Speechless – N-E-NEW A-I-AIDE

By starrymag | September 30, 2016

By: Taylor Gates

 

Maya (Minnie Driver) simultaneously presses two emergency buttons testing to see which company has the quickest response time in case something happens to JJ (Micah Fowler). She bestows the winner with a basket of baked goods, scolding the other company that JJ hypothetically died on their watch.

 

Outside the school, Maya promises JJ that she will fight for whoever he wants to be his aide, but she doesn’t understand why he would want Kenneth (Cedric Yarbrough). Kenneth tells Maya the two of them got off on the wrong foot, wrapping her in an unreciprocated hug. Kenneth admits to JJ that he is nervous, as he has never been an aide before. It turns out JJ has never had an aide before either so they’re all in this together.

 

Jimmy (John Ross Bowie) and Maya talk to Principal Miller (Marin Hinkle) about Kenneth being JJ’s new aide. Principal Miller is nothing but enthusiastic and supportive of the idea, leading Maya to give her a crash course on how to manipulate conversations to get your way. She proceeds to act out an imaginary dialogue between the two of them while Principal Miller frantically takes notes.

 

Ray (Mason Cook) tries to figure out a time to talk to Jillian (Lukita Maxwell) alone, but his research shows that she and her boyfriend have nearly identical schedules. Jimmy assures his son that Ray will find the time.

 

Jimmy hears Dylan (Kyla Kenedy) taking out the trash and lectures her about not giving the neighbors the wrong first impression—he doesn’t want them to set their expectations too high. Much to Jimmy’s dismay, a neighbor (AJ Tannen) comes over to talk to them. The neighbor hands them some freshly baked macaroons and tells them how happy he is that a nice family moved into the home, as the last owners let the place go. Jimmy rejects his landscaper recommendation, saying they are more do it yourselfers minus the doing it part.

 

Maya educates Kenneth with a thick binder full of information about JJ, but the two are too busy laughing to pay attention to her. Kenneth skims the pages, laughing when he finds out Maya and JJ watch The Bachelor together every week. Kenneth is about ready to drive away when Maya runs outside, giving him both a sweater and sunblock for JJ just in case. She also gives him the two emergency buttons. (She doesn’t remember which is the faster of the two, so she instructs him to press both.) Kenneth realizes this is hard for Maya and promises he’ll earn her trust. However, he accidentally begins driving away while Jimmy is still helping JJ get into the car.

 

Ray spies Jillian in the hallway sans boyfriend. It turns out he switched out of Spanish to take Mandarin. Ray nervously rambles about oranges before celebrating that he now has an open window in which to talk to Jillian privately.

 

Maya calls Kenneth to check up on JJ. Kenneth gives JJ the phone so he can testify that everything is going swimmingly, although the fact he doesn’t speak kind of causes this to backfire. Kenneth wheels JJ past a bulletin board with activities posted, but the only thing JJ is interested in is girls. Kenneth decides to help get him some game by getting him some new clothes and the two go shopping in the lost and found.

 

Ray tells an unimpressed Jimmy about his plan to talk to Jillian. Jimmy is also unimpressed with Dylan’s attempt to set the mood as neighbors as she has ordered a ton of pizzas and had them delivered to the house across the street. Jimmy tells her that the Dimeos are not jerks who play pranks; they’re just harmless idiots.

 

JJ attends his first practice as manager of the cheerleading team. Kenneth says they have to go, as JJ has physical therapy. JJ says he always misses his appointments. Kenneth is skeptical, but decides to allow it unless Maya specifically calls and tells them to come home.

 

Maya apologizes to the physical therapist, who starts packing up to leave since JJ is a no-show. However, when the therapist says Maya will have to pay for the session regardless, she makes her work with Ray instead. JJ sees Maya calling Kenneth’s phone. Not wanting to leave practice, he rams into the bleachers until the phone falls to the ground.

 

The physical therapist notices Ray’s natural walk is off and will cause him back problems in the future. She gives him tips on how to improve his gait and step the correct way, sending Ray into panic mode and making him question everything.

 

Maya bicycles onto the football field, chewing Kenneth out for not answering her calls, letting JJ miss his appointment and changing his clothes. She takes back the keys to the van and storms off to drive JJ home. When they arrive, Maya tells JJ she doesn’t trust Kenneth. JJ replies that Kenneth can give him things that she can’t and knows things about him she doesn’t. For example, he actually hates The Bachelor.

 

Dylan and Jimmy order a huge amount of pizzas for themselves before going talk to their neighbor across the street. The neighbor falls for their trick and now suspects someone else delivered the mountain of unwanted Italian food to their house thanks to Dylan shifting the blame.

 

That night, Maya rants to Jimmy about how JJ loves Kenneth. Jimmy worries that Maya is just feeling threatened by Kenneth’s presence. Jimmy says that JJ loves Kenneth and won’t allow Maya to fire him so Maya concocts a plan to make the principal do it. It looks like this will be easier than expected as Principal Miller informs Maya of a rule that says Kenneth would need training in order to be an aide and in a world with so many already qualified applicants, the school won’t pay for his education. This is a jackpot for Maya and she goes outside to send Kenneth in so the principal can deliver the news. However, he and JJ are no longer there, having gone to the restroom. Maya has a change of heart upon hearing Kenneth kindly and nonchalantly helping JJ and she marches back into Principal Miller’s office, threatening a racial discrimination lawsuit if the school fires Kenneth.

 

Ray finally gets the courage and time to talk to Jillian. He flirts using New Zealand glow worms and Jillian invites him to walk to class with her. Unfortunately, Ray is self conscious now about his walk thanks to the physical therapist and hollers at Jillian to just walk by herself.

 

Maya explains the situation to the family that night, saying that while she still doesn’t like Kenneth, she at least trusts him now.

 

Dylan spies the neighbor they pranked blaming a different neighbor for their actions. Jim finally relents and confesses that they’re to blame for Pizzagate 2016. The Dimeos brief the neighborhood on the fact that they will continue to be lousy neighbors and do things such as swim in all of their pools and keep packages wrongly delivered to them.

 

That night, Maya and JJ have their weekly The Bachelor viewing party. Maya changes the channel to basketball for JJ, but he motions for her to change it back causing them to share a moment. Maya tells JJ he will always be her baby before plucking his single chest hair and the two sweetly continue watching trashy reality television together.