Ep 4. Foam Finger

Tessa and Ryan return from their trip to find some changes in Chatswin in episode 4 of Suburgatory season 2 titled "Foam Finger." Tessa is delighted about the possibility of befriending new resident Eden, a cool girl who shares her love of poetry, but things don't go quite as expected when they abruptly clash at the neighborhood block party.

Meanwhile, George becomes worried about Sheila's household molding problem and asks Noah to look into it, but is disappointed with the results. Also, Dallas puts her business expertise to good use with Malik's school project, but offers more help than expected. And in the meantime, George discovers some distressing news about Chatswin City Hall.

"Foam Finger" provides lots of amusing situations, mostly involving Tessa's trying to fit in with the locals, after last season's pitch-perfect parody of over-manicured American suburbs. But while there's much to enjoy here, the episode had a slightly anxious undercurrent, too, as many of the characters' suspicions about their paradise begin to come true.

There's also a spot of intriguing development in the episode's title, which refers both to the foam finger that Lisa (Allie Grant) is given by her beau Malik (Maestro Harrell) to help her support his school campaign (Malik is running for class president), and to the gesturing off-screen that seems to attract Sheila's daughter's Simon's attention right at the conclusion. Plus, we get more simmering resentment and suburbanite depravity, with Dallas and Dalia both displaying narcissistic tendencies.

Overall, "Foam Finger" is another strong chapter in Suburgatory's second season. Even though it doesn't top the previous episode, it continues its high standard of wickedly funny but sharply observed suburban satire. The Tessa-Eden plotting is neatly handled, and there's also a charming subplot about Lisa wanting to be Malik's girlfriend, among other things.