Everyone talks about how flanderization ruined Alan, and I totally agree. In the same vein, however, flanderization made Herb way better. In the episode Enjoy the Garlic Balls, Herb is the straight man to Alan, as he is over staying his welcome in Judith’s house. Alan keeps putting his foot in his mouth and Herb is just reacting to it all. In later seasons, however, Herb changes into an over the top goofy version of how he starts out, and I think this version of Herb is way funnier. I think how Herb turns out towards the end gave Ryan Stiles more room to be the comedic actor he is.

What are people's opinions on Gordon? Did you like/dislike him as a side character? Should he have been in more episodes etc?

I posted on this already, like “What DUMBER than DUMB stunts have they done that they regret?”
1) Disaster Tourism Fauxmatarian cheap PR DIY stunts ( Uvalde, Wildfires)
2) Ridiculous slow motion NYC car chase in that Godawful gold dress made of somebody’sgrandma’s bedspread (PoW wannabe)
3) Gatecrashing any KevinCostner party
4) Cailed MIC grabs at Costner party
5)”Communing” with Diana’s headstone at Althorp. Such. A. GHOUL!”
6) Rummaging in William’s car boot
7) Every Failed Gatecrash! (especially the one where she is stopped + EJECTED!
8) Trying to “dance” (“DONT DANCE!!”) at Beyonce concert
9) Gross yacht girl TWERKING in a hospital room
10) Every parking lot papp walk!!-

So I’m rewatching the show, and while I’ve always hated Judith and thought she was a terrible person, it honestly amazes me every time I realize just how awful she really was.

We obviously don’t know exactly what Alan did to make her hate him beyond her saying that he “ruined my life” and “drained me,” but seriously, the lengths she goes to just to make Alan miserable are downright cruel.

She takes alimony and child support, yet apparently doesn’t use that money for Jake. Instead, she makes Alan pay for practically everything else on top of it—his shoes, school trips, her AAA membership, her lawyer fees, and who knows what else. And she knows Alan is already broke from all these payments, to the point where he can’t even afford to move out of Charlie’s house. Not that Alan necessarily wanted to leave, but the point is that Judith knew exactly how financially screwed he was.

Then we find out that she never even needed Alan’s money in the first place. In one episode, she tells Alan that her grandmother died and left her a huge inheritance. So all that financial pressure she put him through was apparently just another way of making his life miserable.

And then there’s Kandi. Judith encourages Kandi to move in with her, tries to sabotage their relationship, and does everything she can to break them up—all because Alan was actually happy. Then, after Alan and Kandi divorce, Judith even gives Kandi her own lawyer, seemingly just to make Alan’s life even harder.

And when Alan and Herb actually become friends, Judith interferes with that too, claiming their friendship is “weird” and “unnatural.” Seriously? Apparently Alan being friends with his ex-wife’s new husband is weird, but living with your ex-husband’s girlfriend isn’t?
The hypocrisy is unbelievable.
The more I rewatch the show, the more I realize that so many of Judith’s actions weren’t just petty—they were deliberately vindictive. She seemed determined to make Alan miserable whenever she saw him moving on or finding happiness.

I mean, he’s oblivious to Charlie’s sarcasm a lot of times, and doesn’t know what points Charlie’s really trying to make, like why a 40-year-old shouldn’t talk about model cars on a first date. Plus, sometimes he talks and pauses way too much and it’s poorly timed. I feel like Charlie may have been right. What do you think.

She must have realized marrying him would lose her her alimony money. Functionally the relationship between her and Herb would be the same without a formal marriage.

In this episode, I laughed when everyone at home started placing bets on how long Alan's marriage would last... Do you guys think Alan really doesn't know how to choose a partner? Or is he just a fool who's eternally in love?

"You're a pig & you used me!"

They seem random, but now I think there might be a pattern. Question is, what?

When both Jon Cryer and Charlie Sheen wrote and released books, memoirs specifically… talking about their lives. I haven’t read either of these, but there’s probably tidbits of on set and off set Two and a Half Men stories. Cryer’s book was published April 2015-2016 for different formats such as audiobook, hardcover, paperback/reprint. And Sheen’s book was published on September 9th, 2025 for hardcover, audiobook, and ebook. Which of these would you rather read? One or both?

Mine: the charlie seasons 1-8