unsuccessful. 

Soon, when Kevin learns about Toby's job situation, he tries to offer financial assistance but rejects the offer. But after the tensions cool down, Toby apologizes to Kevin. On the other hand, later on, Kate called Rebecca, thanking her and asking her how she did it raising three kids while Jack wasn't making much. 

We learn in a flashback when Jack was at a dinner about a promotion; he had to cover the expensive spread. Later on, Rebecca decides to manage the family finances. 

After their conversation, Kate talks to Toby and thanks him for being a great provider and a wonderful father. She tells him that she will be working to help with the finances.

Meanwhile, tensions grew at Randall's house. As Carol has been staying for a while, Beth tries to make a goodbye family dinner before she goes. That is until things took a turn from Tess's romantic relationship with her friend Alex to Malik's baby mama wanting to come back to their child's life. 

Beth talks to Carol about how she judges her with how things she is to her. Beth realizes that her mother misses the domestic activity of a family and invites her to stay. Sorry, Randall!

Randall talks to Deja about what's been going on with Malik, who knows about the situation. And soon, the two bonded and tried to stalk Malik's baby mama on Instagram. 

The episode ends with Kevin and Madison getting a surprise visit from Uncle Nicky.

"I've Got This" was an excellent episode. Kevin and Toby were good but, at times, anxious when finances were discussed between Kevin and Toby. The Beth and Carol storyline was terrific, and Beth took her mother in after Randall had brought his family in the past. And I couldn't get enough of Deja and Randall's chat. 

Overall, I give this episode an 8/10.

"One Small Step"

Picking up where the previous episode left off, we see Nicky at Kevin's front door, coming to see the twins. Soon after, we go back to 1969 when Nicky, Jack, and their family watched the first moon landing. In that time frame, we see Nicky falling in love with a colleague, Sally, and soon, the two bonded while observing the moon.

Later on, Sally invites Nicky to go to Woodstock and soon move to California. As he accepts her offer, he stands her up because of not being there to protect his mother from his father. 

After the war, Nicky gets invited to celebrate a war buddy's engagement at a bar in Erie, Indiana. While Jack is there, getting marriage advice, Nicky sees him but never enters or approaches him. 

Coming back to the present, just as Nicky gets an invite to Nick and Franny's baptism, he gets Cassidy's help to prepare for his first flight since the war. Nicky makes handcrafted snow globals but gets destroyed at the airport security. But as he arrives, Nicky gets second thoughts and calls Cassidy, who tells him that if Jack had still been alive, she believes he would have forgiven Nicky. 

As Nicky is at Kevin's home, Nicky sneaks in to see the twins and talks to them about the second gift from the airport he had brought and even talks a bit about his past. Later on the following day, Kevin walks in to see Nicky with a photo of him and Jack taken by Sally after a family dinner. 

"One Small Step"  is a brilliant episode and one of my favorites of the season. This episode just made me love Uncle Nicky a lot more, even though I had already loved him before. Watching this character get the courage to take his first flight in 50 years and confront his nephew and niece was heartwarming. 

Man, I was heartbroken when those two snow globals got destroyed. I do blame the airport security for that. And even Nicky's first love and what he did to her. It might have been for the right reason. Like Cassidy told Nicky, I do believe that Jack would be proud of him and forgive him.

Excellent writing, along with the performance from  Giffin Dunne. Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

What did you think of these episodes? Leave a comment!

This Is Us airs Tuesdays at 9/8c on NBC.

Bring There: Chicago Med "Letting Go Only to Come Together"/"Some Things Are Worth the Risk"

 

"Letting Go Only to Come Together"

Sometimes, letting go is the only thing that could make you better. 

When Dr. Charles and Halstead help a patient suffering from a seizure and see his dead wife in the corner of the room, they learn that the patient has a brain tumor and won't get it surgically removed because he doesn't want to lose seeing his wife. But Dr. Charles gave one last shot to convince the patient to go with the surgery, to which he agreed. 

April was chosen to work in the COVID unit, but when it comes to helping a patient, her actions might have gotten the best of her, and she might have suffered consequences after pushing meds without the doctor's order.

When a young centers into the ED, Dr. Virani and Choi work together to help treat his heart condition. But it looks like the issue isn't the heart but more of the lungs after multiple bleeds. 

After having a lovely evening with Manning's mother, Marcel, and Manning treat a patient who has been seen and treated for everything but abdominal pain. When they did a CT scan, it showed something no other doctor would have noticed. 

"Letting Go Only to Come Together" was a good episode.: good writing and character development. I love seeing Dr. Virani get into action instead of occasionally popping in. April's activities concern me about her taking on a different career path than just nursing. Also, I'm glad that Michael is leaving. While it brings some terrific drama between Goodwin and the Med, it just felt enough. Overall, I give this episode an 8/10.

"Some Things Are Worth the Risk"

She's back!!

Dr. Charles gets a visit from a former patient who wanted to see him over another doctor. But after he declines to be her therapist, Romona returns to the ED after she ingests pesticide to see Dr. Charles. 

As soon as Romona was cleared, Dr. Charles began to talk to her and tried to talk more about her father. But just as they were making some breakthrough, Anna called for help. After that, Romona was gone. 

Marcel and April treated a former COVID-19 patient suffering from trouble breathing. April thinks they are suffering from anxiety, but that's not the case after coughing up blood. It turns out to be endometriosis, but with the patient wanting to have kids, she decides to have surgery to remove the lung portion. 

Manning gets word on her mother's condition, which looks less harmful. Ked Will if he could help get her mother in treatment but couldn't, even after telling Virani about the stunt he had pulled. Meanwhile, she takes away a former patient's drug trial after the patient had died to give to her mother. Yikes!

Archer and Ethan go on a trip to help a trapped patient in a basement. When gunshots were going off, Ethan saw Archer experiencing PTSD and, after saving the patient, tried to talk to him to get help. But we all know he's not going to get it.

"Some Things Are Worth the Risk" was another excellent episode. I thought that Dr. Charles and Romona's storyline was good. Especially in that scene when Anna tells her dad how she feels bad for being the one to let Romona go. Manning is going into dangerous territory. Overall, I give this episode an 8.5/10.

What did you think of the episodes? Leave a comment below!

Chicago Med airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on NBC, with all seasons available on PeacockTV.

Powers to Believe: A.P.: Bio: "Handcuffed"/"Spectacle"

"Handcuffed" 

When Jack needs a new cell phone, he asked Mary to be on her plan; but in return must help her get rid of her boyfriend. Trying to give the bad news to her boyfriend, he doesn't accept and his handcuffed to Jack's mother's stairlift. Jack plays into Mary until it was too late and she goes back to him. That is until Jack stops her and tells her that she can do a lot better than with that guy; in return, the two will share a phone plan and get out of being handcuffed as well.

Principal Ralph can't take the stress of informing his staff of the cuts and moves. But that's when Anthony came in to interview Ralph for the school paper; Anthony helps give the bad news and is given the power to tell everyone from the gym coach to janitor about the changes. Even trying to get out of a B- grade but Helen took care of that after noticing he dipping the chip into way too much dip.

"Handcuffed" was a very good episode. I enjoyed a lot from Mary and Jack's friendship story to Anthony's reign of power. But the one that really had me laughing was Paula Pell's performance as Helen stealing scenes and that dipping the chip into way too much dip was so funny. Overall, I give this episode an 8.5/10.

"Spectacle" 

There's a talent show but will Jack and his class win it?

As the school talent show is about to begin, Jack thinks he can win it with his class and after searching for some talent from his class he had found it. It was a play and while at first, it was a good idea; Jack turned it and went a whole other direction by using what everyone likes in entertainment from dub music to dancing. At first, it wasn't going so well until Jack went back to the original idea and won the show.

Meanwhile, Mary and Stef try to help Michelle out with her bell concert for the talent show but instead Michelle does it all on her own. While Helen and Ralph come up with who will be the new M.C. the talent show; spoiler alert it's them!

"Spectacle" was so good with the performances from Paula Pell and Patton Oswalt with their chemistry just put to a whole new level. When watching these two I don't think they're doing it on scripted but improvising. I didn't really like the whole bell concert storyline in this episode because it just left too predictable. While Jack and the classmate's story was good on average but had a nice ending to it. Overall, I give this episode an 8/10.

You can catch A.P. Bio available on NBC.com, NBC app, and Peacock streaming service.

Family and Work: Fresh Off The Boat "Jessica Town"/"A Seat at the Table"

"Jessica Town"

For the final season of Fresh Off the Boat, their final Christmas episode will be marked as perfect. Just like Jessica's Christmas.

Like Louis with Halloween, Christmas is Jessica's holiday and as she tries to make this holiday season perfect; Louis tries to help her out because he wants to spend time with her this season by ice skating. Of course, Jessica sees that Louis is doing things wrong to her with the Christmas cards and the gingerbread house. That is until she realizes and tries to make it up with Louis by going ice skating but Louis ends up with two broken arms and Jessica getting her perfect gift: a couple ice skating for her Jessica Town.

Meanwhile, Evan and Eddie accidentally broke Honey's gift for Marvin, a navy nutcracker. In order to find a replacement, Emery works as a mall elf and it's not even pleasant. As Evan tries to get the nutcracker at the mall, he steals it instead. But by the time Honey comes back to wrap the gift; grandma hands the nutcracker to her as she bought it to help the boys in return for their gift cards.

"Jessica Town" was probably one of my favorite episodes of the season and could be the best holiday episode of the tv season. While Eddie, Evan, and Emery's story were very good and hilarious; Jessica and Louis' story was so heartwarming and funny as it brought so much Christmas spirit. Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

"A Seat at the Table" 

As Jessica gets to be a Dean at a college; she learns that they didn't hire her for her ideas but for being diverse. Trying to figure out whether to quit or not; Louis's advice was to play the long game and so she did. After an incident, Jessica took to press conferences and not only promise to fix the diverse issues but also fooled the president of the college too.

Meanwhile, Evan sees that Emery and Eddie don't hang out during school and wished that they could do that before Eddie graduates. After Eddie tries to hang out with Emery and his drama club, things took a dip but Evan tries to fix it but Eddie and Emery gave what Evan wanted during his math club.

"A Seat at the Table" was a very funny episode: mainly with the character mispronouncing wong phrases. I thought the cast gave a good performance in this episode. Plus Mr. Buns! Overall, I give this episode an 8,5/10.

Celebrating and Playing: Single Parents "Good Holidays to You"/"The Angie-Man"

"Good Holidays to You"

It was the holiday season, and while Angie wanted to give Graham the best holiday ever, he was asking for two things: snow and to see his father. Angie gets Will's help to find a place where it will snow, but it turns out to be a dusty, warm, dry area. Angie and Will stole a snow machine while trying to get the snow going and got arrested. But Angie learns that Graham has been asking Santa to see his father for a while. 

Meanwhile, Emma, Amy, and Rory learn that their parents have been having a relationship for a while and try to hustle them into getting many more gifts. As Doug bails out Will and Angie, they celebrate Christmas at the cabin, and things calm down. Even Doug tells Poppy that he loves her. 

"Good Holidays to You" was another excellent and charming holiday episode, too. Good character development and good wiring as well. I loved the Angie and Graham story and the moments in this episode. Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

"The Angie-Man"

As Will throws an anniversary party for his parents, they assume that Angie is Will's girlfriend. Both Will and Angie played along and played it so well. But as the party is over, Will's girlfriend shows up, and Will explains to his parents that Angie is only his best friend. But in the end, both Will and Angie are taking a separation friendship for a bit. 

Meanwhile, Poppy was dealing with a wine call back, and Doug offered to take Rory to his dance class. Soon, Miggy gets Poppy to take the day off. Soon gets caught by Doug and Rory at the mall. Doug understood and took Rory to his dance class without using the shoes that he bought him. And the rest of the kids helped Tony sharpen his image to look for a new girlfriend. 

"The Angie-Man" was a good episode and one that's my favorite Angie-Will episode. After this and the Thanksgiving episode, I hope they will end up together. This episode had strong writing, strong character development, and performances from the cast. Overall, I give this episode an 8.5/10.

You can catch Single Parents Wednesdays at 9:30/8:30 on ABC.

Differences of Opinions: Chicago PD "43rd and Normal"/"The Devil You Know"

"43rd and Normal"

When the Intelligence Unite investigates a series of robbery and vandalism, Burgess and Ruzek's relationship and partnership are put to the test.

Ruzek and Burgess's relationship and partnership is put to the test during an investigation of vandalism that has Ruzk watching out for Burgess. But Burgess doesn't want his help. As the investigation goes, it turns out to be a son of a former cop that Voight, Ruzek, and Upton stops before he could kill himself.

Meanwhile, Ruzek apologizes to Burgress, who gets an awakening gift from Platt and tells Voight about the pregnancy. Ruzek tries to propose to Burgress that she ended up with "no" and tells him that she's been down that road and doesn't want to be married because of a child. The two have found common ground.  And it looks like Atwater and his brother are on good terms.

"43rd and Normal" was a very good episode, mainly for Burgress and Ruzek's story that really carried with strong moments. While Ruzek tries to be there for Burgress whether it's trying to protect her during a standoff with the suspect and the other propose to her. I do think that Burgress has learned to accept what's going on and after the last couple of days in this episode it ended her up telling Voight and accepting Ruzek's help to be there. The writing was so good and the performances as well. Overall, I give this episode an 8.5/10.

"The Devil You Know"

When the Intelligence unit tries to make a drug bust, a twist turns into that the seller happens to be working with the CPD. Here's a recap!

As a drug bust was about to happen, Upton sees that the person that was exchanging happens to be a cop. Investigating closely, they soon learn that two more are apart of the drug business after planting evidence of drugs from the evidence room that would prove their guilt of selling it.

But who knew that the buyer that was buying happens to be Darris Walker and Voight gets him to help put them away in exchange for his freedom from the CPD. After the deal went totally wrong, both cops dead, Darris walks away free but Upton turns him into other gangs and gets the punishment of being a rat.

"The Devil You Know" was a very good episode and a very good Upton story. Upton gets the revenge for her CI that she's been wanting since he was made by Darris. Tracy Spiridakos gave a good performance. Michael Beach gives one final good performance as well. Overall, I give this episode an 8/10.

You can catch Chicago PD Wednesdays at 10/9c on NBC.

Believe: Chicago Med "The Ground Shifts Beneath Us"/"Leave the Choice to Solomon"

"The Ground Shifts Beneath Us"

  When Med gets a call about a plane crash, they get unexpected news that one of them was on the plane. Ethan and Marcil treat Dr. Abrams when he's suffering from third-degree burns. When Abram's wife comes, she wants her husband to be taken off life support, but Ethan doesn't think she should make that decision. After being turned down by the ethics board, Ethan goes outside for air and sees Abrams outside the hospital that just got in. It turns out the patient was a drug reparative.

April and Noah deal with two families whose embryos were switched. The idea of IVF gives April hope that she still wants to have babies with Ethan and wants to provide IV with a try.

Gwen is in trouble for leaving her eight-month-old baby in a cold car; to make matters worse, she is going through a divorce with her husband. Goodwin tries to bond with her and to get her to tell the baby's father the truth. Instead, she doesn't, and Natalie says with the circumstances for Gwen away, Will's plan proposal for an on-site for those that need a drug fix can be supervised.

"The Ground Shifts Beneath Us" was a good episode that kept me on the edge of my seat at times. I thought that the character Gwen lifted the shield to see her softer side, but later on, she put it back in use. Halstead will be in deep water if someone finds out about this illegal offsite for drug users. Overall, I give this episode an 8/10.

"Leave the Choice to Solomon"

In this episode, we see Marcil as we've never seen him before. When a school bus crashed, Natalie and Marcil were there; they helped two kids who were trapped with an iron bar through their bodies. Marcil takes the risky approach of cutting them out and moving them back to the Med. There, Marcil gets the boy removed from the bar, but soon, both the girl and boy suffer some complications that put his judgment to the test. Natalie questions why he's playing safe with the boy and soon saves the boy like Marcil only can risk

April and Ethan deal with another student crash victim suffering from respiratory issues. Soon, Ethan learns that the child's father is vaping, which means the patient is also vaping. After running some tests, it shows that the patient's lungs have suffered pretty damaged from vaping and that there's no new treatment since it's unique.

Maggie reunites with a friend about to get a new bone marrow; when the donor has the flu, Maggie jumps to action to get everyone tested. After Goodwin stops the staff from donating blood, people in the waiting room do their part, and after many, many blood samples, there is a donor for Maggie's friend, but it is too late. In the uplifting moment, Maggie learns that what she has done has saved many more lives.

Dr. Charles and Will's work relationships are tested as Will tries desperately to get his patient a new heart valve, but with the history of drug use, it's unlikely. Will does the unthinkable and gives Dr. Solomon a false diagnosis, but the surgery would go even if the patient's partner sneaked him some drugs. I will apologize to Charles and even try to leave the off-site and get a gift from a patient who almost overdosed at the client earlier.

"Leave the choice to Solomon" was a good episode with some interesting cases and an excellent character development of Crockett Marcil. I think he might have lost a child he once had with someone or that he could have lost his family in an accident years ago. The story with the vaping was perfect, and the Halstead and Charles were intense. Overall, I give this episode an 8.5/10.

You can catch Chicago Med Wednesdays at 8/7c on NBC.

Tension in the Air: Chicago Fire "Hold Our Ground"/"Where We End Up"

"Hold Our Ground" 

In the winter premiere of Chicago Fire, Severide's life is on the line, plus tension between two colleagues builds, and 51 takes down a robber. Here's a recap!

Picking up where we left off, Severide and the arsonist suspect are in the basement and are fighting to get out due to being a lit fire there; Severide saves him and is reprimanded back to Firehouse 51, but the partnership with Wagner is put in question with Kidd, but Severide takes care of that.

Meanwhile, Firehouse 51 learns they'll be sharing districts with Firehouse 20, and some aren't too happy, like Gallo. But after a call of an accident, Truck 81 lost its tool and learned that someone had stolen it to use it to break into ATMs. Gallo and Casey work together to figure out the guy; it turns out that they would meet that guy after being diverted on a call thanks to Firehouse 20. More on that later!

After the first accident, as 51 returned to the station, Mouch had a letter stuck to his boot and tried to bring it back to the post office but wouldn't take it. Mouch tries his best to figure out how to get an address, but with the help of Ritter, Mouch gets that letter delivered home to the wife of a falling soldier.

The tension is building out of the blue between Froster and Brett. It gets so wild that it even brings the atmosphere at Molly's down. Kidd gets them together and tells them to make amends. After their wild chase, Froster tells Brett about how she's been feeling looking at photos of her classmates, making it as doctors and somewhat.

Now, the wild chase to catch a robber was probably the episode's highlight, as it was like Fast and Furious meets Chicago Fire. I'm sure the Ambulance 61 could have taken down that truck alone.

"Hold Our Ground" was entertaining, dramatic, and exciting. The Mouch story was so good and funny but ended in a heartwarming moment. The Gallo was fun, and Brett and Froster were good too. This episode had good writing and character development. Overall, I give this episode an 8.5/10.
You can catch Chicago Fire on Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC.

"Where We End Up"

The tension between Firehouse 51 and Firehouse 20 builds even further.

The issue of overlapping districts for Firehouse 51 and 20 continued during a car accident that put even more tension between the firehouse. Things took a real turn for the worst as everyone at Firehouse 51 had to leave on behalf of bedbugs. Throughout the episode, while quite fun (mainly with Gallo, Brett, Kidd, and Froster), most were quite severe with Casey and the Captain at 20. But that all subsided after a fire rescue at dry cleaners where Casey and Gallo helped save a life, and Firehouse 20's Captain, in return, got significant respect.

Boden had to be at a meeting where he spots an old friend who happens to be the speaker. The discussion was about firefighters battling cancer because of the ashes, etc, which can cause down the road. In the spirit of Chicago Fire, Gallo, who's running in the marathon, runs with full firefighter gear in support of fighting cancer for firefighters.

"Where We End Up" was a moving and intense episode. While the tension over Firehouse 51 and Firehouse 20 was pretty good, while Brett, Kidd, and Froster worried about what their chief would do to them was hilarious. The main thing from this episode was about how firefighters are diagnosed with cancer, not being aware of cleaning their equipment correctly, and that there needs to be an awareness. Overall, I give this episode an 8.5/10.

You can catch Chicago Fire on Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC.

Need to Talk:This Is Us "A Hell of A Week, Part 1"

This starts the first of the Big Three Trilogy with another powerful story. Here's a recap!!

In this another installment of the Big Three Trilogy; we start off with Randall as we pick up from the moment the previous episode ended when Randall face to face with a burglar in the house that started to relive his past once again.

After Randall stands his ground and offers the burglar his money; the guy ran off and we start to see Randall become unhinged when it comes to protecting his family and the fear that comes to it. After placing home security, it takes a real toll on him that it even takes him away from his job; as the city council and the talk about the big bill that the residents have big concerns.

Randall gets a call from Kevin, who's in Pittsburgh to visit Sophie as her father past away; but Randall doesn't tell him about what had happened. Night terrors start to come back and we see how after Jack's death that these night terrors started and continued throughout his life even when meeting Beth. After taking his run, Randall stops a robber from stealing from a lady and kicks the shit out of him. When he returns to work as a hero, he runs back home as it took much and later calls Kevin to tell him that he wasn't okay and tells him about what had happened and needed a talk.

This episode was so powerful and truthful about not only fear can conquer us but that it's okay to talk about anything Sterling K. Brown gives such a strong performance in this episode along with the actors that played the young and college Randall. The writing was strong and had so much character development. It does leave to preview of what to expect in the next two episodes; with Kevin meeting Sophie and Kate's history with the so-called boyfriend that ended with a shocking cliffhanger in this episode. Overall, I give this episode a 9.5/10.

You can catch This Is Us tonight at 9/8c on NBC.

"It's so Basic!" The Good Place "Chapter 50: Mondays, Am I Right?"

Can Michael get the employees of the wrong place to use his method in the new plan? Is Chidi good for Eleanor? Here's a recap!!

As Michael and the gang meet up with the employees of The Bad Place, Michael tries to get them to come together and follow his method for his new plan. But when some do not like it or do not get it, it takes Vicki to grasp the concept through their heads with some healthy understanding. Even though Michael is upset about Vicki teaching them quicker than him, he learns a lesson that follows his pushing the rock up a hill.

Meanwhile, Eleanor, Chidi, and Jason must find a thousand people that will fit well with the formula so the plan can work from Mr. Rogers and Susan B. Anthony. But when Eleanor sees her file, she jumps to Chidi to not read it, but when she tells him to, Chidi doesn't think he's good for her. Thinking more about it, Jason helps Chidi while Chidi believes he is assisting Jason and gets his confidence back about loving Eleanor.

As the plan seems to be working, the jingle that someone's going to the excellent place comes, and it's Eleanor and the gang going. Michael brings the air balloon for them and goes along with Janet, and as they ride off waving bye to the people of the medium place, Jason yells out Folies.

"Mondays, Am I Right?" was a good and hilarious episode. This was a great Michael episode as he had to deal with Vicki, helping him explain how the new method to the point system works. Hell, I just loved that scene when Tahani was in the VR room and got attacked by a chainsaw bear. That has to be a T-shirt. Why do I feel this is only the calm before the storm as we get to the series finale? We get a Wizard of Oz ending in this episode. Does anyone think we'll get Eleanor to wake up and see Chidi somewhere and go after him?

Anyway, overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

You can catch The Good Place on Thursdays at 8:30/7:30c on NBC,

Messy Messy Joyous Holiday: All Rise "Dripsy"/"The Joy of Oz" Fall Finale

"Dripsy"

Making a decision is the hardest thing to do even if you're a lawyer or judge.

After being re-assigned to another courtroom due to leakage; Judge Carmichael comes to making some harsh and tough decisions when it comes to two cases. One was given a warning to a defendant that was stealing cars but pleaded for a warning that he'll change due to family. But that didn't last too long as he did the same thing and was watched live on the news.

The other is trying to help a defendant, who's lawyer was making some horrible calls. When Emily, who has a history with the client, gets involved; she not only fights but proves to the facts that she didn't do it. Also, her first date with Luke started off great yet ended with different opinions on the same case; but in the end, all is good.

And if that wasn't enough for Carmichael, a storm is coming for her when the DA has filed a lawsuit to dismiss her as a judge.

Meanwhile, while trying on a case about a robber who says he was sleepwalking, Mark doesn't believe him but looks into it. He learns that he was actually telling the truth and figured out that the victim falsified her claim. But during this case, after seeing his father for a visit; he sees him get arrested and couldn't find him for a few days. Mark learns that his father is charged for a murder that he didn't do but was at the wrong place at the wrong time.

"Dripsy" was a very enjoyable episode and at times interesting. Watching Carmichael dealing with two cases that I thought would be a double win turns out to only be one out of the two. Also, lesson learn on this one: always trust your mother. A showdown between Carmichael and DA lawyers should be interesting. Mark's story was very good and watching this character dealing with two different situations. Overall, I give this episode an 8/10.

"The Joy of Oz:

Twas the last day before Christmas break and all through the courthouse; as a judge faces trial on her actions. While facing the other judges, Judge Carmichael fights for her life to convince that she stands firm and hard on the law. After a couple of rounds, the verdict comes in as Carmichael not guilty.

Meanwhile, Mark gets Amy to represent his father in this murder case. But while that was going on, he had a chance to finally take down a familiar face that led him to want to be part of his father's legal team.

Also, since it's Christmas Judge Brenner gets the DA's and others to perform The Wizard of Oz on trial. While Emily and Thomas butted heads with each other during this special performance, after Carmichael was trial was over she appears and saved Dorthy.

"The Joy of Oz" was a very good fall finale episode. While it had a Christmas theme going, Carmciahel's trial, Mark's storyline and even learning about Sara's past was amazingly well done. Even when Paul McCrane's character talked to Carmichael near the end of the episode gave me chills and even a tear. But it was when Carmichael gave Sherri a gift was cry time at the way. Overall, I give this episode an 8.5/10.

You can catch All Rise returning tonight at 9/8c on CBS.

Bonding: Life In Pieces "Clean Pens Grandma Guys"

From a scary grandma to a guy's party, here's a recap of last week's episode of Life In Pieces.

When Greg and Jen hire a cleaner, it turns out to be the same cleaning lady who has been cleaning Joan and John's house since Greg was born. But here's the thing: she doesn't clean the house but sleeps while working. Jen learns that Joan does most of the cleaning after the cleaning lady is done and that the reason why they've kept her is that she irons John's pants so well. Jen fires the cleaning lady, and soon Greg and Joan decide to fix the problem by cleaning up themselves.

After watching Antiques Roadshow, John decides to turn in those pens that he's given the kids during his time as an airline pilot that could be worth a lot of money. After disappointing John, Greg, Heather, and Matt hunt for the pens, but without any luck,k they find a set of cells on eBay. As they told John they found the pens, they realized they bought the ones John put on eBay for $700. That did make John pretty happy.

Matt and Colleen's son is scared of Joan. Joan thinks it's anxiety, but Colleen believes it's just a phase and that he'll get over it. But she learns that the real reason is that the witch in the story looks like Joan. Colleen confronts Joan about it, and she tries to deny it but accepts and walks away after sweeping up candy on the floor.

The fight of the year is about to start, and Tim invited the guys for a guy's night at his house. But the only person who shows up is Matt, and it turns into one weird and awkward night for the both of them as Tim tries to take off his pants and starts the margarita machine, which takes four hours. But as soon as the fight begins, it's over within 15 seconds, and Matt tries to leave but comes back, realizing that no one is coming to Tim's party. He comes back and takes a photo to show off to Greg.

"Clean Pens Grandma Guys" was an excellent episode, but it didn't live up to the previous episode as hilariously funny. It was a split 50/50 of perfect and okay stories in this episode. The good ones were John's pens and Tim's guys' night. The character development was good, as did the writing. As for the scary grandma and the cleaning lady stories, it just seems a bit predictable at times. But the humor was there at times. Overall, I give this episode an 8/10.

You can catch the one-hour series finale of Life in Pieces tonight at 9/8c on CBS.

Chose Your Path: Chicago Fire "You Choose"

Here's a recap of Chicago Fire episode "You Choose."

As Severide tries to move forward from his break up with Kidd; he spends his time not only at the firehouse but helping to restore someone's boat. He connects with his client's son; they bond so well that Severide understands what he's going through living with a wild father and not knowing your own mother. But the relationship gets toxic from the kid's father's perspective and threatens Severide; but instead, he leaves and went on to do his job.

It was later a call about a house fire happening at the same place where Severide was restoring the boat, but no one got hurt. The client gets mad and charges him for the fire. But Severide wasn't the one that caused it; he knew who it was but waited for him to show up. It was the kid. Severide told him that he has to choose what he wants to be: someone great or like his father.

While Severide was keeping himself busy; Kidd was too and decides to enter Tuesday into the dog competition. But the dog doesn't listen unless you tease him with peanut butter. By the for Tuesday to perform, it failed and everyone ran out thinking that Tuesday was killing a girl, but really given her doggie kisses.

Brett gets double duty: one a day date with Kyle and house hunting for Casey. In the end, Casey calls off the house hunting as he's gonna stay with Severide a bit longer. While Kyle tells her that he loves her after she offered to take him to see Stephen King and get his favorite book signed.

Forster gets upset after a call when she found the bus driver, who had a seizure while driving, medicine list; tried to get someone to tell her doctor. Later on, both Foster and Brett get a warning from their boss and Forster still wouldn't stop, but she finally meets and tells him and even maybe got a date out of it too.

"You Choose" was a very good episode, maybe not one of the best; but it had some really strong moments that pull you in. Also, moments that were just too funny as well like Kidd taking over training Tuesday instead of Trudy's friend. And I know I've been saying this since episode two but there was a moment between Brett and Casey that seem like a little push between one another when looking at each other. I'm just saying. Overall, I give this episode an 8.5/10.

You can catch Chicago Fire Wednesdays at 9/8c on NBC.

Home, Reunion and Rage:: Supergirl "Blood Memory"

It's probably one of the best episodes of the season so far! Here's a recap!

"Blood Memory" is and could be one of the best episodes of the season; let alone one to remember with it's a well-written story about Nia; the connection of her family and the Dreamer powers. The character of Nia was really the focus character in this episode; as Kara and Alex were second in the way this episode proceeds. Nicole Maines gives her best performance so far and I would really consider that she should get a nomination for awards.

Kata and Alex's relationship aren't what it use to be now with Alex not knowing that Kara is Supergirl and even doesn't know what Kara's favorite movie: The Wizard of Oz. There is a spilled conflict between the characters; I'm very interested to see how this will play out.

Meanwhile, the copycatted Supergirl has run into what seemed to be health problems. After trying to revive her with the shock paddles, some of the electric went around the world creating alien rage pills in town. Later at the end, the commander calls for assistance in the United States,  I wonder who?
Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

You can catch Supergirl Sundays at 8/7c on The CW.

Personal Growth: Brooklyn Nine-Nine "The Therapist"/"Casecation"

"The Therapist" 

As Jake deals with one of his enemies, Holt tries to meet Rosa's girlfriend and Terry deals with a personal matter. Here's a recap!

As Jake is asked to help on a case that involves a Therapist; who's worried about his patient killing another patient. Of course, Jake doesn't like therapists, but even more this one and he believes that after looking into the suspect's apartment that the therapist could be the suspect.

Soon Jake sneaks in the therapist's office and found his notes on the patents. After trying to sneak out, he gets stopped by another therapist who thinks she's her new client who has a multiple personality disorder. But as soon as the suspect leaves, Jake leaves and doesn't escape with the evidence quietly as the therapist stops him and takes him on a ride; but he gets stopped by Charles after Jake text without looking.

Meanwhile, Holt invites Rosa and her girlfriend to dinner with his husband; but she doesn't want to because of Holt's judgmental comments. Soon he meets her and it turns out that he was being tested with an actress, but later on, Holt finally meets Rosa's girlfriend and enjoys her sense of humor.
Also, Amy hands over a box order of books that have Terry's name on it as it's for how to spice up your sex life. Terry denies the whole thing that he doesn't need help in the bedroom, but after having Scully pretend that the book was his, it's true for Terry.

I will admit that at first "The Therapist" didn't grab my attention at first but after watching it over and over again I really enjoyed it. There were good moments and moments that I kind of forget that had happened in this episode mainly the Terry storyline.

I thought that the Jake storyline in this episode was outstanding with such strong character growth; as Jake deals with a murdering therapist but also admits that he needs to see a therapist. And the Holt and Rosa storyline was probably a better highlight of the episode than what it was shown. It not only made me laugh but broke my heart and warmed my heart by the end. Overall, I give this episode an 8.5/10.

"Casecation" 

With a witness under protection in the hospital; it's a casecastion for Jake and Amy that leads to one of the most personal matters in their marriage.  Here's a recap!

With a witness is in the hospital;  Jake and Amy work together to protect from whoever is trying to get him killed. This gives them finally the time to spend together; calling it a "casecation."  Amy soon drops a bombshell to Jake that she wants to plan to start on their family, but Jake isn't too thrilled about it; soon gets into a modified debate. After Holt and many, many others being the moderator, Jake finally admits why he doesn't want to have kids; he's afraid that he could be just like his dad, who wasn't a good one.

So a suspicious person comes on the floor and Rosa and Amy took down, but he was only a distraction. As soon as Jake and Terry walk towards them; Jake figures out who the hitman would be, Pam, one of the patients at the hospital. It turned into a standoff and Jake talks her down and was handed the gun.
When things were cooling down; Jake tells Amy that he doesn't need to think about having a baby anymore that he's ready. He decided after handling the situation with Pam that he could actually be good at parenting. And all things end very well. 

"Casecastion" was another great installment episode. I could eat this episode up so much with the character development of Jake and Amy. I think that Jake was the focus of the episode with his decision to whether he wants to have a family with Amy or not. Personally, I understand Jake's thoughts on the situation with his dad issues and all.

 This episode was another milestone moment in the series. I think that maybe by the time the season ends Amy and Jake will begin their family. Amy Samberg gives an amazing performance. Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

You can catch Brooklyn Nine-Nine Thursdays at 9/8c on NBC.

Step It Up!: Superstore "Steps Challenge"

Sometimes you just got to motivate your co-workers to show that your store is better than the rest. Here's a recap of Thursday's episode of Superstore.

Corporate gets all of their Cloud 9 stores to do the Steps Challenge to see who can not only stay fit but who will have the most steps within the week. After getting their downgrade Fitbit watches, our beloved Cloud 9 store coworkers not motivated to do the challenge; Amy, Dina, and Jonah come up with a way to get them to motivate: telling them that another store is making fun of them.

After the first-day things were looking good; Amy and Dina took it to another level. They get the gang to think that Bel-Ridge sprayed painted the outside store with profound names. That led to everyone hating Bel-Ridge and not only calling out a customer, but some of the employees went to Bel-Ridge to make their store a mess and dump hot deer urine.

As Glenn got word about what happened at Bel-Ridge; Amy confesses that she wanted everyone to participate in the challenge because she wanted to win and also Dina wanted to beat Colleen but she didn't admit it.  Genn tries to write a letter to the Bel-Ridge Cloud 9 store manager with Garrett that turned into an "I love you" letter in a way. As things were looking good; Jonah let someone go in their breakroom. Didn't realized that Bel-Ridge made a comeback at them by destroying their breakroom.

"Steps Challenge" was such a hilarious and memorable episode. There were many moments that made this episode a standout; from Amy, Dina, and Jonah discussing how the other stores doing the step challenge; to Glenn's accidents plus writing a letter to the Bel_Ridge manager with Garrett's help.  Strong writing with great character development. The ensemble cast gave a great performance. Overall, I give this episode a 9.5/10.

You can catch Superstore Thursdays at 8/7c on NBC!

The Blacklist "Bastien Moreau" Episode Preview

Here's a preview of this week's episode of The Blacklist titled, "Bastien Moreau."

"Bastien Moreau"

Liz and the Task Force make a play to uncover the truth about an international assassination in a last-ditch effort to save Red's life.

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Clips/Promo:

You can catch The Blacklist Fridays at 9/8c on NBC!!

Changes: Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt "Kimmy Finds a Liar"/"Kimmy is Rich*!"

"Kimmy Finds a Liar"

Titus finds another way to make Mikey jealous while Lillian deals with Sheba's nonsense again. But Kimmy learns if people can change. Here's a recap!

Jacqueline tells Titus that she's found a way to get his name in the papers by dating one of the top HGTV hosts, Tad, by pretending he's gay, which he's not. Even though Titus accepts the challenge, it's another opportunity to win back Mikey. After the first dinner, it seemed that everything was going Titus' way till their next lunch date, in which Mike proposes to his boyfriend, Titus does the same thing but gets turned down, and Tad announces that he's not gay.

Lillian and Sheba are at each other's throats, but when Lillian learns that Sheba tricked her by sending her money to pay off her jail bond, it turns out to be used for her Halloween store. Just as they sit and wait, they open up to one another until they meet with the judge. Sheba soon accepts responsibility for her actions, and Lillian surprises her that all of this is a trick, just like she pulled. Sheba takes over her father's Artie's Farties.

Kimmy, on the other hand, learns that someone has taken the rights to her book when she sees that someone is having a book reading. She sees it's Fran, and he tells her that his girlfriend thought he wrote it and scheduled a public lesson. He also mentions that her book changed his perspective on women, and he gives his full support. But when it comes to hanging around with his guys, his word isn't it, and he decides to perform his flag dance from school.

After seeing that Fran can change, Kimmy tries to find something she can do that wouldn't be so much as playing it safe. After looking at the book poster, she sees the hand knitted of the world that she got at the beginning of her journey and decides to travel the world but tells her boss that she's going to quit till he tells her to wait till next week because of big money/

I enjoyed the episode from the beginning to the end. There was one moment that was a bit predictable, and that was the storyline between Titus and Mikey. After that first date night, you see that Mikey is considering marrying his boyfriend. Lillian, on the other hand, is a surprise that I enjoy watching between her and Sheba, which was terrific, and I think that Busy Phillips deserves an Emmy nomination for Guest Actress in a Comedy. And for Kimmy, we are seeing her grow and grow as she's pushing not to play it safe and wants to do something different: travel—strong character development and writing. Amazing performances. Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

"Kimmy is Rich*!"

Could Titus have found the gig that he's been looking for? Is Jacquline done for the next few days when her top client is moving to LA? Will Kimmy get rich? Here's a recap!

Kimmy agrees to stay at her job until her boss sells the company. She realizes that her company spies on people through their phones and mouths to know what ads they would like. She soon plays with her boss about telling the buyer about the sexual harassment case in exchange for him to get the company to sell ads about her book, which works.

After losing Mikey, Titus takes a school bus to see the play Cats. One of the kids doesn't think Titus could be a part of the show. But Titus shows him and performs and gets accepted by the cast. Titus learns that Cats is just a fake Broadway show that is all improvised but learns that he can't tell anyone about it in the style of Fight Club. Later, he tells Jacquline, who's having a bit of crisis mode herself, and gets Titus kicked out of the play but gives an autograph to a happy kid to see a Broadway celebrity.

As for Jacquline, she's dealing with losing her big client to another agent who wants to take him to LA. Trying to win him over, it wasn't going so well until she saw that Greg Kinnear was his client, too. After hearing about Titus' new play, she gets him into the space of Cats and wins not only the audience but the cast as well.

As Kimmy walks back home, Titus follows and tells about his day along with a happy Lillian, who won the dance contest with Bradley Cooper; the three see all their stuff outside and learn that their place will be knocked down. Cliffhanger!!

I loved this episode, from Titus arguing with the kid to performing with the cast of Cats, which happens to be nonsense of a play that people love. Kimmy trying to sexually dance for her boss and get him to help her sell her book was hilarious—strong writing and character development. Overall, I give this episode a 9/10.

You can catch Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, available on Netflix now.

Blindspot "Careless Whisper" Episode Preview

Here's a preview of this Friday's episode of Blindspot titled, "Careless Whisper."

"Careless Whisper"

When an author's obsession with the team puts them in the cross-hairs of a deadly killer.

Photos:

Promo:

You can catch Blindspot Fridays at 8/7c on NBC.

Growing Up Driver's Birthday: Fresh Off The Boat "You've Got a Girlfriend"/"Driver's Eddie 2: Orlando Drift"/"Legends of the Fortieth"

"You've Got a Girlfriend"

When Evan is given a note from a girl with a question if he likes her or not; but when Jessica learns about it, she does what she can do to stop her youngest child from growing up. Jessica tries to bring down Evan by fixing his grade from an A to an A-. But after talking with Louis, Jessica fixed it by setting up Evan with his girlfriend at the pottery shop.

Meanwhile, Eddie, Emery, and Honey decide to see a movie, they get worried about taking Louis with them because he has an act of making a lot of movie references in situations. When they go see "You've Got Mail," Louis didn't like it because it resembles him of what he was doing to the ma and pa shops. But when he tries to fix it, it just turned into a bad situation and soon realizes that he's not like Joe Fox and then starts to make the title of the movie in situations on television

"You've Got a Girlfriend" was a good episode. I very much enjoyed watching the story between Jessica and Evan as a mother is realizing that her youngest is growing up. It was a bit of a shock to see someone hating You've Got Mail as it's one of the best rom-com movies of all time. It played out well. The episode had good character development and writing. Overall, I give this episode an 8/10.

"Driver's Eddie 2: Orlando Drift"

When Eddie gets his driver's license, Jessica makes sure that driving is a privilege and not all for fun and games. With a lot of stuff to do, Jessica gives Eddie the opportunity to prove that he can do all of her daily chores and still have time for fun. Not having a lot of fun, Eddie decides to not follow and go with his friends to the concert but realizes that he's getting responsible and apologizes to Jessica.

Meanwhile, Louis tries to hang out with Marvin by taking him out to the chili con, but Marvin wasn't too excited to go and Honey comes along too. A disappointed Louis learns the real reason why Marvin isn't too thrill eating chili; he's got a health issue with digesting certain foods like beans and seeds. The two makes up and eats chili without beans.

"Driver's Eddie 2: Orlando Drift" was another good episode. It holds up pretty good with its good character development. The Jessica and Eddie and Louis and Marvin story plot were good and not bested one another. Overall, I give this episode an 8/10.

"Legends of the Fortieth" 

It's Louis's 40th birthday and all he wants is to have fun and a good time. But the boys don't want to have to do something that Louis was hoping for: camping. Instead, they get him to have a birthday party and that didn't sit well with Jessica as she had to find a gift that means something to Louis.

From going through Louis's party plan book to learning have to dance, the boys stop Louis's excitement. After Jessica learns about what had happened, they did the one thing that will help it all: watch Legends of the Fall. They got the perfect idea for Louis to give him the Legends of the Fall camping trip in the backyard. And boy, wasn't he excited.

:"Legends of the Fortieth" was one of my favorite episodes of the season. The story was so good and the performances from the ensemble cast were strong. I couldn't get enough of Louis's excitement for his birthday with Eddie, Emery, and Evan. And Jessica trying to figure out what to give and trying to find a way was just hilarious. Overall, I give this episode a 9.5/10.

You can catch Fresh Off The Boat Fridays at 8/7c on ABC.