Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist: Learning to Let Go

Last time: Zoey was still reeling from seeing Leif and Joan kissing when she learned that SPRQ Point’s founder was coming in so they could pitch the Chirp to him. Zoey had to try to fit their implementation timeline into six months when she got news that her father only had weeks to live. The stress caused her powers to glitch, forcing her to sing her heart songs rather than hear others’. She sang to Leif and Joan, revealing she knew they had kissed. Then she sang to the founder and Max had to save her, which led to her singing a love song to him. But not long after, she sang a song about how she wanted Simon to want her – which Max heard. It led to a fight, though it was somewhat resolved when Zoey told him about her dad. She and Simon also kissed and she ended the episode an emotional wreck, singing to her dying father.


Whew!


That might be my shortest recap so far!

Hello darkness, my old friend/I’ve come to talk with SPOILERS!


Mo is busy working out to an 80s type exercise video while Zoey makes herself some breakfast. She thanks Mo for letting her use his kitchen…and his food. Zoey promises to get her life in order soon. She just needs to survive the day after she thoroughly embarrassed herself. So it’s the day after Zoey’s Extraordinary Glitch. I realize now that everything is starting to happen very quickly and the episodes are covering a relatively short period of time. Probably only a couple weeks have passed between Zoey’s Extraordinary Night Out and now. Which means only a few months at most have passed since the premiere.


Which also means Joan got divorced super fast.


Mo is aware of what happened the day before and says she brought out all her old workout equipment to help Zoey. She knows Zoey is stressed and think some exercise will help, which is scientifically proven. But Zoey is a bit too busy at that time. She does ask Mo if it’s possible to have feelings for two people at the same time. Mo says yes and recounts the time he was dating two men, one named Bryan and one named Byron. It was a confusing episode in his life that didn’t end well. But it is possible to have feelings for two people at once. She knows how Max feels about her but it sounds like she needs clarity from Simon. Zoey agrees and says she’s going to visit her father and then will get clarity from Simon.

She turns to leave but trips over Mo’s exercise equipment, possibly breaking her finger as Mo says he needs to stop ordering off QVC.


At the Clarke house, Emily gives Maggie an air mattress she and David bought for a camping trip they never took once they realized they didn’t like camping. Or fun. Maggie thanks her and says it will be a big help since Mitch can’t get upstairs to their bed. It has to be more comfortable than the chair she’s been sleeping in, she argues. Emily asks if there are any other ways to get Mitch upstairs but Maggie says that they have too many risks. She also can’t imagine not sharing a bed with her husband and says that intimacy is very important to a marriage.


Emily gets sheepish as she asks if it would be a bad sign that she and David hadn’t been intimate in months. Maggie replies it’s not good. Emily says she wants it but she’s used to David commencing their encounters, which he isn’t. So she’s worried. Maggie reminds her daughter-in-law that she’s a modern woman and tells her to talk with David, to let him know what her needs are. Emily thanks her for the advice.


So it seems that communication does seem to be an issue for David and Emily. But she’s also close enough with Maggie to go to her for advice, which is nice.


Emily says her goodbyes and leaves as Zoey arrives. Zoey greets her father and informs him that her powers seem to be back to normal. Howie then joins them and notices Zoey’s finger, which is bandaged with a popsicle stick and tape. She explains that she tripped over a weight and broke her fall on a disco ball. Howie thinks her gym is amazing and then gets her a proper splint for her finger. Once it’s bandaged up, Mitch says it’s his turn. Zoey holds up her finger so he can kiss it, which she says is their tradition since she was old enough to fall down and get hurt. She says it actually helps and talks about the bond between fathers and daughters. Howie nods before quickly excusing himself, which makes Zoey wonder if she said something offensive.


She then hears music and follows it to find Howie singing “The Sounds of Silence” in the kitchen. Mitch then joins in and provides harmonies as they sing the song. It’s a lovely performance and Zak Orth’s voice goes well with Peter Gallagher’s.


When the song ends, Zoey goes over to her father and tells him what she just witnessed. Since he joined in, she suspects that he knows what’s going on with Howie. Mitch types out “daughter” and Zoey figures out that Howie’s having trouble with his daughter. Mitch confirms that and confirms that he would like Zoey to help Howie.

(Howie deep in thought)

Zoey enters the kitchen and says that she noticed how Howie made a quick exit. She asks if he’s having some issues, maybe with his daughter. Howie says that Mitch must’ve told her and teases him about it. He says he likes taking care of people like Mitch because they can usually keep secrets. But he does tell Zoey that he has a daughter in college but that they got into a fight a few months ago and she’s stopped talking with him. Zoey says that she’s sure his daughter will come around and says that most daughters love their fathers no matter what, even when they’re angry with them. He thanks her.


At SPRQ Point, Zoey notes that Leif has called out the same days that Joan is off at a conference and says that it’s pretty transparent it’s not a coincidence. But Max says he’s trying to mind his own business and not get involved in anyone else’s business. He does ask if she’s back to normal and she says she’s not singing her feelings anymore. Max says that she’s back to invading other people’s privacy.


Ouch.


On one hand, he does have a point. No one knows that Zoey can hear their inner thoughts and they are definitely revealing things they probably would keep private. But on the other hand, Zoey can’t force someone to sing to her. It just happens and not with everybody, so I think the subconscious wants someone to know.


Anyway, Zoey then goes to Simon to talk about the song she sang to him the day before. She admits that she does want him to want her and says that they do have such a chemistry, an undeniable pull. So she wants to see how Simon was feeling. He says that he’s torn and that part of him does want Zoey but he’s also committed to Jessica. Pretty much he doesn’t know his own heart and Zoey doesn’t get what she wanted/needed.

(...Not)

That night, Zoey goes to visit her family. David tries to sort out all their father’s legal documents and figure things out with her. Emily comes to say she is leaving and asks David to come with her. But he’s busy with his paperwork and tells her he’ll see her at home. She then lowers her voice and tells him that she wants some alone time with him. He points out that alone time for her means soaking in the tub with a good book and she says that this time she wants him there. He’s still pretty obtuse about it and Emily then starts singing “Buttons” by the Pussycat Dolls. She dances suggestively around the dining room, which mortifies Zoey as she’s the only one who can see it.

(Work it, Emily)

When the song ends, Emily tells David that he has a window and it’s closing fast before leaving. David asks Zoey what that was about and she says that she thinks that “Mama wants some.” She’s then horrified she said that and excuses herself.


Before she leaves, Howie intercepts her and says that he reached out to his daughter, Abigail. It turns out that Abigail is in USC and studying to be a coder like Zoey, so he pretty much uses Zoey as a way to get his daughter to agree to meet with him. She says she’s happy to meet Abigail and they agree to go the next day.


At SPRQ Point, Max is working late when he’s visited by Angelica Schuyler herself, Renee Elise Goldsberry. Except here, she is Ava Price and she’s essentially Joan on another floor – the sixth floor. She says that Max has caught her eye and she wants to discuss his future at SPRQ Point with him. She tells him to meet her the next day and when he points out that it’s Saturday, she says she’ll make it worth his while to come in on his day off. He then notes that you need special permission to access the sixth floor and she tells him to check his pocket. Max pulls out a special keycard and asks her how she did that, but she’s already gone.

(Appropriate response to meeting Renee Elise Goldsberry)

Mo finds Zoey taking apart her microwave on her kitchen floor. Zoey says it’s something she does to make herself feel better – she takes things apart and then puts them back together again. Except this time, she has broken her microwave. Mo asks what’s going on and Zoey says that Simon didn’t give her the clarity she was hoping for. So Mo reveals that he and Eddie are having brunch with Jessica and Simon the next day. He promises to get to the bottom of what’s going on with Simon for Zoey. She thanks him and then Mo tells her to shower because she smells like a burrito and a Hot Pocket.

(Zoey and her microwave)

The next day, Max reports to the sixth floor and it looks more rigid and structured than the fourth floor, where they currently work. Ava says that she was impressed with Max’s part in the Chirp presentation and how he also created the escape room no one was able to escape from at the company Halloween party. Someone even had a breakdown over it! (Though Max does not that particular had been fired that day and that the escape room was probably the straw that broke the camel’s back but honestly, fired employees generally shouldn’t go to company parties!) Ava says that she sees potential in him and wants to help him grow in the company. His right brain approach to coding is something she thinks her team needs and asks him to be the manager of the team. He says he’ll think about it.


Meanwhile, Mo serves mimosas at brunch. They toast the happy couple and Mo asks when the wedding will be, saying he hasn’t seen a Save the Date yet. Simon grows uncomfortable and Jessica looks annoyed, saying that they haven’t set a date though she agrees it would be helpful to do so in order to move forward with other plans, such as venues. It seems this must be an argument they’ve had a lot and everyone can feel the tension in the room.

(I hope Mo made plenty of mimosas)

Zoey and Howie walk through the college campus, chatting. When he catches a frisbee before it hits her, she asks if he played extreme frisbee. He said he served three tours in the Middle East as an army medic. That surprises Zoey and said she never would’ve guessed that as he is always so upbeat. He says that seeing that much suffering and death made him appreciate life even more. And that’s why he likes providing care to people like Mitch, who are close to death. She has a new appreciation of Howie and is inspired by his philosophy to celebrate life rather than be cynical about it.


Back at Mo’s, Eddie asks Jessica to join him in the kitchen for a bit. Mo seizes his chance and confronts Simon about the complicated triangle he has going on with Jessica and Zoey. Simon admits that he’s confused and knows that he’s hurting both of them. He says Jessica is an amazing woman who has been by his side through a difficult time and he doesn’t want to just throw that away. But at the same time, he does have real feelings for Zoey and feels a deep connection. He knows he’s a mess but he just doesn’t know what to do. Mo realizes how complicated it really is and finds himself sympathizing with Simon.

(Simon definitely needs to talk to someone with a license)

At Abigail’s dorm, Zoey notes how quiet it is and says it’s quieter than the library she denies spending her Friday nights at. Howie informs her that it is a deaf dorm and that Abigail is deaf. She can read lips and Howie promises to translate her ASL for Zoey.


Abigail is played by Sandra Mae Frank, who played Wendla in the Broadway revival of Spring Awakening, produced in conjunction with West Deaf Theatre. Abigail and Howie share an awkward hug before he introduces Zoey. Zoey compliments Abigail’s Ada Lovelace shirt and explains who Ada Lovelace was to Howie. Abigail thinks it’s so cool that Zoey works at SPRQ Point and Zoey encourages her to apply for their internship program. Abigail says she would love to once she gets back from Kenya.

(Abigail and her Ada Lovelace shirt)

That catches Howie off-guard and he stops translating as he starts arguing with Abigail. Pretty much their fight earlier was about Abigail wanting to go to Kenya to help set up programs that will teach children there how to code. She’s even gotten a grant to do it. But Howie is concerned that it’s too dangerous for her to go Africa, especially since she’s deaf.


Music starts to play and Zoey realizes she’s about to hear someone’s heart song. Abigail starts performing Rachel Platten’s “Fight Song” in ASL. There are no words, just music and her signing. The show worked with Deaf West to create this scene. Everyone involved in this number is deaf and they join in signing the song with Abigail and perform some choreography as Zoey walks around the room, watching them. It is a powerful scene and one of the best in the series. If you haven’t seen it, I encourage everyone to do so.

(Fight Song)

The song ends with Howie telling Abigail that she isn’t going to Africa and it is final. Abigail signs something and Howie asks if Zoey needs him to translate. She says that she understand the meaning and I’m pretty sure Abigail told him where he could go.


Emily is busy trying to put together the bassinet when David comes to ask her what he did wrong. She says that he came home the night before, woke her up and asked if she wanted sex. He apologizes and said that Zoey told him Emily wanted sex and Emily stops him, saying it shouldn’t take his sister to tell him when she (Emily) is in the mood.


They really do suck at communicating with each other. 


Back to Emily and David. Emily asks her husband if he’s no longer attracted to her now that she’s pregnant. David assures her that he is definitely still attracted to her but that he also knows that pregnancy has changed her body. He didn’t want to do anything that would make her uncomfortable and also assumed that she didn’t want to have sex due to those changes. But Emily tells him that she wants it and that’s okay for them to have sex. She suggests them having sex that night and David’s ready to go. But first, they need to finish putting together the bassinet.

On Sunday, Zoey goes to talk with Mo. She asks how brunch went and Mo says it went well. Zoey asks what happened with Simon and Mo desperately tries to avoid the conversation, afraid he’s going to sing to her. He even wants to go to the store but Zoey presses until he starts singing Kelly Clarkson’s “The Trouble With Love Is.”

(You can't hide from the heart song)

Mo says that he was ready to ream Simon out but that after talking with him, Mo realizes that he really is conflicted. That Simon is not trying to play either her or Jessica and is trying to sort through his own feelings to figure out what the right thing to do is. So Zoey can’t find her clarity from him. She needs to find it on her own.

Maggie and Emily reconnect. Emily thanks her for the advice and confirms that she and David were finally able to have sexytimes. Despite this topic being her son’s sex life, Maggie seems pretty chill during the conversation. She says the air mattress has helped her but it’s clear she still misses sharing a bed with Mitch and Emily gets an idea.


The next day, Zoey goes to SPRQ Point and finds Abigail talking with Tobin. It turns out he learned ASL to impress a girl back in high school. While it didn’t work, he fell in love with it and continued to use it so he can communicate with Abigail. He is very impressed by her and says they need to get into their internship program. Zoey agrees and asks to talk with Abigail.

(Tobin can be pretty cool when he's not being a dick)

With Tobin translating, Abigail says she’s excited to learn more about SPRQ Point and Zoey promises they’ll get there but first she needs to talk about Abigail and Howie. Abigail is upset that Zoey essentially lured her there but Zoey explains that Howie is important to her family and she wants to help him. And it sounds like Howie is just trying to protect Abigail. Abigail says he’s been doing that her entire life and has been trying to fix her. Then she went to college and learned that her deafness was not a weakness. That she could do anything she wanted. She just wants her father to support her as she becomes the person she was meant to be. Zoey understands her and realizes she needs to help Howie see that while Tobin is overcome with emotions.

After her meeting with Abigail, Zoey heads to Simon’s office and says that she didn’t tell him how she felt after their kiss. She says that she does have feelings for him and that she does feel a pull toward him. But she refuses to be the other woman and doesn’t want to destroy another relationship. So as long as he’s with Jessica, she won’t continue their dance around each other. With that said, she leaves his office.


Later, Max tells Zoey about Ava’s offer to go up to the sixth floor. He asks her what she thinks. She says that as his manager, she would be very sorry to lose him but as his friend, she is happy he has that opportunity. He then asks how the Zoey who sang to him the previous week feels. She says that that Zoey will be sad not to work with him every day but doesn’t want to stand in the way of him achieving his dreams. Zoey then asks if it was the right answer and he says no but that it helped him find his.


More on this scene – and my thoughts on the Max/Zoey relationship – later.


Zoey visits her parents that night and Maggie calls her over to the stairs. She sees David riding a chair lift down the stairs and it is revealed that Emily bought it for her in-laws so Mitch can go upstairs and still sleep with Maggie. Maggie insists it’s too much but Emily says she sold her soul to corporate law so she could take care of her family. And since we haven’t seen much of Emily’s family – not even a bunch of extras to represent her family at the gender reveal – it seems that the Clarkes are her only family.

(They get each other)

When Zoey heads into the kitchen, she finds Howie and Abigail arguing about if she needs infared goggles in Africa. This time she wants them but he thinks a flashlight will be fine. Zoey is happy to hear that Abigail is going to Africa. Howie said that he’s still worried but that she promised to call him every week. He says he had suggested every other week but she amended it because she could tell he really wanted more contact. Zoey is just glad they’ve reconciled.

That night, Maggie and Mitch get to cuddle in bed together while Simon tosses and turns in his. And Zoey and Mo exercise together as Zoey has a more positive outlook on life, saying she finally has clarity.

(Work it!)

Until she goes into work the next day. She is greeted with music and Simon starts singing “Happier” by Marshmello and Bastille. Jessica joins in and they dance around the office in a way that shows that they are breaking up. I’m not sure why they are breaking up in his office but I guess he figured it was a public space? I don’t know.

(Never pass up a good metaphor)

Anyway, the song ends with Jessica and Simon hugging before she gets on the elevator. Zoey stands there, realizing that all her newfound clarity has just been thrown out a window.

This was an interesting episode and I think one that was important to the growth of many characters. Zoey, Simon and Max all had decisions placed in front of them. And the story between Howie and Abigail was moving but also showed Zoey that people shouln’t hold their loved ones back. So she let Simon go in her mind and let Max go get his new job.

I also love that the show worked with Deaf West to create that powerful scene, that they didn’t go the cliche (and ableist) route of having the deaf person being able to sing their mind/heart. Now that Zoey has gotten a second season, I hope we see Abigail again.

Okay, now onto the Max/Zoey relationship…

I’ve puzzled out why their last scene, where Max says that Zoey didn’t give him the right answer, bothered me. Because to me, it sounded like Zoey did give the right answer, whether she was his friend or something more – that she would miss working for him but wanted him to advance in his career and not hold him back. There are two theories I have for what answer he was expecting – for her to either profess her love while approving that he moved on or for her to want him to stay so they could always be together.

So I figured out what’s been bothering me about the Max/Zoey relationship. I think that while it’s clear that Max does care about her and will do anything for her, I think he’s in love with the image of Zoey in his head. And then he can’t reconcile when that Zoey doesn’t conform to that image. It’s why he was so angry and insistent that she couldn’t have feelings for two people at the same time. Because while it does hurt, it also doesn’t match up with his idea that Zoey will love him back. And while he has every right to be upset to find out that rather than Zoey talking to him after learning his real feelings and instead setting him up with Autumn, I also think some of his anger and pulling back was because Zoey was not the image he had built her up to be.

And I think if Max wants to have a real relationship with Zoey, he’s going to have to understand that she’s human and not this ideal in his mind. Or else she’s just going to keep disappointing him whenever she fails to live up to that.

Next time: Zoey really needs a vacation.