Nutcracker
Relationships come to a head right before the holidays as Mike, Eve, Riley, Gabe, Amelie, Carter and Lily each have a crossroads as they prepare to celebrate Christmas.
Warning: Spoilers Below
Helping Carter
The Parkers are getting ready for Christmas and it’s a festive scene. Matt Parker loves Christmas and loves giving presents. It’s quite the departure from the normally gruff grandfather. However, it plays well into Tim Allen’s filmography. Matt talks about his generous spirit around the holidays telling Eve, “I am Santa Claus.” It’s an appealing change for the character and makes Matt feel more three dimensional. He’s not just the gruff, older fellow. He still has joy and love to share.
Disney/Raymond Liu
Meanwhile, Carter is looking for a way to ask Lily, the girl he likes who seems to like him, to the Winter Prom. He’s trying to figure out how to go all out for her. Given that he has hinted at dancing to convince her to go to a dance, Matt suggests Eve help since Eve is a professional dance instructor. Things look happy for the couple who are polar opposites.
Gabe’s Mother
Meanwhile, Gabe’s mother is coming to visit and Amelie wants to meet her. It’s a sign that things are getting serious, and Gabe is getting a bit nervous. He asks Riley and Stitch to join him. At first, they decline, but Gabe pulls out the puppy dog eyes and Riley accepts on their behalf. However, when it’s time for dinner, Stitch blows them off to go to a Lakers game leaving Gabe at the table with his girlfriend, the girl he always pined for, and his mother.
Disney/Raymond Liu
Gabe’s mother drinks a lot of wine and talks a lot about Riley. Given Riley and her brother were both Gabe’s friends, she knows them well and hints that she thought Gabe and Riley would end up together. This makes Amelie uncomfortable given how close Gabe and Riley are. This is heightened when Gabe’s mother talks about how much Gabe hated Jimmy, Riley’s ex-husband. It leads to a big fight as Gabe, Amelie and Riley share an uber ride home. Amelie breaks up with Gabe because of her insecurity about Riley.
Christmas Surprises
Riley invites Gabe over to the house to help trim the tree. They discuss the things Gabe’s mother said at dinner and it appears like the pair are about to kiss. However, Gabe’s mother shows up with Amelie to repair the relationship. Amelie discusses her insecurities and how Gabe’s closeness with Riley can make it easy to get jealous. She apologizes and Gabe forgives her. Gabe and Amelie are back together and Riley had to be there for both the initial end and the rekindling of their relationship.
Disney/Raymond Liu
Back at the shop, Lily arrives and then Carter shows up with some of Eve’s dancers, Georgia and Santa Claus to ask Lily to the Winter Prom. It’s an impressive showing with a festive theme that ends with Santa proclaiming Lily has been good but Carter wants to ask her to the dance to get her on the nice list. She says yes, and Matt, seeing how happy his grandson is, thanks Eve and tells her he loves her. That leads to quite the reaction from both Eve and Riley who overhears it.
Matt and Eve
Matt approaches Eve a little later to discuss what he said. He talks about how he views love and how it’s like a color wheel. He makes it clear that he does love her. This isn’t the same love he had for his wife, but it’s still a romantic love. She tells him that she was given the opportunity to go on a world tour as a backup dancer for a K-Pop group. She’s going to be gone for at least five months, but it could be extended. What does that mean for the couple?
Disney/Raymond Liu
Matt supports her following her dream. He wants the best for her. But he also wants the best for himself. While he’d be fine with waiting five months for her to return, he can’t just sit around and wait if it ends up being longer. He’s not willing to try long distance. He’s happy and loves Eve. She loves him, even though she says he’s way too liberal for her father. They wish each other well and she pursues her dream. Matt ends the night at home with Riley and his grandchildren watching a Christmas movie. He’s happy with his family which is a far cry from the Matt Parker introduced in season one.
What’s Next?
This was the best episode of the series, so far, in my opinion. The Matt and Eve storyline helped shape the series into a little bit more than just a rehash of Tim Allen’s previous sitcoms. Home Improvement was the typical 90s family sitcom. Last Man Standing was clearly inspired by All in the Family just with the conservative father providing the more based stance to the more radically liberal son-in-law. Shifting Gears felt like a mash between the two when it started, but Eve’s presence helped it grow into something resembling its own show. Hopefully, that continues now that she won’t be around for a while. Plus, there’s always a good chance she returns.
It’s time to kick the Gabe and Riley storyline into high gear. It’s clear that’s who the showrunners want to be together. It’s also clear that it’s the typical “will they, won’t they” we’ve seen on television for decades. It’s getting tiring seeing them in this predicament given that we know that Amelie isn’t the endgame. Hopefully, this storyline, along with the Carter’s and Georgia’s storylines heat up.
Check out Shifting Gears on ABC, Disney Plus and Hulu.
Article Written By: Jeremy Brown for Stelmach Brown Media 2025
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