Loveday Writing

This season premiere was set six months after the events of the season 2 finale. The premiere kicks off with Marlo and Em going for a walk, with Marlo asking Em whether any progress has been made on the adaptation of her book into a television show or movie. Em tells her that the “wheels are still in motion” but it’s obvious that nothing has really happened since the finale. While they are on their walk, Em sees someone pick up the book out of a Little Free Library box in the park, but not take it with them. Meanwhile, it’s revealed that Greg has evolved the books into a My Sh*t Husband podcast that he co-hosts with Terry. The podcast is clearly more successful than the book, with Greg managing to get it sponsored by a tent store, and meeting a fan in another father at Chloe’s school.

This episode has the family paired off – Em & Sophie and Greg & Chloe – as the A and B stories respectively.

The lack of progress on the book adaptation is clearly driving Em crazy, and she in turn is driving Sophie crazy, as Em is projecting her insecurities and taking her frustrations out on Sophie. Sophie is planning on getting a job at the local cinema with a friend of hers, who told her that she only needs to hand in an application form to get it. Em tries to prepare Sophie for a job interview to no avail, as Sophie locks her in the house as she leaves to hand the form in. When Sophie arrives at the cinema, hand-in-hand with Ravi, she discovers that Em was right and she did have to attend an interview. While Em struggles at first, she manages to salvage the interview and get the job, however when she eventually gets home (after Em spends the afternoon texting her) she doesn’t actually tell Em she was right all along. She also calls out Em for taking her frustrations out on her.

Meanwhile, when Greg takes Chloe to school, he has a run in with Luna Keys (Casey Donovan) from the Parents & Friends Committee, as he breaks the rules of the school drop-off by getting out of the car. Later he buys Brad some bedding as he is finally moving out of the house into another house, with housemates who are younger than him (and of course he is desperately trying to fit in). While they are out, Greg notices he forgot to give Chloe her sports bag and goes back to the school to find an older kid eating the lunch he made for her, and Chloe playing by herself, and assumes the kid is bullying her.

When Greg goes to see Chloe, she calls him out on being at the school unannounced and tells him that nothing is wrong, and she is not alone as she is playing with Hannibal (she also makes a subtle reference to the pandemic). At the end of the school day, he discovers that the kid who ate her lunch is Luna’s son, Clarence, and confronts her about it.

When Greg gets home, he finds Clarence’s thermos in Chloe’s school bag, just as Clarence and Luna show up at their house. Greg, Em, Luna, Clarence and Chloe sit down to talk and it’s revealed that Clarence and Chloe switched lunches, as Clarence likes the jokes Greg packs with Chloe’s sandwiches and Chloe loves the dumplings Luna makes for Clarence. As her and Clarence leave, Luna tells Em that she loved her book.

The episode ends with Greg and Em having a drink on their balcony, with Em admitting that Sophie was right to call her out on her behaviour and she has decided to focus on writing her next book. Greg tells Em that he has decided to get more involved at Chloe’s school. It’s also revealed that Brad is now sleeping in a tent (given to him by the podcast sponsor) in the backyard, as his plans to move out fell through as it turned out to be a dodgy living situation. In the end credits scene, Terry and Marlo take the book from the Little Free Library in the middle of the night, to make Em believe that the book is being read.

Overall I felt that this was a solid season premiere as it established some promising story arcs, such as Em deciding to change her focus to writing a second book and Greg deciding to become more involved at Chloe’s school. The continuity from the season 2 finale to this premiere was also spotless with Brad (sort of) moving out and subsequently Sophie finally getting her bedroom back, the fact that Chloe still has the class turtle, Hannibal, as her pet, Sophie continuing to date Ravi, and the lack of progress on the book adaptation.

I also felt that this was a solid season premiere as the stories were set in reality. As I’ve mentioned in my previous reviews, the show’s strongest episodes have been the ones that have kept things simple and realistic. I’m hoping that this continues and the over-the-top, zany episodes are kept to a minimum this season.

I’m looking forward to reviewing the rest of the season.

Stray Observations:

-Sophie is using copies of the book to hold up her bedroom table and laptop.

-Sophie drinks coffee now.

-Apparently Brad wet his pants a couple of times when he was at uni.

-Sophie keeps calling Em by her name instead of “mum”.

Best one liners and interactions:

• “Best orgasm I’ve had this financial year!” (Marlo to Em on hers and Terry’s sex life)
• “We’ve done something that Farnsy couldn’t.” “What’s that?” “Crack the US market.” (Terry-Greg-Terry on the My Sh*t Husband podcast)
• “Just because you’re a shit husband Mr. Butler, it doesn’t mean you have to be a shit parent.” (Luna to Greg)
• “It was like Tom Hanks in Castaway but instead of a volleyball she had a turtle.” (Greg to Em on Chloe playing by herself in the school playground)
• “Yeah, I doubt her parents trolled her at birth.” (Brad to Greg on Luna)
• “Soph?” “No, it’s Dad of the Year” “As if that’s even a thing!” (Em-Greg-Chloe as Greg and Chloe come home)