211/Edna Returns

Show Outline

Lisa finally achieves the notoriety she's always been wanting and she thinks Jamie is jealous. But Jamie's not jealous, she's upset because the notoriety was obtained by the publication of a book, written by Lisa's "shrink", which reveals how oppressive and overbearing Jamie was when they were growing up. This causes the two sisters to stop speaking to each other completely and because they refuse to admit that they want to talk to each other, Paul has to both soothe Jamie and become Lisa's caretaker. She hangs out with him at work, calls him at all hours of the night, and even has him take her to the dentist. Finally, Paul brings Lisa over (after the dentist) and Lisa, who can't speak because her mouth is full of Novocane, apologizes while Paul translates.

Commentary

This episode was really quite cute, but for some reason it just never really sparkled like it should have. The only reason I can think of for this, is that the argument between Jamie and Lisa kept going in circles instead of taking on more depth. So, Lisa thought Jamie was "overbearing and oppressive", but in what ways? I wanted to hear more stories and they were not forthcoming. But, otherwise, Lisa was her usual compulsive, in-your-face, funny self. And the rapport between Paul and Jamie was both warm and humorous, even with the touches of frustration which arose from what was going on with Lisa. Also, Steven Wright makes another makes another funny appearance and Ursula shows why she's so funny. It was, in most respects, a nice, entertaining episode. And even though I wish the riff between Jamie and Lisa had been more revealing, this episode still rates a pretty solid 7.5.