Happy’s Place season 1 episode 8 “Dear Jack” took care of something we haven’t thought about in a very long time. I’m talking about Isabella’s boyfriend. And it makes sense that they haven’t taken care of this yet. Isabella found out that she had a new sister, moved in with her, and is dealing with all of these big changes. Figuring out if she’s going to stay with her boyfriend or not is low priority at the moment. But it became a priority in “Dear Jack” and kind of gave us an inside look as to the kind of life Isabella had growing up.
Personally, I’m of the same train of thought as Isabella. I don’t know if true love is a thing. And if I had the opportunity to be comfortable with someone, I would take it. Especially in this day and age. The difference between me and Isabella is that Isabella is on a TV show and she has someone like Bobbie on her side that could give her a little bit of perspective. And it’s the kind of perspective that is given without heaping on a bunch of judgment and making Isabella feel stupid for her choices. Bobbie will let Isabella make her choices. At the same time, she’ll give her the tools and the knowledge of her life to help her make informed ones.
MORE: Need a reminder of what happened in the previous episode? Read our review for Happy’s Place season 1 episode 7 “Ho-Ho-Howey.”
Isabella grew up in a family that really didn’t value relationships, either familial or friends. You can see that in the way that Isabella was so eager to connect with Bobbie and everyone else in the restaurant in Happy’s Place season 1 episode 1. You want what you haven’t had before. Throw on top of that the fact that we haven’t seen or heard a peep out of Isabella’s mother the entirety of the show so far. They’re not close, at least not in the way that Isabella is with Bobbie and the rest of the gang. This is all a new experience for Isabella and I think that if she would have still been home with her mother, she would have continued down a path of comfort versus actually opening herself up to the possibility of something bigger or better when it comes to romantic relationships.
The Isabella that we’re seeing right now in Happy’s Place, is not the same woman we got to know in episode 1. She is more sure of her place in life and has a group of wonderful people, including two women in Bobbie and Gabby, that will help her finally find herself and what she wants to do next. And by the end of season 1, I think we are going to see another version of Isabella emerge. Because she, in many ways, is the personification of the audience experiencing a new life and all the changes that come with being at Happy’s Place.
MORE: We’ve really come a long way on this show. Go back to the start with our review of Happy’s Place season 1 episode 1!
I will say that looking this deeply into Isabella and why it was so hard for her to let go of Jack, made me think about the rest of the cast of characters. We’ve seen Emmett mourn Happy in episode 4, Steve bond with Emmett and goof off with Gabby across various episodes, and Takoda talk about his family while also keeping up with his morals. As for Gabby, we’ve seen her struggle with self-worth and finding a place for herself; with that being especially true in “Dear Jack.” And finally there’s Bobbie. From what we know, she lost her father recently and had lost her husband a while ago. Her daughter is not living with her. And that seems to be her family. At least my blood until Isabella came around.
Now is the time for Happy’s Place to start diving into the characters’ lives a little more. What do they like to do on their days off? Where is Takoda’s family? Does Steve have any other friends that are like him? Is Gabby going to go and actually have a kid like she mentioned in episode 5? At one point will Bobby start dating? What about Isabella? Is she going to school or something? I just have so many questions about these characters. And I want to know more. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing either; to have these questions or want more. If anything, I think it’s a good thing for Happy’s Place. Because we’re only eight episodes in and the only bad thing is that I’m desperate for more. And with a full season order, I know they’re going to deliver.
Happy’s Place airs Fridays at 8/7c on NBC.
