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Esther & Benji continue to be an acquired taste and make me wonder how many may last until episode 3.
| Network | |
| FreeForm | |
| Director(s) | Todd Biermann |
| Writer(s) | Hunter Covington |
| Air Date | 1/17/2018 |
| Catch Up or Follow Along [External] | |
Road Trips Solve Birthday Blues: Esther, Benji, Jeff
With Esther having a gig opening up at Berkeley, and it being Benji’s birthday, she decides there is a need for a road trip from LA to Berkeley! Of which the birthday boy can drive. On top of that, he can do the 5 hours there and back, in a day, since Esther and Jeff, who also has a set, have pocketed the hotel cash.
But it isn’t all about those two, though it is in the long run, for they got stops planned! One in which includes a nice place to get chicken and beer and that is when Esther and Jeff’s plan begins to unravel.
Deflection Is How We Stay Together: Esther, Benji, Jeff
Since his nanny Marisol made him, Benji, wash after his meals, and he just had some greasy fried chicken, he is ready to go to the hotel for a full shower. Leading to Jeff snitching on Esther and her, in the long run, flipping things on Jeff so that she can stay on Benji’s good side. After all, that is kind of how Esther and Benji work, according to Jeff. Instead of addressing their issues at one another, they usually bring up a third party and redirect any animosity towards them. Thus how they remain a formidable team, despite it seeming Benji being fully aware of Esther’s shortcomings as a friend.
Commentary
I want to believe someone at FreeForm thought these characters would grow on us. After all, why else would you greenlight a second season before the first season even premiered? Yet, I honestly can’t even imagine loving to hate these characters. If only because, as noted in episode 1, Esther is so overpowering that any sort of charm Benji has, she makes it mute.
Then, to make things worse, she seemingly never receives the comeuppance she deserves and that is even when, so it seems, everyone knows her game! Jeff knows how she manipulates Benji, it seems Benji knows he is being manipulated, and yet no one really grills her on her BS. Which may end up being what kills the show.
And I get, not all characters, or maybe even shows, need someone likable and loveable to survive or be a hit. However, there at least needs to be balance. If Esther is overpowering to Benji and Jeff being likable, someone should at least be funny right? Maybe have awesome one-liners or anything which would push the idea this show isn’t made for a very niche market. After all, it’s not like FreeForm is some independent station – it’s part of Disney. Meaning, you know there had to be some sort of meticulous vetting and polling involved.
Yet, this is what we got.
Question(s) Left Unanswered
- All things considered, where was Benji’s siblings and parents for his birthday? They may not hang out but it did seem they were close enough to want to celebrate together.
- So, what happened to Esther’s set? They heckled Jeff off the stage during his but we never got to see Esther perform.
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