Friend
An old friend of Matt’s returns with some surprises. Matt’s reaction leads to surprise from Riley. But his friend’s spouse, who is as equally opinionated as Matt, tests Matt’s patience. And Riley is frustrated with a negative Yelp review.
Warning: Spoilers Below.
Old Friend
Riley is excited to hear all the good reviews her coffee cart is getting but she notices it’s not perfect. Georgia explains there is one bad review that brings her average down slightly. Riley decides to do everything she can to boost her score and draw out the negative reviewer. An older man (played by Tuc Watkins), named Pete, stops by to get a coffee and when Riley introduces herself he notes she has the same name as the Car Customization Shop next to where she’s set up. He mentions he knows her father and she takes him in to see Matt.
Disney/Raymond Liu
Inside, it’s clear that Matt and Pete do go way back. They catch up on some of the fun they had and the different paths they take in high school. Pete mentions his husband to Matt and Matt is completely accepting of Pete. He even notes that Pete dressed up like Boy George in high school and he knew then. It’s a nice moment given how curmudgeonly Matt is known to be. Meanwhile, Pete invites Matt and Riley to his husband’s art opening.
Damien
While Riley is proud of Matt being accepting of his old friend, she’s still worried about how Matt will behave at an art opening. She suggests if he doesn’t like anything to just say “Food for Thought” to distract from his disdain. Matt and Riley go and it becomes clear Matt isn’t the one who needed behavioral training. Pete’s husband, Damien (played by the incomparable Jim Rash), reeks of upper class elitism, looking down on Matt for working on cars.
Disney/Raymond Liu
Matt is well-behaved, noting there’s no way for him to stand up for himself without coming across like a bully. Riley is shocked and wants Matt to channel his more outspoken self. Matt is ready to duck out but Pete catches him and apologizes to Matt, but Damien comes back around and continues being a snob. Matt finally snaps but finds a way to defend himself. He points out his work on customizing cars creates dreams for people. Meanwhile, Damien only hangs other people’s work and Matt notes that most of what he’s seeing isn’t as good as the art gallery where he’s a member, showing a more well-rounded persona than the angry “car guy” most people see.
Apologies and Reviews
Pete and Damien make a stop by the shop, so Damien can apologize to Matt himself. Damien acknowledges that he likes that Matt stood up for himself. Damien and Matt find a way to bond over something they both hate, children. Damien tells Matt about restaurants that don’t allow kids and Matt is excited to go. Damien also keeps his snarky, elitist attitude when introduced to Gabe and Stitch as he refuses to go near them and waves from a distance.
Disney/Raymond Liu
Back at the coffee cart, Riley sent an email about a free cake pop to the Yelp troll. It’s a regular customer named Andy and Riley wants to know why he’s “review bombing” her. It comes out that it’s his teenage daughter doing it because she hates stopping by the cart every day because her dad has a crush on Riley. Riley appreciates the attention and agrees to a date with Andy.
What’s Next?
This episode shows a nice reversal of stereotypes while also setting up some big moves for the end of the season. Matt Parker is a car guy who is outspoken about being conservative and is curmudgeonly in his old age. Add in Tim Allen’s own outspoken conservatism and you have people shocked to see him playing a character accepting of an old friend being gay. Of course, that’s just a negative stereotype designed to denigrate much like Damien’s character tries to do to Matt. This episode goes a long way to show how people from differing view points can find common ground, much like Matt did with his free-spirited love interest, Eve. Having Pete and Damien played by openly gay actors in Tuc Watkins and Jim Rash also helped drive the message home. And Rash steals the scenes in everything he’s in, so that was an inspired choice.
Meanwhile, Riley finds a way to grow in a relationship. It’s clear she has feelings for Gabe and he’s had feelings for her. But he’s with Amelie and Riley needs her own stories. While the Andy character is clearly a temporary relationship, it works for helping Riley show herself as ready for a relationship when Gabe ends up single again. Of course, Andy may be a bigger stumbling block than expected for Gabe. We’ll have to wait and see.
Check out Shifting Gears on ABC, Hulu and Disney Plus.
Article Written By: Jeremy Brown for Stelmach Brown Media 2026
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