Sunday, January 6, 2013

Guys with Kids: How Everyone Met

by Amy K. Bredemeyer

I had been wondering how everyone became friends, and this episode gave an interesting backstory for that. While I didn't care for Nick's hair in this episode, I thought the rest of it was pretty good, though Nick and Chris both have some crazy reasoning as to how Sheila ended up in New York! I thought it was kind of shocking how much Gary changed, but the fact that he keeps his tooth chipped to remind him was a bit odd... maybe I'm just too vain for that. I also was a bit taken aback that Emily got pregnant out of wedlock... she seems to have everything so perfectly planned all the time that I assumed she probably did the same thing with her conceptions. The episode isn't the greatest for the series, and it's getting annoying how the characters can exist completely separate from the rest of the world, but it's got its laughs. Oh, and the "Ernie's First Word" plotline? It most definitely played third fiddle here.  

Guys with Kids "First Word" (S01E011): When Sheila drops off Ernie with Chris, she doesn't leave, as she thinks that their son is about to say his first words. Nick is upset that Sheila is there, and Nick and Chris argue over who invited Sheila into their lives. Begin relentless flashbacks... Chris was shocked when Nick proposed to Emily, as they had previously agreed not to settle down until they were in their thirties. [how many people make this pact and break it??] Well, Emily got pregnant, Nick broke the agreement, and Chris went to law school (instead of becoming an actor), where he met Sheila. [haha at Gary now having to explain to his sons that you CAN get pregnant before you're married.] Nick argues that Chris would have gone to law school regardless, because Chris was a terrible actor. Chris then argues that, when Violet was born, Nick said that Sheila was hott, so Chris went for her. [bad reasoning.]

Marny shared a recovery room with Emily when Gary and Marny's second son was born. [haha at Gary trying to buy off Emily's bed for $500.] Emily took the name "Violet" from Marny, as that was the name she wanted for a daughter. [awww!]

During Chris's wedding, Nick tried to stop him from marrying Sheila, which began their mutual hatred. Sheila tried to cut out Nick permanently by moving to San Francisco, but three years down the road, Chris returns to New York with Ernie, Sheila shortly behind. So, Chris and Nick decide to blame either Violet (if Emily hadn't gotten pregnant, Chris wouldn't have met Sheila) or Ernie (if he didn't exist, Sheila wouldn't have followed Chris to NYC), but Sheila thinks it's Emily's fault for "being so easy." [it's the Sheila-Emily hatred that I don't get.]

The group realizes that Nick had hunted down the old number of Chris's girlfriend, Sage, when Chris and Sheila got married. Nick never got his tux dry cleaned, so the number is still there and Chris calls it. It's at this point that Ernie decides to grace everyone with his first word: "Sage." [go figure!]
Photo by: Vivian Zink/NBC
Oh, and while this is going on, we see a little sub-story: Marny wants Gary to get his chipped tooth fixed as a birthday gift to her, but he likes it. See, back in 2006, when Emily and Nick moved into Gary and Marny's building, Gary was a workaholic who got angry at their Russian nanny for letting the boys to play with a $5,000 football. When he fires her, she slugged him, chipping his tooth. [man! what a strange situation when you barely know somebody!]
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