Almost Family Review: Fake AF (Season 1 Episode 4)
Two stars is a generous rating for Almost Family Season 1 Episode 4, “Fake AF,” but it gets tiring to be absolutely merciless to a show.
It’s almost decent writing (the pun is there if you want it to be) on a poorly executed show.
I’m a big proponent of quitting shows when they no longer entertain you, but this isn’t a medical drama ripping apart my OTP with a fate worse than death.
Medical rape happens to real women. So, I have no problem telling a show how disrespectful it’s being to real people by not considering reality, especially when it comes to Leon. (Yes, we still have to talk about him).
The most frustrating offense is a statement from Roxy toward the end of the episode. She says, “Leon is not a monster, he’s the reason I exist.”
I don’t want to be shamed for hating Leon just because I like Roxy, and without him, she wouldn’t exist in this fictional universe. Roxy’s parents are horrible, but she shouldn’t feel like she owes Leon anything because she’s alive.
To get a bit philosophical, it’s not like she’d be waiting around in the heavens yearning for life if it weren’t for Leon. She just wouldn’t be.
So, Leon is a monster. Period, full stop.
TV fans have been known to have sympathy for some pretty flawed characters with questionable morals. The difference between Leon and most other characters is that even while simultaneously asking viewers to empathize with a character, shows usually make people face real consequences.
Yet again, Almost Family mocks viewers by having Leon do community service at a hospital, as if he would be allowed within 100 feet of a hospital as a doctor — even to staple papers. If the legal system is at all competent, there are not enough strings in the world for Edie to pull.
But of course, Leon gets into a patient room to offer advice — I mean, stalk one of the people who share his DNA. It’s beyond creepy and it makes me so uncomfortable that a group of people sat in a room and said, “Yes, this will entertain people.”
Julia, however, gets annihilated by everyone for all of her lies to Nate.
I’m not going to lie — it’s satisfying. Julia is uppity and desperate for everyone to like her at the same time.
It’s weird that she is so excited to have a gay male sibling. And that the show knows it’s weird so they try to make her joke about it.
The more I think about it, the more offensive it is. Just because someone is gay doesn’t mean that they’ll gossip and go shopping with you.
Stereotypes happen on TV and as the writers and characters grow they can defy them. But there is no point in perpetuating a stereotype just to do it. Society as a whole has come farther than that.
On a better show, it would be intriguing that Julia tells Nate that Tim is her boyfriend. They have history and Tim is genuinely kind to Julia at times when she doesn’t deserve as much understanding.
At this point, Tim and Julia hooking up isn’t going to transform the quality of the show. Neither is Roxy and Isaac’s relationship. It’s more forced than anything. But given the choice between Leon in any scene and Isaac kissing Roxy, I’ll watch Isaac kissing Roxy.
While we’re talking about couples, Edie and Amanda at least forgo sex on this episode to actually get to know each other a little bit.
Sexual attraction sometimes drives a relationship, but it was getting kind of tired watching them walk into rooms, rip each others’ clothes off, and leave as if that’s how most affairs work.
Some do, but Amanda and Edie are eventually going to be a couple. Viewers need to see them connect if we’re going to root for them.
So, yay for progress there. That’s the most positive aspect of this episode we’ll be able to dig up, so let’s end there. Cross your fingers for 2-star quality episodes in the future, it’s really all the hope there is left for this show.
Notes
- I don’t think we learn Nate’s name until about halfway through the episode, that’s an unfortunate huge mistake.
- “Table 12 is no longer comped” somehow epitomizes all of my feelings about this series.
- As much as I dislike Leon (and Julia) I understand her need to go and just be with him when the rest of the people in her life have (rightfully) turned on her.
- Again, I find myself wondering how much higher my rating would be if Leon were just in jail off-screen.
- That coaching contract Roxy makes with Izzy’s mom on her front lawn is laughable. At least get your hypothetical 15% in writing.
What did you think of this episode of Almost Family? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Almost Family airs Wednesdays at 9/8c on FOX.
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Esme Mazzeo
Esme Mazzeo is a lifestyle and entertainment journalist from Long Island. When she's not writing for work, she's writing for fun, or searching for something to satisfy her sweet tooth. She thinks rainy days are the best kind of days. Certified night owl.