If last week’s episode was a beautiful moment for the Family Libby’s drama, “All Shook Up†is a wonderful swan song for Mike and Natalie. Absolutely no one understands why these two stay together, but this episode shows us every reason they need to separate. As Mike and Natalie prepare to leave Trish’s house, Trish offers Natalie a good-bye scarf. Natalie refuses it and explains that her mother has told her not to speak with Trish anymore. Then she locks herself in Mike’s car and refuses to explain herself or what Trish did wrong.
It’s aggravating. It’s irritating. It’s like begging a brick wall to explain itself, and it’s perfectly Natalie. Before the trip to Trish’s, Natalie had honestly been doing a pretty good job of hiding her rude behavior. It was really only a matter of time before these feelings came out, but she couldn’t even play nice until they got to the airport. She literally just left Mike and Trish and went through security without saying bye!
All of the allegations Natalie has made against Trish don’t add up to this kind of rude treatment. Trish wasn’t forcing Natalie to have kids, she just wanted to know if they thought about it. She wasn’t forcing Natalie to be a translator, she was just saying it was an easy way to temporarily make money! I also do not believe for a second that Trish called Natalie a hooker! Rather than talk through any of this, Natalie would rather play up the drama because she’s more in love with being on TV than being in Mike’s family. It’s not like Mike is perfect. He could have cleared the air before Thanksgiving dinner and tried to make sense of these many miscommunications. It’s not until Natalie is blatantly rude to his mother that he finally does anything about it. Anyway, I’d be happy to take one of Trish’s scarves. It was adorable when Mike was like, “Everyone loves your scarves, Mom!â€
Brandon and Julia’s issues with his parents are pretty understandable but also adorable. I know Julia has this conspiracy theory that his parents are being nice to them so they stay on the farm forever, but I think they just wanted to share the wedding joy with the entire family. Like Brandon said, “Who wouldn’t want a cake?†Having the pastor from their wedding get up and speak was a bit much, but it was really just some Party City decorations! There was no reason for Brandon and Julia to storm out of Ron’s birthday party. (I also loved the sign that said “This Guy Is 70, But Still Awesome†because Ron is the best dad on the show.) Julia sees it as a win because Brandon is finally standing up for them, but he’s picking the wrong battles, and Ron is ready to throw down when it comes to the right battles. These two aren’t ready to be on their own! Ron’s like, “Y’all haven’t made money; you don’t have shit. Best of luck out there!†And this is why we love him.
Tiffany is picking the right fight with Ronald, though. With the borders to South Africa open, Ronald wants Tiffany to come visit for a three-month-long trip. Tiffany agrees to visit, but only if Ronald pays for half of their tickets. Obviously, Ronald can’t do this because he’s a bum who does not support his family. Sorry to be blunt, but that’s how things go when Tiffany’s mom is in the episode (she’s the best mom this season). Tiffany’s mom tells her she’s making a mistake and that she wishes Tiffany never had kids with Ronald. I think Tiffany’s request is fair and will force Ronald to be realistic about his lack of resources.
I still think Tiffany and Ronald are on the brink of divorce, but Asuelu and Kalani have managed to turn things around! Is it maybe a red flag that Kalani wants to down a bottle of whiskey before even taking a tour of the property? Maybe! They’re not the first couple to use a sex shop to spice things up in their relationship, but I was moved by their dedication to speaking about the issues in their marriage, too. They do that weird “Let’s stare into each other’s eyes for two minutes†thing, and they talk about how they both want to change for each other. It’s sweet, even if Asuelu’s biggest request is more sex. Does Kalani really need to tell Asuelu she went to a divorce lawyer? Well, probably, since that’s better than finding out from the show.
Before this episode, I was mostly bored by Michael and Angela’s story because it wasn’t changing much. Michael seemed so dedicated to Angela that I wasn’t sure what conflict they could really provide. Angela’s health journey is interesting because she’s an absolutely hilarious character, but I didn’t really need to watch her smoke her last cigarette. It does seem like Michael is losing patience with Angela’s priorities right now, though. Even though Angela constantly threatens to leave him, I think he may give up on his dream of America before she does that.
90 Day Notes
• “I’m gonna whip the shit out of you, Asuelu.†Kalani and Asuelu are so open and candid, and I absolutely love it when people who are just trying to do their job have to hear about the “rocking and rolling†they’re going to be doing. Also, I knew Kalani would complain about the cabins and then still have a good time! Just enjoy it, girl!
• I MISS JOVI AND YARA!
• I wish we could do a midseason swap of Mike and Natalie with Tarik and Hazel. Or Libby and Andrei with Tarik and Hazel. This entire Libby Family Vacation plot is too ridiculous to take seriously. There’s no reason why they couldn’t have taken separate cars.
• I am willing to teach Angela how to get high on “eatables†instead of by smoking.