Not Dead Yet Season 2 Episode 7 Review: Not in the Game Yet

On Not Dead Yet Season 2 Episode 7, “Not in the Game Yet,” athletic tensions heat up on the softball field. Apparently the newspaper has had an arch-rival TV news team all this time.

The tensions are technically between Duncan and the owner of the station, played by Chelsea Hander. Let’s just say they aren’t limited to sports talk. In fact, romantic sentiments gone awry are the most evident theme of the episode.

Though Duncan places a million(!) dollar bet on an amateur game, his own banter with his “enemy” soon plays second fiddle to Nell’s overcompetitive spirit. That threatens to throw off TJ, who just wants everyone to have fun.

Add in Dennis’s attempts to antagonize his ex-girlfriend (props to bi/pan representation, though), Lexi and Edward’s first semi-date, and Sam and Cricket just being there to get drunk, and you can probably guess that the score will be the least interesting part of the matchup.

The show has been thriving on unconventional dynamics lately, and Edward and Lexi continue to carry that torch. In each episode, they seem to wonder how they’re making this thing between them work every bit as much as we do.

Their first real date after weeks of random hookups is a very awkward testament to that. By now, when they realize they find their best banter in tossing insults at everyone around them, it’s something many viewers are happy to accept.

Nell is, if anything, even more awkward. She tries to tamp down her criticisms of her teammates with little success and attempts to flirt with TJ with even less. Thankfully, he’s willing to look past all of it to see who she really is.

Now that we know they’re going to make a go of it, I’m curious to see how it plays out. This far into the season, it’s likely we’ll see something big happen for them by the finale, and they might just get lucky enough for it to be something good.

Lest things get too joyful, the episode does end with Duncan breaking the terms of his bet to pet-sit a bird. He then passes the duties on to Nell. Let’s just hope our next adventure isn’t themed around an avian ghost.

With multiple love interest sagas unfolding but not much else pertaining to the long term, this is another installment that could partially qualify as a bottle episode, especially since it’s another with only the briefest appearance of a ghost.

The most prominent absence, especially with Duncan and Lexi interacting in several scenes, is the fact there’s no serious mention of their relationship and its progress or lack thereof. Things seem to be status quo in that area.

We’ll need to see growth outside of the sexual tension department soon. Between absent fathers, Sam’s marriage drama, and everyone’s personal lives, there’s some serious stuff this comedy will have to talk about eventually.

Still, I’m happy to take a break and let everyone get a little (or a lot) silly. If we get some couples to beat the odds along the way, all the better. It might just be best if they continue beating those odds outside the world of sports.

What did you think of this episode of Not Dead Yet? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Not Dead Yet airs Wednesdays at 8:30/7:30c on ABC.

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