Home Economics Season 3 Episode 2 Review: Melatonin 10 Mg Tablets, $14.99
The Hayworth siblings and their families get further enmeshed in each others’ lives on Home Economics Season 3 Episode 2, “Melatonin 10 Mg Tablets, $14.99.”
Combining work and family as well as living spaces can create a lot of problems, sometimes among unlikely pairs. That’s what Home Economics tackles with this episode.
Denise steps on Lupe’s toes while trying to be considerate, and Connor almost deters Marina’s dream of designing professionally.
Connor and Tom are also at odds on this episode but what else is new, right? Even though we see the brothers bicker often, that doesn’t make the storyline of Connor being Tom’s publisher any less funny. As obnoxious as he is with his Hans Dutchman persona, Connor’s media marketing strategy works at Tom’s expense and benefit.
Take the Sour Takes podcast, for example. It’s a riff on the popular web series, Hot Ones, where guests have to eat sour things during the interview. Tom is so affected by the sourness he doesn’t plug his book. But, the silly podcast press tour does lead to an offer to appear on Live with Kelly and Ryan, following a Twitch appearance that goes viral.
But there’s more trouble at “Ritz Connorton” than two squabbling siblings. Denise is staying at Connor’s sprawling manse without Sarah as a buffer, and Connor’s fears of his daughter growing up makes him into a difficult first client for Marina.
These two rifts are kind of a bummer—perhaps breaking up the plotlines so they’re not on the same episode could’ve alleviated that feeling. It’s hard to see Denise, the most compassionate of the family members, unknowingly insult Lupe. And the harsh rejection Marina faces before Connor’s real issue surfaces is quite the blow.
Marina: Why did I decide to pursue my dreams? Dreams are exhausting.
Luckily, this is a sitcom and resolutions for tiffs like these are pretty much guaranteed by the end of the episode. Lupe and Denise have an open conversation as do Marina and Connor once she realizes what’s upsetting him.
Lupe gets her house system back, Denise learns to be a better houseguest under Connor’s roof, Gretchen gets a bedroom makeover, and Marina gets to keep that mid-century lamp. It’s wins all around!
Until the end tag scene, that is.
Tom and Marina finally enjoy a date night, but it gets too hot resulting in a fire, bringing their family to join the rest at Chez Connor. I wonder if that will continue onto the next episode.
What did you think of this episode of Home Economics? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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Home Economics airs Wednesdays at 9:30/8:30c on ABC.
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Erin Allen
Erin is a former script supervisor for film and television. She's an avid fan of middle aged actresses, dark dramas, and irreverent comedies. She loves to read actual books and X-Files fan fiction. Her other passions include pointing out feminist issues, shipping Mulder and Scully, and collecting pop culture mugs.