CBS' Mom - Episode 1.22 Smokey Taylor and a Deathbed Confession
Christy and Bonnie help Violet through labor. Meanwhile, Christy is convinced that Bonnie still has feelings for Alvin.
Tonight, Mom ended its first season with a finale that was referential to the past year as well as hopeful for the future. It has already been picked up for a second season. I'm just generally intrigued to see where the show can still go.Mom has been one of the strangest new shows this season. Strange in a good way. It's a Chuck Lorre half-hour sitcom which, of course, evokes a certain image. And yet, Mom balances the lines of drama and comedy unlike any other comedy out there. The creative team realized early on that they should be writing towards these darker and more realistic and human experiences for their characters. There were moments of real pathos that felt important to these characters. Bonnie losing her sobriety and Christy meeting her father for the very first time were weighty subjects that the show handled with ease. Teenage pregnancy is such a stock trope on comedies these days and Mom found a way to do something special with it.
Mom was able to handle those moments really well because of its cast led by Anna Faris, Allison Janney and Sadie Calvano. When the comedy focused on the multi-generational aspect of their lives, it excelled so much further than it did when it tried to be solely about Christy's chaotic life. Yes, Christy is the main character on the show and it's center is her journey of sobriety. The finale concludes with her getting her one year chip as she recaps the events of the season to the people at the meeting. But the show forced the issues facing Bonnie and Violet to the forefront as well and truly found something special by letting the three react to things together as this weird family unit.
Now, the actual plot of the finale is pretty murky at best. As the season was taking shape, we all knew that Violet would be giving birth in the finale. We got a quick fake-out in the last episode but she manages to hold her daughter in for one more episode. Surprisingly though, Mom went into its finale on the note of Alvin's heart attack and the realization that Bonnie is still in love with him. That's a surprising development and one that proves to be reciprocal in the finale. That's something that progresses naturally. It was an open plot thread. She hated him for leaving her after giving birth and now there's the possibility that he might die. It was just a small one but the threat of a bigger one is looming. So better to resolve those issues now then wait. That was lovely.
Elsewhere, Violet was actually giving birth. She went back and forth on whether or not to keep the baby or to give it to the cool couple wanting to adopt her. That was solely done for comedic purposes and to stretch the episode out so we wouldn't have to spend any more time with Baxter or Roscoe. But then came the time for her to say goodbye to her daughter which felt emotionally rich, potent and earned. It pains her to give her daughter away but she knows it's for the better of everyone. That's the type of moments Mom gets so right and hopefully will keep doing well in the future.
Some more thoughts:
- "Smokey Taylor and a Deathbed Confession" was directed by Jeff Greenstein with a story by Gemma Baker & Marco Pennette and teleplay by Chuck Lorre & Alissa Neubauer.
- What the heck was that Roscoe-Baxter C-story? My guess. The writers' room finally saw the end of Breaking Bad. Realized that Matt Jones could handle those dramatic moments too and tried doing something with his meaningless character.
- I don't know why but I got a big laugh as Bonnie and Alvin were flirting in the hallway with Christy commenting that their great-granddaughter is about to be born.
- I also really enjoyed Violet asking why she was still fat even after giving birth. As well as Bonnie's response to the question.
- For Luke being the father of Violet's baby, he sure wasn't a big part of the finale. Sure, he contributed to the line that was half of the title. But he didn't do much else.
- I was super glad we didn't get the obligatory scene of Christy going to work and having a few lines with Chef Rudy and Gabriel for the sake of those characters - which are series regular roles - being in the final episode of the season.
- Notice how Christy doesn't mention her romances with Justin Long or Nick Zano in her closing remarks about the year.
- Frankly, next season Jones, Nate Corddry and French Stewart should be let go to do better things while Kevin Pollak and Mimi Kennedy should stick around on a much more permanent basis.
