In its Halloween episode, The Goldbergs captures family dynamics in a way that is uncomfortably true to life. A way that's sweet, but achingly honest to the loss of youthful illusions, and the reality that friendships fade, but for all their flaws family will endure forever.
Barry and Erica discover these truths with regards to siblings, as their saga places large emphasis on family being the only ones there for you. Which is arguably very accurate. But the way they get to this point is once again by villainizing Bev, who reverts to her most clueless of over-protective mother modes tonight. Which is frustrating, because they've established that Bev can be a strong-willed, savvy woman who is not afraid to take on anybody. But despite that, they translate fearlessness into cluelessness, as she seems completely incapable of realizing that interfering in your teenage son's love life is a bad move. Even if she did have the decency to disguise herself as a ghost, it's still ridiculously over-the-top to talk up your 16 year-old son to his crush
This is especially unforgivable when Bev refers to him multiple times as "delicious" when she is unmasked. Shudder. Barry's Hulk-fueled rampage out of the party makes Bev worry about him, but before she can emotionally stunt his growth Erica gets to him. They bond over their shared need to survive their mother's insanity, but instead of being as gross as, say, The Millers, it's actually fairly endearing. There comes a point of age where siblings have to stop clashing and need to come together as a team. After all, no one understands the strange background you come from like a sibling.
For his part Adam, who is even more shrill than usual, rebuffs the customary trick-or-treating with Pops. The cool kids invited him out, with their shark tooth necklaces and their penchant for mischief. But Adam really is an imaginative, exuberant kid at heart, and though he goes along with their TP-ing, he's uneasy (and not solely because running in that marvelous boxy Rubik's Cube costume is unwieldy). This is another show that uses the unfortunate event of egging--here Adam, the moron, eggs his own house and, in a twist of bad timing, his own dad.
At that moment, after Murray rightly vents his anger, Adam heartbreakingly declares that he did want to trick-or-treat, but no one else wanted to. And Murray rightly concludes that the age Adam is sucks, that he is "between being a dumb kid and a stupid adult." There's nothing worse than transitioning out of childhood imaginings, and doing it at a slower pace than others. It's tough to see the kids who abandon childish joys get acclaim, leading to a questioning of identity that cripples the teenage years. Little do they know that in ten years down the road, all of these sad twenty-somethings will be desperately trying to reclaim that childhood through game nights with adult hide-and-seek or Candyland, sad adults trying to recreate the innocence they so callously tossed aside. Can't we just enjoy the magic at hand? Adam gets a taste of that, going out to get candy with his Mom and Pops in the best Ghostbusters costume ever, but the sorrow is still there. He's with his family. His age-appropriate colleagues have abandoned him. Even if this episode ended sweetly, the damage is done.
Some Thoughts:
-Seriously, I would cut someone for that Ghostbusters costume.
-Erica's Jane Goodall costume looks suspiciously modern. This is heightened by her ultra-sleek and shiny hair (so not a thing in the 80s). However, she does get more screen time this episode. I sneakily suspect those things are related.
-Adam has had a good upbringing. When his thuggish friend kicks in a jack o'lantern, Adam nervously laughs "some kid worked really hard on that!" There's some empathy in this one after all.
Barry and Erica discover these truths with regards to siblings, as their saga places large emphasis on family being the only ones there for you. Which is arguably very accurate. But the way they get to this point is once again by villainizing Bev, who reverts to her most clueless of over-protective mother modes tonight. Which is frustrating, because they've established that Bev can be a strong-willed, savvy woman who is not afraid to take on anybody. But despite that, they translate fearlessness into cluelessness, as she seems completely incapable of realizing that interfering in your teenage son's love life is a bad move. Even if she did have the decency to disguise herself as a ghost, it's still ridiculously over-the-top to talk up your 16 year-old son to his crush
This is especially unforgivable when Bev refers to him multiple times as "delicious" when she is unmasked. Shudder. Barry's Hulk-fueled rampage out of the party makes Bev worry about him, but before she can emotionally stunt his growth Erica gets to him. They bond over their shared need to survive their mother's insanity, but instead of being as gross as, say, The Millers, it's actually fairly endearing. There comes a point of age where siblings have to stop clashing and need to come together as a team. After all, no one understands the strange background you come from like a sibling.
For his part Adam, who is even more shrill than usual, rebuffs the customary trick-or-treating with Pops. The cool kids invited him out, with their shark tooth necklaces and their penchant for mischief. But Adam really is an imaginative, exuberant kid at heart, and though he goes along with their TP-ing, he's uneasy (and not solely because running in that marvelous boxy Rubik's Cube costume is unwieldy). This is another show that uses the unfortunate event of egging--here Adam, the moron, eggs his own house and, in a twist of bad timing, his own dad.
At that moment, after Murray rightly vents his anger, Adam heartbreakingly declares that he did want to trick-or-treat, but no one else wanted to. And Murray rightly concludes that the age Adam is sucks, that he is "between being a dumb kid and a stupid adult." There's nothing worse than transitioning out of childhood imaginings, and doing it at a slower pace than others. It's tough to see the kids who abandon childish joys get acclaim, leading to a questioning of identity that cripples the teenage years. Little do they know that in ten years down the road, all of these sad twenty-somethings will be desperately trying to reclaim that childhood through game nights with adult hide-and-seek or Candyland, sad adults trying to recreate the innocence they so callously tossed aside. Can't we just enjoy the magic at hand? Adam gets a taste of that, going out to get candy with his Mom and Pops in the best Ghostbusters costume ever, but the sorrow is still there. He's with his family. His age-appropriate colleagues have abandoned him. Even if this episode ended sweetly, the damage is done.
Some Thoughts:
-Seriously, I would cut someone for that Ghostbusters costume.
-Erica's Jane Goodall costume looks suspiciously modern. This is heightened by her ultra-sleek and shiny hair (so not a thing in the 80s). However, she does get more screen time this episode. I sneakily suspect those things are related.
-Adam has had a good upbringing. When his thuggish friend kicks in a jack o'lantern, Adam nervously laughs "some kid worked really hard on that!" There's some empathy in this one after all.