Turns out that the moved forward by bringing some minor characters into the forefront and otherwise creating more tension between Pumpkin & Josh and Jennifer & Sugar Bear.
First, I need to connect a mistake. Last week, I wrote that daughter Jessica "Chubbs" Shannon would be returning to the program for the first time since "Here Comes Honey Boo Boo" ended. I was wrong. Chubbs already appeared on "Mama June: From Not to Hot" -- as recently as last spring. She helped Alana move to Pumpkin's home from June's home. Plus, she attended June's failed family intervention In other words, I was wrong.
Regarding the story, the show started out with everyone wondering about June and her whereabouts. Alana was particularly upset that her mother wasn't taking her calls and was hanging with Geno out of state. So Pumpkin decides to take Alana to California to audition for some new gigs. The problem is that they don't want to tell Sugar Bear or Jennifer -- because going behind their back will make them more likely to support the idea of a two-week trip to L.A.
Despite Sugar Bear's overall absence in Alana's life, he and Jennifer have decided that they will do everything that they can do to get Alana to spend the summer at their home. So they follow Alana and Pumpkin to L.A. for a huge confrontation -- because talking things over back home makes absolutely no sense at all.
Lastly, June's sister Doe Doe has suddenly decided that she needs to get June back home. Having no clue how to move forward, it suddenly occurs to her that the tow-truck driver who'd towed June's vehicle during her infamous arrest would clearly know where to find June. Because.. why wouldn't he??
Except that she learned that the tow-truck driver was shot somewhere. Which brings a sense of urgency to Doe Doe. After all, someone who once interacted in a very fleeting interaction with June was killed. Doe Doe recruits family friend Big Mike to drive her to Alabama to search every casino for any sign of June and drag her back home kicking and screaming!
Here are some cosmetic distractions for me from the show. There was Doe Doe's teeth. She used to have rotten teeth. WeTV got her teeth done when they moved her from occasional support character to main character. And then, they milked her new teeth with scene after scene devoted to her shiny white teeth.
And then there were Alana and Pumpkin's claws. They are huge. Which looks really odd for girls who hang out in t-shirts, shorts, and flip-flops all of the time and who are raising a toddler.
I had forgotten how contrived that the plotting could be on "Mama June: From Not to Hot." I mean, why would it ever occur to Doe Doe use the tow-truck driver's real life murder to initiate a statewide search for her crazy sibling? Don't get me wrong, I will keep watching every Friday. But I'll continue to chuckle at their obviously plotted story lines.