Season 2 Episode 7 - "
First As Tragedy, Then As Marse"
There are a lot of plot threads in this episode. Shit's like Wanted's Loom of Fate outchea.

Anyway, let's start with one of the principal ones: Joey comes home from a house party with his bro Frankie who took a dive into a pool from the roof of the house or some such idiocy.

What a fuck up, am I right y'all?


(BTW, I should mention that Frankie strolls around the house in his skivvies for a period of time that is not insignificant and it doesn't really seem to be an issue.

Modern family y'all.)
You may have noticed that water bottle in Frankie's hand--that's not to hydrate after a night of hard partying to stave off the onset of a hangover, that's a fucking nightcap. Party hard Frankie.

Anthony is the one who figures this out, when he comes into the kitchen after receiving no useful advice from pops or Blossom about whether it's ethical or not for him to ask out a woman his ambulance aided earlier in the day (

) he notices Frankie's... demeanor, grabs the water bottle, sniffs it and calls his shot--Smirnoff, red label, 80 proof.
Anthony, I've drunk a lot of vodka in my life and your Babe Ruthing on this one kind of pushes my suspension of disbelief beyond the breaking point, which is saying a lot since this fucking show has more continuity problems than the DC multiverse pre-Crisis on Infinite Earths.
Also, seriously dude, what the fuck is up with the vests?

Anthony approaches Joey about his friend's problem but Joey doesn't want to hear about it. Frankie is going through a rough time in his life, problems at home, quit the baseball team, and so on. Plus Frankie was there for Joey when Anthony checked out on life for a couple of years, so who the fuck is Anthony to try and help now? Cast thy burdens on the fnord, y'all; you can't carry beef like this forever.

ELSEWHERE IN THE BLOSSOMVERSE...
Blossom decides that she doesn't have a family, just a bunch of blood relations who domicile together and pass each other like ships in the night so she asks pops for quality time.

But wait, wasn't it established in a prior episode than Blossom and pops have dinner together every month as a regular thing?

This fucking show.

After some cajoling, pops agrees to take the day off and play hookie with Blossom. Pops you realize this is the only one of your kids who has a realistic shot to achieve, right?

Their first stop? The movies! Really going all out here, you two.

But, as if indulging Blossom's disrespect for continuity wasn't enough, pops decides it'll be
even cooler if they sneak into another movie after the one they paid for concludes.


Unfortunately for them, this establishment employs a
PROFESSIONAL USHER who spots the Tortious and the What the Hell is that Hair getting up to no good.

This professional usher isn't really much of a professional though, he turns around to get the manager and pops and Blossom scram like Shaggy and Scooby because enough bad lessons haven't been imparted already.

BTW, Blossom and pops follow up double dipping at the duplex with dinner at a fancy restaurant... where they proceed to only order desserts instead of a full dinner.

While resting on their laurels laughing it up, one of Blossom's teachers happens to come into the restaurant.

Thankfully for Blossom, the Blossomverse is an amoral one of meaningless bonds of fealty and her teacher is having romantic dinner with a man who isn't her husband.


(Blossom is a fucking asshole and asks her teacher what grade she got on the quiz in class she missed today to which her teacher replies, "100%," knowing that she's been caught with her hand in the cookie jar.)
BACK IN SUBURBIA...
Frankie comes by the house to go to the batting cages with Joey. When Joey goes to get his stuff, we find out that Anthony was in fact right

and Joey was letting his

cloud his reason.


This scene is actually mildly harrowing (by Blossom standards), not only does Joey realize he's lost another "brother" (during a fight with Anthony he identified him as being the brother Anthony wasn't when he was living inside a bottle) but you see how fucking worthless Frankie has become. He waxes nostalgic about some great game the two of them played an eternity ago and starts swinging his bat drunkenly in the living room.

Joey eventually has to snatch the bat away from him and kick him out.

Oh yeah, all episode Tommy fucking Newsom (RIP) was trying to get a hold of pops to fill in on the Tonight Show but since pops was playing hookie with Blossom he never got the message. (Cellphone free is not the way to be, friends.)

Luckily for pops, Buzz is there to not let his big break go to waste.

It's alright, pops, I'm sure you'll get another shot at performing on a prestigious network program.

"Woahs" - 0 in episode, 11 in total viewings