About a Boy - About a Boyfriend - Review - Update

So it turns out that I didn’t miss something in the last episode – Marcus and Shea weren’t dating. They just had a really awkward friendship-Valentine’s Day together, during which Marcus was supposed to impress Shea with gestures of…friendship? I don’t know. Either way, they do start dating after Marcus decides he wants to take the next step in their relationship and ask Shea to be his girlfriend. Fiona is unsure about the idea, but Will encourages Marcus to go for it, since the first rejection/heartbreak is a male right of passage.

 Quick sidebar: is Will like officially Marcus’ parent now? After the dating discussion with Marcus, Will reminds Fiona, “It’s not our job to intervene, it’s our job to be there to pick up the pieces.” Fiona agrees with Will’s sentiment and the two prepare for Marcus’ seemingly inevitable heartbreak. Later, Will chauffeurs and chaperons Marcus on his date, and tries to protect him from being used by Shea. It’s been clear for a while that Will is more than just a neighbor to the Boas, but in this episode especially, it seems like Will has officially moved into some sort of co-parent role with Fiona. Sure he’s always made judgment calls regarding Marcus, but it seems like Fiona respects (some of) Will’s decisions, and that he has certain responsibilities when it comes to Marcus now (like chaperoning a fro-yo date).

Marcus’ long awaited boyfriend status does not quite work out as he may have expected. As soon as the title becomes official, Shea marches up to Marcus with a list of tasks he has to complete for he, including carrying her books, cleaning her locker, and doing all of her homework. Marcus is a dream of a boyfriend, so oblivious to the manipulation that he willingly tries to accomplish every task set before him. But it all starts to fall apart, and become a little clearer, when it’s fro-yo date time. Although Marcus has Will looking out for him, he’s not afraid to stand up for himself when need be. On many occasions Marcus has had no problem confronting Shea or her ex, Viper. He wants to believe the best in people; that they’re all as kind and generous as him. But at the same time, Marcus wants to know whether or not his relationship with Shea is real, because it certainly is for him.

I’m not a huge fan of Shea in general, but that’s probably because her relationship with Marcus has been relatively calculated from the start – he hangs around he because he was instantly infatuated, and she hangs around with him because he’ll do whatever for her. But although it’s clear that Shea has used Marcus in various ways since they met, she’s only a kid, and her behavior is pretty much just that of a relatively ignored 13-year-old. Maybe Marcus’ kind words and genuine intentions will help Shea to understand that perhaps she has more to gain with Marcus as her friend/girlfriend than as her servant.

Also – first real kiss alert! Well, Marcus got kissed, at any rate. Maybe next time he’ll even kiss BACK!

Speaking of couples on the relationship rocks, Fiona starts to really worry that her relationship with Mr. Chris is going stale because she’s a mom and can’t really do the spontaneous things that he wants to do. Though the whole "I have a child that I can't leave home alone to go to a cabin and watch meteors" situation is very understandable, I do find it odd that Fiona isn't slightly more naturally spontaneous.  She has lived all over the world, and seemingly didn't have any sort of plan when she sort of booped from place to place then.  Fiona tries to make up for her predictability, so when Will gives her a casual suggestion for a spontaneous adventure, she writes down his idea, and dialogue, verbatim. At dinner with Mr. Chris she woodenly recites her “lines” about “spontaneous” truffle hunting in the wilderness. Of course, while truffle hunting they stumble upon a hot spring that Mr. Chris knows about, and they end up skinny dipping in it together – with several other couples. Oh, and it turns out that they’re not allowed to swim in those springs. So Fiona and Mr. Chris are charged with trespassing, due to their spontaneity. Luckily, Mr. Chris doesn’t expect Fiona to drop everything and create a spur-of-the-moment moment all the time – like he said a few episodes ago, he understands that Fiona is a mom, and that her life is complicated. So far though, all the troubles in the relationship seems to have been hang ups on Fiona’s part. Is there anything about their relationship/Fiona that Mr. Chris gets nervous about? Or is he just cool with whatever? Does he have any qualms about his relationship with Marcus in an out-of-school setting?

With all these new relationships buzzing about, I’m clamoring to see more of Will and Liz. She felt like another love interest on par with Dr. Sam, though definitely a different sort of character. Will’s been through a little bit this year, and Liz seems to fit him a little better right now. Whereas Dr. Sam was relatively fresh faced, optimistic, and pretty much had her act together, Liz seems to be struggling in similar ways to Will. They’re both a little skittish about big relationships at the moment, as they’ve both experienced loss in that way and don’t seem to want to jump into anything like that -- Will avoids a capital-R “Relationship” by trying to hit on random, hot, young women, and Liz just watches them all and scoffs at the foolishness. They’re both a little jaded when it comes to love, and they just might be what the other needs.

What did you think of the episode? Are you happy that Marcus has a real girlfriend? How long will Fiona and Mr. Chris’ relationship last if Fiona continues to worry that she’s not enough? Is Will officially Marcus’ neighbor- guardian now? Let us know what you think below!

About the Author - Kimberly

Kimberly is a big TV nerd - willing to talk any show, any time. Her tastes are various and sundry, but she’s got a soft spot for comedy. She currently writes the SpoilerTV reviews for Parks and Recreation, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, and About a Boy.

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