6.9/10. Eminently solid episode. I like the throughline of Bill trying to figure out what God is trying to tell him after the roof caves in over his bed, sparing the poor yutz when he's asleep on the couch. But the episode gets a little jumbled from there. The progression from Bill getting more involve in the Church, to dating Reverend Stroup, to getting bored with her when their relationship is no longer a secret is really rushed. Sure, each is more or less segmented in its own act, but the path from A-to-B doesn't feel developed enough, particularly Bill trying to break up with the former Rev.
The laughs are similarly solid but not laugh out loud funny. Dale treating God as Stroup's "ex" and worrying that he'll strike Bill down is amusing, and Hank being a reluctant third wheel/cover for Bill and Rev. Stroup's date leads to him being uncomfortable and perturbed in that amusing Hank way, but there's few knee-slappers here.
Still, the final bit, with Bill realizing that Hank was right at each step -- that the roof caving in meant he should have had it inspected when Hank told him to, that she should have listened to Hank before dating Rev. Stroop, and that the right thing to do was to follow Hank's advice and tell Rev. Stroup the truth about how he was feeling, is a nice one. It ties into an idea from "Nine Pretty Darn Angry Men" that even if Bill doesn't have the best judgment, he has a good friend to look out for him and that's almost as good.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2017-01-10T02:21:01Z
6.9/10. Eminently solid episode. I like the throughline of Bill trying to figure out what God is trying to tell him after the roof caves in over his bed, sparing the poor yutz when he's asleep on the couch. But the episode gets a little jumbled from there. The progression from Bill getting more involve in the Church, to dating Reverend Stroup, to getting bored with her when their relationship is no longer a secret is really rushed. Sure, each is more or less segmented in its own act, but the path from A-to-B doesn't feel developed enough, particularly Bill trying to break up with the former Rev.
The laughs are similarly solid but not laugh out loud funny. Dale treating God as Stroup's "ex" and worrying that he'll strike Bill down is amusing, and Hank being a reluctant third wheel/cover for Bill and Rev. Stroup's date leads to him being uncomfortable and perturbed in that amusing Hank way, but there's few knee-slappers here.
Still, the final bit, with Bill realizing that Hank was right at each step -- that the roof caving in meant he should have had it inspected when Hank told him to, that she should have listened to Hank before dating Rev. Stroop, and that the right thing to do was to follow Hank's advice and tell Rev. Stroup the truth about how he was feeling, is a nice one. It ties into an idea from "Nine Pretty Darn Angry Men" that even if Bill doesn't have the best judgment, he has a good friend to look out for him and that's almost as good.