It doesn’t matter how old you get, change isn’t easy. It’s especially not easy when change happens because of decisions that other people make for you.
It doesn’t matter the timeline, Joes life is changing because of decisions that other people have made. Whether it be Amy, Jenny, or his Mom, the women in his life have drastically changed him. They have shaped him into someone that we may not always recognize, but someone who has been through so much and is doing his best to just deal with the life that has been given to him.
Joe in any timeline is a damaged soul because of circumstances – some in his control and some out of his control. But they are all a part of who he is.
Good or bad.
COP JOE
I will always stand by the fact that I believe that this version of Joe is naive and needs to grow. He feels like he is, but what he’s done is lived his life in safety because of the trauma of loosing his father. But as carefully planned as he thinks that he is, he learns quickly that life isn’t always as planned as you think it is.
Joe is invited over to Jenny and Ray’s for the Giants game. He’s excited, it’s the first time he’s going to get to spend time with his son.
Meanwhile his Mom is inside with her book club whose members are encouraging her to start dating. They are telling her that it has been 20 years since her husbands death and it is time to move on.
Joe comes home to her telling him that she’s going to have dinner with James and asks if he wants to come. But he has plans – the Giants game at Jenny’s.
Jenny’s husband is actually studying for the game. He wants to be able to impress his son, and know everything that he can. But it’s just not something that you can learn in a second. Jenny is trying to comfort him.
If we’re being honest – nothing that Jenny or Ray do is acceptable to me when it comes to Joe. They made a choice for so many people and now they want to feel territorial about Joes will be about being around his son. Ray, you’ve raised Lukas, but what you’ve also done is lied his entire life to him and that is not okay.
Joe is looking for his Dads lucky hat to bring with him to give to Lukas. His Mom knows that Joe is also holding his tongue, but has something to say about her dating. And boy, does Joe not hold his tongue. He guilts her and says that by taking down his Dads plaque and flag, she’s trying to erase him.
Way out of line Joe.
At Jenny’s everything seems to be going well. But it doesn’t last too long. You can tell by Ray’s face that he has an issue. But Lukas is having fun and that’s what matters.
When Joe leaves, he tells Amy he was nervous and that there were times where he thought about what if he had been able to be Lukas Dad. This makes Amy tell him that she can’t have kids. She’s known for a long time and gets that if it’s a deal breaker. Joe says no chance.
For the life of me, I can’t understand Joe’s fascination with Amy. She’s just not a stand up person and she’s completely selfish. I tend to wonder if he’s overlooking that because he doesn’t want to be alone.
Joe has quite a lot that he needs to address. He treated his Mom like crap and she tells him. She doesn’t need his approval, but sure as fuck doesn’t need his guilt. The two of them are close, so you know that he’s going to rebound from her being disappointed.
She even went as far as to find him his fathers hat. He heads over to Jenny’s to give them the hat for Lukas. Jenny and Ray become rude and enraged, telling him that they can’t take it. I don’t know what soap box they are standing on here, but they are just as in the wrong as any one.
I feel like the only person really going to end up being hurt here is Lukas. Take the hat or don’t Jenny, you owe your son some honesty.
NURSE JOE
I know that Jenny and Joe want to be good, but if anything, I feel as though looking at this timeline, they are the furthest thing from okay. And I am not just talking because they are in different places, it’s because they don’t truly communicate.
Kinsley has been a good addition to the story, especially because Christopher needs someone to be with him. But she’s also taken over directing a part of their lives that in my opinion she doesn’t have a right to. She feels invasive. She feels overbearing.
She’s submitted the zipper pants to the adaptive innovator expo, which is a good thing. But shouldn’t Joe have had a say in this? She just feels to be too much for me.
Jenny is in Atlanta and she screwed up on a case. She filed a motion too late, so she’s getting punished. She wants to get back on her professors good side and manages too. When they go to prison to see their client, she’s told to stay with the clients daughter.
See, the little girls Mom is in jail for trying to get her into a better school. Yes, she lied for her kid. The little girl confesses that she told the man who came to the shelter to talk to her and blames herself now for getting her Mom in trouble.
The man talking to her was illegal. His testimony should have never been admitted. This is life changing.
Joe, meanwhile, at the expo. A little girl comes up and talks to Christopher and he’s found a friend. They are excited and take off, but not before she tells her Dad that she likes the booth and he buys one of everything.
Turns out that her Dad is a buyer for a store. He is so impressed with Joe that he gives him a card and says that they should talk on a bigger scale.
At the end of the day, Joe and Jenny are on the phone, telling each other about their day, and they seem really distant. They talk about rescheduling therapy and neither of them bat an eye.
But the distance between these two feels really big. It feels a little overwhelming to be honest. I don’t think that they can keep going down the road that they are. They won’t last this way.
MUSIC JOE
You ever look at someone and think, wow, their life is complicated. Music Joes life is complicated. But Joe in any time line is complicated.
Joe doesn’t want to see Amy. He’s avoiding her after finding out that she’s pregnant. I can’t blame him – after all his wife cheated and then tried to make it seem as though it was partially his fault because he was with Jenny.
Do I understand that the lies are the cause of a lot? Yes. But Amy not taking responsibility for what she’s done and how she tries to manipulate the situation all the time. Na, I’m good.
But Joe not dealing with any situation in a healthy way is not good either. He’s spending a lot of time with Zeke, who I would like to state – I get why Zeke is excited. His biological Dad is a superstar and wants to spend time with him. I get why Zeke wants to be everywhere and anywhere.
And I also get why Joe wants to do everything that Zeke says. He’s the one person in his life right now that loves him pure heartedly. And for both of them that is something special. But they aren’t thinking about everyone else involved.
Joe’s manager gets him a gig singing the national anthem at the Giants game. This is a big thing for Joe, after 9/11 and the whole not wanting to be back at a football game. But he says that he’ll do it if Zeke does it with him. And that for Zeke is absolutely exciting.
But what Joe is doing is acting like the father that is trying to make up for lost time. But he’s not seeing that Zeke has a father. Zeke has a man that has raised him, that is his father, and that Joe should be running things by.
Joe’s Mom goes to visit Amy and tells her yes, she’s upset, she’s disappointed, but she still loves her. Umm… ok? Look, I get it, she’s talking to her daughter in law and has been there for a lot of her life. But she betrayed your son and like, na. I’m good.
She tells Amy that she has to show up. That she needs to fix things with Joe by showing up. She tells her to come to the Giants game with her and be there for Joe.
No.
There is a smear campaign going on against Amy, which leads her to tell Eric that she is pregnant with Bobby’s baby. Eric remains Switzerland, not wanting to take a side, but not realizing he is.
The day of the game, you can tell that Zeke’s parents are a little put off. But they are going with it. Joe is nervous and Zeke, in all his sweetness, tells him that he can hold his hand if he wants to.
You can’t help but feel bad for Zeke, because the kid is just excited and he’s having to deal with the emotions of adults. He’s having to find his way, and if we’re being honest, how is that fair for a child? This kid is strong, but he shouldn’t have to be that way.
Joe is so happy to be singing with this son, but if we’re being honest, he’s being selfish. I truly feel that Jenny is part of the blame for not being honest with Joe from the beginning. She can say she tried to reach him, but we’re dealing with a child and so you keep trying until you get them on the phone or in front of your face.
Because now, the person that is going to suffer the most is Zeke.
Joe needs to deal with his shit. He needs to deal with all of the people that have wronged him in some way, but also with his own emotions. His own need to keep his shit together has him falling apart in other ways.
And the biggest mistake that he makes is telling Zeke that they should go on tour together. Joe may have all the money in the world, but he’s messing with a kids feelings and this is an issue. Zeke’s parents are at a loss for words, knowing they are going to have to let their son down.
And well, that’s just wrong for Joe to do.
Miguel comes to talk to Joe, being honest with him and telling him that he’s unleashed a bunch of shit. Joe’s life is not normal and it’s a lot for people that do not live that life. Joe apologizes and finally admits that he wants to spend more time with Zeke.
There is not a person that can’t understand that Joe wants more time. It makes perfect sense. But he’s not Zeke’s Dad. Zeke has a Dad. And he’s leaving Miguel in the situations where he has to break his sons heart.
I do understand that Joes heart is breaking on so many levels and that can’t be easy. But I also know that Joe is dragging Zeke into that heartache and that’s just wrong. I love this show so much, but this Joe… well, this Joe I am disappointed in.
Amy tries to comfort Joe, but what she ends up doing is making things worse. She doesn’t understand time and space. I really dislike Amy, because there is not a move that she has made that isn’t completely selfish.
She tries to reiterate that she’s family, that she’s thinking about the family. It’s a bold statement, because like Joe asks her – was she thinking about the family when she was screwing Bobby? That would be a hard no.
I do appreciate the fact that Joe steps up and tells Zeke that he jumped the gun on the tour – that he has to be realistic. It broke me, and made me cry when the color drained from Zeke’s face and he wore disappointment all over. You can tell that Joe hates the fact that he made him feel like this.
And maybe it’s the push he needs to get himself together.
First step, telling Amy that he’s not coming home and she is not going on tour with him? Well, it doesn’t seem like that’s a step in pulling himself together. Instead it feels like a moment that he’s breaking… beyond repair.
OTHER THOUGHTS
- In Cop Joe timeline – Eric telling Frank that he has a drinking problem, I applaud.
- In Cop Joe timeline, Joe should have never told Lukas that they would go to the game together.
- Music Joe telling Eric that he’s been riding his coat tails – screw you Joe.
Ordinary Joe airs Mondays on NBC.
