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What'd everyone think of this episode?

If Jules is 15 and Connie is 28-29, she had to have been 13 when Jules was born. …Around the time Connie's parents got a divorce, if I remember correctly. Do we know if Jules is Connie's stepsister, or biological sister? I thought it would be a little weird if Jules called a man she met when she was 13-14 "dad," so I'm inclined to think biological but… I really want some clarification on this. I know Jules said, "we have a genetic connection," but she was joking so we can't take that as solid evidence. Even still, another piece of evidence towards the biological bin.

Anyhoo, it was really nice to get some amusing Connie-Eugene interaction again because it's actually been a while since we've gotten that. Hearing Eugene attempt a southeen accent made me want to cringe and die of laughter at the same time. Their "my-kid-is-better-than-yours" argument was pretty funny too. It did kind of rub me the wrong way all things considered, but it was played for laughs so I didn't think about it too much.

Overall, I like this episode. I am getting a little burnt out on Jules. We've seen a dozen characters like her and so far, there's nothing all that new they're doing with her. But she's still well-written and I like her relationship with Connie. That aside, getting a little history on Eugene was neat. Now that I think about it, we don't know too much about Eugene's time in foster care. I hope we get to learn more about it later.

Yeah... Eugene's southern accent... um... I kinda wanted to smack and be like, "How dare thou!" But initially, I cracked up when I first heard it. Being the ridiculous Buck fan that I am, I did think about how Buck did know Eugene was a foster child once as well, and I was happy that they mentioned it, and they did it very well. I hoping the Buck/Eugene relationship will grow stronger later in the album when they find out they both sing. (Assuming it will be some great discovery) I think it's also important to note in this episode that Buck was ashamed when he was caught in CTC but angry when he was caught in Old Tricks. It makes sense under the circumstances, him knowing he was doing something wrong, him being with Jules, having time to think about his decisions etc. But something to point out is that when Connie and Eugene came into Detective Pullhouse's office Buck called Eugene "Mr. Eugene," and I think it was because he was scared of him. I would have loved to hear the last conversation with Buck and Eugene in the car because I feel like it would have contained some important info. There were a couple good lines that I wanted to recognize as well. First, when Eugene said, "No I'm not!" That line was excellently delivered. Also when DP said, "I'm not having fun. Are you having fun?" That was very well written and delivered. It felt like something a police officer would actually say when talking to a couple of "hooligans."

Your fan commentary is making me want to listen to the episode again. cx I love that kind of analysis. I wrote WALLS OF TEXT of me gushing about how amazing "Old Tricks" was so...yeah... No regrets! =D

What you mentioned about Buck being caught and his different reactions shows growth in his character as well. He learned from what happened in OT, and that's nice to see. I didn't really pick up on him calling Eugene "Mister Eugene," since I've just gotten used to it and didn't notice that he stopped calling him that (did he? I definitely need to re-listen to the episode, excuse me~). It makes sense. You start addressing someone more formally when you're worried about their reaction(s) to something you did. Nice touch from the writers. Buck really is the most interesting and well-written character right now, in my opinion.

Autumnal wrote:Do we know if Jules is Connie's stepsister, or biological sister? I thought it would be a little weird if Jules called a man she met when she was 13-14 "dad," so I'm inclined to think biological but…

Jules and Connie have the same dad, but not mom.

Didi wrote:

Autumnal wrote:Do we know if Jules is Connie's stepsister, or biological sister? I thought it would be a little weird if Jules called a man she met when she was 13-14 "dad," so I'm inclined to think biological but…

Jules and Connie have the same dad, but not mom.

Yep. Jules is Connie's half-sister.

I like this episode, although one thing I noticed is that when Connie and Eugene are talking about Eugene's most embarrassing moments and they reference "Naturally, I Assumed..." when Eugene thought Katrina was dating someone who was actually a child she was tutoring, no one brings up the fact that Connie went postal on Katrina for what she thought was Katrina playing Eugene's heart. Maybe Eugene never found out about that, but it's still one of those funny things about human memory—Connie finds Eugene's embarrassment funny, but she'd get real uptight if he brought up her own.

Biological, then. Fifteen years is a really long time to keep quiet about your kid, sheesh. And she was born so soon after (…or before, perhaps?) Bill's divorce from June? Dang. This little detail is really distracting me, I'm sorry.

Yeah, it makes sense why Connie would be uncomfortable if Eugene brought up her being uncomfortable. What really sold it was Eugene coming to the conclusion that Connie was a "toxic," person to be around because she was the source of his emotional distress. cx

Autumnal wrote:Biological, then. Fifteen years is a really long time to keep quiet about your kid, sheesh. And she was born so soon after (…or before, perhaps?) Bill's divorce from June? Dang. This little detail is really distracting me, I'm sorry.

It's a long time, but it's not really out of character for Bill "More Hated by This Fandom Than Villains Who Wanted to Take Over the World" Kendall.

I finally got around to posting my thoughts about this episode. I have an easier time recording myself talking about it than writing it all out.

Peachey Keen wrote:I finally got around to posting my thoughts about this episode. I have an easier time recording myself talking about it than writing it all out.

It's good to see another video, Peachy Keen.

I finally heard this episode the other day and did enjoy hearing Eugene and Connie discuss their shenanigans together. His outburst made me laugh out loud, even if he was blaming her for his emotional distress.
Hearing the two defend their charges was interesting, and made it clear that though Connie and Eugene will never cease their bickering, they've matured since their arrival to Odyssey.
Eugene being able to relate and emphasize with his foster son is sweet, honestly. At first I was confused, imagining Buck knew of Eugene's past, yet I can't recall him mentioning it while Buck was around to hear.

TigerShadow wrote:

Autumnal wrote:Biological, then. Fifteen years is a really long time to keep quiet about your kid, sheesh. And she was born so soon after (…or before, perhaps?) Bill's divorce from June? Dang. This little detail is really distracting me, I'm sorry.

It's a long time, but it's not really out of character for Bill "More Hated by This Fandom Than Villains Who Wanted to Take Over the World" Kendall.

I still think it was strange for this secret to be kept from Connie, especially if they spent infrequent Holidays together and Bill came to Odyssey once or twice following the divorce. Although I understand the writers wanted to stretch Connie's character a bit, by giving her this surprise, and difficult role in Jules' upbringing, it's one of those things long-running media does, alter the past as they go along, and it probably could have been explained better.
A good episode, nonetheless, Polehaus is a new classic. 7/10

I did notice a flaw. The embarrassing hug scene wasn't in the office. It took place in the Kids Radio studio.