‘Lopez vs Lopez’ Recap: ‘Lopez vs Neighbors’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

LOPEZ VS LOPEZ -- "Lopez vs Neighbors" Episode 111 -- Pictured: (l-r) Neil Flynn as Steve, Mayan Lopez as Mayan, Eden Sher as June, George Lopez as George -- (Photo by: Nicole Weingart/NBC)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Eleven of ‘Lopez vs Lopez’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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It is definitely safe to say, that Lopez vs Lopez on NBC, is one of the smartest comedies out there. Simply because this particular show, offers stunning commentary on our world and the human condition, and incredible observations and lessons regarding Latino/Latinx culture, all while entertaining us and making us laugh. Which is a tribute to the quality writing present within this series and the wonderful acting from the cast, since they make all of this work in a seamless manner. But while it has been incredible to learn as we laugh week in and week out, this week’s episode of the show, shifted gears and just so happened to further inform us of the show’s outright brilliance by showing us what it is truly capable of.
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Because this week’s story, really didn’t offer a ton of commentary, sure it spoke to one particular theme. But it merely made observations upon it. Instead, ‘Lopez vs Neighbors’ is a story that took time to really lean into George and Mayan Lopez’s comedic chops by just letting them indulge in some hilarious shenanigans through and through. The kind that allowed for us to just smile and enjoy a good time and quietly process the many lessons this series has sent our way, and it accomplished this particular feat, by having an old nemesis from George’s past move in next door. For when Mayan worked to greet the new neighbors and welcome them into the neighborhood, George laid eyes on Steve.

A man that once tormented George as a child and Steve’s return, motivated George… to regress into being a child, by taking part in the ultimate prank war to establish that he wasn’t going to be messed with. Which led to a variant on the flaming bag of poo prank, being placed upon Steve’s doorstep. Which Mayan rightfully condemned, because come on… grown men leaving poop on a doorstep shouldn’t be a thing. But when she discovered that Steve told his granddaughter, whom Chance had a crush on, that no Lopez would ever be worthy of her… Mayan decided that all-out war was necessary. A reality that was further compounded by the fact that this new family supposedly decided to no longer share avocados from the tree on their property… and well, that brought about quite the twist.

Wherein we came to learn that in essence, both of these men played their daughters as pawns in this feud or ignored anything they had to say about stopping it, to continue it. Which brought embarrassment to both of them when they were exposed and that prompted the daughters of these two households… to find a way to bring forth unity. Which as it turned out, involved giving these two manbabies something in common they could hate upon, and while that isn’t exactly healthy, it did bring peace and sometimes… you just take the win and that’s what Mayan and June, Steve’s daughter, decided to do here. Giving rise to calm in the two households and leaving us, with quite the hilarious tale. Because this really did lead to some incredible manbaby gags that worked and left us laughing hard. 

Plus, it doesn’t hurt that veteran comedic actor Neil Flynn played Steve in this story, because the man knows comedy and comedic timing and he played off of George well in this episode and well, in the end, the only real commentary present was just that men can sometimes be children at any age, and it isn’t always easy to reach them in that state. Which is true, and while that may not leave us with a ton to think about… that’s okay. Because a comedy show doesn’t always have to solve our problems, it can just observe and find a way to make such behavior as humorous and ridiculous as it actually is. And going that route informs us further, this is one of the best comedies on the air right now, and it is quite the versatile story as well, and it will be interesting to see if lessons or pure comedy await us when we return to the Lopez household, next week. Until then.

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