Last week’s episode of Happy’s Place, “Accountability,” wasn’t a favorite, but any time the show brings in an actor from Reba, you know we’re getting another winner. “Sisters Ink” is, in many ways, about the things we do for other people and why it matters even when we’re scared.
When Isabella gets matching mugs for her and Bobbie’s six months of being sisters anniversary, Bobbie feels pressured to do something, too, accidentally making Isabella believe they’ll be getting matching tattoos. Because of this misunderstanding, Gabby helps Bobbie overcome her fear of needles, and back at the tavern, Steve and Takoda uncover that Emmett’s taking tap dancing lessons.
Happy’s Place Season 1, Episode 15 Focuses on What We Do For Others
The series is best when it allows its character to be vulnerable, and nothing forces characters into impossible situations quite like when their motivations involve someone else. Bobbie isn’t a tattoo gal, so it’s understandable that she’d be hesitant. It’s also understandable that she wouldn’t know how to break it to Isabella because she knows there’s already a lot of pain in her life brought on by Happy’s abandonment. There’s no way she’d do it, too.
But as “Sisters Ink” takes them to the tattoo shop, there Christopher Rich guest stars as the artist—a man Gabby is ready to have her claws on. (I’d love to know how an average person who hasn’t seen Reba would react to this episode, but anyone who knows the story sees all the glorious antics this scenario brings to the surface.) Every joke sticks the landing, and every look takes avid fans back to a different time. Now that the show has also brought in Steve Howey during “Ho-Ho-Howey,” it’s easy to wonder when we’ll see JoAnna Garcia Swisher next! (My hopes are still that she’ll somehow be tied to Danny, and it’ll happen in the next season’s Christmas episode.)
Still, all jokes aside, the tattoos in the episode represent a promise that’s about compromise and unceasing love. Bobbie is, and will forever be, in Isabella’s corner, willing to do whatever is necessary to show her baby sister how deeply she cares.
Tap Dancing Bros
In “Mama Drama,” Emmett makes Steve’s favorite dish from Colombia to show his appreciation, and in Happy’s Place Season 1, Episode 15, “Sisters Ink,” Steve returns the favor by tap dancing with Emmett after he and Takoda learn he was kicked out of classes. Anytime a series dismantles toxic masculinity by giving male characters a chance to be vulnerable, an angel gains its wings.
It continues to be so adorable how the three men consistently go out of their way to protect each other, even while they mock and go to extreme lengths. Two of them always noticing when one of them is even a little off shows viewers both how attentive they are and how deeply they care. It’s little moments like this that add to the show’s charm, ensuring that the episode feels like a small homecoming every Friday night. It’s also incredibly realistic for a health scare to inspire people to take chances on themselves, so the fact that the series brings back “Heart of the Matter” this way is an admirable inclusion to keep the narratives grounded and relatable. Plus, a big kudos to Pablo Castelblanco and Rex Linn for putting on those tap shoes and giving us a great scene to hold onto. As the kids say, 10/10. No notes.
Stray Thoughts
- “A lemon can be called a yellow.” Sure, Gabby. Sure.
- “You’re having a problem with the concept of time.”
- “I took a Zoom class during the pandemic.” What is happening in this episode!!??
- “Yeah, bro. Open up.” Takoda is my favorite.
Now streaming on NBC and Peacock: What are your thoughts on Happy’s Place Season 1, Episode 15, “Sisters Ink?” Let us know in the comments below.
First Featured Image: (Photo by: Casey Durkin/NBC)