Nevertheless, she persisted

Lucy and Tim felt much more like themselves this episode - the "God I hope not" bacon quip and being in each other's way was a sweet genuine moment from the writers. It really brought to light that they're back to reality rather than staying stuck in lovey dovey land. It was also refreshing to see Tim realize in real time that he was falling back into bad habits and fix it.

I really wish that this episode had been a 2 parter rather than being wrapped up completely in 46 minutes. The villain could have been more menacing and the tension higher if it was discovered at the end that there was another girl and then we had to wait a week for the save. Rosalind was a menace and a dark cloud because she was fully fleshed out and that took several episodes. The girl was underutilized for such a compelling character - I was invested in who and what she was and guessing throughout if she really was just a victim or an Oscar deserving accomplice. I loved Lucy connecting with her though, and the callback to Lucy being abducted was well done.

✨️predictions✨️

This quote from Lucy seemed so much like a Checkov's gun moment to me:

Rushing the process doesn't make much contextual sense about unpacking, but speaks more broadly to their relationship. They skipped dating again and went directly to living together - already there's stress and tension as they adjust to sharing the space. They were heavy on the gas pedal and Lucy sees it and wants to pump the breaks. Tim is all in, ready to have the family he's always wanted and didn't think he would get. We've had several moments throughout the seasons where they've discussed kids (and grandkids lol) and now that they're living together, it seems primed for them to get down to it. The general sentiment is that they'll be engaged by the end of the season and I think there's great merit to that.

But here, Lucy is saying "Wait. Slow down. We have time." She sees forever coming up quick and is begging for a moment to catch her breath and enjoy where they are in love now. I don't think Lucy wants to have a shotgun wedding because they "rushed and made a mistake" - she wants to go about it the right way. This - I think - is a precursor to a pregnancy scare that ultimately doesn't become a full pregnancy, which will force them to have a serious conversation about careers and their relationship.

(Its worth noting that all 3 in-show pregnancies were due to the actresses real life pregnancy. If the writers go down this road, it would be the first one just written for the show as they ignored Jenna's in canon.)

I do think Chenford are headed down the aisle, especially after they worked so hard to buy it back after the breakup. But conflict is what TV shows are made of, and given that everyone else is mostly put to bed they're stuck in the crosshairs of the writers room.

Ultimately it felt much more like the writing and characters we know and love. I didn't even hate Penn seeking out Seth, but I'm hopeful he won't be back for good. Seth could good in the vein of Randy - one off episodes as the punching bag.