“Whoa, I Never Meant To Brag” (“Dead On A Rival” Recap)

No, it's definitely not me bragging – not only was I wrong about Alex not being there tonight (of course that's not a bad thing¹), but unlike what I also thought this morning might happen she was the only female Dunphy not offered a job by Phil's ex-neighbor turned tech guru.

But Alex does have at least something about which to brag – she's been with this company (about which we still know very little) for only a couple of months and she's already hiring and firing assistants.  And, if she follows through with Jay's suggestion, after dismissing Margaret she might just have a hunky guy as an assistant.  Hopefully he really is the best candidate – I want her to hire someone who can be a good assistant to her.

As for the story itself, it wasn't the most consequential one we've ever seen for Alex, and pairing her with Jay's long-time assistant Margaret was rather random.   I would like to think we'll see at least one more story with Alex at her office (and find out just what her job is) that has a lot more impact on her life, but with only five episodes left (not counting the one that's set in Paris) I don't like the chances for that.

But it was a sweet little story, and I liked that Alex was at least gentle with Margaret when she did have to fire her.  Plus, again I thought we weren't going to see Alex tonight, so any screen time was a bonus anyway, And she had a few on-screen moments away from her family for a change².  The story did drift a bit away from her at the end to Jay and Margaret's relationship, but she was far from being just a piece of the scenery at her office.

Although I'm a little wary of the fact that Alex knew it was bourbon that Margaret put in her coffee.  And I'd prefer a steak to a salad.³

Alex's Line Of The Night: ”I definitely have to carve out some extra time for giggling.”  I guess interacting with guys from Stanford has that effect on Alex – perhaps it was a good thing after all she didn't go to Stanford with Sanjay – she probably would have giggled herself to death...

Next week's a repeat (the Alex-less “Tree's A Crowd”), and there's no word what the plan is for February 5th (the Paris episode is on the 12th).  So there will be at least a one week break and probably two before the next new episode.  I know there will be one post I'll be more than happy to make before that.
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¹ That is, at least as long as she's not being thrown under the bus by her family.

² Of course the way Jay was talking to Margaret at the end in his own mind he considers her a part of the family, to a degree. And, no, I'm not talking about the little joke about Mitch – I mean he's know her about as long as almost anyone else in his actual family.

³ That may not be saying a lot – there's tons of foods I wouldn't eat on a dare that I'd prefer over eating a salad. And Steak Diane would be one of them – I want just the meat without the fancy sauces.