One Big Happy S01E02 Recap - Out of the Closet

Lizzy’s out of the closet and into the fire.

Story by @ErikaAshley

This week we find Prudence and Luke canoodling in the kitchen when Lizzy enters the room greeting them with good mornings. Prudence has made Lizzy a traditional English breakfast full of bangers and mash to nourish the new mom. She also announces that her things have finally arrived from England when Lizzy has a mild OCD induced panic attack at seeing the clutter filled living room. Luke reminds Lizzy that he's very thankful for her being such a great friend and roommate after allowing Prudence to move in and feel welcome in her new home. Lizzy agrees to allow Prudence to move her stuff in and Prudence suggests she keep most of her items in the front closet. Lizzy quickly detests and Luke fills Prudence in on the closet situation stating that closet houses the belongings of Lizzy's ex-girlfriend, Erica, although they have been broken up for 3 years.

Prudence decides to help Lizzy get over Erica because she must have an issue with avoidance since she waited too long to get rid of her things. Lizzy literally avoids the situation by running away. Luke chases her down and Lizzy finally agrees to clean out the closet. While Luke assists her with get rid of Erica's things, Prudence brings them her marionette puppets she used to help cheer up sick kids that she found while unpacking. Luke then freaks out as he is afraid of puppets and asks her to put them away in the calmest way he can. She leaves to find a new place to keep them and Lizzy calls out Luke’s silly little puppet phobia, when Prudence returns with an idea that Lizzy needs to return Erica’s belongings to her in person in order to get closure. Luke knows Erica is Lizzy’s kryptonite refuses to let her give the items back because it wouldn’t be the best idea.

That evening Lizzy secretly meets Erica anyways and quickly falls for her again when Erica showers her with compliments. Lizzy attempts to resist her urges and tries to keep the discussion on topic by shifting the conversation to her pregnancy. Back at the apartment Luke struggles to fall asleep with the puppets dangling overhead. As Lizzy wraps up her meeting with Erica she goes to say goodbye and make her final attempt for closures when Erica reaches out and pulls her in for a kiss. The next morning Lizzy comes clean to Luke but leaves out the kissing details until Prudence finds a hickey on her neck. Frustrated Luke scolds her for being stupid enough to meet Erica in person and Lizzy dishes she has dinner plans that night with her. She tries to convince him that Erica’s changed and the two get into an argument over how Luke is being possessive. Lizzy tells him to back off and he has the least amount of say in who she sees because he married his wife on the second date.

Luke confides in Markus back at his bowling alley and asks for advice to deal with his silly puppet fear. Markus suggests he just bottle it up and deal with the problem like a man or else Prudence will think he’s weak and not want to have sex with anymore. So, like any other man Luke bucks up and says he’ll just man up and get over it. While back at the apartment, Lizzy has dinner with her sister and brother-in-law as Erica stands her up for the romantic get together. Like usual Lizzy blames Prudence for her troubles when Luke busts into their sad dinner party to confront Erica. When Lizzy points the finger to Prudence, she agrees that she might be somewhat at fault but not completely. Lizzy admits she should have just listened to Luke since he knows her so well and he proposes they burn Erica’s belongings to get rid of them for good.

They all come together in the backyard to burn Erica’s things in a small trashcan bonfire and rally around Lizzy for support. Erica shows up catching them about to burn her sweatshirt and Luke steps up to tell her off for Lizzy but she stops him. Erica begs Lizzy for another chance to prove herself and Prudence comes to her aid by pretending she’s Lizzy’s new girlfriend. They kiss a few times to prove it and Erica backs off. That night when Luke and Prudence go bed Luke tries to be brave laying directly under the puppets. As a joke Lizzy sneaks into the room to throw her voice pretending to be the puppets plotting to kill Luke. He starts to panic and wakes up Prudence confessing his fear. He apologizes and tells her he understands if she never wants to sleep with him again but she reassures him that his vulnerability doesn’t bother her. They start to make out and Lizzy pouts as her joke backfires on her.

This entire series is somewhat frustrating to watch as it really does not reflect real gay/lesbian culture. The ridiculous titles and beating the gay jokes into the ground has already gotten old. With this being the second episode and the obvious connection between Luke and Lizzy it will be a matter of time before they start to question if they “love-love” each other or before Prudence begins to get jealous of their close attachment. Hopefully the jokes will get better as time progresses as there is only so many times the writers can stress how much of an OCD clean freak Lizzy is and how non-prudish Prudence is. I mean the fact that the main character plays on the stereotypical “Lizzy the Lezzy” is laughable but in the bad way. To be completely honest it will be a miracle if they complete a full first season.