The Goldbergs Review: The Day After The Day After (Season 4 Episode 22)

The Goldbergs Season 4 Episode 22, “The Day After The Day After” is all about survival.

Barry worries about surviving the apocalypse and Beverly worries about surviving her first child leaving the nest. For both, desperate times call for desperate measures.

Barry’s ‘end of the world’ fears stem from watching the TV movie The Day After, but his concerns can easily translate to the current fears of many Americans, including my own. Certain dialogue sounds like things we are hearing today.

Mr. Glascott: I know a lot of you are scared that the president is going to snap, push a button, and incinerate us all.

This made Barry’s fear more real and relatable. He just wants someone to reassure him that everything is going to be okay, but knows that is impossible. His next best bet is to be prepared which is a great idea until he Barry-fies it.

By showcasing his non-survival talents, he gets voted out of the team he was assembling. Everyone is playing like it’s hypothetical, especially Murray, which makes it even more upsetting to Barry who is genuinely stressing about a nuclear war.

Kudos to Troy Gentile for balancing Barry’s whacky, over-the-top behavior with a very real anxiety. I was a worrier as a kid—still am, to be honest—so I could really empathize with him. Gentile depicts this particularly well.

Barry’s interactions with Murray and Pops are authentic, too. Pops substantiates Barry’s cause for alarm and preparedness plan by agreeing with him, but makes him more afraid in the process.

Murray disguises his concern with a dismissive bravado until he realizes there is no way to allay his unease.

Barry: Look me in the eye and tell me for sure, for absolute sure, that this will never happen.
Murray:
Barry: That’s what I thought.

In the end, Murray is able to comfort Barry by validating his fears. (Although, I wish Murray would’ve agreed to coming up with some sort of emergency plan. I mean, that’s just being prepared.)

While all of this is heavy, the writing is funny, and all of the cast deliver light and comical performances.

Pops: Why are people always dragging chalkboards around this house?

For how manipulative Beverly can be, her kids can easily fool her. Erica and Adam battle for the opportunity to use their mom-manipulation for their own gain.

Playful sibling rivalry is good fodder for a family sitcom, and The Goldbergs do it well.

Adam: We can’t both lower mom’s defenses with an insincere theatrical show of our love.

That is precisely what ensues.

War is hell, and in this Goldberg war there are Teddy Graham casualties, tap-dancing, and a whole lot of “Wind Beneath My Wings.”

Which means, in the case of The Goldbergs, war is hell, but also hilarious.

It very easily could have gone too sentimental, but it has just the right amount, and only in the end. That’s one of the things I love about The Goldbergs—they bring that 80s family sitcom nostalgia without the overly sappy contrivances.

Stray Observations:

• “I like that Steve Guttenberg. He’s got a lot of range.”
• Adam’s reaction to his first kiss is so nerdy and cute. He bows his head in thanks! “I’m a big fan. Big fan of you.”
• “Yelling at a sandwich for having too much mustard on it is not a skill.”
• “Please stop asking me to build a life for this chicken.”
• I want Jackie’s Fosse shirt. Seriously, can there be a Goldbergs outlet shop or something?

What did you think of this episode of The Goldbergs? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below!

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The Goldbergs airs Wednesdays at 8/7c on ABC.

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