Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Goldbergs season 10, episode 13.While The Goldbergs didn’t kick Barry out of Beverly’s house yet, the sitcom did at least acknowledge that this story detail is a major issue in season 10. It has historically proven tricky for family sitcoms to handle the end of adolescence. When actors are hired to play teenage characters, creators can often forget that these teens will soon become grown adults, and, by the time season 8 or 9 rolls around, the show’s cast will be too old to believably live with their parents. While a great many adults live with their parents for a variety of reasons in real life, in the world of sitcoms, this can be a problem.
In The Goldbergs season 10, Adam (who is at least 20) and Barry (who is canonically somewhere between 27–30) still live under the same roof even though the latter has been studying medicine in university for some years. In practical terms, the reason for this is so that The Goldbergs can keep both Sean Giambrone and Troy Gentile in the show’s cast list and rely on their characters for funny plot lines. However, the plot line stretches credulity because the eponymous family doesn’t typically struggle with money (so Barry living at home is not the result of economic circumstances) and because staying at home doesn’t fit Barry’s impulsive character.
Season 10 Episode 13 Mentioned Barry and Adam’s Living Situation
Since both brothers lost their father, former Goldbergs star Jeff Garlin’s Murray, at the start of season 10, it does make sense that Adam would opt to take a year out before attending college. However, Barry’s choice to live in not only the same house but the same room as his little brother doesn’t track with the nature of his character. That said, although they are still stuck in the same situation, The Goldbergs season 10, episode 13, “Moms Need Other Moms,” at least addressed how strange it is for Barry and Adam to share a room well into adulthood with a plot about Barry saving up to move out.
In “Moms Need Other Moms,” Barry noted that he has no independence in his current living situation, while Adam bemoaned his lack of privacy. Both of these complaints fit their characters and reaffirmed that The Goldbergs should enter the ‘90s to solve this issue. It makes sense that the more sensitive Adam would care more about his privacy while the more bombastic, outspoken Barry would feel hemmed in by living with his mother and brother. Furthermore, Beverly refusing to lend Barry the funds to move out was also in character for the smothering matriarch, while Barry’s friends telling him that he was a nightmare roommate also tracked.
Why Barry (And Erica) Should Move Out In The Goldbergs Season 10
The creators of The Goldbergs season 10 bought the sitcom some time by conceding that both Adam and Barry found their living situation suboptimal. Since Beverly’s refusal to help out her children financially explains why Barry (and Erica) didn’t move out immediately, it now makes sense for Barry to stay despite his misgivings. The Goldbergs season 10 is still wasting some of its best potential plots, but the sitcom has at least justified a decision that seemed both out-of-character and tough to believe. Now, The Goldbergs just needs to find a fittingly funny way to get Barry out of his mother’s apron strings.
Episodes of The Goldbergs season 10 on ABC