A New Hobby, a Pervert and a Part-Time Job
Jim struggles with retired life and it’s causing problems for both Audrey and Mandy. Jim tries to take up hobbies and even agrees to go back to work part time at the shop to get out of the house and to tackle something he understands.
Retired Jim
Jim has completed all the things he had wanted to do for years and now is bored. He keeps going with Audrey on her errands. He’s trying to make it seem fun and she’s trying to pretend she’s having fun, but it’s clear both are struggling. He’s bored and she needs her space. It creates a particular problem where his need for togetherness is causing issues for the marriage.
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Jim doesn’t really desire being together all the time, what he really seems to desire is structure. When he was working, he had a routine and a plan for the day. Now, he’s drifting and it’s not allowing Audrey time to herself so they can appreciate each other. Mandy suggests Jim take up a hobby on his own.
Jim’s Hobby
After talking with Connor about some of the birds they see outside their house, Jim takes up birdwatching. He goes around with a pair of binoculars looking for birds. This causes a pretty obvious mistaken identity issue. Police stop by to warn Mandy about a “pervert” walking around with binoculars.
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Mandy finds it funny but also comes up with a plan to help her father. She suggests to Georgie and Jim that Jim return to the store part time. Both are reluctant. Georgie doesn’t feel right bossing around his former boss while Jim doesn’t want Georgie to feel uncomfortable. Jim is also troubled that people thought he was a peeping tom. It’s a predictable, yet funny joke when you know Jim but a disturbing realization about how much actual peeping toms weren’t taken seriously as threats in the 90s.
Working Jim
Jim’s return to the office causes issues for everybody. Audrey and Mandy argue over who should pick up donuts on the way into work. Audrey thinks Georgie should do it but Mandy argues Georgie is the boss and that’s an underling’s task. Jim puts his foot down, tells them to start arguing, tells Georgie to go to work and be a boss and heads to the donut shop himself since he’s the employee and Georgie is the boss. Everyone agrees but the power dynamic remains off.
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At the store, Jim is popular with the old customers who went to him for service for years. He also still does things the old way, but Georgie explains they have a computer that keeps inventory for them. Jim doesn’t understand, so Georgie tries to show him. Unfortunately, Jim accidentally deletes the entire inventory in the computer creating more issues for Ruben and Georgie. Georgie admits he didn’t want to bring Jim in and Jim heads out, clearly hurt.
Resolving Issues
After a tense dinner, Jim and Georgie talk over what happened and work to address the issues that arose in this episode. The tension of the former boss being an employee is clearly expected to be an issue going further. Of course, it seems clear that Jim may be handy when Fagenbacher shows back up since he wants to put Georgie out of business and has previous issues with Jim.
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Still, they worked out a way for Jim to not be spending all his time at the shop nor all of his time at home. Jim mentions he signed up for a computer class for older people at the local library. This will help him learn about computers so he can help with the inventory. It feels like they should focus on that for a bit of Jim’s story. It will provide a new set for the show, and Jim would have a story of his own not tied to Georgie or Audrey.
What’s Next?
This is a solid story for building Jim’s character. He’s been struggling since retiring, and it helps demonstrate his need for structure. This is common for people when they retire, and while it’s charted territory, it makes sense for Jim’s character. I didn’t really want to see him back in the shop, and it felt like they should’ve pursued something more before he went back. Maybe he could’ve tried other jobs. Maybe he could’ve tried the computer class and liked it and that got him back into the shop. Still, this seems to be setting up a longer arc where Jim’s presence is rough on Georgie. It’s got potential.
Check out Georgie and Mandy’s First Marriage on CBS and Paramount Plus.
Article Written By: Jeremy Brown for Stelmach Brown Media 2026
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