‘Extended Family’ Recap: ‘The Consequences of Considering the Consequences’

3/27/2024

Written by John Edward Betancourt

EXTENDED FAMILY -- "The Consequences of Considering the Consequences" Episode 113 -- Pictured: (l-r) Abigail Spencer as Julia, Jon Cryer as Jim, Donald Faison as Trey -- (Photo by: Ron Batzdorff/NBC)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the Season One Finale of ‘Extended Family’. To revisit Season One’s Penultimate Episode, click here.

If there is one question, we ask ourselves about our significant other when things are getting serious and we’re looking at marriage, partnership, and a flat-out lifetime together, it would have to be… are they right for me? Because everything we know about love and marriage demands that we have the right partner in front of us before we tie the knot. Someone we find to be deeply compatible on all levels and know inside and out before saying those two important words and well, there is merit to answering this question in the affirmative. Because if we don’t believe they’re the one, how is this going to last?

But what’s funny about that question, is that we tend to only ask ourselves it once, and if we get anything resembling a ‘yes’ in our minds, we forge ahead with interesting results. Because sometimes… it works out. Sometimes… it falls apart. Which means… we should ask that question more often, and really understand what it is that draws us to our chosen person and what they want out of this as well. Because that’s what builds a solid relationship and builds the foundation for a firm ‘yes’ to that all-important question and that part of the relationship process is top of mind today, because it was featured in a powerful manner in the season one finale of Extended Family on NBC.

A feat that ‘The Consequences of Considering the Consequences’ accomplished by wasting little time in having Trey and Julia ask Jim for quite the favor. In that… they wanted to know the answer to that question and needed his help in doing a pre-marriage screening to make sure they were compatible and were right for one another. Which brought about… a scary journey for these two lovebirds. Because as Jim began to dig into their compatibility and what they actually knew about one another… they came to realize… they did not have as much in common as they would have liked, not to mention… they hadn’t discussed what they ultimately wanted out of this relationship. Such as whether or not children would be in the mix, something Trey wanted but Julia did not.

EXTENDED FAMILY -- "The Consequences of Considering the Consequences" Episode 113 -- Pictured: (l-r) Jon Cryer as Jim, Abigail Spencer as Julia, Donald Faison as Trey, Finn Sweeny as Jimmy Jr., Sofia Capanna as Grace, Lenny Clarke as Bobby -- (Photo by: Ron Batzdorff/NBC)

Which made it seem as though this episode was going to end in utter disaster, with the duo splitting up and moving on because they didn’t have everything in a row as we expect couples to and that’s when this story took a beautiful and powerful turn. Wherein they stayed together but only after coming to realize… that it is impossible to know everything before marriage and to try and do so does the relationship a disservice. Because discovery is part of the journey and what matters more… is the connection we share with the person we love and what they do for us as a partner over whether or not both parties love certain movies or camping. And we build that through communication and understanding and discovery and coming to that epiphany with Jim’s help, allowed for this duo to find a healthy way forward.

One grounded in communication and understanding and that… was the perfect way to wrap up the inaugural season of this magnificent series. Since it spoke to second chances, how we learn and grow from prior relationships, and come to understand the real work that goes into them. Such as saying what we need and understanding how best to serve one another because it is a partnership and that… was just revolutionary stuff to find in a sitcom. Simply because, they don’t touch upon real world matters such as these and offer lessons this impactful and this useful. But Extended Family is a different kind of sitcom, one that is indeed special and meaningful and quite frankly, is the next definitive/generational family comedy.

The kind that will continue to mean a great deal to the audience and the cast and crew, as evidenced by what Jon Cryer (Jim Kearney) and Donald Faison (Trey Taylor) expressed to this writer at the 2024 Television Critics Association Winter Press Tour, when asked what it means to be part of something so special and here is what both of those gentlemen said regarding that:

EXTENDED FAMILY -- "The Consequences of Considering the Consequences" Episode 113 -- Pictured: (l-r) Jon Cryer as Jim, Abigail Spencer as Julia, Donald Faison as Trey -- (Photo by: Ron Batzdorff/NBC)

DONALD FAISON: “I’ve been waiting for this forever. You know, ‘Scrubs’ was a single-cam sitcom. I grew up on multi-cam sitcoms like ‘A Different World’ and ‘The Cosby Show’ and ‘Cheers.’ Those were the shows I grew up on and I remember as a youth, I always wanted to be on NBC on a sitcom. And when I was young, ‘Cosby’ was the only one in New York City that I can remember that had young Black characters on it. And so, to now be on NBC a few years later, it’s amazing. This is the dream. I’m living it.”

JOHN CRYER: “Yeah, for me, I grew up on ‘Mary Tyler Moore,’ ‘All in the Family,’ ‘The Jeffersons,’ ‘Maude’ –- all those things meant a great, great deal to me –- ‘Sanford & Son.’ So it was always something I had just a gut level comfort with, and that I've gotten the opportunity to do this a lot. I did like -- I did three sitcoms before ‘Two and a Half Men’ hit. I did ‘The Famous Teddy Z’ and ‘Getting Personal’ and ‘Partners’ before that, and it's kind of an addictive format. You just love it. It's great, great fun.”

Which truly helps us to understand, they get it, they know the power of this show, the power of the sitcom and will continue to give us their best and help us to learn. Which hopefully will come forth via a second season and beyond, because this is a show that television needs right now. Because it is feel-good entertainment that helps us learn through joy and laughter and the sometimes-silly stuff we fret over too much. But while we wait to see if indeed more seasons await, we can celebrate one incredible year of storytelling. The kind that explored modern dating, modern relationships, and everyday life in a manner so unique and so compelling, that this show needs to be fawned over and dissected since the honesty present here is rare in sitcoms, but welcome. And hopefully, this season serves as the blueprint for sitcoms going forward, so they remain a true staple of the television landscape and take on new life and offer new meaning to their loyal audiences.

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