Andrew Cooper is on vacation with Mel, Tori, and Hunter at the start of Season 2 of Your Friends & Neighbors. Even though they are in a nice place, the kids are too busy with their own lives to go to dinner as planned.
Mel is unsure about going back home, but Andrew tells her that they will have more trips like this in the future. They drink together, joke about lowering their expectations, and think back on how crazy last season was. Their teasing eventually leads to a woman at the bar who seems interested in Coop. Mel says she is leaving because she is in the way, but Coop doesn’t care. He could have gotten a 25-year prison sentence, so going on vacation with his ex-wife and kids feels like a win.
But Coop has fully embraced his criminal side. His string of robberies has paid off, giving him more time and freedom with his kids. He is also back to dating casually and even keeps up the appearance of having a real office. Things are looking up for him right now, and he’s starting to feel hopeful.
In the meantime, Sam Levitt has gotten away with murder and only had to do community service and pay a large fine. She is now a realtor, which brings her into contact with Owen Ashe, a rich and charming new neighbor who quickly changes the way things work in Westmont Village.
Ashe doesn’t waste any time criticizing a house Sam shows him, not knowing that it is actually her home. Their talk turns to her late husband, and Sam tells her that her property is basically being used as a “fluffer” to make other listings look better. Ashe is impressed or at least curious, so he fires his current realtor, Reenie, and hires Sam instead. When Sam buys a new house, he makes a lot of money right away.
On Coop’s side, things go wrong when he tries to steal an expensive fountain pen and hurts his back. Elena steps in to help, but when she can’t handle it on her own, they call in Barney. Coop has to tell the truth about what he’s been doing, which shocks Barney, especially when he realizes this has something to do with the dangerous art thieves from last season who almost killed him.
Tori goes to her interview at Princeton with Jeff Pratt and gives a confident speech about how unfair the system is. She knows that she has already been accepted, no matter what she says.
Barney, on the other hand, is having trouble with his job. He doesn’t have enough clients for his business to survive, and even though he says he can fix things, the pressure is growing. Barney is torn when he talks to Grace’s dad about managing his money and gets a job offer he didn’t expect. That stress affects his personal life, and he tells Grace he’s not happy. But things take a surprising turn when she tells him she’s pregnant. He is shocked by the news, but in the end, it makes him happy.
Mel’s story is also about reconnecting with Ali, who talks about going through menopause and feeling insecure about getting older, especially as she sees Coop getting more attractive. Mel helps her out by giving her a short-term job as a music teacher at Mayfield.
Later, Owen Ashe throws a big party to celebrate moving into his new home. Sam goes, but he doesn’t fit in with the other people there, so he leaves early. He runs into Coop briefly in an awkward situation. Coop is able to connect with Ashe, Nick, and Barney in a surprisingly natural way inside.
Coop also quietly looks around Ashe’s house while talking to people, making a mental note of valuable things while most guests are outside. When the party is over, Barney talks to Coop about his choice not to go back to a real job. Coop says he wasn’t happy before, but the conversation changes when Barney says he wants to join Coop’s operation, partly because he heard that Grace is pregnant.
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The first episode does a good job of bringing back the show’s main characters and adding a new one, Owen Ashe, who is interesting. James Marsden fits right in with the rest of the cast. He has a mix of charm and hidden danger that makes it clear he will be a big part of this season.
That being said, Ashe is clearly not someone to take lightly. It seems like a risky move for Barney and Coop to work together that could cause more problems than it solves. As more people get involved, the stakes will go up, and so will the need for bigger scores.
But the show still has too many subplots to deal with. The plots that involve Hunter and Tori, in particular, seem underdeveloped and not very important. Tori’s speech during her Princeton interview is thematically relevant, but it feels forced and doesn’t add much to the story as a whole.
Still, the episode sets up the rest of the season well by balancing character development with rising tension, even though it could use a little more focus.