‘Extended Family’ Recap: ‘The Consequences of Loaning Your Dad Money’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

EXTENDED FAMILY -- "The Consequences of Loaning Your Dad Money" Episode 108 -- Pictured: (l-r) Jon Cryer as Jim, Lenny Clarke as Bobby -- (Photo by: Ron Batzdorff/NBC)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Eight of ‘Extended Family’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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One particular aspect of family life that we don’t talk about all that often, is how sometimes… we drift into the supremely unique orbit of other family members. Because when you’re a close-knit bunch, worlds absolutely collide and somehow, someway, we are going to dabble in that world via taking part in hobbies we never have before, or learning about beliefs that we didn’t know existed. Or… in the case of this week’s episode of Extended Family on NBC… we might find ourselves toying around in the realm of someone else’s career. Wherein we must quickly learn to how to navigate the rules of that world, so we don’t do any damage.

An examination that ‘The Consequences of Loaning Your Dad Money’ brought about, by having Bobby create some real worries for Jim. Because the Celtics were on an ugly losing streak. One that Trey did everything to avoid talking about because well, it was just that ugly, and it was indeed impacting revenue at dear old dad’s bar. To the point where he was taking loans from Jim. Which Jim was happy to take part in, because after all, family takes care of family. But in the midst of this slump, Bobby was eager to do anything and everything to get the bar up to snuff. To the point where he had Jim call in quite the favor to the owner of the Boston Celtics.

Specifically, Bobby wanted a player to show up at the bar. That way, he could pull in a crowd, make some good money and be out of hock to Jim in no time, and shockingly, Trey agreed. Granted, he was going to just hand off a non-marquee player named Yuri for the event. But keeping him on to make that happen, allowed for Yuri to shine, and lead the Celtics back to quick and delightful glory, and a packed bar. One that saw Jim step into Trey’s world when all was said and done. Simply because, on the night of the event, Yuri got cold feet, and was worried about the direction of his career and his life, and well… Jim offered up some sound advice that Yuri turned into sour actions… bringing about chaos.

Because in essence, Yuri stated that he was displeased with the Lord, in a town where devout religion ruled the day. Bringing forth protests, nasty articles and all-around bad press for Trey. All because, worlds crossed over and Jim felt comfortable enough to be in those shoes because of the fact that Trey was family. But this of course was designed to teach us, that we can never quite be that comfortable, since we don’t know that world well enough and should ask permission before we step into it… so moments akin to these never happen. Granted, no one expected Yuri to resign when Trey was doing damage control, but life does get weird sometimes and throws curveballs our way too. 
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But what mattered more here, was that lesson, and the importance of respecting that boundary until we are either taught, brought into the fold and/or given cart blanche to be part of it. And it’s a lesson that Jim won’t soon forget and all of these elements, gave rise to a charming tale. One that really did use this awkward situation to bring about some solid laughs. Because man, Yuri took everything way too literal, and really did go to the Nth degree and that really was funny to see play out. Not to mention, kudos to the facial hair gag in this tale. Because it genuinely worked, and made for some good chuckles, and well… now that we’ve reached the end of another brilliant chapter in this saga, it will be interesting to see what other unique lessons await us in season one of this magnificent series. Until next time.

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