The Goodwin Games

The Goodwin Games

Episode 6: Happy Hour

By: Carlos Uribe

The Goodwin Games is about three siblings who compete for their inheritance and get closer as a family.

Spoilers Ahoy!

I'd say this was a pretty important episode of the Goodwin Games. We get three different plot developments that seem to be pretty significant. The most surprising one is that Jimmy and April are sleeping together. I'm not saying I was surprised when the episode finally revealed it because I had figure it out at the beginning. The actual twist reveal might not have caught me by surprise but the actual development did. While April has been trying to keep this a secret, Jimmy seems content not telling his siblings because they might get upset. This doesn't stop him from singing about their relationship, including details, at a bar that he had invited his sister to. While April promises to stop seeing him, she can't help but sneak in for sex at night. The only person who is left in the dark is Henry. I'm not sure if there's going to be an actual episode where he finds out or not. There is only one episode left in the series so it depends if they're going to pick on this plot thread. They might not even hint at it. It's not a bad development on itself. I didn't see April and Jimmy as being a potential couple but the series does get some good jokes out of it. I just think it comes a little late in the series run as there's not a lot of time left to develop it. I wouldn't be surprised if the finale doesn't cover anything. Even if Henry does, it means it's basically going to be rushed. In other words: the very limited run this series is going to have means it should have been smarter about when and if to introduce plots. There's nothing wrong with this one but it's not necessary and it's a little too late. Now writers couldn't have known they would be airing in the summer so I can't blame them but it is an instance of fate messing up their plans.

The episode continues the season long development of rebuilding the friendship between Chloe and April. This takes center stage when it sets up a faux-love triangle between Chloe, April, and Ivan. Ivan and Chloe are clearly into each other but April makes the mistake of admitting she used to have a crush on Ivan. Chloe does her best to set the two up even as she finds herself undeniably attracted to him. She can't resist him which leads to the two of them kissing. April gets mad because she thought Chloe was finally putting their friendship first but then loses any right to be angry when Jimmy sings the song about their relationship. April is able to forgive Chloe slightly which moves them closer. It also allows Chloe to begin a relationship with Ivan. Once again, I'm concerned about whether the show can properly handle this plot development. I have no doubts about April and Chloe because the season has been handling their relationship in almost every single episode. It's a long-term arc that might not find a resolution in the finale but that has at least been developed. The Ivan relationship with Chloe is different because it starts up this episode. It might depend on what the finale does with it but it's facing the same problems as Jimmy and April. There isn't a lot of episodes to explore their relationship or to take this arc. There is just the one. At least this plot does have a slight edge over the Jimmy and April plot because it laid the seeds for it in the episode that introduced adult Ivan. It was obvious then that they would pursue a relationship.

The final plot development is one that would pay in the long run if there was a long run. The pilot had introduced a love interest for Henry, Lucinda. She might not have been in every episode of the season but she has remained relevant due to this role. The two get some closure over how their relationship ended when Henry is finally able to deliver his speech on why they should break up. It's actually a pretty great one that helps to show he does have emotional depth. The two act like they're truly over now but it's obvious that the opposite has happened. This speech has brought up their old feelings toward each other even as it was about the two of them moving away from each other. Now that they have closure for how their old relationship ended, they can finally begin a new one. Now will we see a Henry and Lucinda kiss this season? It depends on how slowly the producers were planning to take the relationship development. It's possible they could share a kiss in the finale or it's possible she doesn't even appear at all. If she doesn't, that's okay because this plot also acts as a perfect way to wrap up their plot. They might have rekindled feelings for future seasons but they found actual closure if this is the last time the show picks up on their plot thread. It can therefore serve these two purposes. It'll be interesting to see which one becomes true as the finale airs.

Happy Hour is a good episode of the Goodwin Games. There are three significant plot developments. Henry and Lucinda bury the hatchet over how their relationship ended but it also allows their feelings to be rekindled for a future episode. This was smart. The friendship between April and Chloe gets stronger which has been a recurring element of the season. The courtship between Chloe and Ivan was expected but it has little time to grow. The relationship between Jimmy and April was sudden but has just as little time to go anywhere. This might be a good penultimate episode that sets up the finale or a fate episode that continued the plot to a show that didn't have time to really explore it.