Last Man Standing season 7, episode 2 recap: RIP Bud Baxter

Last Man Standing season 7, episode 2 saw Mike dealing with his father Bud’s death. Also, Kyle and Mandy struggle to find Kyle an outfit for his new job.

The second episode of the Last Man Standing revival on FOX dealt with the death of Bud Baxter. Frankly, for a sitcom, I did not laugh in this episode nearly as much as I did in its season premiere. This episode did show something everyone deals with at some point in their life: death. Yet people rarely laugh at funerals, so perhaps Last Man Standing properly dealt with the topic of death.

RIP Bud Baxter. He was the father of Mike and Jimmy Baxter and the father-in-law of Vanessa Baxter. Speaking of Jimmy (Mike Rowe), I wish he would have been mentioned in this episode. Although Jimmy has not been seen since the first season, Bud was still his father, Mike is still his brother, and the Baxters are still his family.

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Bud was also the grandfather to Kristen Vogelson nee Baxter, Mandy Anderson nee Baxter, and Eve Baxter, and he had a great-grandson, Boyd Baxter. So let me dive in to recap what all happened in the episode along with sharing a few of my thoughts from the episode.

The Death of Bud Baxter

Bud died of a heart attack four months ago at a bowling alley, apparently on his way to bowling a 220. Mike has not touched his father’s stuff since it was moved into the Baxter garage. While Vanessa encourages him to keep some of his fathers’ possessions, Mike instead decides to donate them to Goodwill.

Ryan then shows Mike some paperwork dealing with Bud’s marijuana store, Buds’ Buds. Because Mike dislikes the store, he decides to sell it, despite the fact Ryan is working there, presumably overseeing the business.

Later in his office, Mike talks with Kristen about his decision to sell Buds’ Buds. She asks if she and Ryan could run the store. She says she successfully runs the Outdoor Man Grill, only to be reminded she receives Mike’s guidance as well. When Mike flatly denies her that chance, she laments how it is sad she cares more than Mike about Bud and the store.

Trying to come to grips with it all, Mike talks with Ed and Chuck. Between those two though, there isn’t much great advice to offer. Mike says his father was a cranky man who was not there for him. Ed remarks that from his generation, including Bud, men were not trying to be bad fathers for their children. Instead, they really did not think about their kids. Because that is so much better!

Mike wanted to tell Kristen the truth about Bud. Yet when he returns home, he imagines speaking to his father. When he tells Bud he wished he was there for him more, Bud tells him he did his best. What Bud and Mike both realize is they should have expressed their feelings about their relationship earlier. Probably their biggest regret is they never told each other, “I love you.” Although words are just words, they carry meaning.

Kristen apologizes to Mike for speaking out of line. What I wondered up to that point was why Kristen loved Bud so much. Kristen finally revealed the first person whom she told about her pregnancy was Bud. He gave her great advice on what would happen when she told her father. Bud told her Mike would love her no matter what. To add to Mike’s surprise, Kristen says Bud was her hero. Because she says this about her grandfather rather than her father, Kristen then tells Mike this.

Realizing how much his father loved him, even if he did not hear it, Mike hands Kristen the paperwork to Buds’ Buds. Perhaps Ryan and Kristen will make Buds’ Buds thrive. Mike loves hard-working people, yet he dislikes the store. Seeing him acknowledge, or applaud, Ryan and Kristen on their success would be ironic. In this episode though, Mike asks Kristen if she knows he loves her. She tells him always. That whole scene was both heartbreaking and powerful. Despite being new to this show this season, Molly McCook perfectly described that scene.

A new outfit for Kyle

Kyle now works in the hiring department at Outdoor Man. Watching him seriously interview someone for a position at Outdoor Man would be quite comical. I see two possible outcomes there. The first is someone would take advantage of his good-natured goofy self and land a job. As a result, Mike and Ed would need to rectify the situation and share some wisdom with Kyle. The other outcome would be Kyle would ask odd questions, mostly unrelated to the job, and debate whether to proceed to hire that person. Mike and Ed could still share their insights with him. In any regard, Kyle currently does not feel fit for his job. Perhaps it is because he constantly does this.

https://twitter.com/LastManStanding/status/1048363434679533569

Mandy advises Kyle to upgrade his work outfits. He first tries on an outlandish outfit. Unsurprisingly, he dislikes it. Mandy then shoots down his idea to wear a tie which has a fish on it. Kyle then proceeds to come to work wearing this outfit, which initially looked professional.

Naturally, Ed and Chuck died of laughter. I recommend long pants! The tie is a good start; dress pants complete that outfit. Mandy tells him he lacks confidence in his job. What Kyle should learn is sometimes to improve yourself, you need to push yourself outside of your comfort zone.

Nobody said it will be easy, but Kyle has pushed himself to grow in his relationship with Mandy, and he is certainly capable of pushing himself to improve in his job. Speaking of Mandy, Kyle definitely sounds more frisky around her. He already loved her, but I don’t recall him calling her hot. He then boasted he was taking her to lunch.

Lastly, I thought the chemistry between Kyle and Mandy was better. Molly McCook delivered her lines in a very Mandy-like tone, and Kyle treated her just like he previously did. Hopefully that chemistry continues to improve. In terms of improvement, I look forward to a definite improvement of humor in future episodes. Death is not something to laugh about, but Last Man Standing is a family sitcom. Laughter will once again bring back the magic of the show.

Last Man Standing airs Fridays at 8/7c on FOX.