After a shaky start and a sprinkling of red herrings, Frasier Season 2 Episode 7 tied up its deceptively loose ends to become a memorable party episode.
Olivia’s sister Monica may have visited for the annual Harvard-Yale game, but her actual favorite sport was one-upping her younger sibling.
I hoped the episode’s focus on Olivia would give her some much-needed character development. While that didn’t exactly happen, her nimble participation in this festive farce was reward enough for now.
Alan and Freddy did the heavy lifting of setting the episode’s events into motion, which freed Frasier to do what he does best in these situations: facilitate and react.
Meanwhile, Yvette Nicole Brown needed a toothpick for all the scenery she chewed, but it sure was fun to watch her turn the character of Monica up to eleven.
Even David got some well-deserved laughs from the few lines he was given in this episode that featured sharp writing, balanced subplots, and smooth choreography.
Olivia Has Family In Town
Right away, it was refreshing to see the show’s attention shift to Olivia with her sister’s arrival.
Could this mean we’d get to see a side of Olivia apart from her dating life??
Sadly, no.
I guess I should be glad that the show has given Olivia at least one interest besides dating: literature.
Meanwhile, Frasier’s interests include wine, contemporary art, interior design, the opera, the piano, Felix Mendelssohn, and Spanish ham.
Still, we could assume that Olivia’s personality has been shaped in no small part by a lifelong competition with her sister.
I almost feel like Olivia may have chosen an academic career in psychology instead of literature because of pressure from her sister or other family members.
Olivia’s outsized focus on dating might also be influenced by her sister’s marriage to a chief of neurosurgery, something Monica mentioned every chance she got.
It was heartwarming to see how quickly Eve and Frasier got behind Olivia’s fake dating ruse.
Well, Frasier almost immediately got distracted by his own issues. Still, Eve pulled through by enlisting her actor friend Augustine to play “Marc,” the Spanish guitar player who only exists in Olivia’s mind.
Freddy Explains It All
Unfortunately, the handsome and talented Augustine had made an enemy of Freddy earlier that day.
First, he cheated in softball. Then, he was the first person Eve thought of when looking for an objectively “cute” friend to play Olivia’s fake boyfriend.
At first, Freddy’s jealousy seemed like it was just about him not being the Cutest Boy of All, the way people eventually go from being the youngest and brightest in the room to… well, not being that anymore.
But then Freddy’s jealousy seemed to get very Eve-specific, which was disheartening. Didn’t we leave the possibility of romance between these two back in Cape Cod?
This story thread (which I hope ends here) did serve its purpose by undermining Freddy’s smug prediction when his father fretted over not being able to cancel his tailgate party so he could attend another one.
I mean, knowing your parties, some hilariously tragic and completely avoidable catastrophe will end the whole thing in what, like, twenty, thirty minutes?
— Freddy Crane to Frasier
At first, I could only think: When did Freddy become the series MVP??
He had several zingers right off the bat in this episode (the one about the 1906 tailgate party was my favorite). I seriously rejoiced that the show might have finally figured out the perfect tone for his character.
Smart and sassy is a good look for Freddy!
Still, on Frasier Season 2 Episode 7, Freddy proved that he is indeed his father’s son by hyper-fixating on a perceived slight and letting that ruin his better judgment.
Freddy didn’t even realize that he had become the completely avoidable instrument of destruction for his father’s party.
It was pretty annoying to see Freddy take it upon himself to play “Mark” after Eve had texted him she’d already found someone else to do it.
He didn’t try to call any of his firefighter friends and added imaginary punctuation to Eve’s text to justify his coming over.
And he didn’t even check in with Eve before swooping in with Olivia! That definitely made Freddy’s actions all about his ego and not about helping Olivia.
Freddy did get some comeuppance by having to use a British accent in front of Monica, though.
It was hard to tell if Freddy was mainly jealous of Augustine for being a better softball player or being more attractive to Eve.
Don’t get me wrong, I *loved* seeing these two go at it! Acapulco‘s Rafael Cebrian was a true delight, and I hope he’s on the show again soon.
It just seemed like that level of rivalry would have to be about more than just softball, but Augustine didn’t seem all that into Eve, so he wasn’t a threat in that way for Freddy.
This episode was a little coy by making it seem like Freddy’s jealousy could go either way, but I really hope the show doesn’t put him and Eve together romantically. I like them better as friends!
Alan Calls In A Favor
Alan did a lot of good work in this episode, from his creative interpretation of Disney films to delivering Frasier’s VIP guest directly to his party.
I really liked this version of Alan, where he was maybe just a couple of drinks in. He was charmingly eccentric in Frasier Season 2 Episode 7 but still competent and reliable.
His suggestion that Frasier attend two parties at once by imitating his version of The Parent Trap, in which one person plays two twins, had me scratching my head.
It’s been a while and a half since I saw The Parent Trap, so for a second, I’ll admit I was, like: Is *that* how that movie went??
(Oh, come on, it’s almost as plausible as what actually happened!)
I thought it was a decent throwaway joke worth a chuckle, but then it came back at the end as a truly surprising callback that had me laughing out loud.
Alan was the gravitational counterpoint to Frasier in how both of them played pivotal roles in the episode but left the focus on Olivia’s storyline.
It was fantastic to see such well-balanced subplots that overlapped in an unforced way. Even David’s brief appearances were incredibly organic to the narrative, had perfect comic timing, and were really funny, to boot.
Especially when he asked a roomful of academics if any of them had written a memoir examining their childhood trauma (all hands shot up).
I’m still concerned that David is always the youngest person in the room on this show. I know he has a close relationship with his uncle Frasier and Freddy, and he works at school with Alan, but we never see him with friends his own age.
That’s unlikely to change now that we’re seeing so much less of him this season. However, I feel that a younger group of friends could take David’s character in a new comedic direction.
Yes, And…
I was impressed by how Olivia just rolled with everything instead of spiraling and was able to improvise on the spot. She was probably in some heightened creative fugue state from the stress of being around her sister, but it was still very cool.
I liked that she ended up secluded in the kitchen with Valdo, where she finally had some fun and peace away from family expectations and fake dating shenanigans.
Monica was an over-the-top, over-achieving sibling who you just knew was hiding something. The revelation of her flawed marriage was totally expected but still satisfying.
It made me curious to see their parents, though! Maybe they’ll come to next year’s Harvard-Yale game.
I enjoyed all of the clever reversals of expectations on Frasier Season 2 Episode 7. I was prepared to be totally okay with yet another disaster party episode, but this turned out to be delightfully different.
I was glad that Frasier didn’t sabotage his own party beyond repair, but he still needs to revise that memoir manuscript. All of his friends, plus a Nobel-prize-winning author, can’t be wrong!
I loved that Olivia met a nice guy and made her sister jealous for once. I cringed at Freddy sacrificing his own maturity and the goodwill of his friends for the title of “Best Mark.” And I was inexpressibly happy to see that Eve got her roots touched up!
This episode featured some real laughs and great performances from the entire cast and guest stars. It fell short on fleshing out Olivia’s character apart from her love life, but I liked the glimpse into her non-academic life that we got from her sister’s visit. The back half of Frasier Season 2 is holding strong!
What did you think about this episode, TV Fanatics? Let us know in the comments!
What do you wish you'd seen at Frasier's tailgate party?
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The post Frasier Season 2 Episode 7 Review: My Brilliant Sister appeared first on TV Fanatic.
Source: TV Fanatic
