Big news on the homefront: Randy has been selected to write for the school newspaper, and after Tim erroneously thinks he's going to deliver them, Jill drops a bombshell of her own: her school is sponsoring a couples workshop and she wants Tim to go with her. Is their marriage in trouble? No, it's actually as solid as a rock, but Jill says this workshop is more like preventive medicine. But then, isn't Tim's motto "if it ain't broke, fix it"? On to Tool Time where the discussion is, what else, tools. Maintaining your tools is paramount, but all Tim can think of is that couples workshop. The focus turns to maintaining power tools, as Tim presents a faulty auger. All it needs is a little oil, and by little, Tim adds a gallon, and predictably, it sprays all over Al's shirt. Following that humiliating display, Tim learns from Bud that his marriage has ended. Bud laments that he took it for granted, he and his wife stopped communicating, and now he was a lonely, desperate man with an 18-room mansion and nobody to share it with. To get an idea of how desperate he is, he asked to join Al and his mom for bingo. To prevent a similar situation from happening to him, Tim finally agrees to accompany Jill to the workshop. Maybe it won't be so bad, as at least they have complimentary scones. However, it's quickly brought to Tim's attention that Dr. Emory can get even the hardest of men bawling like a baby, so he will have to try and keep his emotions in check.
This doctor is something else. He's get one man, Howie, a veteran of his workshops, blubbering before he can even finish a sentence. Next, Emory asks if anyone would like to share an angry moment. Tim promptly volunteers and tells everyone about the time he bought windshield wipers that wouldn't fit on his car and they wouldn't give him a refund. After that, the doctor asks Tim if Jill lives up to his expectations, and while he seems to think so, the feeling isn't mutual with Jill. She complains about her husband and that he doesn't know what she's feeling. Tim backs up that statement by saying Jill seems to expect him to know how she's feeling ALL the time, then gets mad and criticizes him when he doesn't. Naturally, Jill gets defensive, but Tim garners applause from the other members of the group for opening up. But Tim wasn't finished. He goes on to say how Jill took him to a girly bed and breakfast on Indy weekend. Jill is deemed a monster by everyone in attendance, except Howie who bursts into tears again, so Tim offers him a tissue and scone. Back at home, Jill fumes over the workshop and how Tim had the gall to speak the truth about her. She has a talk with Wilson, and finally manages to realize what a demanding, overzealous bitch she is and that Tim is saint for putting up with her. So she marches upstairs and admits to her shocked husband that SHE was wrong this time, and that SHE needs to apologize. Tim says we're none of us perfect, we all have faults, some more than others, and let me tell you, these two make quite a pair. They make amends and all is well, and if the episode ended here, it would be flawless. Unfortunately, there is one more scene, and it is one I absolutely HATE. Here it is: so Tim is dragged back to Dr. Emory's group, this time by Al. The group is to determine any masked resentment and hostility among men. Al talks about how he thinks Tim secretly resents him by making fun of him, and Bud agrees, saying Tim's hostility could be why Al's mother overeats. The rest of the group gangs up on Tim for Tool Time, Howie even points out the oil incident, which Tim still thinks is hilarious. Does the Tool Man show any remorse for his actions? Believe it or not, he does shed some tears...because they ran out of scones!
Right up until that last scene, this episode was really good. The opening scene was hilarious, and the first group scene was good as Jill is confronted by her feelings when somebody finally decides to be brutally honest with her. She realizes something we found out on Day 1: she's a control freak. Hopefully from hear on out she'll work on that and not be so demanding in the future... yeah, right. Now, back to that final scene. What was the point? Al later says in "Something Old, Something Blue" that he never takes what Tim says on Tool Time seriously, but now all of a sudden he does? Plus it really goes against the point of this episode. Were we not supposed to sympathize with Tim when Jill is always on his back? Wasn't the point for her to realize she was wrong? Why all of a sudden have a scene where Tim is now the villain? To show he isn't entirely without fault himself and he won't admit to it? We already knew that. But then we already knew those things about Jill, so what was the point of this episode then? To tell the audience something we already knew? I saw this episode the first night it aired, and I hated it because of that last scene. Tim didn't have to act like a douchebag. It throws any sort of development he got from the rest of the episode out the window. It wasn't funny, it was just a waste of time. One good thing I can take away from this one is that Bud finally seems to bond with Al, and all it took was a divorce. Anyway, I guess I recommend this episode, but do shut it off before the final group scene.
This doctor is something else. He's get one man, Howie, a veteran of his workshops, blubbering before he can even finish a sentence. Next, Emory asks if anyone would like to share an angry moment. Tim promptly volunteers and tells everyone about the time he bought windshield wipers that wouldn't fit on his car and they wouldn't give him a refund. After that, the doctor asks Tim if Jill lives up to his expectations, and while he seems to think so, the feeling isn't mutual with Jill. She complains about her husband and that he doesn't know what she's feeling. Tim backs up that statement by saying Jill seems to expect him to know how she's feeling ALL the time, then gets mad and criticizes him when he doesn't. Naturally, Jill gets defensive, but Tim garners applause from the other members of the group for opening up. But Tim wasn't finished. He goes on to say how Jill took him to a girly bed and breakfast on Indy weekend. Jill is deemed a monster by everyone in attendance, except Howie who bursts into tears again, so Tim offers him a tissue and scone. Back at home, Jill fumes over the workshop and how Tim had the gall to speak the truth about her. She has a talk with Wilson, and finally manages to realize what a demanding, overzealous bitch she is and that Tim is saint for putting up with her. So she marches upstairs and admits to her shocked husband that SHE was wrong this time, and that SHE needs to apologize. Tim says we're none of us perfect, we all have faults, some more than others, and let me tell you, these two make quite a pair. They make amends and all is well, and if the episode ended here, it would be flawless. Unfortunately, there is one more scene, and it is one I absolutely HATE. Here it is: so Tim is dragged back to Dr. Emory's group, this time by Al. The group is to determine any masked resentment and hostility among men. Al talks about how he thinks Tim secretly resents him by making fun of him, and Bud agrees, saying Tim's hostility could be why Al's mother overeats. The rest of the group gangs up on Tim for Tool Time, Howie even points out the oil incident, which Tim still thinks is hilarious. Does the Tool Man show any remorse for his actions? Believe it or not, he does shed some tears...because they ran out of scones!
Right up until that last scene, this episode was really good. The opening scene was hilarious, and the first group scene was good as Jill is confronted by her feelings when somebody finally decides to be brutally honest with her. She realizes something we found out on Day 1: she's a control freak. Hopefully from hear on out she'll work on that and not be so demanding in the future... yeah, right. Now, back to that final scene. What was the point? Al later says in "Something Old, Something Blue" that he never takes what Tim says on Tool Time seriously, but now all of a sudden he does? Plus it really goes against the point of this episode. Were we not supposed to sympathize with Tim when Jill is always on his back? Wasn't the point for her to realize she was wrong? Why all of a sudden have a scene where Tim is now the villain? To show he isn't entirely without fault himself and he won't admit to it? We already knew that. But then we already knew those things about Jill, so what was the point of this episode then? To tell the audience something we already knew? I saw this episode the first night it aired, and I hated it because of that last scene. Tim didn't have to act like a douchebag. It throws any sort of development he got from the rest of the episode out the window. It wasn't funny, it was just a waste of time. One good thing I can take away from this one is that Bud finally seems to bond with Al, and all it took was a divorce. Anyway, I guess I recommend this episode, but do shut it off before the final group scene.
