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Recap / American Housewife S 3 E 22 The Dance

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A school dance at Westport Unified is approaching, and Franklin asks Greg if he can take his daughter to the dance. Katie and Greg are delighted, not just on behalf of Anna-Kat but because all three of their kids will have dates, allowing them to have a romantic night alone. They inform Anna-Kat that Franklin will be asking her to the dance and she is delighted, bonding with Taylor over how she should behave on her first real date. However they face a rude surprise when it turns out Franklin was asking Greg if he could take Taylor to the dance, humiliating Anna-Kat and spooking Oliver, who had visited a psychic who told him that a boy would come between his sisters and break one of their hearts. She had also predicted that an evening of romance the following night (the dance) would end in disaster. Katie is forced to turn to Angela to assuage Oliver's concerns and make sure all three of the kids will go to the dance so that she and Greg will finally get some alone time...


Tropes:

  • A Day in the Limelight: Angela stages a "curse-breaking" ritual to convince Oliver to go to the dance, although she doesn't believe in it herself (the ritual, that is - in her words, "there's no way to undo a psychic's prediction").
  • Crazy Jealous Guy: Sure, Trip is an idiot, but he gets pretty upset when Franklin asks Taylor out, seemingly believing that she might be two-timing him.
  • High-School Dance: Although it appears to be open to kids as young as nine (or nine-and-a-half).
  • Love Epiphany: Franklin finally realizes he likes Anna-Kat as more than a friend when he thinks Trip is two-timing her with Taylor (his girlfriend).
  • Maybe Magic, Maybe Mundane: The show doesn't take a stance on whether the psychic's powers are legitimate. Her predictions are pretty spot-on, all things considered. Even though all three Otto kids have a great night at the dance, the evening of romance that ended in disaster was Katie and Greg's planned alone time. Then again, one suspects that a psychic with legitimate powers would drive a nicer car.
  • Operation: Jealousy: Anna-Kat attempts this with Trip in hopes of making Franklin jealous, but it only "works" once Trip stops paying attention to Anna-Kat.
  • Precocious Crush: This episode reveals that Franklin (who is nine) has one on Taylor (who is 17).
  • Real-Life Relative: The psychic is played by none other than Daniel DiMaggio's actual mother, actress Loretta Fox.
  • Secret Relationship: Turns out Oliver is in one with Brie, whose mother doesn't allow her daughter to date. Katie accidentally lets the secret slip when Brie leaves her phone behind, leading her mother to head down to the dance to confront Brie, but by the time Katie and Greg arrive to intercept them, Oliver seems to have won her over.
  • Special Person, Normal Name: The psychic goes by Madam Susan, presumably her birth name. Katie wonders why she doesn't go by "Esmeralda" or something more expected.

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