Mike Baxter has never been one for human contact, and thought his weekly poker game was the perfect escape. But in this week’s episode of Last Man Standing, that personal utopia was challenged when he had to invite Ryan to the table.
In “Cards on the Table,” Mike (Tim Allen) was forced to find another person to join the weekly poker game with Ed Alzante (Hector Elizondo), Chuck Larabee (Jonathan Adams) and Joe (Jay Leno) because a table of only four players is bad luck. (Remember what happened to Wild Bill Hickok?) Mike called up a friend, but his mother just died and, despite Mike’s begging, the friend could not make it.
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Vanessa (Nancy Travis) suggested he ask Ryan (Jordan Masterson) to join instead. Ryan took this as an opportunity to hang out with his father in law, even while Mike tried to convince him the only reason he was asking was because he just needed a seat filled.
When it came time to play poker, Mike was horrified when Ryan kept asking Joe, Ed and Chuck about their personal issues.
“You know what’s tough? Playing cards with Oprah’s audience,” Mike said.
No matter how hard Mike tried to get the guys to play, the other guys started talking about their family problems. Unfortunately, Mike had four kings.
Halfway through the episode, Mike recorded a new Outdoor Man Vlog episode, in which he ranted about people complaining about littering in the woods, where he likes to go to escape reality. This was a clear metaphor for how Mike felt about the guys talking about their emotions at the poker table.
“You know, I think of a good poker game is a little like the state of nature,” Mike said. “An untarnished environment that gets ruined when people start littering it with their emotional debris.”
The next day, Mike tried to convince Joe, Ed and Chuck to not invite Ryan to the next game. However, they stood by Ryan and said they enjoyed having him as a soundboard.
“So you guys don’t find him annoying at all?” Mike asked.
“No, I found the discussion cathartic, which is a new word our friend Ryan taught us,” Joe said.
Mike then said he might just go spend his Thursday nights with his cars, since they do not talk back. Surprisingly, the guys told him that would be great and left his office.
That night, Mike told Ryan he was not going to the next poker game because talking about emotions was not his kind of thing.
“You know, normal humans actually like having an outlet,” Ryan reminded him.
“Well, I don’t like normal humans,” Mike said.
Mike explained that every day, he is confronted with people’s problems and playing poker was supposed to be a way for him to escape that for a couple of hours once a week. Ryan understood this, and they came up with a plan.
The guys and Ryan would play gin rummy for an hour or so before Mike arrived and talk about their problems. But once Mike showed up, there was no more talking and the poker game went on as it used to.
“Let’s be clear, you can talk about whatever you want… as long as it’s meaningless,” Mike told the guys.
In the last scene of the episode, Joe surprisingly went to the end of the poker game with Mike. After Mike went all in, Joe laid his cards on the table.
“Read ’em and weep. Gin rummy,” Joe said.
“It’s the fumes in the garage, isn’t it?” Mike asked.
Elsewhere in “Cards on the Table,” Mandy (Molly McCook) helped Jen (Krista Marie Yu) get the courage to ask a boy out to the high school prom. Despite all the outrageous things Mandy did to get her prepared, it was all for nought because the boy asked Jen out before she could!
New episodes of Last Man Standing air on FOX at 8 p.m. ET Fridays.
Photo credit: FOX
