Bless This Mess Review: The Return of Short Shorts (Season 1 Episode 3)
Bless This Mess Season 1 Episode 3 “The Return of Short Shorts,” continues the formula started in the last episode by teaching a lesson, along with the laughter. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing.
Normally, this kind of thing bothers me. A sitcom that tries to emulate the old school 70’s and 80’s shows by adding in a feel-good moral to the story.
Most shows avoid that these days, except for a handful like The Goldbergs and Schooled. These two are excusable though, since they are actually supposed to take place around those eras.
The thing with half an hour television shows that want to teach you something, is that it takes a valid problem and oversimplifies the correct way to handle it. They don’t dive into the real circumstances of the problem, and fail to develop the layers in which they impact.
I understand sitcoms aren’t made to change the world. Even if they were, honestly, no one is paying that close of attention. We as an audience want to escape into some mindless fun with a couple of lovable characters.
I think the writers of Bless This Mess understand this.
On this episode, the plot revolves around bonding with your peers — and it makes perfect sense. With Mike and Rio still very new to the community and still struggling to get the farm running, they continue to feel out-of-place among these people who practically grew up together.
As an adult, it is hard enough to make new friends where we live. We get stuck in a routine, barely having a moment to reach out to a stranger and shake their hand in a meaningful way. When we actually get that moment, we miss the calling by staring deep into our phone screens.
To put it plainly, it sucks — all of our people skills have atrophied!
This isn’t some pretend problem dug up specifically to make a story and a few laughs. This is a real situation people come across in their everyday lives. That is one reason this lesson doesn’t come off as preachy.
Another great thing about using this situation is that it’s universal.
Mike: Listen all of you, be quiet!
The problem doesn’t center around children or the elderly. It doesn’t use office politics or stupid shenanigans either. Everything is brought up naturally through Mike and Rio’s interaction with their neighbors.
Mike’s discussions with the other men about how to kill the chickens is perfect. He wants to not only bond with these people on their own level, but he also has a relevant question he needs answered.
Of course, he makes the mistake of telling what he thinks is a white lie. Seriously though, who hasn’t done that to make a couple of friends?
I’m not saying that is the right way to go here. If you are paying any attention to the plot, you will see that for yourself. It just further proves the predicaments we have all put ourselves into.
Rio’s attempt at girl talk with Constance gives us a good laugh at her lack of social skills, but it also shows the side of us that comes out as problem solvers.
It has become human habit to interfere with any problem that comes our way — whether it is our problem or not. Although this can be a good attribute typically, we end up stepping in something unintentionally along the way. Rio steps into something big.
Sometimes people just want to vent. Sometimes people just want to hear themselves speak — so that they can figure out these problems for themselves. We need to ask them before we take their situation into our hands, or at the very least, ask yourself how you would feel in the other person’s shoes.
When we don’t stop and think about these things for a moment, it ends up a bigger mess and with a bunch of hurt feelings on both sides of the equation.
Everything just boils down to conversation and community.
Be open to everyone around you. Take in every aspect of a situation before acting on it. And like the episode concludes, people will come to you.
We really are all in this together. When people need help they will seek it out, just be receptive to it.
Keep your eyes and ears open. Where we live is a very small place, no matter how big the town. People are people, and we simply need each other.
But then again, what do I know?
I’m tearing a sitcom apart and looking deep into its core. I mean seriously folks, I’m finding philosophy in a simple thing intended for a chuckle.
Maybe old age is getting to me.
What did you think of this episode of Bless This Mess? Does the focus on morals bother you? 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.