I don't get the people who immediately dismisses the show for minor issues, but then again, I don't get the fanboys who will eat up whatever bs they are served as long as it's served under their favorite brand name, either. Let's make some constructive criticism here instead of being a hater or a fanboy.
In this second episode, just like the first episode and all the previous ones, the writing is still great. But it is true that something is off so far in the 9th season. And I though it was the acting for the first episode but now I finally can put my finger on it: It's the directing! Again, this episode was full of great ideas: Everybody sees a tight pickle jar as an opportunity for a display of strength, that's a funny and amusing idea. But it all played very poorly unfortunately. Some parts got even awkward, and I don't mean the awkward situations that Larry puts himself when I said awkward. I mean the show felt unintentionally awkward at parts, but I tried to ignore these and focused on the amusing ideas. So, for a second time I give a very generous 8/10 for I believe it is too early to give up on the show. They really need someone there, a producer or someone like that who might put the show back on its track.