On Better Things, Sam's Hallowe'en Treat Is How Much Her Daughters Take After Her

In the Better Things-iverse, as in reality, it's Hallowe'en, and Sam has a scary situation to deal with: Harvey -- formerly a "friend" of Max's, who Sam was given to understand is gay -- seems to be Max's boyfriend. Now that she knows the truth, Sam secures Harvey in a laundry room to put a scare in him, listing all the activities he is not to engage in while he's with Max, and ending by pointing at his crotch and stating, "That should go nowhere near my daughter. Okay?" It's almost like she needs the distraction of pursuing a (seasonally appropriate) prank battle with Frankie...

...which Frankie wins, thanks to Nan's commitment to a bit.

Sam may be furious in the moment, but you can tell it's because she knows she's been bested at what had once been her game. She's passed on her wisdom only to see it advanced in the next generation. Sam's mad that she was tricked, but surely also a little proud that she's so well prepared her child to excel at mischief.

In fact, this seems to be the week that all the junior Foxes are showing just how much they are their mother's daughters -- as when Sam reminds Duke that she's going to sleep over at her friend Pepper's house.

Sam's not mad; she's delighted: "My baby! Your first swear!" (It turns out it's not -- "Mom, she's been saying that for years, just not around you," sniffs Frankie -- but it's still a bonding moment for Sam and her pottymouthed baby.

As all the Fox ladies get ready to go trick-or-treating in the episode's last act, Sam learns that Frankie is taking one more step into womanhood -- which, as women well know, often sucks ass.

Max's first relationship has ended in her first heartache, as she tells Sam that Harvey dumped her. When Max refuses her suggestion that she come trick-or-treating with the rest of the family, Sam has to admit she's at a loss as to how to handle this one: "That would have picked you up a few years ago, but I just-- I don't know what to say, I'm sorry. I used to have a really good mommy toolbox for you, and now you're a real person and your heart is broken and I wish I had an easy thing for that, but nobody does, baby." When the younger girls enter, Sam tries to get Frankie to take Duke around so that Sam can stay home and comfort Max, but if one Fox girl is suffering, it's all hands on deck. "I don't care about candy," Duke announces. Frankie proposes that they all stay home and watch scary movies together, and based on Max's response, it's just what she needs. Sam may not have all the answers she did when her girls were younger, but it doesn't matter: she's taught them her empathy along with her profane vocabulary, and now there are more mini-moms to help carry the emotional load.

And Sam and Duke can just be Sonny and Cher next year.