Suburgatory: George Has a Secret...

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

The "last night I had a pleasant nightmare" part of the opening theme song finally stood out to me this episode. I'm not sure why, and after I thought about it a bit, I'm not sure that I like it. Is the entire series supposed to be a figment of Tessa's imagination? Is it supposed to mean that, while Tessa isn't thrilled about having to live in suburbia, it can be a pleasant experience? Am I the only one who hasn't questioned this yet, or does nobody listen to lyrics anymore anyway? Regardless, I thought that this episode was pretty good for a first-season holiday episode. Their Halloween feature a few weeks back was good by any standard, but I thought that this one was a little weak. If it had been a later-in-a-series Thanksgiving, I don't think it would have worked. However, such a young show can get away with a little more in this area. I read a few things across the internet that suggested this episode was pretty well-liked by others... what did you think?

Suburgatory "Thanksgiving" (S01E08): For Thanksgiving, George and Tessa normally go to Central Park to watch the Macy*s Parade balloons get filled up, then go to a diner for turkey burgers and black-and-white milkshakes. This year, they've been invited to the Royce Family Thanksgiving. Not only was it a formal invitation, but a costumed pilgrim comes to the door to ask for their RSVP when they are late in responding. [seriously?] They tell him they'll be there.

Dallas names her new designer dog after her favorite probiotic drink. [I don't know how the writers come up with this stuff!] George tells Dallas that Tessa is bummed and asks if Tessa might hang out with her for a day. [why would he ask that?? also, what day is it and why isn't she in school? Do they live in one of those places where the schools are off for the entire week of Thanksgiving? Because I don't really support that. Not that I want to debate education politics, mind you...] Tessa goes to the salon with Dallas, who tells Tessa that she'll take her to lunch anywhere if she gets a Brazilian blow-out. [I was disappointed in Dallas' comments about how straight hair makes you feel better about yourself, etc.] So, Tessa gets the treatment and wants to go to Manhattan. [saw that coming! though I was going to bet that she wanted to go to that aforementioned diner, not for pizza.] Tessa shows Dallas the wonder of counterfeit bags, then they go to an art museum... where Dallas wants to buy a Degas painting. [hahaha. Also, I loved the part where Dallas drops the pizza, thinking it's part of the experience!] They then see George making out with a girl. Tessa wants to confront him immediately, but then it would be clear that she was disobeying her father by going into NYC.

Dahlia is planning the family Thanksgiving as if it's a party, and says rude things to the chef. [is she really considering party-planning as a career? And why are they featuring this idea in back-to-back episodes? Or is this going to be a new "thing" for this show? I did, however, really enjoy "your cashmere horse blanket for your horse, Cashmere," LoL!] Thanksgiving morning, Tessa is wondering what other secrets George might have. On the way to the Royce house, they see some people running with turkey headwear.

(ABC/KAREN NEAL)

At dinner, everyone puts on some Pilgrim or Indian item. Dallas is an Indian and Dahlia is a pilgrim... but really more of a French maid. They go around the room to say what they're most thankful for, and Tessa makes it known that George is seeing a girl in the city. George admits that he's been to the city 5-6 times because he's working on a bar there. He's seen Zoe 2-3 times. George tells her that the rules aren't the same for the two of them, which bothers her. [yeah, I'd imagine it would. I've been surprised throughout this series with how much control George really gives Tessa.] After the dinner, George takes Tessa to New York city for milkshakes at the diner.

[A separate storyline going on:] Lisa isn't excited about Thanksgiving, because her family picks on her. Lisa tells her mom that she won't wear the same Amish dress as the other girl cousins, so Sheila tells her that she can sit in her room through Thanksgiving if she doesn't wear the dress. Lisa's brother doesn't want to wear a vest if Lisa isn't wearing the dress. Sheila turns up the heat, since the second floor gets hotter. Lisa's brother tells her that he thinks she's cool for taking a risk. On Thanksgiving, Lisa comes downstairs in a towel and completely disrobes in front of everyone... and Sheila blames it on Tessa's influence. Sheila even drops the turkey. Lisa goes streaking outside. She hears police sirens and ends up trying cars... she ends up in George's backseat, and is there when George and Tessa drive to Manhattan, so she puts on a sweatshirt that was in the car and also has a milkshake.

[Other random things that we learn this episode:] Dallas got Dahlia an IUD to increase her cell signal. Dallas' husband is upset that she got a new dog without telling him, and she mentions that he got a new girlfriend without telling her. Noah and his wife have a daughter who goes to Brown. [the first blows my mind while the others are just barely worth mentioning.]