The Goldbergs – “Wingmom” Recap. G.I Barry.

Season 3, Episode 9

Air Date: Wednesday, December 2, 2015, 8:30/7:30c on ABC

Rating: ★★★★★

“I joined the military.” – Barry

ROTC Training.

Fueled by his love of the movie Top Gun, Barry (Troy Gentile), along with the other members of the Jenkintown Posse (JTP) — Andy Cogan (Matt Bush), Geoff Schwartz (Sam Lerner), and Naked Rob (Noah Munch) — enlist in their school’s junior reserve officer training corps (ROTC). Will Beverly (Wendi McLendon-Covey) shoot down his dreams of getting a cool nickname and playing countless games of beach volleyball (like in the movie) or will she allow him to feel the need, the need for speed?

While Beverly refuses to sign the ROTC parental approval slip because she is against any and all activities that put her kids in any kind of danger, Murray (Jeff Garlin) is more receptive, with one condition. “I fully support this as long as your mother never finds out.” It’s nice learning a little more about Murray’s backstory; I hope we learn more tidbits about him throughout the remainder of the season. Needless to say, it’s impossible to hide anything from Beverly for long.

For a brief moment, it appears Beverly has finally met her match when confronting the ROTC’s Captain Wallace (Marlon Young) about his treatment of Barry. As someone who has experienced Beverly’s wrath on more than one occasion, it’s hilarious to see Principal Ball (Stephen Tobolowsky) sit back and watch Wallace and Beverly go at it. I especially enjoyed Ball’s introduction of Beverly to Wallace, “This is Beverly Goldberg; she’s the Delta Force of mothers.”

Has Beverly has finally met her match?

Faced with choosing between decades of effective military training or a more sensitive approach that coddles Barry’s needs, Wallace’s answer is simple; “No.” Unfortunately, all that training didn’t prepare Wallace to face Beverly, his biggest adversary in recent memory. The ROTC training is entertaining as Wallace and Beverly continue to butt heads. My only gripe about “Wingmom” is I wish the episode had time to show more of the JTP’s antics during their training exercises.

On another note, the episodes that highlight the relationship between Adam (Sean Giambrone) and Pops (George Segal) are always special. The way the scenes between them are written perfectly reflect the real life bond series creator Adam Goldberg had with his ‘Pops.’ “Wingmom” is the perfect vehicle to, once again, convey their unique relationship.

One of the recurring themes throughout the seasons has been Adam’s struggle to accept Pops is getting older and won’t be around forever. That realization hits home for Adam in “Wingmom” after Pops buys a timeshare in Florida.

Adam views Pops’ decision as a betrayal of their friendship; this sets up some interesting conflict between the two that we haven’t seen previously on The Goldbergs. Feeling unwanted, Adam seeks attention from his other grandfather, Pop Pop (Judd Hirsch), who, unfortunately, is less than receptive to Adam’s needs.

Still getting use to Hirsch as Pop Pop.

As much as I enjoy Hirsch, I’m still having trouble wrapping my head around him as Pop Pop. Perhaps my enjoyment of his roles on shows like Numb3rs and Forever, where he is portrayed as a mentoring type of parent, makes it difficult to see him as a curmudgeon. Watching Adam trying to establish the same kind of bond he has with Pops with Pop Pop is amusing. Despite my reluctance to be won over by Pop Pop, the contrast between the two grandparents during their scenes together makes for some funny moments. Hopefully, Adam’s boyish grandson charm will do the trick with Pop Pop.

I must commend writers Marty Abbe-Schneider and Lew Schneider for the great restraint they use in “Wingmom.” The episode very easily could have gone over the top, becoming an outlandish spectacle. Much of the humor comes from strong character development rather than absurd predicaments. The conclusion of “Wingmom” is especially heartwarming as Adam finds a creative way to make amends with Pops, and Barry finally gets to reenact a scene from Top Gun by playing beach volleyball with Beverly and the JTP.

Tweet me @Staffaroadtrip or leave a comment below to let me know what you think about “Wingmom.”

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Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.