When a new family member is introduced to a sitcom, that mostly means it is on its way to being cancelled. However, The Goldbergs seems far from being kicked off the tube with the introduction of Lucky, a adorable little white pooch.
This quiet Goldberg adds so much to the proceedings of what is already a great show that it’s amazing. We meet Lucky after Barry (Troy Gentile) desperately begs his dad (Jeff Garlin) for a dog. He doesn’t do this is a nice way, just a typical, annoying Barry way. Murray gives in finally and despite Barry’s good intentions with the new arrival, Lucky caters to Murray. Barry becomes hilariously upset with this and challenges Murray to a wrestling match to fight for Lucky’s loyal ways.
Regarding the other members of the Goldberg family, Erica (Hayley Orrantia) is having a slumber party with her gal pals and Beverly (Wendi McLendon Covey) is told to stay away from her girl’s night. Dave Kim (Kenny Ridwan) wants to spy on Erica’s party cause he wants to see them “pillow fight and be women” so Adam (Sean Giambrone) reluctantly agrees. A passage of time later, Beverly discovers the boys checking in on Erica’s party via a camera and shoos them away. However, mama Goldberg does wrong by her daughter and continues to watch the events unfold. Erica discovers her mom in the act and the two battle it out for the rest of the episode.
Battle between father and son, battle between mother and daughter. Seems Adam is the only one who survives this episode without a major fight, but he still is grounded. Oh, and he sports a sweet Nintendo Power shirt too!
The conclusion to these events leads to family members patching things up while Benatar’s classic, “We Belong Together” plays in the background. Hayley Orrantia’s/Erica’s confession to her mom about Beverly’s impact is so extremely heartfelt and the same time, heartbreaking. It doesn’t help that Orrantia’s tears well up during this discussion, which is something I don’t feel I’ve really seen on this show before, at least not from her. It’s a sad but joyous moment between mother and daughter, only because the effect truly shows how growing up can be both frustrating and scary.
Next to “Couple’s Costumes,” this was one of my favorite episodes this season of The Goldbergs. Make no bones about it.
Rating: 9.5/10
The Goldbergs air every Wednesday at 8:30pm on ABC
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Logan J. Fowler is a senior writer and video game editor on Pop-Break.com. He contributes his thoughts every week for Trailer Tuesday and ABC’s The Goldbergs.” Logan’s “kid at heart” nature has led to his discussion about pop culture that many geeks love to talk about, including superheroes, Super Mario Bros., Pixar, and Muppets, among other things. In addition, one of his first pieces for the site, “Top Ten Comic Book Movies,” was picked as a “Freshly Pressed” piece by WordPress and remains one of the site’s most well-read articles. Many of Logan’s friends have said that he moonlights as Spider-Man but this is so not true. Wait, are those police sirens I’m hearing?! Gotta go! -thwipp-
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