Critic’s Rating: 3.5 / 5.0
3.5
Holidays aren’t fun for everyone.
Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage Season 1 Episode 5 reminded us that when you’ve just lost someone, it can be hard to be thankful.
This was one of the saddest Thanksgiving episodes ever. It had some funny moments, but overall it was heartbreaking.
Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage Season 1 Episode 5 Revolved Around Mary’s Difficulty With The Holiday
Georgie was expecting a big fight over Thanksgiving because he wanted to spend it with Mary since it was her first one since George Sr.’s death.
That might have been a funny setup, but it didn’t happen.
Instead, Audrey quickly acquiesced, showing she wasn’t completely devoid of empathy, but Mary didn’t want to come to Thanksgiving dinner, and Missy was only willing to do it if she got a tattoo.
While there were some funny lines here and there, this episode was sad and didn’t quite feel Thanksgiving-y overall.
I know how hard the holidays can be for some people and appreciate that Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage Season 1 Episode 5 addressed that, I tune into comedies to laugh and escape grim realities, not to focus on them.
The saddest scene was Mary’s declaration that she couldn’t do this after all.
She was triggered by the McAllisters fighting about how much Jim was drinking. It reminded her of how she and George Sr. used to have the same argument on Thanksgiving.
I knew something like that would happen when she finally agreed to go to the McAllisters for Thanksgiving, but I wasn’t prepared for how emotional it would be.
Mary’s heartbreak was so raw and painful that it felt more like one of the evening dramas than a plot point in a comedy.
Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage Season 1 Episode 5 Would Have Been The Perfect Place For A Sheldon Cameo
Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage needs to be able to stand on its own as the first Big Bang Theory spinoff that isn’t focused on Sheldon, so I get why they would exclude him from Thankgiving.
And maybe Iain Armitage was busy.
Still, a Sheldon cameo would have been hilarious here.
He and Connor are similar yet very different, and Sheldon’s reactions to Connor’s accordion playing and wearing a suit to Thanksgiving would have been hilarious.
The holidays are the only time it would make sense for Sheldon to visit. He’s at school in California, so he shouldn’t be around at other times.
I also get Mary’s grief, but I’d think that she would be doubly clingy and overprotective, doing anything she could to convince her precious Shelley to come home for Thanksgiving.
It was also odd that Mandy joked about getting Georgie on a plane to California when he insisted that only California men use hand lotion, considering that’s where Sheldon is right now.
So far, Sheldon hasn’t become a Chuck Cunningham sibling who disappears into the void and is never mentioned again, as if he never existed.
However, other than Missy pointing out that Sheldon wasn’t coming home for the holiday, this episode came close
Dale Was A Bright Spot In An Otherwise Less-Than-Stellar Holiday Episode
I’ve been wondering whether Meemaw is still with Dale since the end of Young Sheldon, so I was thrilled he was back.
A lot of the humor around Dale comes from him being clueless, and always has.
He saved the Young Sheldon finale from being depressing with that bit about how he couldn’t find a spot to sit that wasn’t taken by someone else, and his interjections into Meemaw and Mandy’s conversation on Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage Season 1 Episode 5 were equally needed doses of humor.
Meemaw: So how’s my little great-grandaughter doin’? She saying Meemaw yet?
Mandy: No. She’s only saying Dada and it’s pissing me off.
Dale: Better enjoy it. My son doesn’t even talk to me.
Meemaw: Why even bring that up?
Dale: It’s called making conversation.
I’m curious how long Meemaw and Dale will last, but I’m glad that for right now, they are still together, even if Meemaw is irritated by Dale’s lack of social awareness.
Meemaw’s irritation seemed like a more general, “Ugh, men” than annoyance, though. She was more bemused than anything by Dale’s weird comments.
That has to be a good sign for their relationship.
Let’s Talk About The Ending Of Georgie. & Mandy’s First Marriage Season 1 Episode 5
I love holiday episodes because no matter how dark things get, they usually have a happy ending.
This one didn’t, though.
Missy, Mary, and George went to the graveyard and had a picnic there so that they could spend time with George Sr.
I agreed with Missy’s sardonic comment about the creepiness factor. I know they miss George, but having a picnic in a graveyard is a little much.
Look, I only have one rule for a Thanksgiving episode.
It needs to end with people being grateful for what they have and the family and love they’re surrounded with.
I know that’s a tall order when times are hard, that not all families get along, and that Thanksgiving itself is a difficult holiday for people who have Native American heritage because of the way Indigenous people were treated by white settlers.
Still, if a comedy is going to have a Thanksgiving episode, it damn well better give me warm, fuzzy feelings, regardless of whether there’s cause for celebration in real life, and Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage Season 1 Episode 5 failed to do that.
Over to you, Georgie & Mandy fanatics.
Did you enjoy the McAllister/Cooper Thanksgiving or did you also find it too sad?
Vote in our poll to rank the episode, and then hit the comments with your thoughts.
Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage airs on CBS on Thursdays at 8/7c and on Peacock on Fridays.
Watch Georgie & Mandy’s First Marriage Online
