As the second episode of The Ex-Wife begins, Jack (Tom Mison) goes after Tasha (Celine Buckens) so he can explain everything to her. Once he manages to stop her, Jack insists it isn’t what she thinks. Tasha returns home and thanks the nanny for watching Emily while she was away. She asks Jack if that is her and whether he is sleeping with her. Jack denies it before reminding her that she followed him tonight. Tasha says she didn’t follow him although she used the phone finder app. As they sit down, Jack admits you can’t spend that amount of time with someone and feel nothing. Tasha told him to speak to her and he did, but he doesn’t think one call after twenty years was good enough. He doesn’t think there is a way to prove he chooses her over Jen unless he never sees her again.

He needed to see her again so Tasha forced him into a pretty impossible situation. She doesn’t want him going on date nights with his ex-wife. Jack says it was just dinner and she has a new contract so she needed someone. He goes on to say he is trying to do this gently. As their argument continues, Jack asks if she wants him to just abandon Jen. She says she doesn’t want anything. She’ll do what she wants and he can do what he wants. He gets mad and grabs Tasha when she says she is taking Emily away from this crap show before quickly apologizing. Jack quickly tries to smooth things over with her. Once she says no more Jen, he says okay. He agrees to talk to his family too because they need to be nicer to her. Tasha confesses she is at the house all the time so she misses her life and job. He suggests starting a nursery three days a week to give Tasha her space.

Jack says he can’t lose her. Later, Tasha hangs out with Sam (Jordan Stephens) and admits she believes him. Sam reminds her that there is no way to know what they were doing in there. He explains that he doesn’t trust Jack, but she didn’t catch him doing anything wrong either. As they talk about her portfolio, Sam tells Tasha that he is there for her whenever she needs him. The last time he told her what he thought about Jack they didn’t speak for a year so he doesn’t want that to happen again. Sam gets permission to use her bathroom before he goes. Instead, he goes into the office where he snaps pictures of Emily’s birth certificate. Later, Hayley (Clare Foster) visits with flowers. Tasha reluctantly lets her come inside. Once she puts Emily upstairs, Hayley says Jack went to town on them and no one was unscathed.

Hayley admits Jack has never done anything like that before so he must really love Tasha. They talk about how hard it is during the first year with a new baby before Hayley says Emily looks so much like Jack. She didn’t realize how hard it had been for Tasha until Jack mentioned she had no support network. Hayley apologizes for being awful to her, but says she is here for her now. Tasha isn’t what she thought at all. She didn’t think someone like Tasha would care what they thought about her and didn’t know she’d be so fragile. Tasha asks if Jen is okay. Hayley just reiterates how much Jack loves her and how much he’d do to make her happy. No one said a word to Jen so they went cold turkey. Hayley doesn’t think Jen is okay after all. While out and about, Tasha gets a message from Sam saying he needs to speak to her. Jack messages her too to apologize for the way things have been. He says Jen needed him, but he needed Tasha more.

Tasha visits Jen to explain. She doesn’t know what she is doing even though she has been behaving like she is a laid back Gen Z. She isn’t. Tasha believes Jen should hate her because she stole her husband. Jen doesn’t hate her although she hates what happened to her and Jack. She claims that happened a long time ago. Jack needed a fresh start and Tasha gave him that. Plus, Jen doesn’t think she’d be doing anything different if the tables were turned. When Emily begins crying, Jen picks her up and cares for her while telling Tasha where to get food for her. Jen explains that Jack brought Emily by a few times when he stopped by. Later, Sam finally gets in touch with Tasha. He reveals he went to the house and Jack was there, but he made less of an effort to disguise the fact that he didn’t want him there. When Jack left, Sam followed him and he thinks Jack saw him. Tasha worries that Jack might think something is going on between them now.

Jen interrupts to give Tasha something back that she dropped previously. While taking Emily to the indoor playground, Jack tells Tasha that he has to go to New York again. He was going to get a ticket, but believed it was still the wrong time. Jack gets a call from Johnny (Sam Hoare) so he has to step away for a moment. While playing with her daughter, Tasha believes she sees Jen watching them from a balcony above her. She asks another parent to watch Emily so she can go after Jen. When she comes back, her daughter is missing. Jack returns and finds out what is going on so they begin searching for Emily separately. Once Tasha finally finds her, she is scolded for leaving her alone. Eventually, Jack learns that she thought she saw Jen. Tasha agrees that she wasn’t here as she apologizes more. Sam sits with Emily’s hairbrush while Jen looks at pictures of herself with Jack when she was pregnant. Sam prepares to send it in for a paternity test.

At home, Tasha tells Jack what Jen said about him accidentally leaving toddler food in her house. She calls it weird while Jack admits he doesn’t know. He isn’t sure what she should expect since Jen isn’t like Tasha and doesn’t express her emotions like her. Tasha suggests they’re the wise elders and she is the footloose chancer. She has been a grownup since she was 16 and started working to fund her education. Tasha supported her mother until she died and started supporting herself. She believes he left his wife without leaving her because she is here right now. Jack thinks that is an unfair thing to say. Since she doesn’t think things are going to change, Tasha says she can’t do this anymore. She feels like she is going to disappear if she doesn’t leave. Their relationship quickly sours as Tasha refuses to speak to him. Jack gets mad, throws her suitcase, and breaks the window.

Jack grabs her and kisses her. He tells her that she is his wife and there is no one else here. They end up having sex. Jack tells her about seeing Sam at the house and again at work. He suspects something is up with Sam and wonders if he has feelings for her. Jack admits they spoke briefly and it was weird. He says not to cause a problem on his account even though he doesn’t trust Sam. When Tasha wakes up in the morning, she tells Jack that she loves him. He is packed for his upcoming trip. Jack tells her she’ll have three days to relax, get creative, and find a job. He thanks her for changing his life. While she is alone, Tasha checks her emails and gets a message from Sam who wants her to call him. Johnny calls to ask about Jack without realizing he went on a business trip. After the call, she calls an unrecognized number.

She tries to track the location of Jack’s phone only to find that it is not connected. As she goes out, she texts Jack to tell him to call her when he lands. She calls Sam who has a good feeling about her upcoming interview. He begins asking about Emily as Tasha waits to pick her up from the nursery. Tasha panics when they tell her that Emily has already been picked up by her mother. She asks them to describe the woman who took her child. Meanwhile, Jen walks with Emily.

 

The Ex-Wife Review

The second episode of The Ex-Wife slowly unraveled the mystery as Sam attempts to find out whether Emily could be his daughter. Meanwhile, it seems like Jen is pushing the boundaries with Tasha and Emily so she might not be over the fact that Tasha broke up her marriage. Tasha and Jack are having problems since Jack isn’t eager to give up his ex-wife.

In terms of quality, the episode pretty much followed in line with the previous one. Nothing stood out as being better or worse although the series remains watchable. The acting is good from everyone, especially the leads. Unfortunately, The Ex-Wife still hasn’t done much to set it apart from other shows in the crowded genre making it difficult to recommend.

There are some eye-rolling moments and that may even get worse as the series moves forward, but the biggest problem may be the lack of originality. The episode was really just okay even though it isn’t going to leave a lasting impression. It scores a 6 out of 10. Recaps of The Ex-Wife can be found on Reel Mockery here. Find out how to support our independent entertainment site here.