Bless This Mess Review: Predators (Season 1 Episode 4)
Bless This Mess Season 1 Episode 4, “Predators,” takes a comical look at the roles each character plays in their own lives. Rio struggles the most in deciding who she wants to be in this new life in Nebraska.
In her old life, Rio was your typical independent woman with a steady job, making her own decisions, and only relying on Mike when she absolutely had to. Now in her new surroundings, Rio is unsure in all of her actions. Her fear of the unknown — paired with the expectations of those around her — makes her doubt her own abilities.
This is an easy thing to fall into. When we end up someplace unknown, it can often put us on edge, causing us to overthink the situation. We judge things incorrectly because we aren’t judging the circumstances as a whole, just what is directly in front of us.
When we make decisions this way, things start to become haphazard. We don’t make the best plans for ourselves, only the best ones for the moment.
This becomes evident when Rio argues with Mike over petty things like making lemonade. Obviously, lemonade isn’t the big issue here. She makes the wrong decision by choosing to argue about it — instead of the real issue.
That is how marriage works sometimes, isn’t it? We get in what seems like meaningless spats over minor things, when the truth of the matter is, the thing we are focusing on is just a symbol for the underlying problem.
Often this becomes an endless cycle of fighting. Since both people refuse to uncover the underlying theme of their arguments, it just resurfaces someplace else.
Mike and Rio do this repeatedly on the episode, and only end up going their separate ways — instead of coming together to nip it in the bud.
If they decide to communicate properly, the entire situation could be unraveled quickly, but come on, who really wants that? This is a sitcom —we need to laugh at these situations before learning from them. Hence why they have to throw in a reasonable amount of the absurd to comfort us.
To further prove the point they try to make with Mike and Rio, they pass the situation down to other characters as well.
Beau Bowman reveals himself to be a sensitive man. Unfortunately, it isn’t to his son like it should be. Instead, he shows his softer side to Mike, probably because it seems safer that way.
Once again, this comes down to a lack of communication. Why is it we are more likely to unmask ourselves to strangers than to our own families? The sad truth is that we are afraid to be judged by the ones we love the most.
Even though Jacob knows his father is the one crying on the video, he does whatever he can to cover it up. He could use this footage as comfort in his time of need, but instead, he wants to sweep it under the rug. Actually, they both do.
That is another major problem we refuse to face.
When things come to a head, we can choose to squeeze the pimple or disguise it with makeup. The makeup will most likely make the matter worse, by further clogging the pore. The squeezing on the other hand, may not actually fix the problem, but it can take some of the pressure off.
Sorry if that got a little too graphic there. Honestly, it was the first metaphor that came to mind.
As Mike opens up to Beau about things, the floodgates open and Beau lets out the waterworks. This gives him an ounce of healing, but more importantly, it gives him the courage to open up to his son about his feelings.
It is a heartwarming moment, even though they play it up for laughs.
On a side note, I hate that television still thinks it is funny when men cry. They use it here to lighten up a more serious situation, yet it seems counter-intuitive. If it is okay to cry, then why are you making me laugh at it?
Rudy: Is that your cape?
The third time they attack this problem is with Rudy and Constance.
Constance asks Rudy on a date to watch the fireflies. This is perfect. Constance is stepping out of her comfort zone to pursue a relationship.
Of course, this backfires on her when Rudy turns her down. Why does he turn her down? Because it isn’t the way he thinks things should work.
Oh boy, I’d be lying if I said that I never got in my own way by refusing to do something — just because it isn’t going exactly the way I want it to.
Take it from me, life doesn’t always work out as planned. In fact, it is rare that anyone ever gets all their ducks laid out in a row.
The good thing is life doesn’t have to be perfect. Life oftentimes works better in its imperfections.
The perfect job opening was posted at work. The hours suck, but the pay is good. You do everything in your power to get this job and instead, they hire somebody off the street.
It hurts, it hurts real bad. You want to quit, throw in the towel, and tell them to shove it where the sun doesn’t shine.
Then another job is posted. It doesn’t pay as much, but the hours are great. Heck, you even get to work from home on Thursdays.
It isn’t as glamorous as the last job, but it fits your lifestyle exactly. You win a contest you didn’t even know was going on.
If you got the original job you wanted, you would have gone through hell, and never would’ve seen the posting for this new one.
The point is, life works out in the end. Maybe not how we plan it, but how it is supposed to be.
Play the hand you were dealt with the best of your ability and continue to roll with the punches.
By the end of the episode, all three sets of characters learn new lessons. Although the lessons have the same theme, the morals have a slight tweak for each one. Because of course — life lessons aren’t always one size fits all!
What did you think of this episode of Bless This Mess? Do you see any similarities to your own life? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Bless This Mess airs Tuesdays at 9:30/8:30c on ABC.
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Charles E Henning
Charles E. Henning lives in a quaint town of Illinois with his ever-loving wife since 1998. He is new to writing reviews, but has over thirty years of fictitious writing for his own personal fulfillment. His interests range from science fiction to character-based dramas, but he is a sucker for anyone in a cape.