So That's How It Is In Chatswin Families

Suburgatory's "George and Tessa aren't, like, into each other, are they?" vibe has been kind of an issue since the first season. I actually saw the Late Show interview with Jane Levy (who plays Tessa) that series creator Emily Kapnek responded to in this 2011 Vulture post, and while Kapnek claimed then that David Letterman's confusion about the nature of Tessa and George's relationship was "a bit," I...do not agree. I don't mean that the subtext was written into the scripts or that Levy and Jeremy Sisto (who plays George) are into each other for real or that the romantic vibe between George and Tessa was intentional at all. But the actors are only sixteen years apart in age and this is Sisto's first time playing the parent of a teenager; I think it's just that both halves of the duo might not have calibrates the relationship quite right and no one directing them had enough distance to perceive the portrayal of their relationship the way others did once the show started airing — I mean, Kapnek evidently didn't.

When the Season 3 premiere featured a new take on the series of George-and-Tessa vignettes that made up the opening credits sequence for the show's first two seasons — formerly stylized photos, now the same situations and poses but with animated paper-doll versions of the characters — I thought the idea might have been for the David Lettermans of the world not to misread the characters as a couple. But the latest episode doesn't just acknowledge the way parents and kids on this show might seem like they're in love with each other: it embraces it.

Obviously, this applies to George and Tessa, the parent/child pair that started it all. Tessa having recently returned to live with George after a sabbatical due to his (since broken) engagement to Dallas, the dynamic between Tessa and George is that he's still guilty about the conflict that parted them, and solicitous about making things up to her. When he makes her a special lunch and takes it to school to drop off for her, he runs into Dalia, and elicits, with his mere presence, her first smile of the season. Dalia — who's been calling George "Daddy Altman" since he and Dallas started dating (whereas Tessa's always called him by his first name which...I mean, are you starting to see how David Letterman got the wrong impression?) — lights up at the sight of George, and then immediately starts disgorging information about her day/life the way one usually does with a boyfriend. While Dalia is monologuing about the latest from Kimantha, and a bewildered George is politely trying to pay attention, Tessa appears and expresses her dismay that George is basically cheating on her with someone else's daughter — and not just that, but someone who gave her "a subcutaneous hematoma." But by the end of the episode, Tessa decides that George is too much dad/man for just one daughter/girl: she goes over to the Royces' to bless Dalia's relationship with George, whatever form that may take, and in exchange, she hopes that she and Dallas can get back together too. This polyparental fourgy can probably succeed as long as everyone's read and absorbed their Ethical Slut.

Elsewhere, Sheila is still mourning the loss of her relationship with Ryan, away at college. Obviously, Lisa is no replacement for Ryan — and not even Lisa really thinks she ever could be — but she does suggest that Sheila and Fred take a weekend away to reconnect, on the off-chance that maybe Sheila could transfer her affections to Fred instead. Not even Fred really thinks this will work — nor, apparently, does he want it to: as Sheila starts weeping over Ryan, Fred takes notice of a speed-dating event "Foster Child Fair." Before long, Fred and Sheila are getting to know Victor, a foster child who's getting on in years and, what do you know, seems to have a lot in common with Ryan! He loves sports and has an "above-average" body! In time, Lisa figures out that Victor is no more interested in football than any Cosmopolitan reader trying to attract a guy by sharing interests with a potential boyfriend, but by the time he confesses, Sheila and Fred have grown up a little. No one can ever replace your first love, but you move on to new experiences that may be different, but can be just as exciting. (Too bad, Lisa. You're going to have to be satisfied by your boyfriend.)

I'm kidding, of course: I don't actually think that any of these couples or throuples are about to get it on. But I appreciate that the show is so willing to goof around in this potentially dodgy area. It's hard to make a comedy about families without all the lessons covering everything with a thick layer of vanilla frosting. Knowing that Sheila Shay can not only deliver a flawless cover of "Barracuda" but has probably dreamed at least one night in her life about getting to second with her son Ryan is the kind of thing that gives Suburgatory its enjoyably sharp edge.