Let's Talk About DUNCANVILLE Episode 8 - "Judge Annie"
“Judge Annie” is the latest episode of Duncanville, and it was a weird one in my opinion. It wasn’t bad, in fact, it was pretty good, but it felt less cohesive than other episodes. If you haven’t watched it yet, this is your spoiler warning. New episodes of Duncanville air on Sunday evenings on FOX.
In the episode, we start off with the Harris family dealing with a summer heatwave that makes life unbearable. They go to the pool and it’s incredibly crowded. This leads to Jack and Annie remembering a little lake area they called “The Hole.” The family gets to enjoy a peaceful afternoon in solitude. I honestly thought that this would turn into Duncan and his friends abusing The Hole and it becoming crowded, etc. but then another storyline swerved into the mix.
On the way home from The Hole, Annie spots a car that has illegally been parked across three handicapped spaces. What a jerk! Well, the guy turns out to be a millionaire named Neil LaDouche (so fitting), and he contests the parking ticket she gives him. This takes the pair to a public access television judge who is about to just throw the case out before Annie gives an impassioned speech. Turns out LaDouche already paid the ticket, so no big deal, but the speech got the mayor to go and hire Annie as the new judge with Jack serving as her bailiff. This is where the episode focuses for a good while as she becomes the hot new judge and is very popular, bringing in some much needed ratings.
Duncan shows his friends The Hole and everything’s going great until LaDouche buys the land and decides no one can use it and he’s going to build an adult go-kart track there. Eventually, this feud goes to Judge Annie who rules in favor of LaDouche since he does legally own the land, but then the next day the kids protest and the legendary Squirrel Man arrives. He claims to have been there for about 50 years which give him squatter’s rights and therefore he owns the land, not LaDouche. Annie loses her judgeship and that’s it.
It’s got some great moments for sure, it just felt more like there was a distinct Story A and Story B that they then smashed together instead of Story A and Story B that maybe collide a little bit. I didn’t hate it, it just felt very different. Also, the kids’ plan to force LaDouche to become a sex offender was equal parts disturbing and brilliant.