Instant Mom: Christmas with Grandpa

This episode is not a great one to showcase the family aspect of the series. At Christmas, sure there are Scrooges, but to depict an estranged grandfather as a miser who dominates women sends the wrong message. Maggie has been seen as a strong and independent woman since the pilot, so seeing her cower under the presence of her ex-husband was sad. The greed of the children is a typical holiday television theme, but they don't really ever learn anything about how it's wrong, which was a missed opportunity in my opinion. Franklin may not be absent forever, but the comedy is certainly not bringing him back anytime soon! Let's hope that the new year will find this show returning to pleasant and family-friendly storylines!

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Instant Mom "The Gift of the Maggies" (S01E09): Stephanie can't seem to get a hot toy for Aaron, but Maggie handles it. [the 12 desserts of Christmas?] Stephanie invites her father for Christmas, deeply bothering Maggie. [haha, "who art in heaven!"] James is excited for extra presents from an extra grandparent, but Franklin's gifts are nickels, which mean nothing to the youngster. Maggie tries to avoid her ex, though when she does see him, she gets excited and they begin to reconnect. [Charlie worrying that he is old when Franklin is only a few years older than him was a weak plotline that could have been dropped.] Before long, Franklin proposes to Maggie, she accepts, and Stephanie is worried that it's her fault. She is determined to break them up so her mother stops acting like a doormat. Stephanie decides to prey on Franklin's love for bargains and sets him up to sell the hot toy to pay for a trip to Vegas to marry Maggie. Maggie can't believe that he would deprive one of the grandkids, so she stands up to him. [nice that Stephanie has these alleged friends to help in these tricks!]

In a second storyline, Gabby got a sound effects box from a class secret Santa, but it turns out to be from a guy who likes her. He had called the house for ideas, but James was only thinking of himself when he said to get her the box instead of a necklace. [why would anyone trust a sibling, LoL??]