‘Enlisted’ episode 5 review: ‘Rear D Day,’ and when laundry attacks
Last week, “Enlisted” aired what was probably its strongest episode of the entire first season in “Homecoming,” and emotional and funny look at how special a moment it is for soldiers to see their loved ones again back home after going through a period of time at war.
“Rear D Day” tonight was an episode that came in with a great obstacle in front of it: Fox decided to schedule the show on the same night as the Opening Ceremonies for the Winter Olympics, and also after a repeat of “Bones.” We have no clue how they expect the show to succeed under some of those circumstances. The network’s treatment of what is an original, funny show is the most infuriating part of writing stories about it; while we understand that the show doesn’t have a big star like some of Fox’s other comedies, it does have a solid ensemble. We just like to imagine what sort of numbers could be here with better promotion.
We’re not going to sit here and say that this episode brought us everything that “Homecoming” did, but it’s hard to really strike that same sort of emotional chord. What it did, however, was produce some very good laughs that answered a few essential questions, including what some soldiers do when facing boredom (viral videos!), and also the sort of challenges that families can face while at home. We saw some of that this time around in Rodney, a man who received virtually no respect from his son at all. Also, we saw the Hill boys recruit the help of practically ever soldier around them to deal with an uncooperative laundry appliance. Good stuff.
There was also a story in here regarding Perez and Cody, and how her desperation to be appointed for a leadership event led to her having to go on a stakeout mission just to see what Cody’s daughter was up to. The main takeaway here? That even if you having an important military post, you’re just as paranoid when it comes to your kids as anyone else.
“Read D Day” was a nice way to spend a half-hour on a Friday night, and we consider it to be recommended viewing in the event that you recorded it while watching the Olympics. Grade: B+.
If you want to read even more updates from us about all of your favorite shows now, we suggest signing up for our CarterMatt Newsletter.
Photo: Fox