The Goldbergs Season 10 Episode 2 Review: That’s a Schwartz Man

The Goldbergs Season 10 Episode 2, “That’s a Schwartz  Man,” focuses on trust and how easily it can be broken. Well-intended lies are told to cover up emotions that are still healing.

With the family still reeling from the loss of Murray, Barry and Adam go off on separate adventures to help them cope. In typical sitcom style, their storylines intertwine and overlap in the third act.

Adam is leaving for college in a week. This is a giant step for a man his age; with the year he has had, it is enough to make anyone have second thoughts.

When you finally begin to pick up the pieces after your world shatters, it’s hard to want to let go of the little foundation you have. Who in their right mind would like to start over twice in one year?

Instead of owning up to his true feelings, he pushes them off on his mother. After all, Beverly already has so much on her plate. How could she stand to lose her baby boy too? 

Being well-versed in the routine scenarios of The Goldbergs, the truth is deciphered by the viewers rather quickly. Adam is sensitive just like his mother. We all know his sentimentality is working overtime.

Adam gathers friends and neighbors to create a haphazard intervention that will keep Beverly preoccupied. This is wrong in so many ways.

First of all, we should never put off our feelings to a more opportune time. This is how we create emotional baggage. The farther we push things away, the harder it is to unbury later on. 

Secondly, Beverly isn’t the one hurting right now. She has made peace with Adam leaving. She has other people around the house that need her just as much, if not more.

Of course, none of this deters Adam who insists on getting a job as David Hasselhoff’s assistant instead of going to college.

Yes, the awkward guest star of an aging actor well past their prime. If you couldn’t tell, I’ve never been a fan. So often it feels forced — and this is no exception. 

Nonetheless, Hasselhoff does what he is paid to do, even if it doesn’t amount to much. He foils Adam’s plan without even knowing it — no big surprise.

Barry, on the other hand, doesn’t want something as elusive as a job alongside Hasselhoff. Barry simply wants an autograph. 

Sadly, he has a more difficult time than Adam does connecting with the aged star. 

Instead of acting on all his fantastical ideas, Barry becomes deflated with each objection. I feel your pain brother! It seems like my average weekend.

I have thousands of plans to do every creative thing under the sun on my days off. But first I have to do the laundry, then it’s time to check my social media —and you can’t forget lunch.

Pop Pop: You eat the crap sandwich, and hope the next one is smaller.

No matter how persistent I am in pursuing the arts, there always seems to be less and less time for it. The harder Barry tries to connect with David Hasselhoff, the less sensical his schemes become.

Later on, it is revealed that Barry is so insistent on getting Hasselhoff’s autograph because he knows that Murray would have wanted it too. Honestly, it feels like a tacked-on idea. Barry’s goofiness doesn’t need to be explained away — that’s just who he is.

Throughout both Adam and Barry’s schemes, they bend, fold, and chisel the truth into what they want it to be. But that isn’t what the truth is!

The truth is plain and simple. Our lies are what complicate things. As the good book says, “The truth will set you free.”

And that is ultimately what happens — Adam and Barry come clean about their feelings and their fears.  This allows their family to forgive them and accept them. Why? Because that is what family does.

To further tie into the narrative, Erica and Geoff get in on the trust theme when it comes to the gender of their baby.

Right before the doctor is about to tell them if the baby is a boy or a girl, Erica decides she doesn’t want to know. This confuses poor Geoff, but he goes along with it. After all, we all know who wears the pants in this relationship.

In an innocent gesture to appease his parents, Geoff hands his father a picture of the sonogram, enabling him the ability to deduce he is having a boy. Of course, this now means that Geoff has a secret from his wife.

Secrets in relationships rarely amount to a good thing aside from Christmas presents. Secrets lead to lies, and lies lead to even more lies.

Fortunately, Geoff has the poker face of a naughty toddler, and the truth comes out faster than Barry Allen gets into costume. One would believe the crisis is averted before any real damage is done, but then again, they would have no clue about Erica’s character.

Just like most of us, Erica needs to have the upper hand. The upper hand means power — and we can never get enough of it. 

The quest to always have the upper hand often leads to folly and such is true in Erica’s endeavor. What she thought was a strength is revealed as a weakness. Her deception is uncovered through a mistake of her own hand.

But as it goes, we are all human. Neither Erica nor Geoff are innocent in the situation. The same could be said for Barry and Adam.

Trust issues are always a family affair. No one knows us quite like our siblings, parents, and spouses. We oftentimes refuse to admit that they know us better than we know ourselves. 

So my advice is to ditch the games. Own up to your feelings and lean away from excuses. Your family loves you, and they deserve the most honest version of who you are — warts and all.

But if you flub up like many members of the Goldbergs did, your family will be waiting to pick you up and invite you back into the fold.

What did you think of this episode of The Goldbergs? Will Adam putting off college impact him negatively?  Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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The Goldbergs airs Wednesday at 8:30/7:30c on ABC.

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