Man With A Plan – Kate’s First Date

By: Julie Mante

Adam (Matt LeBlanc) is shocked to find out that Kate (Grace Kaufman) is going on her first date. He is more upset to find out that Andi (Liza Snyder) knew about it and decided not to tell him. When Adam finds out that Kate is going out with Royce (Nick Alvarez), he is convinced the young man is a player. Andi knows that Adam is protective of Kate, but this date is happening whether Adam likes it or not. Adam says that Andi cannot make decisions without his consent. He believes that the two of them should agree on decisions together. Andi tells him that she knew that Adam would say no, she would disagree so she decided it would be better to not tell him.

When Adam drops up the kids at school, he sees Kate greet Royce and his discomfort increases. Mrs. Rodriguez (Dianna Maria Riva) gives Adam a positive report on Royce. He is an honor roll student. He started his own dog walking business and works part-time at the malls on weekends. He sounds like a good kid, but Adam is not convinced. Since he knows that no one will listen to him, Adam decides he needs to prove that Royce is no angel. Lowell (Matt Cook) is able to find Royce’s Instagram so Adam starts digging for dirt. As he sees pictures of the young boy with other girls, Adam grabs Lowell’s laptop to show Andi that he was right about Lowell. Don (Kevin Nealon) asks Lowell for help getting his wife a gift for the 20th year anniversary.

Andi looks at the pictures, but they seem innocent to her. She feels like Adam is looking for any excuse so they can cancel Kate’s date. When Andi tells Adam it is wrong to cyber stalk a thirteen year old boy, Adam says he is following her playbook of doing something the other person will not agree to. Andi says that Adam needs to let this go.

Adam decides that he needs to show Royce that he means business. He decides to sign up for Royce’s dog walking service so he can talk to him. When Royce shows up, Adam tells him that he would like to keep this conversation private. Adam does not mince words and tells Royce that if he does anything to hurt Kate, Royce will be dealing with him. Later, Adam sees Andi and Kate walk into the house. Kate is very upset and she runs quickly to her room. Andi tells Adam that Royce canceled their date without an explanation. Andi wants to call Royce’s mom to see if she can find out what happened but Adam says there is no need. Andi realizes that Adam did something wrong.

When Andi figures out that Adam scared Royce and he canceled her date, she is not happy. Adam feels bad about what he did, but not bad enough to fix it. He knows that Kate does not know that he was the reason the date was canceled so he feels the best course of action is to do nothing. For Andi this is not about the canceled date, but a heartbroken daughter. Right now, Kate is blaming herself for Royce canceling and Andi believes that Adam has to fix the mess he created. When Adam goes to Kate’s room to come clean, he tries to shift the blame on Royce but ends up ratting himself out. When Kate asks him how he knows information about Royce that can be found only on Instagram, he is forced to tell his daughter the truth. After he talks to Kate, Adam is feeling guilty about his behavior. The parents decide to go to the mall to see if they can convince Royce to reconsider canceling the date. Adam still has doubts about Royce but he agrees with Andi’s idea.

Don shows Lowell Marcy’s (Kali Rocha) favorite room so Lowell can help him pick the perfect present for Marcy. As Lowell notices her Criscioni commemorative plates, he sees that she only needs one more to complete her collection. Don is thrilled because he only has to buy one plate and he still will have enough money for his dirt bike. Don accidentally breaks the plates as he tries to straighten one of them. Looks like his anniversary budget got a whole lot bigger. When Royce sees Adam approaching him at his mall job, he lets him know that he is friends with the mall cop. Adam apologizes to him for his behavior and gives Royce permission to date Kate. When Royce tells Adam that he canceled because he was worried of causing problems between Kate and Adam, Kate’s dad isn’t buying it. He tells Royce that he knows he is a player. When Adam lays down the law, Andi realizes that she has to take over before Adam scares Royce again. Andi says that they think he is a good guy and he should take Kate on a date. Royce agrees.

When a cute blond employee named Daphne (Rimea Kasprzak) introduces herself as Royce’s girlfriend, Andi and Adam are shocked. The shock does not take long to wear off and Andi berates Royce for trying to date Kate when he has a girlfriend. Daphne is outraged as well and storms off. Andi tells “poofy-haired little rat” Royce to stay away from Kate. Adam leaves some parting words for the player-in-training, “Never be afraid of the crazy one, be afraid of the one the crazy one’s afraid of.” Instead of two girlfriends, Royce has none. When they come home from the mall, Andi admits that Adam was right about Royce. Kate comes downstairs to tell her parents that Daphne is blasting Royce’s cheating behind all over Instagram. They tell her that they were the reason that Royce’s cheating ways were discovered. Kate is not thrilled that her parents meddled in her personal life, but they tell her that they will not be butting out.

In the closer, Don is feeling proud of himself. He replaced the plates and Marcy got him a dirt bike. Marcy is touched that Don noticed her Criscioni plates. She puts the plate on the wall shelf and completes her collection. Don is so excited to ride his bike that he accidentally bumps into the plates and they all come crashing down.