Happy’s Place Season 3, Episode 2, “Skeletons in the Closet” Review
Grief in every way is wildly hard to process. It’s hard to write about, talk about, and sometimes, it’s particularly hard to encapsulate its ripple effects through a full movie or TV episode. But no matter how hard it is, the effort to somehow honor those who’ve passed can be enough. To give closure not in a way where we forget our loved ones, but in how we manage to move forward through a healthier approach. And as much as Happy’s Place is a sitcom about two sisters working at their late father’s tavern, it’s also a series about navigating their grief.
And you know it’s going to be a good episode when Coco is name-dropped because if there’s one movie that beautifully delivers a love letter to grief, it’s the Pixar gem. Justina Machado also returns as Isabella’s mom, Maritza, and closure comes in the form of two sisters understanding just how important it is to tell people you love them while you can.
Happy’s Place Season 3, Episode 2 Subtly Packs Heavy Emotions
Part of what’s so great about Happy’s Place as a series is that even when it explores heavy topics like grief and infidelity, it does so through humor without ever once mocking the situations. While Bobbie and Isabella are trying to navigate their complicated feelings about Happy and the cologne bottle on the Ofrenda, Gabby, Emmett, and Takoda are trying to play a Halloween prank. As a result, the two storylines carefully blend together to help us understand that sometimes while one person is grieving, others are in a completely different situation.
More importantly, the Happy’s Place Season 3 Día de Los Muertos episode features an excellent screenplay that in turn gives us excellent performances from both Reba McEntire and Belissa Escobedo. With every passing season, the two women feel like sisters more and more. Their bond becomes stronger as their chemistry as actors grows even lovelier.
There’s also something to be said about how this episode is dedicated to McEntire’s longtime friend and the entire world’s sparkling, indescribable icon, Dolly Parton. You can feel the power of friendship and love that’s sprinkled into every line read and every scene. You can feel the glittering joy, and I don’t know if that’s just me.
You can understand that no matter Happy’s mistakes and how much he’s kept hidden from his daughters, their love for each other is the greatest gift either of them could’ve hoped for.
Because when it comes to both their individual conversations with Happy’s portrait, it’s about their sister’s peace and joy instead of their own. It’s about their sister’s happiness and all the little ways they could potentially get to a better place where they understand just how loved they are. And most of the time, all a person really needs is the reminder that they’re loved. They’re worth getting to know—through the good, the bad, and the ugly. They’re worth every argument and therapy visit too. They’re worth it all. And for both women, their sister is most definitely worth everything. And that, to me, is the best kind of Día de Los Muertos episode we could’ve gotten.
Now streaming on NBC and Peacock: What are your thoughts on Happy’s Place Season 3, Episode 2, “Skeletons in the Closet?” Let us know in the comments below.
First Featured Image Credit: (Photo by: Casey Durkin/NBC)