Happy’s Place Season 2 Episode 8 “The Name Game” ripped the rug right out from underneath Gabby’s feet. She’s not pregnant. And she never will be. Because this episode revealed that Gabby is infertile. And honestly, I’m a little conflicted if this is the right step to take.
More often than not, when there’s a possible pregnancy on a TV show, the character is either infertile or has a long and difficult journey to get pregnant. And I understand that infertility is a reality that many women go through. But the fact that it happens so often on TV, characters ending up infertile, speaks to a problem within Hollywood in itself. Because it isn’t about being realistic most of the time. If anything, it’s about convenience.
It’s not “convenient” for writers rooms to have to remember the stages of someone’s pregnancy in the middle of all the other complexities within a show. It’s also not “convenient” to have to take into account how this will change the journey of said character that is pregnant. And don’t even get me started on how complicated things will be when they have to bring in a baby and add a child actor to the show forever.
That’s what I think about when a character on TV is infertile. Because it’s usually not a nuanced storyline about the realities of infertility, the heartache that comes from the experience, or the struggles that follow those trying to get pregnant. It’s more about, “Is it convenient for studios?” And again, there’s nothing wrong with infertility storylines. They happen. They’re real. It’s just infertility seems be the go-to on TV, especially if the character is a single woman.
When we do have characters that have a pregnancy on TV, it’s usually because the actor themselves is pregnant. Half the time they hide the pregnancy and then make it so that the character goes away for a couple episodes like they did on New Girl when Zooey Deschanel was pregnant. Or they’ll integrate the pregnancy into the storyline like they did on Bones, shifting the relationship between Brennan forever. Or they’ll write you off the show in alleged retaliation like they did in Angel when Charisma Carpenter was pregnant. And let’s not forget the popular surrogate storyline like they did on Friends with Lisa Kudrow’s Phoebe or It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia with Kaitlyn Olsen’s Dee.
So yes, I’m having trouble seeing why this infertility storyline is something that we’re giving to Gabby. Because she’s a woman who loves big and wants a family. Specifically, she wants a baby. And I think it does a disservice to her character that it’ll be more convenient for the studio to have her adopt an older kid than give her a chance to be pregnant. Yes, it will spotlight foster care as an avenue for giving a child a home. But those storylines are never about the kid or the system. They never are.
Just because I’m dissatisfied with this storyline doesn’t mean that there weren’t good things that happened in “The Name Game.” I do like that Bobby sat back and thought about how dismissive she was being when Gabby announced her possible pregnancy in the beginning of the episode. And she shifted her perspective. She supported Gabby before she found out she was infertile and afterwards. Because that’s what you do with your friends, even if you don’t believe them all the time. I even liked how everybody participated in helping with the baby’s name.
That’s community. That’s family.
Another thing that I really enjoyed from Happy’s Place “The Name Game” was everything that happened with Takoda. From the very start I have felt like this character has gotten the least development. And as more time has passed by, Happy’s Place has taken note and given me more of this character. This time around you come to find out that he’s part of a heavy metal group named Sunburst. And he’s so eager to help out Isabella in any way that he can, that he doesn’t get the clues in front of him that they don’t like his music.
What we end up seeing is Isabella, Emmett, and Steve putting on their ear plugs and just supporting their friend. Because they might not like his music but they like him. And supporting Takoda is more important. Plus, the only thing that’s going to hurt them when it comes to Takoda’s music is their ears. And earplugs will easily fix that. But while everyone else is covering their ears, I’m admiring how hot Takoda looked on that stage. 10 out of 10 would go to that show.
Happy’s Place airs new episodes every Friday at 8pm ET on NBC.
