SECRETS
The Parkers are back. Matt has to address his kiss with Eve while Riley has to address Gabe’s confession of feelings to her at the end of the first season.
Warning: Spoilers below.
3 Months Later
The season opens up three months after the events of the season one finale. Riley needs to borrow a screwdriver from her father to fix something at the dance studio. Stitch is willing to let her take it, but Gabe keeps stopping her. Riley finds this uncomfortable because Riley has been avoiding him since Gabe confessed feelings for her when he thought she passed out drunk. She was still conscious but faking being asleep, so she heard what he said. Still, she agrees to ask her father to borrow the tool.
Disney/Raymond Liu
She goes into Matt’s office to talk to him and he makes it clear he doesn’t like handing out his tools. She talks about fixing something before Eve returns the next day. This freaks Matt out and piques Riley’s interest. The next day, Matt sees Eve when he pulls in and tries to make sure he doesn’t run into her. Eve has actually walked right up to his car and addresses the situation following their kiss at the end of season one. She’s upset he didn’t text her and assumes he has no interest. But that isn’t the problem.
Many Reunions
Matt goes to the mausoleum to talk to his deceased wife. While there, Nancy Travis returns as Charlotte, the widow Matt met when he went to talk to his wife in the first season. She talks about how he needs to talk to someone who can talk back about his grief and suggests a support group. That support group is played by Patricia Richardson, Richard Karn and Debbe Dunning. They discuss their grief and try to help Matt come to terms with his. He’s ready to leave when Karn’s character talks about missing his wife of 18 years and not moving on. Charlotte points out that addressing grief is important but so is moving on.
Disney/Raymond Liu
This piece of the episode is very nostalgic. First fans get a throwback to Last Man Standing with Nancy Travis. Then, they get a throwback to Home Improvement with Richardson, Karn and Dunning who played Jill, Al and Heidi, respectively. It’s nice fan service that adds to the show and doesn’t overwhelm the overarching story. It’s well done fan service.
Riley almost ruins it
Matt returns from the meeting late and Riley confronts him. She’s convinced he’s seeing someone. She tells Eve this, not knowing about their kiss and Matt not texting Eve. Her misreading of the situation leads to Eve being frustrated further with Matt. Meanwhile, Matt learns that Riley told Eve and now he’s angry with her. He heads back to the mausoleum to talk to his deceased wife.
Disney/Raymond Liu
He confesses that the woman he’s interested in may no longer be interested after Riley spoke to her. But Riley followed Matt and decides to confront him in front of her mother’s grave. She tells him to stop hiding from his feelings and to talk to Eve. She also comes to the realization that she’s been doing the same thing to Gabe and heads back to the car shop to finally talk to him.
Resolutions
Matt goes and talks to Eve. He addresses the situation and kisses her back. He lets her know he’s interested despite their many differences. He also addresses his own struggles with both grief and not knowing how to honor the woman to which he dedicated his life until her passing. The pair decided to give it a chance and a budding romance is blossoming.
Disney/Raymond Liu
In contrast, Riley’s issues don’t work out too well. She tries to talk to Gabe but can’t find him at first. He comes in and she decides to address the elephant in the room. She’s recently divorced and wasn’t looking to jump into a relationship, but as Stitch pointed out, you can’t control timing. Unfortunately, this doesn’t come to fruition as Gabe enters with Amalie, a coworker of Riley’s at the dance studio. Gabe announces that the pair are dating and that’s what he’s been trying to tell Riley when she avoids him. Riley has accepted that her best friend is the guy with whom she wants to be, but he’s accepted that she wasn’t ready for him and he moved on.
What’s Next?
This was a strong start to the second season for this latest Tim Allen vehicle. It hit the important parts and helped bring about some major understandings for Matt, Riley, Eve and Gabe. Stitch didn’t do much, but he was there to help Riley and Gabe while also providing some necessary comedy when Riley first enters with Amalie and Amalie notes he asked for her number three times. Stitch is excited to find out that she rejected him because she was seeing Gabe. It gave his friend happiness and lets him believe it’s solely because of her relationship and he would’ve had a chance if he were single.
The fan service also works because it’s only two scenes with Nancy Travis and one seen with the Home Improvement gang. Their presence adds to the story without taking it over and making the show about one of Tim Allen’s past successes. There are more Tim Allen reunions expected this year, so I hope the rest work out as well as this one did.
The only part that still isn’t working is Riley’s kids. Georgia is playing it cool on the first day of school while Carter is excited about trying to get a date. He whiffs but Georgia finds a way to make sure her tutor is the girl Carter likes. It’s clear Georgia is helping her brother but they both do so little, their existence in this series is as one dimensional as it gets. Carter got some growth in season one. Hopefully, he gets more. And Georgia needs a lot more to do. Otherwise they are both just there. Still, the series as a whole is working and that’s why ABC is touting it as its top rated comedy.
Check out Shifting Gears on ABC, Hulu and Disney Plus.
Article Written By: Jeremy Brown for Stelmach Brown Media 2025
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