The Goldbergs – “I Caddyshacked the Pool” Recap. Beautiful Wall of Deliciousness.

Season 3, Episode 4

Air Date: Wednesday, October 14, 2015, 8:30/7:30c on ABC

Rating: ★★★★★

“Nobody wants to hear that sort of thing from their mother.” – Murray

THE GOLDBERGS - "I Caddyshacked the Pool" - Adam comes up with an excuse to not swim in class because he is embarrassed of his changing body, but Coach Mellor says he will fail him unless he participates. So he comes up with a plan that could affect his friendship with Dave Kim. Meanwhile, Erica struggles to find an identity, so she creates a club at school, but Barry ruins the experience for her when he joins the club as well, on "The Goldbergs," WEDNESDAY, OCTOBER 14 (8:30-9:00 p.m., ET) on the ABC Television Network. (ABC/Carol Kaelson) SEAN GIAMBRONE

No Jams.

Adam (Sean Giambrone) isn’t the only one embarrassed about recent bodily changes as both the boys and girls in his class are forced to face their pubescent nightmare – school swim class. If that isn’t bad enough, Adam’s insecurities put him at risk of failing physical education. Will Adam be able to face his fear and pass gym?

After watching “I Caddyshacked the Pool,” I am thankful my school didn’t have a pool. Giambrone gives an outstanding performance as, once again, his hormonal changes are on full display for the world to see. Adam and Coach Mellor’s (Bryan Callen) banter is hilarious as Adam uses every trick in the book to get out of jumping into the pool. Mellor has become one of my favorite secondary characters and I hope the writers continue to find ways to of inserting him into story lines.

Murray (Jeff Garlin) and Beverly (Wendi McLendon-Covey) discussing Adam’s developing body parts as his “little marbles,” “coin purse,” and his “bits and berries” in front of Adam comes across as both funny and extremely uncomfortable. I appreciate how Beverly’s desire to make Adam feel better about his delicious body (her description, not mine) only makes matters worse. At times, it’s hard to tell if the frustration conveyed by Giambrone is great acting or based on his own personal turmoil.

Fun seeing them go head to head.

Meanwhile, after watching the video of the global hit song “We Are the World,” Erica (Hayley Orrantia) decides to dedicate her life to changing the planet. Barry (Troy Gentile) isn’t as convinced of Erica’s intentions and sets out to sabotage her plans, creating some very entertaining moments. It’s been a while since The Goldbergs has aired a great sibling rivalry episode where Barry and Erica go head to head; “I Caddyshacked the Pool” is destined to become one of their more memorable confrontations.

One of the funniest moments of “I Caddyshacked the Pool” is the use of the school newspaper, The Mirror. The entertaining bit is used throughout both Adam’s and Erica’s plot points and works perfectly to help drive each of the narratives. Principal Ball (Stephen Toblowshy) being intimated by the power of the press is quite amusing. I got a good laugh at the photo of Adam’s classmate, Dave Kim (Kenny Ridwan), on the front page with the headline CADDYSHAME!

Powerful moment.

The writing on “I Caddyshacked the Pool” is some of the best on The Goldbergs. Between Adam’s inspiring speech in front of the gym class and Murray’s heart to heart talk with Adam about his changing body, it’s hard to pick my favorite moment. So much is packed into this episode yet it all flows well and feels perfectly balanced. While there are plenty of episodes remaining this season, “I Caddyshacked the Pool” is already one of my top five episodes of the series.

Perhaps puberty is rubbing off on The Goldbergs as this season has shown real maturity by raising the bar on the comedy while taking on some serious topics. Although the series has always been heartfelt, I can see parents showing their young kids episodes like “I Caddyshacked the Pool” not only for the comedic aspect but to show them they’re not alone as they face puberty.

Tweet me @Staffaroadtrip or leave a comment below to let me know what you think about “I Caddyshacked the Pool.”

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Greg Staffa

I provide testosterone to the site. You won’t be reading about how nice a actress looks in a dress or how much of a hunk Matt Bomer is in my reviews. I describe colors using words like brown, not taupe. My twitter name is @staffaroadtrip because I love road trips and have done two different 48-state road trips since 2008. My favorite show is White Collar.