Review:  Enlightened – Season 1, Episode 5, “Not Good Enough Mothers” – Changing the World is Tough Business

Rating:  ★★★★★

Air date: Monday, October 11 at 9:30pm ET/PT on HBO

It’s a new day and Amy Jellicoe (Laura Dern) has a new obsession. She wants to help Rosa Munoz (actress uncredited), an illegal immigrant and mother of two, from being deported.

Amy’s car won’t start and she’s forced to take public transportation when her mother, Helen (Diane Ladd), won’t let her borrow her car. As an omen of what’s to come, it begins raining non-stop. Things just never seem to go Amy’s way. Helen’s actions seem harsh but I applaud her decision. She refuses to be an enabler for Amy who doesn’t have insurance and won’t lift a finger to get her car fixed.

Tyler (Mike White) seems to be Amy Jellicoe's (Laura Dern) only true friend.

An unhappy Amy sits in a bus and takes us into one of those reflective moments that make me love this show: her quiet moments of introspection. She tries to put into practice the lessons she learned from her treatment but ends up thinking about her mother and how much Helen has sacrificed for her. Amy doesn’t elaborate further and the backstory between these two women remains a mystery. It’s a brilliant approach to keep the viewers engaged. The dynamics between them are completely credible thanks to the fabulous acting talents of the real life mother and daughter team of Ladd and Dern.

A series of work-related incidents drive the episode’s storyline. During a coffee run, consummate shit-starter Janice (Michaela Watkins) alerts Amy about former assistant Krista’s (Sarah Burns) baby shower knowing full well Amy hasn’t been invited. Then, inspired by Rosa’s situation, Amy wants to start a women’s activist group at work. Amy is thrilled to learn that HR head Judy Harvey (Amy Hill) is a lesbian and thinks that should lead Judy to support the group.

Tyler shares gossip that Amy finds extremely valuable to set up a women's group at work.

Allow me to chew on this for a minute. If Amy is smart enough to know she has to “get around the gatekeepers,” why can’t she figure out Judy’s deep dislike of her is her biggest roadblock? The way Amy connects these ideas into a solution shows how much her thoughts are all over the place, but seeing her going with an idea without thinking things through makes me want to bang my head on a wall (every time)! Thankfully, the show’s sarcastic humor and the cast’s solid performances remind us regularly that we’re dealing with exaggerated scenarios which allow us to still root for Amy.

As expected, nothing goes as Amy hopes. Her dinner with Judy is awkward as she inappropriately railroads the woman into discussing her lesbian relationship. Then, her steering of the conversation makes it obvious she lied about the invitation not having strings attached. At the baby shower, it’s comical to see how Amy manages to breaks multiple rules of etiquette in nearly record time: she arrives late, doesn’t bring a gift for the baby and her inspirational discourse about her women’s group is taken as a political speech.

Surprisingly, Krista doesn’t kick her out but hits Amy with the truth: she never intended to invite Amy to the shower; she thinks Amy is an angry person and no longer feels she owes her anything. Having miscarried in the past, it’s sad to see Amy’s noble but obsessive preoccupation with changing the world give others the impression that she is a self-centered and disconnected person. For the second episode in a row, Amy doesn’t get confrontational during a difficult conversation and it’s sad to see her resigned to the status quo. She reacts the same way when she reveals to her mother she’s angry with her.

Later that evening, Amy learns Rosa is being deported. It gets her thinking about mothers again but particularly about her situation with her mom.

“I will stop waiting for you to be the perfect mother. I will be patient with you, I will be tender. I will be the mother I wanted you to be.”

Given their dysfunctional relationship, it appears Amy willingly takes on the agent of change role.

Echoing Amy’s compulsive thoughts and actions, “Not Good Enough Mothers” is repetitious in its themes: the weather, anger, motherhood, Amy’s self-destructive ways and lack of productivity at work. The ending sequence shows how Amy still helps Munoz by buying presents for the woman’s daughters. As she drops off the gifts, the sun comes out. When Amy gets back on the bus, her attitude is different. Does this mean Amy is learning from her mistakes?

Tune in to Enlightened Monday at 9:30pm ET/PT on HBO. For more on the show, visit: http://www.hbo.com/#/enlightened

Photos Nicole Goode/HBO © 2011 HBO. All Rights Reserved.