Suburgatory: Mother's Day in Chatswin

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

Well, this show is off until the fall. The season finale actually left us with a cliffhanger of sorts, which is something that few sitcoms are doing this season. It's been teased a little bit throughout the season that Tessa and George have not kept up with other members of their family - particularly, her mother and grandmother. So, for the grandmother to make an appearance during the final minute of the season was an interesting move... especially as it may be Tessa's ticket out of Chatswin. We know that it really won't happen, for much the same reason that Will Smith couldn't return to Philly for long on The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air... the title of the show prohibits a location change. But, Tessa's realization that she has been using Dallas in the mother role more and more was a nice touch and will likely lead to something in season two. Eden's future, however, will likely be as scattered as her current arc on the show. We may or may not be continuing with Suburgatory in the fall, so if you have any compelling reasons, lay 'em on the table!

Suburgatory "The Motherload" (S01E22): [whoa. what was with the new voice in the opening ditty?] It's Mother's Day Weekend in Chatswin, and the mothers in this area receive some very lavish treatments! Eden questions Tessa about her own mother, and after she doesn't want to talk about her, Eden gets upset and complains to George. [apparently, this woman just cannot stay out of anyone else's business.] Eden has other problems, too... she's in the mood to be intimate, but George can't get past Noah's uninformed point about endangering the baby. Plus, when she goes to her/Jill's baby shower, she's very distressed by the violent imagery in the nursery and winds up heading to the hospital. [loved Jill's dress!]

George rides with Eden while Tessa drives the car there, and once Tessa arrives, she winds up splitting off to check on Dallas, who hurt her ankle in a Mother's Day 5K. Dallas was alone because Dalia went to Israel with her father - a Mother's Day tradition for the Royce family. Dallas hallucinates Yakult talking to her, and she decides to try and become closer with her daughter.

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Sheila's family, meanwhile, is very focused on supporting her in the race, and she even wins. Lisa is a bit depressed, though, as the DNA results come back positive - Lisa is Sheila's daughter. Later, when the family returns home, an orchestra is there with James Ingram... which turns into an awkward moment when it's revealed that he and Sheila used to date. [whoa. so weird.] Meanwhile, Lisa finds bagged blood for the family in a freezer, and she realizes that it's Ryan who was adopted.  

Finally, Tessa isn't as perky as usual because she learned that she was not selected for the Village Voice internship. [mail carriers on segways?] It takes George a while to catch on, and the scene between the two when he broaches the topic seems strained. Tessa doesn't have time to ruminate on it, though, as she ponders whether her mother ever thinks about her, and decide that she must not.  [awww.]Tessa only cries for a few minutes, though, before seeing her mother's mother in Chatswin, which leads her to think about how this might get her out of Suburgatory.