‘Last Man Standing’: Bill Engvall Clashes With Tim Allen in Final Season Appearance

Last Man Standing‘s final season is winding down, meaning time is short for some beloved guest stars to make their final appearance. In this week’s episode, “Preschool Confidential,” comedian Bill Engvall made his return to the series to provide Tim Allen‘s Mike Baxter some advice as the Rev. Paul. As usual, the two had plenty to argue about, as Mike thought the reverend was taking advantage of Kyle (Christoph Sanders).

Mike’s story with Rev. Paul began with Mike congratulating the reverend on his latest sermon. Mike accused Rev. Paul of stealing his line about how the Las Vegas Raiders are the only thing God did not create in his own image. Paul insisted he did not steal the line, but Mike refused to believe him. Paul agreed to mention Mike in his next sermon… on pettiness. Kyle then came in and apologized for putting “Jesus Shaves” instead of “Jesus Saves” on the sign. Mike reminded Kyle he was going to go hunting with him this weekend, but Paul said Kyle was actually going to paint a shed for the church. “First you steal my jokes, then you steal whatever Kyle is to me,” a befuddled Mike said.

The next day at Outdoor Man, Ed (Hector Elizondo) was disappointed Kyle wouldn’t be going hunting because without him, “it’s just two guys sitting around a fire and b—ing about things.” Kyle then walked in, and Ed insisted he go hunting. Kyle refused. No matter what Ed and Mike said, Kyle could not say no to the reverend. Then the conversation was interrupted when the reverend asked Kyle to do something that night.

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Later, Mike confronted Rev. Paul about Kyle. Mike believed the reverend was taking advantage of Kyle because Kyle can never say no to helping the church. Paul insisted he is not telling Kyle to do anything. “Kyle is on his way to becoming a minister and he does these things out of duty,” Rev. Paul explained. But Mike believes Kyle needs to have some fun.

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At that point, Kyle came into the room and they explained what they were talking about. Kyle explained that he does all these things because it makes him feel like he’s making the world a better place. “Jesus will be proud of me. Does that make me selfish?” Kyle asked. Neither of them thought it does. “Man, I wish I could be more like you guys!” Kyle said as he left. As Mike got up to leave as well, he agreed to cancel the hunting trip to help Kyle with the shed. Rev. Paul said he did not care when they started because he’s golfing!

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The episode’s title came from Vanessa’s (Nancy Travis) problem. While Mandy’s (Molly McCook) daughter Sarah got into the prestigious Radford Academy, Kristin’s (Amanda Fuller) daughter Evelyn landed on the waiting list. Vanessa tried to remedy this by contacting her friend, the principal at Radford, but the principal, Annie, believed Vanessa was asking for a quid pro quo. The principal wanted Vanessa to fix a parking citation issue in exchange for getting Evelyn into the school. Vanessa, a member of the local assembly, knew this was wrong. She didn’t really need Jen (Krista Marie Yu) reminding her. “Congratulations for pulling strings! Didn’t Lori Loughlin do time in the clink for that?” Jen said.

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The situation became even more complicated because Mandy thought all this finagling made it seem less special that Sarah got in on her own merits. Then Vanessa had to break the news that Sarah only got in because Annie knew she was Vanessa’s granddaughter. The next day, Vanessa told Annie she would have to be more strict at the school to make sure it did not look her granddaughters were unfairly accepted. Annie was horrified and told Vanessa they were no longer welcome!

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That night, Vanessa eventually talked with Mike about the issue. Mandy and Kristin are now angry, and Vanessa’s distaste for politics has only grown. Mike asked her why she got into politics in the first place. She wanted to do good without compromising herself. Mike explained to her that politics is a game, and she has to change her approach. Compromise is the way to go, he said. 

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In the last scene of the episode, Vanessa told Mandy and Kristin she got her high school arts bill passed! This was not the news they hoped to hear. Unfortunately, she did not get their daughters into the school. This was really disappointing for them, but Vanessa explained that their daughters coming from a good home was a big enough advantage. They reluctantly accepted this idea and shared glasses of wine. Last Man Standing airs Thursdays at 9:30 p.m. ET.