The Grinder Review: Dedicating This One To The Crew (Season 1 Episode 6)

The love affair continues.

Mine with The Grinder, that is, because for all my asking (begging?), there’s still nothing new to report on the Claire/Dean business. But there’s time. The writing’s on the wall. That’s coming. Or like, not coming, coming, but going to be the focus of a few episodes in like, the future, quite possibly when they’re done killing us with the family feels.

Though, if this episode’s to believed, that’s not happening anytime soon.

Family is at the center of this show, so it’s no surprise that family is at the center of this week’s episode; specifically, Dean Sanderson Sr. and his relationship with his two sons.

And it’s about time.

We haven’t seen much from the elder Sanderson, other than a few quips here and there, and without him being directly involved it was getting hard to understand how these two men got to where they are – brothers who love each other but don’t really see eye to eye. That all changes in “Dedicating This One To The Crew”, and the show can only be better for it.

Being a parent is hard. Judging a parent, however, is pretty easy. Stewart judges his dad, correctly, for always having some sort of encouraging advice for Dean while always telling him to know his limits. What Stewart fails to notice while he’s feeling sorry for himself, though, is that he’s inadvertently doing the same thing to his son. Ethan wants a part in the school play, yes, but what he really wants is for his dad to believe in him, to be proud.

And that’s exactly what Stewart wants. He wants to be judged by the same standard Dean is judged, to have the same expectations placed on him. He wants, simply, to be his brother’s equal, and yet, he’s never asked for it. He expects his Dad to just know that he’s wrong.

Except life doesn’t work that way. Sometimes, when you want something, you have to go for it. You have to believe in yourself.

Stewart manages that, and by learning the lesson that he can stop being a shadow, that he is good enough to come to the forefront, he teaches not only Ethan a lesson, but his dad as well. As I said, being a parent is hard. I don’t for a moment believe Dean Sr. loves Stewart any less or that he realizes, until it’s pointed out to him, that he’s been giving his kids opposite advice all their lives. He just thought he was doing well by two different people, with different needs. Stewart also thought that regarding Ethan. But in this episode, they all learn a lesson about encouragement, about going for what you want – and more importantly, about what supporting your family really means.

Light comedy, you say? No, The Grinder  is not light soulless comedy. If anything, The Grinder  is all heart. And a few laughs. Okay, more than a few.

Other things to note:

• I need an episode to focus on Lizzie like, yesterday. She’s due.
• Also, more Claire, please.
• While we’re on Claire, her wardrobe is always on point. The dress she wears in this episode? Where do I get it? I want it.
• There’s an untapped goldmine there with all the people Dean could have offended/messed with in school, there really is. We need to see more of this.
• I love Rob Lowe, I do. He always makes me laugh, and I he’s the reason I was looking forward to this show from the beginning. That being said, Fred Savage …wow, Fred Savage. No words. Just wow.

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What did you think of this week’s episode of The Grinder? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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