'The Goldbergs' turned Jeff Garlin's exit into a poignant moment

By Sandra Gonzalez, CNN

Saying goodbye is never easy, but the Goldberg family is doing the best they can in the new season of “The Goldbergs.”

The show wasted no time addressing the exit of Jeff Garlin from the sitcom, mentioning in the opening moments of Wednesday’s season premiere that patriarch Murray had passed away “just a few months ago” and went on to show the family still processing their grief.

Adam and Barry worked through some of their feelings in a “Field of Dreams”-inspired plot. But the real gut punch was a plotline involving Erica (Hayley Orrantia) and Geoff (Sam Lerner) enlisting Beverly’s (Wendi McLendon-Covey) help in preparing their nursery.

The process forces Beverly to confront Murray’s absence and her inability to go through some of his remaining belongings. She ultimately decides it’s time to do so, clearing a closet full of his clothes and getting rid of his old chair.

The empty space in the living room proves too much for her to handle, though, and she sets off on a mission to retrieve the item, learning, however, that it was taken from the curb where it was left.

Efforts to find it are fruitless, but Erica aims to help her mom through the moment.

“He’s always going to be in our hearts — chair or no chair,” she tells Beverly.

Then they enter the nursery, only to find the chair was taken by Pop-Pop (Judd Hirsch) and converted into a rocking chair for the baby’s room.

“This room is finally perfect,” Erica says.

Someone pass the tissues?

“The Goldbergs” airs Wednesdays on ABC.

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