I Feel Bad
“I Miss Important Moments” (Episode 108)
November 15, 2018

If you aren’t caught up with I Feel Bad, you can read the latest recap here!

SPOILERS AHEAD for the latest episode!

The episode starts off with Emet at work and her voiceover, “Creating a baby is one of the greatest joys in life.”  When she says this, it is assumed she’s talking about her children, but she reveals that she is actually talking about a character that she designed. Asako, geisha warrior, is the main character in her first original game with her name on it as creator and she has to pitch it to the publishers.  While she is celebrating with her team at work, her real baby, Jake, is almost walking. As she gets through the door at home, her father tells her that he keeps nudging Jake over so that Emet won’t miss that moment in his life.  She missed Lilly’s and Louie’s first steps and doesn’t want to miss Jake’s.

In an effort to see those first steps, Emet brings Jake to work with her. She wants to capture the moment on camera and leaves to grab her phone. While she is gone, Jake stands up and starts to walk. Her coworkers get to see this moment before she did. When Emet gets back and see them smiling she knows that she missed it.

Opening credits

Back at home, Emet says that from now on she will not miss anymore special moments in her kids lives. She wants to be there for everything, but her mother crushes that dream when she tells Emet that Lily has dance regionals on Friday, the same day as Emet’s pitch. Lily comes in to share the excitement and Emet realizes that she can do both the pitch and regionals since they are at different times.  Lily guilts Emet into going to rehearsals and helping with her hair and makeup on Friday as well. Emet starts to feel overwhelmed and wonders when she is going to fit time in to prepare for her pitch.

“I’m gonna nail my pitch on Friday and I’m not gonna miss any more of the kids big accomplishments.”

Back at work, she is writing all of the rehearsals on a calendar. A receptionist (Hina Khan) walks in to confirm the appointment with Damon Paul about the project Emet and the guys have been working on. Emet wants to make sure that he comes to meet her first, since she designed the character.

Emet leaves to go to Lily’s rehearsal and sees her mom there. Maya thinks Emet’s goal of being there for everything is unrealistic, so she came just in case Emet didn’t make it. Another mom comes up to Emet and asks if she would like to volunteer for one of the duties for rehearsals. Emet gladly signs up for snack duty.

Running back into the office, she goes over to the guys and tells them to prep for Damon’s visit. The guys have that same ‘you missed it’ look on their face and tells her that he already came and even took them to Japanese Whisky Lunch! Upset that she missed the meeting and the nicknames that the guys got (plus the credit), Emet feels that she should have been there. The good news is that he wants to meet again for drinks. Emet vows not to miss this one, but it’s going to interfere with Lily’s rehearsal again. She asks Rupi, the new receptionist to stand in for her at Lily’s rehearsal since the kids can’t really see the parents waiting in the back.

Finally, Emet gets to have drinks with Damon (Parker Young) and makes it a point to tell him that she designed the character. She tells him about other ideas she has which he loves. Emet finally feels like she can hang with the guys. She even gets the long sought high five and nickname, “Whisky Mama.”

When she gets home, David asks how Emet was in two places at once.  She tries to use the excuse that she’s Superwoman, but ends up confessing her plan. David feels she should have asked him for help, but Emet wanted Lily to see her there.

“When dads don’t show up, they don’t get dinged. And then then when they do manage to show up they get bonus points.  When moms don’t show up, we’re bad parents. “

When Emet goes to tell Lily what she did, Lily gives her a big hug and thanks her for coming. She is so excited for Emet to come to the next rehearsal because they added new dance moves. Now Emet feels like she has to continue the charade.

A montage starts of Rupi filling in for Emet and Emet prepping for her pitch. It ends when Emet actually makes it to one of the rehearsals and is confronted by her mom. Rupi ends the doppelgänger act and leaves Emet on her own.

At home, Lily tells her mom that she needs a costume. She is a phoenix, so she will need two wings with 75 feathers each and they need to be painted with specific colors. Not disappointing Lily or asking for help, Emet starts to design the costume and continues to prep for the pitch. Lily comments that her job doesn’t seem like fun, but Emet tells her that she loves it.  Getting in way over her head, Emet sucks down more than nine red bulls to get everything done. There is a funny throwaway scene where Emet finds Louie making late night grilled cheese. She convinces herself she is hallucinating from the Redbull and candy and he doesn’t dissuade her of this idea. This is definitely a regular habit of his.

“When you care about something, you do whatever it takes to achieve it.”

The next morning, she has the wings done and her pitch is ready. Lily wants her to be there early to get ready and Maya offers to help. Emet refuses and feels she can handle this.

At the office, the publishers are 2 hours late for the meeting. Emet is about to give up as they pull into the driveway, but she needs to get to Lily’s rehearsal. She pulls the fire alarm at the office to delay the meeting. Griff takes her on his scooter to the recital.

“Time waits for no mom.”

She makes it to the recital and is rushing around to figure out how to get Lily ready. Lily steps out from backstage and is all ready set for her performance. She did her hair and her makeup on her own, echoing Emet’s line that when you care about something you figure out a way to make it happen.

“Maybe it doesn’t matter so much if I miss little moments here or there. It’s what I’m doing in my big moments that my kid is watching.”

Griff tells her that they are setting up the meeting and Emet tells him to go without her, but then gets the idea to pull the fire alarm at the school as well. She rushes out with Griff to work and delivers her presentation. And nails it!

She rushes back to school just in time for to see Lily’s performance. Even her mom was impressed that she was able to pull it off. As they are leaving the recital, Emet passes out from exhaustion (and maybe Redbull crashing).

End credits.

Thoughts.

I didn’t find this episode as entertaining as the other ones, probably because I disagree with Emet on this one, but it still had it’s funny moments. Take for example, the line about when a dad shows up, he gets bonus points, but if a mom misses something, she’s a bad mom. I don’t necessarily think this is true. I know many parents that work opposite shifts so there is always one parent there with the kids. But I have to admit, that I have never seen a parent use a body double to fake being there, because there is always the issue of getting the child to and from their activities. Someone has to drop them off and pick them up.

One of the other issues I have with this episode, is how nonchalantly Emet goes to pull the fire alarms. I believe this is illegal and Emet could probably end up with jail time and fines for that one, but of course, she doesn’t even think about that.

[Ed. Note: I found this to be one of the most relatable episodes. With my job and commute, I am ALWAYS living in fear of missing my son’s activities. And I’ve done crazy things to make sure I always make it. I really identified with Emet in this one. The fire alarm thing was cute the first time but had me snort out loud with laughter the second time. Shouting “andiamo” like a battle cry was made it art for me.  Emet, getting shit done!]

Episode Score:  I give this episode a 3 out of 5 Caseys. It had relatable moments like the rest of the episodes did, but the ridiculousness of how Emet gets through this one is a bit absurd.