Can men and women really be friends? I suppose It’s Not Like That tells us that they can, but only if they’re already married (not to each other). In this case, Lori and Malcolm are friends because Lori used to be the best friend of Jenny, Malcolm’s wife. Unfortunately, Sarah left them way too soon, and now Malcolm and Lori are lonely. The show focuses on the developing friendship between Pastor Malcolm and a divorcee, Lori, both parents of teenage kids. In the first two episodes, we saw that Lori and Malcolm’s friendship was slowly turning into something more. It looked like they were starting to get cozy before they actually kissed, and Lori’s elder son, Merritt, later heard Malcolm and Lori talking about this kiss. This leaves him sour, and now we get to see how Lori and Malcolm navigate their relationship, as well as deal with the judgment of their teen children. It’s definitely a tough place to be in. So, with that said, let’s jump straight into everything that goes down in episode 3.
Spoiler Alert
Why Is The Rummage Sale Important To Malcolm?
Episode 3 of It’s Not Like That begins with Malcolm looking at an old dress of Jenny’s, which takes him back to an old memory. In this memory, Jenny tells him about how she’d like to have a rummage sale become an interfaith thing. This would do good for the community as a whole, and it would also mean more stuff for the sale itself, meaning more of a chance of making loads of money. Malcolm’s reminded of just how wonderful Jenny was, and how this sale has become an integral part of his family, so now that it’s been long enough, he thinks it’s time to start putting her stuff away for good. In the present day, he tells the kids they should go through their mum’s stuff so that they can toss some of it into the rummage sale. However, Penelope’s already freaking out about what he’s said, and now feels like he’s trying to get rid of the memory of their mother.
On the other hand, Merritt decides to tell Flora about what he overheard, telling her it’s something she could write about, but she’s pretty certain her dad wouldn’t do something like that without telling the fam. But before all of this, her dad tells her to figure out what to do with her mother’s car, and he says he trusts her. This is pressure, not trust, but Malcom won’t understand this, because he’s a nice pastor and doesn’t want to be the kind of dad who controls his kids. Malcolm and the kids have a decent relationship, but later, Flora and Pen discuss how they wish he’d treat them like a normal parent and just yell at them.
Anyway, Justin’s a sweet little boy who starts trying to sort everything out because he doesn’t want to see his sisters fighting, but they’re not fighting; they’re just trauma bonding. How did this boy end up so type A, eh? Love how Flora’s the exact opposite. Anyway, they then split up the stuff, and there are some sweet memories that they decide to part with. But Flora decides to give Pen the same blue dress Malcolm saw at the beginning of the episode, that triggered him to ask the kids to gather their stuff. It’s a beautiful moment to then see Malcolm react to her wearing the dress in person. She looks just like her mom, leaving him tearing up, but proving to us that they’re finally ready to move on a little bit. But hey, the rummage sale will always be a memory that keeps this family together and reminds them of Jenny.
Does David Crack It With the Kids?
In episode 3, David tries desperately to spend more time with the kids, but they just don’t want him to. Lori suggests that they do a thing called bird nesting, which Malcolm suggested to her. It simply entails the parents switching places, rather than the kids moving around, because that would keep them in the same environment. This seems like a good idea at first, because it would allow the kids to feel at home. More importantly, Casey said she was not going to go to the transition townhouse after Dakota, Pen’s new bestie, was actually nice to her and explained how she had divorced parents, too. I have a feeling these two might get close, which would leave Pen really upset. Casey is lonely because her only friend, Pen, decided to go be friends with the mean girls, but what if Casey becomes their genuine favorite? That would be something.
Anyway, when David comes to the house, and Lori temporarily moves into his condo, things don’t go as well as planned. The kids aren’t happy to see him at all. He gets everything wrong, because Casey doesn’t eat meat anymore, and Merritt is just furious with his dad for basically ruining their lives by asking for the divorce. However, he’s not very vocal about his feelings. In fact, he simply shows his frustration through some grunting and saying he’s going to go drum. But David is trying. Sure, he’s lonely, but he also misses his kids. That’s not something he planned on letting go of. So he can’t understand their behavior. But Casey can see that her dad is trying, and she does try to give him some warmth until he decides they (him and Merritt) should give her wrestling lessons. This is when things get crazy. Merritt doesn’t let David demonstrate anything to Casey; he decides to tackle his dad and hold him down until he taps out too hard, with Casey’s yelling in the background. Finally, Merritt tells his dad that he was the one who ruined everything and can’t fix it just by switching houses and spending weekends with them. This leads to David self-reflecting; maybe he has done wrong by Lori too, eh?
What’s Happening Between Malcolm and Lori?
On the other hand, after spending time in the pool and getting hit on by Larry and a couple of other dudes at the condo swimming pool (looking great, by the way), Lori goes home to realize she hasn’t got her night clothes. She decides to put on one of David’s t-shirts, which brings on a memory of them together (while David played jazz songs, he used to watch Lori dance back in the day) in bed. This triggers her, and she decides to call Malcolm over to feel less lonely. Malcolm is, at that moment, setting up the rummage sale after having yelled at a guy for trying to buy a belt buckle Jenny bought for him back in the day, which he never used. Malcolm is clearly struggling, so he decides to join Lori, leaving his friends to handle the sale setup.
The next thing you know, they’ve spent too long together in a confined room. Lori tells Malcolm she thinks this place is a bit odd and very grey, but they’re also happy spending time together. Ironically, as soon as Lori says it’s late and Malcolm should go back to his kids, David gives him a call, saying he’s in Lori’s bed. But Malcolm doesn’t tell David he was with Lori, and when he walks out of the condo, Flora and Merritt see him, because he’s essentially giving her a driving lesson. They’re just getting close. Anyway, Flora trusts her dad, but Merritt doesn’t.
In It’s Not Like That episode 3’s ending, Lori decides she’ll help David get closer to the kids again, and Flora tells Malcolm that she’s hoping he’ll tell them when he finds a partner, but also that she thinks he deserves love too. Pen watches as a woman buys the hat she bought Jenny back in the day, and she lets it go, like watching a bird fly away. Now, Lori and David’s kids have to pack and unpack every other weekend so they can spend time with both parents. It looks like Lori’s finally moving on, and she wants David to be happy too. But the episode ends with Merritt being really angry about what’s happening between Malcolm and Lori, so he tells his father to talk to his “friend,” Malcolm. But the episode ends with Malcolm texting Sarah, David’s friend, because he saw Lori with David earlier and thought they might have a chance to be happy again together. A lot of complicated thoughts and misunderstandings, but David is definitely going to blow up at Malcolm and Lori in episode 4.
