Family Dinner for Schmucks

Overview

After she and Vince moved in to Ed's house, Bonnie tries to make the best of things by instituting a new tradition of the Goodson Family Dinner. At first everyone annoys each other to the point where they end up eating seperately. By the end of the episode, though, Ed realizes that bringing the family together once in a while is a good thing. He decides to reinstitute the Goodson Family Dinner providing everyone eats in silence. Meanwhile, both Ed and Henry learn lessons about ambition. Ed meets a young hotshot doctor during rounds at the hospital and wishes that Henry were more like him. When he learns that the doctor is willing to cut corners with his patients in order to get ahead, though, he realizes that his son is actually the better man. Henry, on the other hand, covers for a young fact checker at work and is punished by having to cover a senior citizen dance instead of doing an important political interview. After talking to his father, he realizes that sometimes he needs to be a little more aggresive if he wants to get ahead. Vince's self-esteem takes a hit when Bonnie hires outside workers to assemble a new cabinet she bought instead of letting her husband do it. In the end, she shows him that he doesn't have to be good at stuff like that to please her - loving her is enough.