'Guy With Kids' Season 1, Episode 4: 'The Standoff' Recap

Grabbing coffee with their kids, Gary confesses that he’s having issues with his son Yoda, who is becoming stubborn and defiant.

They meet as a group for their usual Sunday night dinner, where Chris is punched every time he brings up something depressing about his divorce. He also reveals his own issue with his son—Ernie won’t sleep unless Chris is in the chair next to him. Marny tells him he needs to sleep train him, but Chris says he’s tried everything.

As Emily admires the bridge that Gary and his other son are making for school—and Nick and Emily realize that they didn’t read the back of their daughter Violet’s assignment sheet, and missed the part about building a bridge. Nick insists he will manage to make one better than Gary’s, but Gary just scoffs.

Yoda starts giving his dad attitude again, and calling him “Gary.” Gary tries to discipline him, but Marny steps in. He speaks to her about her undermining him, saying that since he is the one that stays at home with kids all day they need to listen to him, and she should “butt out.” Wrong thing to say.

Annoyed and twitchy, Marny steals Ernie and goes off to Chris’ apartment to sleep train him. Yoda, meanwhile, won’t finish his dinner. Gary gathers his favorite toys in a box, and says he will throw them away if Yoda doesn’t eat. Unfortunately, his selection is off-they're either not his toys, or he could care less about their fate.

At Chris’, Marny is trying to explain to Chris that he can’t pick up Ernie during his sleep training. She send him into the room to comfort his crying son, and Chris emerges almost immediately with Ernie in tow. “Now I know it looks like I picked him up, but he’s actually holding me right now.”

Marny thinks he should leave so she can do it properly, but he reminds her it’s his apartment. Isn’t she really trying to compensate because of what Gary said? Marny laughs, recognizing the truth, and allows Chris to walk her to the door—where she suddenly smells smoke. As Christ is investigating the hallway, she shuts him outside.

Somehow she manages to sneak Ernie back to her place, where Gary wishes to speak to her in the foyer.

“You mean the welcome mat?” Marny wants to put Yoda to bed because he has school in the morning, but Gary wants to wait until he listens to him. Marny gives him one hour.

“I’ll put this whole building to bed if I have to!”

At Nick’s, where Chris has sought refuge, Nick is working on the bridge for Violet’s project. Violet wants to paint the bridge purple, but Nick thinks maybe not so much. Emily defiantly puts a Cinderella toy on the bridge, and, as soon as they walk away, Nick chucks it off with a firm reminder that she doesn’t belong in that world.

Gary comes over seeking counsel, bringing Yoda and his dinner plate along. Nick says he’ll talk to him, but Yoda gets just as snarky.

The men head to Gary’s, with all of Yoda’s favorite things. They’re going to eat his favorite snacks (including a “Super Peep” compressed Peep ball), and do his favorite dance, and play basketball, and inhale from helium balloons… at one point there’s a slip ‘n slide involved. Gary wakes up his other son despite his tiredness to increase the jealousy facotr, and while tossing the football, breaks his bridge. Now he has both boys mad. They sit at the table and glare defiantly.

Marny comes back after Gary begs for her help, and Chris admits that he likes to sleep with Ernie, and steals his son back. Marny tells the boys how good they have it with having Gary for a father. They go up to him and apologize.

Yoda and Gary have a talk about Yoda’s new attitude. Yoda says he hates how his father is always telling him to do stuff, but Gary said that’s the responsibilities of the oldest. He says he wants to have a good relationship with his son so they can be friends when they are grown up.

Yoda tells him he looked like a sick horse while dancing, and Gary stops his mouth with a Super Peep.

Back at Nick’s, the bridge is finished. Violet doesn’t seem too thrilled, and Emily can’t imagine why.

“But the important thing is, you beat your adult friend at a 1^st grade project.”

Reluctantly, Nick calls his daughter over, and they spray paint the project purple.