{"id":124809,"date":"2025-11-08T15:00:10","date_gmt":"2025-11-08T15:00:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/124809\/"},"modified":"2025-11-08T15:00:10","modified_gmt":"2025-11-08T15:00:10","slug":"happys-place-season-2-episode-1-review-a-romance-ready-to-crash-burn","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/124809\/","title":{"rendered":"Happy’s Place Season 2 Episode 1 Review: A Romance Ready to Crash & Burn"},"content":{"rendered":"

Happy\u2019s Place Season 2 Episode 1 \u201cPromises, Promises\u201d didn\u2019t go the way I expected. At all. And that isn\u2019t a bad thing. But I\u2019m just not sure if I like what it could signal for the future of this tavern and its inhabitants.<\/p>\n

Last we left off in Season 1 of Happy\u2019s Place<\/a>, there was a spark between Bobbie and Emmett that was born from being longtime friends. For some it felt random. For people like me, it felt like a natural progression. Because in real life, who wouldn\u2019t want your partner\/boyfriend\/husband to also be your best friend? I know I would. <\/p>\n

Coming into Season 2 we see Bobbie and Emmett tiptoeing around this blossoming relationship. And even though Isabella thinks that they\u2019re taking things too slow, this works for them. Bobbie hasn\u2019t been in a relationship since her late husband. And for Emmett\u2026 well, we just thought he was hesitant because this was Bobbie, his long-time friend and the daughter of Happy, his other friend.<\/p>\n

This is where the crash and burning comes into play.<\/p>\n

MORE: How did Season 1 of Happy\u2019s Place end?<\/a> We break it all down.<\/p>\n

\"HAPPY'SHAPPY\u2019S PLACE \u2014 \u201cPromises, Promises\u201d Episode 201 \u2014 Pictured: Reba McEntire as Bobbie \u2014 (Photo by: Casey Durkin\/NBC)<\/p>\n

We don\u2019t get to see romances blossoming on TV like we\u2019ve seen with Bobbie and Emmett. TV is ageist and once you hit a certain age range they relegate you to the mother, caretaker, or guardian role. And looking at someone like Reba McEntire, I remember her character on the show Reba. She was given the role of mother and caretaker and never found another great love. She tried. But the show kept her in a box while Brock galavanted around with Barbra Jean.<\/p>\n

Happy\u2019s Place feels like an opportunity to give another McEntire character something Reba never got, a second chance romance for someone who has done the whole marriage and kid thing. And I kind of hate that the show positioned Bobbie and Emmett in this space of talking and being honest with each other for the big reveal being that Emmett knew about Isabella and said nothing. That is kindling for pain and it\u2019s not going to just disappear because this is a comedy or because romance. <\/p>\n

\"HAPPY'SHAPPY\u2019S PLACE \u2014 \u201cPromises, Promises\u201d Episode 201 \u2014 Pictured: Rex Linn as Emmett \u2014 (Photo by: Casey Durkin\/NBC)<\/p>\n

We saw in Season 1 how Isabella\u2019s appearance in the tavern affected Bobbie. She was confused, angry, and wanted no part of Isabella. And Bobbie\u2019s absolutely within her right to be livid with Emmett when she finds out the truth, because she will be. Now, Emmett wasn\u2019t responsible for her dad\u2019s mistakes. But he was complicit in hiding a secret from Bobbie. And Bobbie is going to think about the years she could\u2019ve had with Isabella and the choice that was taken away from her. <\/p>\n

This could destroy the tavern. And could destroy Bobbie and Emmett. Not forever. But for a while.<\/p>\n

I\u2019m just really bothered by this beautiful bravery that came from Bobbie in asking Emmett out. And it\u2019s not because she did anything wrong. It\u2019s that all the signs were there for her, from Emmett directly that there was a romantic spark between these two. And then he shut her down without another word. We as the viewer understand he feels guilt for hiding the secret of Isabella. Bobbie doesn\u2019t know this. Bobbie just got rejected by a close friend. And it happens. But it\u2019s the betrayal of hiding the truth about Isabella, that\u2019s what will rightfully set her off. <\/p>\n

MORE: Make sure to check out our review for the Happy\u2019s Place Season 1 finale<\/a>!<\/p>\n

\"HAPPY'SHAPPY\u2019S PLACE \u2014 \u201cPromises, Promises\u201d Episode 201 \u2014 Pictured: (l-r) Belissa Escobedo as Isabella, Melissa Peterman as Gabby, Pablo Castelblanco as Steve, Tokala Black Elk as Takoda \u2014 (Photo by: Casey Durkin\/NBC)<\/p>\n

In my anger at Emmett and how hurt Bobbie was\u2026 I have to say that I loved that Steve had Emmett\u2019s back. Sure, it was a little jokey joke in the beginning. But when it came down to it, Steve stood up for Emmett. Better yet, Steve listened to Emmett. That conversation in the kitchen between these two men felt like the set disappeared and you were watching two people who truly care for each other. That matters. <\/p>\n

As for what comes next after Happy\u2019s Place after \u201cPromises, Promises\u201d\u2026 I just don\u2019t know. Drama dictates that this secret blows up the tavern. I\u2019m used to drama. But comedy and Happy\u2019s Place track record means they\u2019re going to talk and smooth things over. And then there\u2019s the fact that Happy\u2019s Place has continously surprised me when it comes to show beats. Either way, please let Bobbie have a steady and healthy romance. Give her what Reba didn\u2019t get. <\/p>\n

Happy\u2019s Place airs new episodes every Friday at 8pm ET on NBC. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Happy\u2019s Place Season 2 Episode 1 \u201cPromises, Promises\u201d didn\u2019t go the way I expected. At all. And that…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":124810,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[29],"tags":[156,42799,1092,111,139,69,437],"class_list":{"0":"post-124809","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-tv","8":"tag-entertainment","9":"tag-happys-place","10":"tag-nbc","11":"tag-new-zealand","12":"tag-newzealand","13":"tag-nz","14":"tag-tv"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124809","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=124809"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124809\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/124810"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=124809"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=124809"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=124809"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}