Episode Description:
"When the kids in Odyssey are assigned internships around town, Zoe ends up at a funeral home (with Jay Smouse!) and Emily works at a law firm. Both find their experiences to be far different than they expected. Meanwhile, Jillian looks for ways to sell her jewelry in Odyssey." - AIO
Episode Review:
One of the most heartbreaking Adventures in Odyssey episodes is the classic "Where is Thy Sting", where Connie deals with the loss of her grandmother. One of the reasons it's so effective is because Bill Kendall is amazingly sympathetic in it, despite having a very different view of the afterlife than Christians do. At one point in the episode, after the other characters suggest a more "uplifting" funeral service, he sarcastically cries, "Let's put on party hats...let's celebrate because my mother's dead!". Truth be told, this wouldn't be so different from how many Christians would behave. Despite the fact that Christians know that believers will be joyously united one day in heaven, it's still difficult for many to approach the topic of death in a fun and lighthearted way.
Death, for many listeners, will always be a somber and serious subject manner that deserves reverence. Because of this viewpoint, today's episode "Not what I expected", will certainly garner some negative feedback. Many of the jokes that occur while at the funeral home would be considered by many as, well, a little too disrespectful and irreverent: "Did you hear about the chemist who died?," the funeral home director jokes at one moment. "They had to bari-um!". And, a little later he says; "I'm an arterial [embalming] guy myself, but I don't wanna come across as vein!" While I might have found the flurry of funeral jokes funny on another show, on Adventures in Odyssey, it felt a little out of place; they awkwardly mixed these moments with serious scenes about the death of Abigail's grandmother, which didn't quite work.
The Jillian Marshall storyline, in which she repeatedly tries to set-up her jewelry booth in front of Jason's store, incorporates a strange sense of humor, as well. Were we supposed to be rooting for Jillian's bad behavior? While I certainly found her actions amusing at times, and enjoyed seeing Jason in the role of the "foe", I couldn't help but think how unusual it was that Jillian was being portrayed as being on the "right side", while ultimately learning absolutely nothing herself. Regardless of whatever the law in Odyssey states, doesn't it just seem like bad manners to put your booth right in front of someone else's store, especially if the shop owner has clearly conveyed that they don't want it? Should Jason have been a little more courteous than he was? Certainly. But the episode - quite strangely - tries to make us side with the entitled bully.
We know that, according to a recent AIO podcast, Adventures in Odyssey is planning to have these two characters become a romantic pair -- if for no other reason to keep the name J and J's antique store (as in Jason and Jillian). I know that opposites attract, but, unless they reveal that she's actually a secret agent playing dumb this whole time, I really fail to see how they're going to create chemistry between these two characters. While her flirting with Jason was humorous, I haven't seen any sparks fly yet. Jillian Marshall, so far, has simply been too unempathetic and flaky for Jason; as Connie says: "She's had 19 different jobs in 14 different cities"! Where are her positive attributes that make her worthy of someone like Jason? So far, they're nowhere to be seen. The writers certainly have their work cut out for them if they're planning on having these two date!
The episode has a lot of other brow-raising moments, too. For instance, in addition to Wexford Funeral Home ("Where is thy Sting"), O'Leary's Funeral Home ("A Penny Earned"), and now Cowanga's Funeral Home, how many funeral homes does the little town of Odyssey really need? And given that Connie takes an unsatisfactory aptitude test in "What are you gonna do with your life"?, Mandy Straussberg's depressing aptitude test in "True Calling" revealing that she should be a tax accountant or air conditioning mechanic, Emily Jones's aptitude test in "Emily the Genius" mistakenly revealing that she's a genius, and now Zoe's aptitude test sending her to the Funeral Home, perhaps it's time that the citizens of Odyssey stopped participating in such fruitless quizzes.
"Not What I expected" might not be everyone's cup of tea. At times, it wasn't mine. But, if anything, the humor keeps things different and interesting. While I'm not sold on Jillian quite yet, I'm still intrigued. By the end, there was enough in this episode to leave me more amused than confused.
"When the kids in Odyssey are assigned internships around town, Zoe ends up at a funeral home (with Jay Smouse!) and Emily works at a law firm. Both find their experiences to be far different than they expected. Meanwhile, Jillian looks for ways to sell her jewelry in Odyssey." - AIO
Episode Review:
One of the most heartbreaking Adventures in Odyssey episodes is the classic "Where is Thy Sting", where Connie deals with the loss of her grandmother. One of the reasons it's so effective is because Bill Kendall is amazingly sympathetic in it, despite having a very different view of the afterlife than Christians do. At one point in the episode, after the other characters suggest a more "uplifting" funeral service, he sarcastically cries, "Let's put on party hats...let's celebrate because my mother's dead!". Truth be told, this wouldn't be so different from how many Christians would behave. Despite the fact that Christians know that believers will be joyously united one day in heaven, it's still difficult for many to approach the topic of death in a fun and lighthearted way.
Death, for many listeners, will always be a somber and serious subject manner that deserves reverence. Because of this viewpoint, today's episode "Not what I expected", will certainly garner some negative feedback. Many of the jokes that occur while at the funeral home would be considered by many as, well, a little too disrespectful and irreverent: "Did you hear about the chemist who died?," the funeral home director jokes at one moment. "They had to bari-um!". And, a little later he says; "I'm an arterial [embalming] guy myself, but I don't wanna come across as vein!" While I might have found the flurry of funeral jokes funny on another show, on Adventures in Odyssey, it felt a little out of place; they awkwardly mixed these moments with serious scenes about the death of Abigail's grandmother, which didn't quite work.
The Jillian Marshall storyline, in which she repeatedly tries to set-up her jewelry booth in front of Jason's store, incorporates a strange sense of humor, as well. Were we supposed to be rooting for Jillian's bad behavior? While I certainly found her actions amusing at times, and enjoyed seeing Jason in the role of the "foe", I couldn't help but think how unusual it was that Jillian was being portrayed as being on the "right side", while ultimately learning absolutely nothing herself. Regardless of whatever the law in Odyssey states, doesn't it just seem like bad manners to put your booth right in front of someone else's store, especially if the shop owner has clearly conveyed that they don't want it? Should Jason have been a little more courteous than he was? Certainly. But the episode - quite strangely - tries to make us side with the entitled bully.
We know that, according to a recent AIO podcast, Adventures in Odyssey is planning to have these two characters become a romantic pair -- if for no other reason to keep the name J and J's antique store (as in Jason and Jillian). I know that opposites attract, but, unless they reveal that she's actually a secret agent playing dumb this whole time, I really fail to see how they're going to create chemistry between these two characters. While her flirting with Jason was humorous, I haven't seen any sparks fly yet. Jillian Marshall, so far, has simply been too unempathetic and flaky for Jason; as Connie says: "She's had 19 different jobs in 14 different cities"! Where are her positive attributes that make her worthy of someone like Jason? So far, they're nowhere to be seen. The writers certainly have their work cut out for them if they're planning on having these two date!
The episode has a lot of other brow-raising moments, too. For instance, in addition to Wexford Funeral Home ("Where is thy Sting"), O'Leary's Funeral Home ("A Penny Earned"), and now Cowanga's Funeral Home, how many funeral homes does the little town of Odyssey really need? And given that Connie takes an unsatisfactory aptitude test in "What are you gonna do with your life"?, Mandy Straussberg's depressing aptitude test in "True Calling" revealing that she should be a tax accountant or air conditioning mechanic, Emily Jones's aptitude test in "Emily the Genius" mistakenly revealing that she's a genius, and now Zoe's aptitude test sending her to the Funeral Home, perhaps it's time that the citizens of Odyssey stopped participating in such fruitless quizzes.
"Not What I expected" might not be everyone's cup of tea. At times, it wasn't mine. But, if anything, the humor keeps things different and interesting. While I'm not sold on Jillian quite yet, I'm still intrigued. By the end, there was enough in this episode to leave me more amused than confused.
Writer: Kathy Buchanan
Director: Buchanan
Executive Producer: Dave Arnold
Music: John Campbell
Scripture: Psalm 62:5
Theme: False Expectations
Original Air-date: 11.10.18
Date Reviewed: 12.17.18