30 Rock "Retreat to Move Forward" Review
The newest 30 Rock episode, "Retreat to Move Forward," aired last night on NBC and it was a slight disappointment. Jack Donaghy asked Liz Lemon to accompany him to a retreat because he was afraid he wouldn't fit in anymore after his CEO debacle and his misadventure in Washington, which turned out to be a rendezvous with another man. Liz agrees to help him but when they arrive, Jack is welcomed back with open arms, leaving Liz all alone.
When she enters one of the team building contests and Jack cheers her on, Jack's friends tell him he is acting too familiar with Liz, and that she is supposed to be subordinate to him. Jack tells Liz she needs to act more professional but she gets mad and refuses to sit at his table at dinner, where he is supposed to give a speech. The mic guy puts the microphone on Jack but accidentally turns it on, allowing the entire retreat to hear Jack's psych-up speech. Liz jumps to his rescue, leaping on stage and exclaiming that the speech was her giving an impression of "crazy things Jack Donaghy would never say." When this doesn't work, she dances around and flashes her bra. Jack is eternally grateful and they return home as friends again.
Meanwhile, Tracey has been diagnosed with diabetes but doesn't seem very concerned. He won't adjust his diet and walks around with wheels on his feet so that when his legs are amputated he'll be ready. To convince Tracey that he should be healthier, Kenneth makes up a story about a mountain witch that forces people to eat vegetables.
Jenna is still practicing for the Janis Joplin biopic and has decided to try method acting by getting information on Janie from Wikipedia and not knowing that Frank is adding ridiculous facts. When Jenna attempts to eat a cat, Frank is forced to tell her that he messed with Wikipedia. The two hook up and Jenna is shocked the next day when Frank asks her to "be cool" about it.
"Retreat to Move Forward" was not the best 30 Rock episode ever written. It was still amusing and there wasn't really a boring moment but the main plot between Jack and Liz seemed overdone. It's obvious that Jack and Liz have a weird friendship and there didn't need to be an entire episode devoted to it. The Tracey and Kenneth subplot was also kind of boring. It was really funny to hear Tracey talk about diabetes being a myth and it was nice to see Kenneth being so nice but the story about the food witch was annoying.
The best part of the show was the Jenna subplot. It was hilarious to watch Jenna going to such drastic measures to be like Janis Joplin and it was even more funny when Frank asked her to "be cool" and not tell anyone.
Even though the plot might have been sub par, it was touching to see how much everyone cared for each other. Liz obviously cares about Jack and he cares about her. Likewise, Kenneth clearly cares about Tracey. Perhaps the best part of the entire episode was the second-long shot of Jack in Washington. That short shot of Jack ripping the shirt off a man made the entire episode completely worthwhile.