Fuller House season 1 binge recap and study guide

Fuller House season 1 binge recap and study guide

More than two decades after going off the air, the Full House cast is back with Netflix’s Fuller House, a revival series that sees a recently widowed D.J. (Candace Cameron Bure) raising her three boys with the help of sister Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin) and best friend Kimmy (Andrea Barber). In other words, it’s a gender-swapped version of the original sitcom.

Now that the entire first season is on Netflix, we’ve put together a guide to all 13 episodes that we’ll be updating in the week after its launch. Read on for the best parts, the worst parts, and to see just how nostalgia-happy each half-hour gets.

EPISODE 1: “Our Very First Show, Again”

What happens: The whole Tanner clan reunites at their old headquarters after D.J., Danny’s oldest, loses her firefighter husband. The reunion is brief, though: Joey has to return to his new home of Las Vegas, Danny and Becky have a show to host in Los Angeles, and Jesse has to also make it back to L.A. to work on General Hospital as a music supervisor. But just when they’re all about to leave to embark on their separate lives, they overhear D.J. expressing her concern over being a single mom to three boys (Jackson, Max, and Tommy). At first, everyone says they’re going to abandon their commitments and stay, but then Stephanie steps forward and tells them that it’s her turn to help out. Kimmy — who is in the midst of a divorce from her cheating husband, Fernando, and has a daughter named Ramona — also decides to help play nanny to D.J.’s kids.

The best part: The women break out a choreographed dance to a New Kids on the Block track in an almost unbearably cheesy moment — but then the camera gives us a glimpse of the men, who are trying (and, fortunately for us, failing) to look cool as they dance along.
The worst part: Steph asks where her little sister Michelle is, and Danny responds by saying she’s busy in New York running her fashion empire. The entire group then turns to the camera and flashes a collective disapproving look, very obviously — and very unnecessarily — showing how they really feel about Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen not returning for the revival. We get it, John Stamos: You’re mad.
Nostalgia score: 10/10. It would be more accurate to call this pilot a pile of nostalgia than an episode of television: We get a “How rude!” from Stephanie, a Bullwinkle impression from Uncle Joey, and D.J.’s onetime love Steve shows up to kidnap a bunch of leftovers. And that’s not even mentioning the final scene, where the Fuller House crew shares a splitscreen with an identical moment from Full House of the entire clan singing the Flintstones theme song to the baby of the moment.

EPISODE 2: “Moving Day”

What happens: Now that the elders are out of the house, D.J. and Steph are left to fend for themselves… and D.J.’s three sons. But then Kimmy and her daughter, Ramona, move in to help out even more, a change that not everyone’s a fan of — especially D.J.’s oldest son, Jackson, who hides in Uncle Jesse’s car in an attempt to escape.

The best part: Jesse leaves a cute voicemail on Becky’s machine… but then forgets to hang up the call and doesn’t realize it until after he’s told his nephew all about how Becky’s lasagna tastes like sweatpants.

The worst part: D.J. prepares her oldest son for the news of their new housemates by being sugary sweet — literally: She offers him a breakfast milkshake, and then douses his pancakes in hot fudge and a pile of whipped cream. Predictably, her tactic fails.

The best line: “Do you really want me to change schools and be the outcast loner kid? All to move in with the whitest family in America? The Fullers are like albino polar bears drinking milk in a snowstorm watching Frozen.” —Ramona to her mom, Kimmy

Nostalgia score: 9/10. The episode is essentially a repeat of a Full House one where D.J. and Steph are forced to live together, so there’s that. Also, Jesse briefly returns to reunite with his one true love: fried chicken.

EPISODE 3: “Funner House”

What happens: Kimmy and Steph force D.J. to go on a girls’ night out while Joey stays home and “takes care of” (translation: starts a lighthearted war with) the kids. Their fun evening gets interrupted, though, when Kimmy runs into her soon-to-be ex-husband, Fernando, at the club with another woman. To make Kimmy feel better, Steph has random guest star Macy Gray sing “(I’ve Had) The Time of My Life” so D.J. and Kimmy can get their Patrick Swayze on in a dance competition. It works: The two win, and Kimmy ends the night on a high note.

The best part: Cameron Bure gets to show off her Dancing With the Stars skills in a tribute to Dirty Dancing that puts her and Kimmy’s somehow everlasting friendship in the spotlight.

The worst part: It’s a toss-up between when Kimmy tries to be cool by saying “fleek” and when Steph and Macy Gray very badly lip sync “Time of My Life.” Lip syncing isn’t that hard, guys! If Tim Tebow can do it, so can you!