Eileen reminds her family that it’s Lent and asks them to give up things they really love, which in turn proves to be quite a daunting task. In a chance meeting, Kenny meets his first gay crush, and Pat discovers his little girl, Shannon, is all grown up.

When Kenny decides to audition for the school play, “Zombie Romeo and Juliet,” Eileen volunteers to help out. Kenny receives the role of Romeo, but much to his dismay, his ex-girlfriend Mimi is playing Juliet. Things get more awkward when Eileen, realizing that this may be the only time she will see Kenny marry a girl, begins to treat the play’s wedding scene like an actual wedding. Meanwhile, Pat and Jimmy both struggle to talk to their new crushes.

When Eileen pushes Kenny to get a job, she starts to feel jealous when he starts to work as a tutor and instantly starts to bond with the student’s mom. As Kenny starts to spend more time away from home, Eileen realizes she’ll need to make some changes if she wants her relationship with Kenny to improve. Meanwhile, Pat wants to bond more with the kids but makes some questionable choices in trying to become the fun parent.

The O’Neals deal with a change to their Thanksgiving tradition when Pat and Eileen invite Gloria and VP Murray to dinner as their dates. Meanwhile, things don’t go as smoothly planned when Gloria offers to help Kenny cook, and Eileen prepares to meet VP Murray’s mom for the first time.

Eileen will stop at nothing to win the Christmas choir competition and gives the coveted Christmas choir solo to their newest member, Brett, to Kenny’s dismay, while Jimmy is tasked with spying on their toughest competitor, Sheila Demars. But, when Kenny attempts to sabotage Brett’s role, he finds a potential love interest. Meanwhile, Shannon accidentally gives Pat the wrong impression about a Christmas present she plans on giving to Ethan.