"To Beanie or Not to Beanie"


It's now 1982, which is a fairly significant year in the Marshallverse, but not quite yet.  This episode does hint at the spinoff in waiting, with Joanie wanting to take a gap year before college.  In fact, this would've been a B- instead of a C+ if the J&C song weren't so forgettable.  I like everyone being concerned about Joanie but supporting her, well, everyone except for Jenny, who's as selfish as ever.

A couple notes:
  • Joanie is now eighteen, but it's also the time of homecoming, in an episode that aired in January, so the timeline remains wacky.
  • Lori Beth tries to give her opinion and is sent upstairs to look after Richie, Jr.  Fonzie tries to give his opinion, while lying in bed with Howard and Marion, and we're supposed to feel sorry for him when he's told he's not one of the family.  (It is kind of funny though.)
  • I do like Marion's surprisingly feminist reason for wanting Joanie to go to college.

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