Better Things Review: Easter (Season 3 Episode 8)
On Better Things Season 3 Episode 8, “Easter,” the complexities of familial relationships are explored.
There’s never been a Better Things “very special episode” that lays out the origin of Sam and Phil’s’ tempestuous relationship. Viewers know there’s frustration and animosity on both sides that goes above and beyond the normal mother-daughter dynamic.
We see Phil be self-involved, entirely insensitive and inappropriate, ungrateful, and intrusive. On “Easter,” Phyllis is at her worst, making us more appreciative of how fantastic a mother Sam is, and how often her children fail to comprehend her stellar parenting.
In the first few scenes, we see Sam support Max’s artistic inclinations, trudge through a party supply store to make Easter baskets for her kids (and extras for any friends crashing over), bake a pie for Phil, and crawl into her girls’ beds to wake them with promises of candy and fun.
Sam’s joy comes crashing to a halt with Phil’s arrival, and from there on, we see Phil, who is mostly tolerable at her best, navigate a family party at her married boyfriend’s house.
It’s getting to a point, where we can’t be sure if Phil’s behavior is always indicative of a lifetime of narcissism. Or is it partially the inevitable result of physical and mental decline, and the emotional effects of growing old with any grace, dignity, or independence.
The hostility she faces from Walter’s family is palpable, but instead of trying to make a good impression, Phil’s worst instincts take over. Any vestige of maternal instinct Phil has (and it’s doubtful there’s much) vanishes.
The juxtaposition of Phil cradling Duke in her lap while telling her youngest granddaughter that her mother never loved her father is even more disturbing because, in her own twisted way, Phil think she’s helping Duke instead of traumatizing her.
It’s less shocking Phil reveals this information and more unexpected that it’s true. Of all the things we could guess attributed to the demise of Sam’s marriage, and all of the hard feelings since, a union born strictly out of obligation seems the harshest.
It’s genius that an episode where Sam is physically peripheral is one that gives us more insight into her relationship with Xander than the previous “Toilet” when she refuses to broach the topic with an actual therapist.
Even in the wake of a barrage of verbal abuse from Phil, Marion puts aside his own mommy issues to dole out advice sure to help keep Duke off the pole. Yes, Xander is the worst, but our parents don’t have to define us which is obvious when it comes to the stark contrast between Sam’s parenting and Phil’s.
Sam’s relationship with Marion is full of its own emotional landmines, but they are bonded together like two refugees who escape a war-torn country. His praise of Sam isn’t condescending, and it doesn’t come off as anything but sincere. Sam’s not perfect. She’s not even the perfect mom. But she’s pretty damn good.
Better Things doesn’t quantify its characters by a few actions. Phil is capable of kindness. Maybe not towards her own children, but towards a woman she so callously dismissed hours earlier.
She’s the perfect example of someone those around her can love despite her faults, and a person they can overcome despite her flaws. That’s family.
What did you think of this episode of Better Things? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Better Things airs Thursdays at 10/9c on FX.
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Jennifer Lind-Westbrook
Jennifer has been working as a freelance writer for six years, contributing to BuddyTV, Screen Rant, TVRage, Hidden Remote, Gossip On This, and PopMatters. She prefers binge-watching old episodes of The Office (British and American versions) to long walks on the beach. She's still holding out hope that Happy Endings will get a revival.
One thought on “Better Things Review: Easter (Season 3 Episode 8)”
Celia Imrie is great. Recommend her in Dinner Ladies.
The easter bonnet scene resonates, surely, with those who had aged parents suffering dementia, whose occasional moments of lucidity bought a rare shaft of light into a gloomy world.
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