Speechless Ep. 2 - New AidE

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Okay, they've got to stop with spelling out the titles of the episodes . We get it, JJ speaks through an augmentative communicator. This joke was cute the first go-around, not so much the second. In this episode , JJ (Micah Fowler) gets a new aide, but his overbearing mother isn't too keen on the new sidekick. Of course, the personal assistant makes some mistakes, including getting into the van and driving away without JJ (the funniest scene in the episode).


Maya's fears about allowing Kenneth to be J.J.'s full-time aide is confirmed when J.J. chooses to skip out on a physical therapy appointment to watch cheerleaders in practice as they pander to him; Jimmy shows Dylan how to be un-neighborly. Irritatingly predictable, Maya finds out about J.J.'s extracurricular activities and scolds Kenneth for allowing this to happen. Predictably, the mother and son have a fight about who Kenneth should obey - a very quiet one , at that. I have to admit, I sympathized with JJ. Finally - for that ten-second moment - JJ successfully reached out of my TV and touched me. As corny as it seems, I've had this kind of moment with my parents in which they want me to do something and I want something else.


Then, that moment faded and the episode was over. It'd be nice if Speechless had more of these moments of connectivity with the audience. This was a breakthrough, and if it just keeps revealing that differently-abled JJ has needs and wants and isn't afraid to tell his mom off then, perhaps, this critic will have a change of heart.

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