Marriage, like any other relationship, is complicated. Adding in two ex-wives, three children, and a morally ambiguous best friend makes life and marriage even more complicated for Kate and Pete. ABC’s new comedy, Trophy Wife, is sure to bring the laughs this season as the hectic complexities of the new alternative family are hilariously explored.
The episode begins with Kate drunk in the backseat of her husband’s ex-wife Diane’s car. This is already a complicated situation. Through narration, Kate describes how just one year ago she was carefree and single. One night, while performing karaoke with her best friend Meg, she drunkenly fell off the stage and onto Pete. The fall resulted in a broken nose for Pete and a trip to the emergency room for him and Kate. The two flirtatiously compare scars in the waiting room. Soon, their blissful flirtation is interrupted by Pete’s son Bert, Pete’s ex-wife Jackie, and his two other children, Hillary and Warren. To top it off, Pete’s other ex-wife Dr. Diane Buckley joins in on the insanity. He explains that he and Diane had Hillary and Warren. Jackie is Bert’s mother and also Pete’s ex-wife. The family’s noisy interaction is only interrupted by Bert holding a catheter-like tube by an elderly man and proclaiming, “Mom, I can’t get this back in.” She promptly grabs his nose and readjusts it in the middle of the waiting room. Amidst the craziness, Kate still agrees to date Pete. Kate happily found a husband and built-in family all in one night. Now, one year later, she finds herself drunk in the backseat of her husband’s ex-wife’s car.
Cut to the morning of the drunken back seat incident. Kate, trying to make a breakfast for the family, sets the smoke alarm off. Warren is excitedly talking about Poseidon, while Hillary is less than enthused to talk to Kate at all. Kate asks Hillary about the concert she will be attending, but Hillary barely acknowledges Kate. In an effort to find some common ground, Kate describes her first concert. She tells Warren and Hillary about her drunken experience at said concert. She even informs her step kids that she put vodka in empty water bottles to sneak it into the concert. The conversation remains mostly one-sided as Kate tries hard to get the kids to like her.
Feeling slightly defeated, she volunteers to go to a parent teacher conference for Warren that Pete is unable to make. Upon entering the school a boy says, “Hey, what’s up MILF?” To which Kate quickly replies, “Shut up, toolbox.” When she introduces herself, Warren’s teacher comments on how young she is. As if things weren’t already awkward enough, Diane enters and condescendingly comments on how she canceled major surgery to be there, but Pete couldn’t be bothered. Meanwhile, Kate’s best friend Meg agrees to take Bert to practice. On the way there, she stops at a bar to get her paycheck. Meg rolls down the window and locks the door, leaving Bert alone in the car. While all of this is going on, Pete is home working and hears a noise. When no one answers, he gets up to investigate. He finds his ex Jackie in their son Bert’s room. He questions how she got in and she admits to having a hide-a-key. Back at the school, Warren’s teacher reads some of his work. It reads more like erotica as he discusses a female’s “milky grapefruits.” Diane immediately proclaims that Kate is “milky grapefruits.” Kate tries to disagree, but ultimately removes herself from the awkwardness, leaving Diane to speak with Warren's teacher. As this hilariously awkward situation is taking place, Pete is learning that Jackie has snuck into his house in order to replace Bert’s dead hamster from her house with the live one at Pete’s house. She’d much rather Pete have the “dead hamster” talk with Bert. As they argue, the hamster is dropped. While trying to catch it, Pete accidentally closes it in the door. Now, they’re two hamsters down. When they try to replace it, Jackie mistakenly pulls the dead one out of her purse. The pet store then refuses to sell them the hamsters.
Waiting outside the school fro Diane, Kate calls Meg to complain about Diane’s accusations. She instantly calls her stepson a horn dog, not realizing it’s actually Bert on the other end. Kate then sees Hillary and her friends. Upon walking up to them, she realizes that Hillary has used the vodka in a water bottle idea. Hillary begs Kate not to tell Diane. So, to keep Hillary out of trouble, Kate downs an entire water bottle of vodka. Obviously unable to drive, Kate lies to Diane about not being able to find her car keys. Thus, Kate ends up drunk in Diane’s backseat.
The entire family ends up at Kate and Pete’s house bickering on the front lawn. Unable to find replacement hamsters, Pete and Jackie surprise Bert with a puppy, which he promptly names Horn Dog. Hillary’s friend arrives and Warren begins to act awkward. Kate notices and drunkenly proclaims that Hillary’s friend is “milky grapefruits.” After it becomes apparent that Kate is drunk, Diane starts threatening to sue for full custody. Hillary then confesses to the vodka stunt and thanks Kate for trying to help her. Hillary is grounded, leaving her friend with no one to accompany her to the concert. Warren raises his Poseidon trident in the air and proclaims he will go with her. Surprisingly, she agrees. Later that evening, Pete comes into check on Kate. Pete comes into check on Kate. Unfortunately, e realizes she has already thrown up after has kissed her. He then tells her about the hamsters as Bert proclaims his hamster is missing. The show ends with Kate’s narration: “So I’m still figuring things out, but tomorrow I am gonna get up and jump in all over again. I just hope I don’t throw up.”
The series is set to be full of laughs as the bounds of the traditional family are extended. The cast superbly comes together to create a hilarious atmosphere. Make sure you tune in to ABC on Tuesdays at 9:30/8:30c to watch Kate awkwardly maneuver the perilous, yet comical, terrain of marriage and step-motherhood.
image: ABC,