I really admire Barry’s (Troy Gentile) false sense of confidence despite the fact that deep down he knows he’s got a lot of issues. His bravado comes back to bite him in the ass once again in the episode titled “Wingmom,” in which Barry signs up for the ROTC. Mama Goldberg (Wendi McLendon-Covey) is 100% against Barry’s choice to do something dangerous (she actually has a list of career choices he cannot pursue) but Murray (Jeff Garlin) tells Barry to go for it. Barry ends up wimping out and so Beverly (of course) comes to his aid. For any teenager, this would be so embarrassing, but Barry thrives under Beverly babying him. It’s really funny to see the middle child Goldberg playing into his momma’s wishes even though every other young adult would be absolutely ok crawling under a rock at that point.
Meanwhile, Pops (George Segal) and Adam (Troy Giambrone) shed light on their “best pals” story line which hasn’t been seen in quite some time. However, after Pops gives into a time share in Florida, Adam worries that their friendship is in question. Erica (Hayley Orrantia) warms up to Pops because of his purchase, and Adam decides to spend time with his other grandfather (Judd Hirsch). The four encounter each other in the mall and come to verbal blows. We get a “Holy Balls!” from Adam, which is the episode’s comedic highlight if you ask me.
That’s not saying that “Wingmom” is a unfunny episode. It has a handful of chuckle moments, mostly from Beverly. Barry (to me) was off this week in a comedic sense, although his bit with the raisins was really good. I definitely think that Gentile has had better material earlier this season. He’s still portrays such an entertaining character, no matter what.
There is a nice, emotional moment towards the end of the episode, but I won’t spoil it for you. Ultimately, “Wingmom” didn’t fly high, but it still was one of the better showings this season.
Rating: 8/10
The Goldbergs feel the need for speed every Wednesday at 8:30 PM on ABC
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Logan J. Fowler is a senior writer and video 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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