There are some moments you’ll never prepare for.
It’s Not Like That threw me for a loop with the shocking developments in those final moments. The hour excelled at capturing the intensity and dread you feel when you have to brace for something horrible.
The Jeffries and Soto families are about to experience such a wake-up call that will rattle them both!
For the most part, It’s Not Like That Season 1 Episode 7 was a simple, understated hour until they ramped up the drama in the back half.
After Justin’s cold salami issue during It’s Not Like That Season 1 Episode 6, he fell into the background a bit, happy to accompany his sister on a trip to the thrift store, where he could try on glasses and have a good time.
Justin is such a great kid, and I love how he’s one you can take just about anywhere, and he can entertain himself.
But the real drama among the youngest brood was with Pen, Dakota, and Casey.
Pen, bless her, is a teen girl who is just so desperate to fit in somewhere and with someone that she loses all sense of identity. It makes me sad for her, but it’s something she can eventually grow out of.
We could guess that her injured wrist would come into play and bite her in the bum later. Pen’s stubbornness was frustrating.
It was already bad enough that she was putting her own health in danger by risking further injury because she didn’t want to get her wrist checked out or take care of it.
But when you’re in a team sport like cheerleading, and you have to support someone else, you’re posing a threat to the safety of others.
Sadly, her weak wrist caused Dakota to fall, and now both of the girls are injured and will be out of practice and cheerleading for weeks.
And Pen was already desperate in her attempts to appeal to Dakota, so that didn’t do her any favors at all.
But Dakota is still so unnecessarily mean, and it was frustrating to see the games she kept playing with Pen and Casey.
Fortunately, Casey was smart enough to see through all of that. Again, I really love and admire Casey, and in many ways relate to how she carries herself in social situations with her peers.
She’s comfortable enough in her own skin that she doesn’t care or fall into the same trappings as Pen, trying to impress other people. Casey doesn’t like compromising herself or her integrity to prove something to other girls who are being mean.
And I loved that she called Dakota out about being a miserable Mean Girl. Casey can’t control whether or not Pen wants to be friends with Dakota, but she could at least give Dakota a reality check and force her to examine her own actions.
It was effective, too. Casey is just a really good friend, regardless of whether she and Pen are on the same page, and that’s how it should be.
Ironically, it’s that quality that Dakota tends to gravitate toward and respect, and Pen is often so envious of in the end. But Casey’s ability to still be a sister even when they’re on the outs is one of her most admirable qualities.
The familial dynamics were strong within this hour, but it was all the romantic action that got messy.
I feel terrible for Grace. Of everyone in this messy little love quadrangle, she’s probably the one who gets the worst deal.
She’s been very upfront about her interest in Malcolm, and they’ve gotten along so incredibly well. The two of them have great chemistry, and you could easily tell that they could build something together if Malcolm were all-in.
The problem is that Malcolm isn’t all-in, and, worse yet, he hasn’t spent enough time analyzing it so he can reach the right decision without inadvertently leading Grace on.
I love the maturity she exuded in asking him directly about it and needing to know where she stood. She was upfront about how she, at that exact moment, was more than willing to change her full life for him.
She was already taking on the issue with Justin and was willing to look into the next steps they could take together. Grace was open and ready for all of it, all of Malcolm, his family, the church, and everything.
But she saw what we all do when it comes to Malcolm and Lori. They’re so intertwined that it’s reason to give anyone some hesitation and pause.
When Malcolm and Lori stood at the gala, holding hands and standing next to their dates, it was more intimate than if they had hugged or bumped shoulders.
I couldn’t stop thinking about that — how a handhold was more meaningful than if Lori had simply put an arm around his shoulder as they watched Flora perform.
Adding that to the other things happening, including how openly and casually Malcolm and Lori dominated the table conversation, discussing their family meals together and so forth, and it’s easy to see how their dates felt like they’d had enough.
Malcolm has feelings for Lori; they haven’t gone away, and he doesn’t know what to do with them.
It’s not fair to Grace to drag her into that. I’m glad he finally was honest, and that Grace took herself out of the equation before she could get hurt any further.
Cuppa Joe is different. He’s a nice enough man, but it didn’t feel like he and Lori were building something real. He’s still the guy who didn’t manage to contact her at all while he was taking care of his mother.
And hearing him talk about whisking Lori away for weeks, leaving the kids with her ex-husband, spoke volumes. He’s not a man who will just settle down with her and lead a normal life; it includes the daily grind of parenthood.
It was’t the least bit surprising when Lori blew him off and ended up in bed with David instead. What’s surprising is how much I actually liked and supported this.
There have been so many unresolved issues between David and Lori.
Half of the time, neither of them seemed to realize why they divorced in the first place. David never really had a great answer for pulling away from his family.
But he’s now in a position where he’s owning up to his behavior and taking accountability for all the ways he’s screwed up. Accountability is sexy, as are competence and maturity.
Lori got to see how great David is at his job, organizing things, the efforts he makes, and, of course, how great he was with Flora.
And his dynamic with Flora comes so naturally and effortlessly. It’s not something he puts on just for show, which is what I love so much about it.
He’s another adult she can confide in, and she feels is looking out for her outside of her own father and Lori.
David’s dynamic with Flora has shown just how intuitive he is — which is more than most give him credit for — and I love how he gave her the pep talk she needed and encouraged her to get on that stage and sing her heart out.
It’s easy to see that Lori turning to David is going back to something familiar, and that’s part of it, but I also feel like there was a lot to their marriage that required them to simply work on it before throwing in the towel.
In many ways, it feels like they could easily find their way back to each other. That said, I wonder what all of this means.
Was ending up in bed together just a night of passion for them and a reconnection? Will they try to make this work and focus on their relationship?
Or will Malcolm and his feelings serve as an obstacle? It’s all so messy!
But at the end of the day, these three love their children beyond words, so they can sort out their love drama later. Right now, Merritt clearly needs help.
I had a feeling the viral song was a breakup song, and even with Flora’s wordplay, it was obvious it was about Merritt.
Boy, did I love the wordplay!
It was still tough on Merritt, obviously, and it appears he’s been coping by turning to alcohol even more. Even though he’s been hurt, he didn’t let that stop him from championing the best for Flora, which I loved.
Nevertheless, his actions were terrifying.
Merritt didn’t seem to realize that, in his efforts not to hurt Flora, he was precisely what he did.
His desire to speak to her about that was understandable, but his timing was terrifying — the moment we saw him leaning over on the driver’s seat, I suspected he was inebriated.
Every moment that he got agitated and drove faster, my heart was in my throat. And from there, it was just a waiting game to see just when and how they’d end up in an accident.
I feared that they would crash into another car or even into a tree. But it was worse when they careened through the guardrail and into the water.
My heart sank, and my stress level was at an all-time high.
It’s truly terrifying.
While I doubt this delightful little family drama will go so dark as to kill off one of these children, it’s still a heck of a cliffhanger to leave us on, and the impact this will have on both families is enough to leave me on edge.
Over to you, It’s Not Like That Fanatics.
You can stream It’s Not Like that on Wonder Project via Prime Video. The season finale debuts next Thursday.
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