Warning: SPOILERS ahead for Happy's Place season 1, episode 15, "Sister Ink."Emmett's health scare in Happy's Place season 2.

In "Sister Ink," Tokada (Tokala Black Elf) and Steve (Pablo Castelblanco) worry about Emmett (Rex Linn) when he becomes secretive about what he's doing when off-duty. After the two break into Emmett's locker and find a pair of tap shoes, Emmett reveals that he decided to take lessons after his health scare. The episode ends with a touching scene of Steve tap dancing with Emmett. However, this storyline again demonstrates Happy Place's biggest flaw.

Emmett's Dance Lessons Highlights How Happy's Place Takes So Long To Follow Up on Stories

Emmett's Health Scare Took Place Over A Month Ago

Emmett's tap dancing story would have worked fine without the explanation that his health scare triggered his desire to fulfill a childhood dream before it was too late. The punchline in this subplot is that the guys assume Emmett has a dark secret, only to find out that it's something innocuous, so his motivation for tap dancing doesn't really matter. Additionally, including the explanation does more harm than good because the concerns about his health happened too long ago.

Happy's Place Takoda standing in the center of the tavern giving someone a bemused look
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Emmett's health scare is in season 1, episode 11, a full four episodes before "Sister Ink." This long gap makes it difficult to what Emmett is talking about when he mentions the scare, and thus his line is distracting instead of resonating emotionally. Delaying storyline continuations like this is a bad habit that Happy's Place keeps engaging in. For example, Gabby's desire to be a mother also hasn't been referenced again since she decided that's what she wants, so any future story beat related to that arc will likely fall flat.

Why Happy's Place Needs To Change This In Season 2

Long Gaps In Continuing Stories Destroy Continuity

Takoda in Bobbie's house watching her and Gabby hug in Happy's Place

Happy's Place is a traditional sitcom, so it doesn't necessarily need to have continuing arcs. Sitcom stories are often self-contained and told for the jokes. However, since Happy's Place has established that its characters do have longer-term arcs, it needs to follow through by addressing the next step in each character's story in a more timely manner. Waiting a month or longer causes confusion, especially since Happy's Place doesn't offer recap scenes to help refresh the audience's memory about important plot points.

Now that Happy's Place has been renewed for season 2, the writers should consider what changes to make when the sitcom returns next year.

Happy's Place only has three episodes left in season 1, so there is limited time to fix this problem. However, now that Happy's Place has been renewed for season 2, the writers should consider what changes to make when the sitcom returns next year. One shift at the top of the writers' list needs to be its timing problem when it comes to character arcs. The comedy needs to make up its mind whether it wants long-term arcs or not. If it decides it does, it should ensure that ongoing stories are addressed more promptly to reduce audience confusion.

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Happy's Place (2024)

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Happy's Place
TV-PG
Comedy
7/10
77
8.4/10
Release Date
October 18, 2024
Network
NBC
Directors
Pamela Fryman

Cast

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WHERE TO WATCH

Streaming
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Writers
Kevin Abbott