Divorce Recap: Church
Divorce further proves that moving on is difficult, though maybe taking supplements aren’t the answer.
Divorce skips over the typical Thanksgiving episode of television in favor of focusing on its characters in “Church”. The show does capitalize on the upward momentum that has developed since the introduction of Dean Winters’ character even though he doesn’t appear in this episode. ‘Church’ deals with the couple’s attempt to each move forward on their own as well as find happiness, much easier said than done.
Frances is presented with a dream job from Sotheby’s where she would get a huge pay raise as well as focus on artwork. It seems like the perfect deal until Dallas points out that Robert will be entitled to half of her pay check for the rest of her life despite their separation. It’s a bit of a clunky story line, which follows Frances basically destroying her relationships with her potential employers so much that they even withdraw their business from her consulting firm. Not to mention that she tells Robert about the job offer after noticing his newfound happiness. Basically, Frances really messed up her professional life as well as her personal life with the knowledge from last week about the deep debt their family is in.
Image Credit: HBO
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Speaking of Robert, the episode is named after a new aspect of his life: Church. It boggles Frances’ mind when she notices Robert, in a suit, happily walking out of the church with their kids. While she attempts to discover how this lifestyle change came about, Robert has become the beacon of happiness within the family. He claims to only wish his soon to be ex-wife well, and even spends the day with his children as a fun, happy-go-lucky dad rather than the moping husband he’s been this season.
“It’s nice to see him finally spend some time with people who don’t seem to actively dislike him.”
The episode only allows a fleeting glimpse of Robert at an church, but it does show that he has made some friends there as well as found a safe space to express his emotions. It’s nice to see him finally spend some time with people who don’t seem to actively dislike him. However the best part is when Robert decides to finally confront his “French-nemesis,” Julian, during his class. Thomas Haden Church continues to shine and despite “forgiving” Julian, it seems very clear that his real goal was to successfully terrify the professor.
Of course, as much as Robert’s soul-searching seemed to be genuine, it turns out that he has been taking more testosterone to achieve happiness. This seems like something that will eventually serve up some dire consequences but for now it’s working. Meanwhile Frances finally succeeded in turning Robert’s old office into a reading room, which seems to be her new safe haven.
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Next week on Divorce , the couple is finally going to have a custody battle over the kids. From the promo, it seems like Robert will most likely be asking for full custody considering he has been their primary caretaker while Frances works. While I don’t doubt Frances’ love for her children, the ending scene of ‘Church,’ where she made Tom move his pet snake out of her reading room felt like a metaphor for her desire to have her life less complicated. If that’s the case, Robert may be looking at a slam-dunk custody case while Frances frets over finances.