Six episodes into the season and I'm a little baffled by the writers' intent. The show is divided distinctly in two. On one side is the sane Ben and the insane/stupid Crystal, Roman, and Heather. Ben and Crystal always interacts; Ben and Roman always interact; and Roman and Heather always interact. In different episodes there are more crossed paths, but the three groupings are standard. And then there is Alonzo and Alice, two sane characters who are supposed to be in a romantic relationship but neither do anything romantic nor interact with the other characters on a regular basis. Frankly, you could cut them out and the main plot would be unchanged.
"Lingerie Football" is perplexing because the writers don't even try to mix the two groups thematically or physically. Modern Family splits the characters into three groups because of location, but Mr. Sunshine is about a single facility where everyone works. Alice and Alonzo don't even see, let alone talk, to the characters.
While the Roman and Heather subplot was cute, the plot about Crystal was too bizarre. The show tries to toe the line sentimentality and weirdness, but the conclusion of Crystal's ex-husband happy and Crystal becoming angry made me not care about her. It's fine if the writers want to make her character more realistic, but she really doesn't get closure in the episode so Ben's time was completely wasted.
Score: 8.0/10
