Last Man Standing: A Tank with a Whimper

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

I don't know why the final episode of this season's Last Man Standing didn't do something a little more exciting. Aside from potentially adding another adult character and breaking up Kristin and Kyle, this episode doesn't add much to the overall scheme of things. It's very clear that this family sitcom wants to have more adults on the show - Mike's father has moved to town, we've seen three or four episodes where the Baxters interact with their neighbors, and now Vanessa's sister is around - but I question this choice. One of this series' weaknesses is not involving more than one or two characters in a single storyline, which makes for long periods where nothing is going on with Eve or Kristin, and they've nearly wiped out Boyd from the show already. So why split Kristin and Kyle, unless you really just want some awkward moments of Kyle hanging around the Baxter house? Overall, I was just disappointed... the opening scene has Mike buying a TANK, and the episode doesn't even go out with a bang. :-/

Last Man Standing "Found Money" (S01E24): April, one of Vanessa's sisters, comes to visit from Boulder. [I loved the Boulder jokes.] She gives Mandy some odd dating "advice" - constantly call a boy until he pays attention to you. She brings a check to repay a loan, and Mike is upset when he finds out that Vanessa has loaned April quite a bit more than he knew about. [didn't we have this storyline on Home Improvement? I think we did...]

(ABC/CARIN BAER)

This goes away when she finds out that he bought a British army tank. [haha - "if you go by the pound it was less than cereal."] He then makes a comment about how he makes 70% of the household income, which upsets Vanessa. [and sounds completely like Tim Taylor again, especially before Jill went back to school to become a psychologist.] April comes back two days later to ask Vanessa for (a lot of) money, as she wants to invest in a startup - Wash'n'Nosh, a breakfast place in a laundromat. [not a fan, personally.] Vanessa thinks it's an okay idea, but after talking to Mike, ends up asking Vanessa for everything she owes at this point. Except, this apparently leaves April without enough to live on, so she moves into the guest bedroom. [Mandy, Kristin, and Eve all have their own bedrooms, so this must be a five-bedroom home? pretty big, considering there's also an office and a very large basement.]

Kristin is studying and can't get away to go to a concert with Kyle. Both think that they're drifting apart, but Kyle is the first to say something. He's more worried about Mike's reaction than Kristin's, and asks Ed for advice about breaking the news to Mike. In the end, he uses a football analogy to ask Mike for permission to break-up with Kristin. [haha!] Kyle says it's hard because he liked being part of the Baxter family, so Mike says that he can still come by for dinner or to help do chores. [not the biggest fan of what this appears to be setting up, but we'll see... technically, it hasn't been renewed yet. I'd be sad if it were canceled, tho!]