Warning: Spoilers ahead for The Goldbergs season 10, episode 13.
While The Goldbergs season 10 took its time setting up Adam and Carmen, the family sitcom wasted no time forgetting about their relationship until one scene saved the subplot. Adam’s love life has always been a secondary storyline in The Goldbergs. While the sitcom’s hero has had memorable relationships (and breakups) with Dana, Jackie, and Brea over the show’s 10 seasons, The Goldbergs is primarily a family sitcom and his relationships with his parents and siblings tend to dominate the show’s focus.
While this approach is understandable, it can sometimes lead to Adam’s romantic storylines suffering from disappointing endings. While his breakup with Dana facilitated one of the best cameos in The Goldbergs when Weird Al Yankovic helped the show’s hero accept that their romance was over, the plot line didn’t delve into the couple’s sadness over the situation for long. Similarly, when Jackie was recast and eventually written out of The Goldbergs, the impact that this breakup had on Adam didn’t get much screen time. Luckily, The Goldbergs season 10 has narrowly avoided this issue with Adam’s latest relationship: a romance with his co-worker Carmen.
The Goldbergs Season 10 Is Ignoring Adam’s Relationship
At the beginning of season 10, Adam began a fledgling romantic relationship with his colleague Carmen. While his recent breakup with Brea and the death of Jeff Garlin’s Goldbergs character Murray dominated the first few episodes of the season, episodes 5—8 set up Carmen and Adam’s eventual romance. The Goldbergs season 10, episode 9, “Million Dollar Reward,” saw them finally hook up, and the next episode jeopardized their relationship. However, episodes 11 and 12 then completely forgot about her, only for episode 13, “Moms Need Other Moms,” to fix this issue with a short scene confirming that Adam and Carmen are still in a stable relationship.
It was jarring when The Goldbergs didn’t mention Carmen in episodes 11 and 12, since Adam almost ruined their very young relationship by showing that he still had feelings for his ex in episode 10. However, in “Moms Need Other Moms,” there is a brief moment where Adam is seen on the phone with the unseen Carmen. Since The Goldbergs season 10 was with Beverly’s story, the series hadn’t acknowledged their relationship for a while. However, Adam’s loving dialogue implies that viewers haven’t heard from Carmen because all is well, so there is no news to report from the relationship.
How The Goldbergs Season 10 Addressed This Issue
It makes sense for some episodes to avoid mentioning Carmen, as not every episode addresses Adam’s job in the diner. While Adam’s high school relationships were mentioned more often (since he attended school every day), his loose work schedule means entire episodes can ignore Carmen and the diner altogether. Moreover, the fact that Adam still lives with his mother not only proves The Goldbergs should move into the ‘90s and let its hero move on with his life, but it also explains why Adam wouldn’t likely mention Carmen much since The Goldbergs hero doesn’t want his mother to embarrass him (again) by meeting his new partner.
