The Grinder Review: Buckingham Malice (Season 1 Episode 7)
Normalcy is overrated. Or, at least, that’s what this week’s episode of The Grinder would have you think.
For six weeks we’ve seen Dean take advantage of his celebrity status and Stewart play exasperated/annoyed while he does so. The dynamic has worked well so far, but for a comedy to really thrive, they have to flip the script every once in a while.
And that’s exactly what The Grinder does this week.
Stewart’s words finally get to Dean, who decides that he’s going to be a normal person – not take advantage of his fame anymore. Which is all fine and good until Stewart actually needs him to use his fame to help him. Because sex vacation beats morals, of course it does.
The plot works, and the episode, Stewart’s subsequent tricking of Dean to help him get his way and the way that all backfires is a nice way for the show to finally focus on the brother’s dynamic. At this core The Grinder is about Rob Lowe and Fred Savage playing opposites, and for that they don’t even have to remain married to the stereotype. They can switch it up, as long as they do so together.
Debb finally gets her own story-line too, and seeing her at work is like a breath of fresh air. She deserves an award for how long she put of up with her assistant, but I’m glad the episode ends with her doing what we all would have done on that first day (okay, maybe the second).
For all my raves, the show is still missing one thing to take it from the best new comedy in television to an established great comedy that doesn’t need a qualifier, and that’s balance. Ethan is hilarious, and he deserves more screen time. Same goes for Dean Sanderson Sr. But the two characters I want to see more of are the two the show has failed the most so far: Claire, and Lizzie.
Where’s the Claire/Dean banter? With Stewart getting to a point where it seems like he might actually understand and maybe appreciate his brother, we desperately need Claire to up her game. Natalie Morales has done an amazing job so far with the few one-liners she’s gotten, and she impressed me enough that I was shipping her with Dean ages ago. But that’s all fizzled. The show has allowed it to. I’m pretty sure it can recapture the magic again – if they just try.
And then there’s poor Lizzie. You know when you just have a good feeling about a character? That’s me with her. I can see the potential. I want her to have a chance to shine. Every week I stare at the TV screen and will the show-runners to give Hana Hayes more screen time. It hasn’t happened yet, but thankfully, this show’s got time. A whole season’s worth of time.
This isn’t The Grinder ’s best episode, but thankfully, this show is still good even when it’s not great. That doesn’t sound like a compliment, but in the land of go big or go home, it really, truly is.
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The Grinder airs Tuesdays at 8:30/7:30c on Fox.
Lissete Lanuza Sáenz
Lawyer. Writer. Columnist. Geek. Falls in madly in love with fictional characters. Hates the color yellow, misogyny, and people who are late. Can always be found with a book. Watches an absurd amount of TV every week, often, while eating coffee ice cream. She has no regrets. You can check out her blog here: Absurday. Lissete is a senior writer for Tell-Tale TV. Follow @lizziethat