Last Friday’s episode of Last Man Standing was more unusual than I thought. It was not the primary story that was odd, but the second story was really something that the writers should have taken another look at.

The main plot of the episode was that Mike is in the process of planning a card game with his Outdoor Man buddies. To make a long story short, Ryan gets invited to join the game because they need another player to join them.

When the game starts, Ryan gets the guys opening up about their problems and feelings. This rubs Mike the wrong way since he is the boss of Outdoor Man now, he does not want to hear about peoples’ problems because all he does all day is listen to problems.

Eventually, the card game turns into compiling and feelings, and Mike does not have a good time. He explains this to Ryan, and believe it or not, Ryan understands where he is coming from. Ryan can do this because he does a lot of the same thing at his business too. Ryan agrees to make it so that when Mike comes to play cards, that everyone has their problems and feelings out so that they can just play cards.

This is a great scene and I like how Mike and Ryan are finally starting to understand each other better. It’s also a great sign of character development.

Another thing that I liked in particular to this story was Joe’s (played by Jay Leno) part. The whole thing about the car fumes, him acting odd/silly, and then Mike saying that they need to air the garage out was hysterical.

From there, the guys are able to play cards and (I think) Mike ends up winning due to Joe’s stupidity? I’m not a cards guy, so I’m not entirely sure of the rules of it (and this comes from someone who has watched Molly’s Game like five times).

Now, the other story is what really ruins this episode for me. It is all about Jen wanting to get asked or ask a guy to her high school’s prom.

The idea for this story is fine. In fact, given the fact that it is March, it would make sense to air a story like this since prom season is literally right around the corner. Young people watching could get the idea for prom and who they want to ask or be asked by. Again, the idea is fine.

My issue with this is the execution of it. Let me explain:

In the second story, Jen wants some guy named Adam St. Cloud to ask her to prom. Right from the beginning, that name is so…weird. I’m not entirely against the name, it’s just that I think a better name could have been chosen. Still, she wants this guy to ask her. Mandy and Vanessa get to thinking that since it is 2019, Jen should think about asking Adam herself.

From here, this is where the entire second story falls apart, in my opinion. The issue that comes into play is that God awful gag reflex that Jen has. I know that they are trying to be funny about this, but it’s not. To me, it comes off as way too silly, unnatural, and unrealistic. I’m not saying that people don’t get nervous before they ask that special someone to prom, but the sound of the gag reflex sounds like a garbage disposal going haywire.

A few minutes later, we find out that out of the blue that the guy that Jen wanted to ask (Adam St. Cloud) actually ended up asking her to prom. Seriously? That’s not realistic at all. I know that Hollywood does make TV episodes and movies where things happen that are unrealistic or “would never happen in real life,” but at the same time, I expect more from Last Man Standing.

Even my mom, who is not a huge fan of the show like me, but knows who the characters are and has followed the story from me watching the series on Hulu, thought that the episode was too silly and incredibly unrealistic.

All in all, I’m giving this episode 2/4 stars. Yes, it’s a low rating but, I’m sorry, that’s what it deserves. I am looking forward to Friday’s episode because it has Reverend Paul in it, and he always has good storylines for his episodes. Best of all, we do have Eve back for this episode too!

The next episode will be on March 15, 2019, at 8 PM ET on FOX. You will be able to watch the episode the day after on Hulu and the FOX Now app.

UPDATE (03/14/2019): According to sources, the episode “Otherwise Engaged” will air on Friday evening, March 15, 2019. The reason for this is currently unknown, but that is the latest news from sources familiar with the situation.