Last time: Zoey struggled to pull herself out of her funk and decided to follow Mo’s example by focusing on being happy. However, she then had to layoff 10% of her staff, including sweet George – who was already having a bad day as it was the anniversary of his abuela’s death. She then decides to just get wasted at the cleanse Mo had for his and Max’s new restaurant, something that caused some turmoil when Max felt Mo wasn’t taking the business as seriously as him. They eventually talked it out and realized they just had different ways of approaching the business, both of which were valid. Zoey accidentally rehired George while drunk and so had to fire him again. She then had a heart-to-heart with Simon, who told her that she needed to lean into her feelings and not try to fight them in order for her to grow and heal.
Also, Simon nailed his first interview as SPRQ Point’s spokesman and befriended the interviewer, Tatiana Morris. And David decided to quit his job to be a stay-at-home dad to Miles. Emily first freaked out but then supported him. And Roger hit on Maggie and she turned him down, saying she wasn’t ready to move on. She and Jenna then bonded more, which made Emily feel a bit put out.
Oh, and Zoey reconnected with her old neighbor, Aiden, who is now an adult and hot.
So we’ve entered the mid-season hiatus. But I’m sure it will be here before we know it. After all, this March isn’t going to last a full year like last March.
Right?
Today is where your book begins/The rest is still SPOILERS!
Zoey and Aiden play video games in his garage. Judging by Zoey’s outfit, it’s the same evening as when she told his band to lower the volume. She talks about the stress she’s been under and it’s clear that Aiden doesn’t really have that problem. He even singings “Unwritten” to her and it seems to speak to Zoey. She says that she needs some of what he has and he thinks she means his beer. Zoey laughs and accepts it.
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| (Sing it, Aiden!) |
The next morning, Zoey knocks on Mo’s door and declares that she’s taking a mental health day from work. She’s just going to do whatever she wants and live life to the fullest. Mo is intrigued though a little annoyed that everyone keeps invading his apartment as Max exits the bathroom. He and Zoey have an awkward moment before she asks how the restaurant is going. Max and Mo have some meetings with investors lined up and they are also going to talk to Max’s dad when he’s in town. Max asks if Zoey can still come to breakfast as he knows how much his dad loves her. She agrees she’s available the next morning and says she loves his dad too – he gets her the good floss.
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| (No judgments, Mo - that's now high fashion here in the pandemic) |
Zoey and Mo go for a walk and she discusses what she wants to do for her “live free” day – she even has a list. Mo teases her that she has a list for living dangerously. She then goes to visit Aiden, hoping he can continue helping on her journey of “zen.”
At SPRQ Point, a light show starts and someone starts hyping up a big entrance as if some celebrity was entering. But it’s just Danny Michael Davis. Apparently he’s managed to wiggle his way out of legal trouble and get everything dismissed, so he can resume control of SPRQ Point again. No one looks happy about it except him. Danny Michael David asks to speak to Simon, who already looks ready to kill him.
I don’t blame you, Simon.
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| (A Douche is Born) |
It gets worse. Danny needs Simon to spin the fact that the Chirp is hitting some serious snags in development. Namely, it’s having trouble recognizing non-white faces – which is a real problem in AI technology. Simon looks disturbed by this news and how casually Danny Michael Davis is dismissing it. Though he hugs it out with his boss, Simon looks troubled as he boards the elevator.
At Aiden’s, Zoey continues going down her list of things to do. Her idea of living dangerously is apparently going strawberry picking with sunblock. Which, I mean, is dangerous, but not exactly what Aiden has in mind. He pulls out his stash of drugs and offers Zoey a pill. She freaks out but decides to do it, popping a pill. And that’s when her phone rings. She freaks out when she realizes it’s Danny Michael Davis and she picks up. He reveals that he’s in control of the business again and asks to meet with her. He wants to talk with her but doesn’t trust the technology in the phones. That confuses her but she just says that she took the day off. He finds her location and says he will come to her, which makes her panic even more.
Zoey asks Aiden about whatever he gave her but he doesn’t have much by way of answers. It could hit now, it could hit later, it could last a few hours, it could last a few days. He just goes with the flow while Zoey looks ready to go get her stomach pumped. It’s in this state that she gets a call from Simon, who tells her about the problem with the Chirp. She promises to get her coding team started on a fix and apologizes for the error before rushing off the phone as Simon clearly wants to have a deeper conversation with her.
That’s definitely going to come back to haunt her.
Meanwhile, Roger is being a douche and criticizing Maggie’s every decision now that she rejected him. She just keeps her head down and takes it, believing she needs this to relaunch her career without Mitch. (Though didn’t she do work for someone last season? Couldn’t they vouch for her as well?) Jenna isn’t pleased with this decision and wants to give Roger the what-for, clearly plotting something.
The drug hits Zoey just as Danny Michael Davis shows up. She panics just as I realize her boss is Danny Michael Davis. She probably has nothing to worry about and indeed, she doesn’t. He figures out she’s high and wants whatever she’s on. Aiden is more than happy to share.
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| (No one can see the wizard, no way, no how) |
Max picks up his father and they are in the car together. Dr. Richman is not thrilled with his son’s new employment plans and implores him to join the family business like his siblings, saying he could be the IT guy for their chain of dental practices – they are opening two new offices soon! But Max insists the restaurant business will work out and calls Mo, who has to inform Max on speakerphone that their backers backed out and Tatiana’s editors nixed her article on him. Max hangs up and tries to distract his dad with Alcatraz as the tension mounts.
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| (Awkward) |
Zoey, Danny Michael Davis and Aiden decide to go for a walk. As they head down the sidewalk, Zoey hears music playing and stops. She wonders who will be performing before realizing that it’s her. Zoey then starts singing “Starships” with Danny Michael Davis and Aiden joining in. The people around them serve as backup dancers and this might be the biggest number in the show since “Hello, Dolly” in the first episode. It’s good to see.
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| (Dance party!) |
The song ends with Aiden and Danny Michael Davis pulling Zoey away before a neighbor runs her over. Neither seem to find it weird that she zoned out for awhile because they are just that stoned. Danny Michael Davis about walking wherever they are going so she tells them they can go to her mother’s house for popsicles. They both agree.
Max meets back up with Mo and asks him what they can do to salvage funding for the restaurant, including going back to the big name gay men Mo had mentioned earlier. Mo informs him that boat has sailed. It seems that their only hope is his father and so Max hopes that Zoey can really put his father into a good mood so that he might be more willing to give them money. He says it’s a good thing Zoey is always so positive and can help hype them up.
We then cut to Zoey being depressed as her high wears off while enjoying popsicles with Danny Michael Davis and Aiden. Danny Michael Davis asks if there are more popsicles and Zoey assures him there are – it was one of the only things her father could eat at the end so her mother always kept them stocked. She then goes on about how unfair life and the universe is that it took her amazing dad away from her. Zoey decides she’s not going to care about anything anymore and Danny Michael Davis agrees with her.
The next morning, Zoey goes to breakfast with Max, Mo and Dr. Richman. Max and Mo present their pitch for their restaurant, Maximo, and wait to hear what Dr. Richman has to say. Zoey tries to play it up but even she can’t really convince him. He starts to go into a lecture but all Zoey hears is Max singing “Numb” by Linkin Park. Skylar Astin continues to nail all his performances, especially these heart-wrenching moments as all Max wants is his father’s approval.
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| (Goddamn is this man talented) |
Dr. Richman says he’ll consider their pitch and gives Zoey the good floss before heading out to his convention. Max is frustrated over his father’s lack of support and Zoey tries to turn him onto her new motto – just don’t care. This angers Max even more and he lets her have it. He tells her that it’s jarring to hear her tell him not to care about his father given how much she cared about hers. And he also tells her that one of the many things that make her amazing is her ability to care about others. He isn’t fond of this new Zoey and can’t deal with her right now.
Maggie finds Jenna on her porch and says she just got off a call with Roger, who says fertilizer was left on the customer’s porch. Jenna says it was an art installation as well as payback for the way he treated Maggie. Maggie, though, doesn’t appreciate it and says that she needs to fire Jenna or she is fired. She reveals she quit instead but she’s still firing Jenna, saying she’s too much of a liability as Maggie tries to relaunch her career without Mitch. Jenna tries to explain herself and to convince Maggie that she needs to loosen up but Maggie shuts her down. She ends by saying that everyone was right that she shouldn’t have gotten involved with Jenna before walking away.
At work, Danny Michael Davis pops into Zoey’s office. She wonders how he can be back to normal while she feels like she got run over by a truck. And the answer is that he has a live-in herbalist who helps him. He also has thought about what she said the other day about freeing herself from caring. He’s decided to free himself as well – by selling the company. It’s just holding him down. Zoey tries to convince him not to sell by reminding him that everyone would be out of a job but he doesn’t care. He feels he would be “freeing” them.
Zoey finds herself caring again, which goes on about at a family meeting that night. Her family seems to be politely listening to her but it’s also kinda clear that she’s making the meeting all about her. Jenna shows up and hands back some of the gardening supplies she borrowed before saying she’s leaving. Emily asks David to walk her sister out and he does so.
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| (Family meeting) |
At Mo’s, Simon and Tatiana have come over for a serious conversation. He vows both to secrecy, especially Tatiana – who promises she’s off the clock and so anything he tells her is off the record. Simon then tells them about the Chirp’s glitch regarding non-white people and how Danny Michael Davis essentially wants to use him as a way to handwave the problem away. He’s torn about what he should do. Mo is all for Simon giving Danny Michael Davis the what-for and either telling the truth or leaving the company. Tatiana though says that he should keep his head down and play the game to try to change things on the inside. After all, it seems that if Simon leaves there will be no one of color in a position of authority within in SPRQ Point since Ava Price left after Joan’s promotion. He seems to be just as conflicted and needs to figure out what he feels is the right thing to do.
Max picks his father up at his dentist convention. Dr. Richman gives Max an envelope and says he’s going to invest in the restaurant. Max is thrilled until Dr. Richman says that he can afford to take a gamble and Max realizes his father still doesn’t really believe he can succeed. Max tells his father he just wants his support and approval not his money. And until his father can give him money because he believes in him, Max won’t accept it. He gives the money back and I’m sure it’s a very tense ride back to the airport.
Back at the Clarkes, Zoey is looking for popsicles but Maggie says she gave them all to Aiden since she doesn’t need as many boxes as she did. Zoey realizes that Danny Michael Davis must also be there and decides that her new philosophy about caring sucks. It’s the Clarke family strength and she embraces it again. She heads over to Aiden’s, hoping she can talk to Danny Michael Davis. She finds him there and convinces him not to sell the company, that his true purpose is to continue making tech devices and innovating the industry. He agrees and SPRQ Point is saved.
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| (Time to save the company!) |
In the morning, Jenna packs up and prepares to head out. Emily finds the photographs she’s taken, framed and hung up on the wall of the nursery and is touched by how beautiful they are. She and Jenna share a sweet hug before she heads out. As she leaves, she catches sight of Maggie and the two share a smile. It’s the start of some reconciliation and maybe there’s hope for them after all.
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| (Sisterly love) |
Max tells Mo that he rejected his father’s money and apologizes. But Mo understands and says they’ll just find another way to fund their restaurant.
At SPRQ Point, Zoey waits for Simon’s press conference. Tatiana is also there, ready to record it. Simon enters and Zoey hears him sing Nina Simone’s “Please Don’t Let Me Be Misunderstood,” dancing around the room until he reaches the podium. He then gives his prepared remarks about the Chirp and how SPRQ Point will fix it.
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| (I think this is his best performance to date) |
But then he goes off-script, calling out the lack of diversity at SPRQ Point and saying that the culture needs to change or else problems like the one with the Chirp will continue to happen.
Well damn.
Remember when Zoey would hear a heartsong and then spend an episode trying to help that person while learning something about herself along the way?
I miss that formula. I mean, I get that Zoey has to deal with her grief but I feel the show has lost its direction and needs to find it again. And I think the show proved last season that it could balance both. Like maybe Zoey is more focused on herself so we keep seeing interrupted heartsongs because she’s just not really listening to them while she deals with her grief but then there’s one persistent one so she helps them and learns something new.
Because Zoey was really disconnected from almost every other story in this episode. She just played a peripheral role in each while she just was using drugs and not caring but then caring again. Maybe that was on purpose and we’ll start to see Zoey find more of who she is after this. Maybe this is setting up the back half of the season.
I also hope we get to see a bit more about Max and his father. Last season that relationship would’ve gotten at least a whole episode dedicated to them so I hope Chip Zien can come back, maybe after Maximo’s opens? It’ll be intriguing to see how their relationship now progresses.
I also hope we get to see Jenna again. She was fun and a bit of fresh air into the show. And I did enjoy her relationship with Maggie but maybe this will give Emily more of a chance to bond with her mother-in-law moving forward since it seemed she was jealous of the relationship her sister had with Maggie.
The plot they’ve started with Simon is intriguing and getting the two arguments from Mo and Tatiana. As a white woman, I can’t really speak to the experience of BIPOC in the business world and especially the tech world, but in the conversations my organization has held since Memorial Day last year, I recognize arguments had throughout the years as those who aren’t white navigate spaces dominated by white people. And I think this episode showed that there is no “right” answer. This plot clearly continues into next week so we’ll see how it plays out.
Next time: The fallout from Simon’s press conference has SPRQ Point dealing with some serious realizations.
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