3x03 Stranger on a Train

[7.3/10] A solid episode. The best story is the main one, which isn’t a bad way to go. The adults playing the board game “Guess Who?”, only to find themselves playing a real life version of it with an old friend they don’t recall, is a fantastic setup. The lot of them trying to dance around their ignorance here leads to some great comic moments. Joe steals the show though, claiming to have dementia and even earning a semi-sarcastic “fair play” from Gerry.

Mary fretting over the embarrassment of it, only to realize she was a heavy-set woman who used to live near them, works as a resolution to the story. It answers the immediate problem but creates new ones since the poor lady is hurt that they clearly didn’t remember her just because she lost weight. And the group focusing on the weight loss over anything else leads to more funny shenanigans. It’s the sort of quick-fire line delivery and silly but vaguely grounded situation that the show works best with.

The story with the teens didn’t do as much for me. We’re only three episodes in, but it feels like their plots have gotten loonier this season. A mix-up involving James’ bag and one filled with cash and a gun seems like a bridge too far. The same goes for all of them (except Clare, who's stuck at the train station) getting into a toothbrush/banana stand-off with the train owner/manager/trolly dolly. There's a few good gags about certain kitkats being only for display, but on the whole, the “freaking out over accidentally nicking a criminal’s bag” story is a bit of a nonstarter.

The C-story features Clare feeling awkward beyond belief when she has to wait for a train next to Sister Michael and overhear the clerk’s conversation about her and her boyfriend’s sexual proclivities. It’s amusign for Clare’s squirming and Sister Michael’s usual matter-of-factness. Not a ton going on, but good for what it is.

I do appreciate how the stories here come together, with the criminal bag belonging to Mary’s stranger and not the gruff guy the kids were otherwise worried about. And the whole family getting stuck on the Big dipper roller coaster after being stuck on a commuter rail train has some funny poetry to it.

Overall, the kids’ story is a little weak, but everything else here is solid at worst. The main story in particular is a good one, and it’s nice to enjoy the rare episode where the adults shine more than the teenagers’ stories.