Last time: Zoey decided to have a “live free” day and did drugs with Aiden and Danny Michael Davis. They wandered the neighborhood and then had popsicles at the Clarke House. Zoey then decided to not care so much anymore but then she abandoned it the next day after Max called her out and Danny Michael Davis said he was going to sell the company.
Meanwhile, Max just wanted to get his dad’s approval (and money) but fell short (though he gave the money back), Jenna pulled a prank to punish the contractor who now turned cold toward Maggie after she rejected him and caused Maggie to fire her, and there was a bug with the Chirp that meant it didn’t recognize anyone who wasn’t white. So Danny Michael Davis wanted Simon to smooth things over, leading to an internal battle and a consult with Tatiana and Mo – did he do what his boss asked or did he take a stand?
At the press conference, he kinda did both – he gave the company line and then took a stand.
So this is the last episode until the end of March. Let’s see what they left us on…
Cause baby whether you’re high or low/Whether you’re high or low/You gotta tip on the SPOILERS!
The press conference ends and the press bursts into questions. But the reality of what he had just done sinks in and Simon walks away. Zoey follows him, asking him if he really did that. He says he did and they get on the elevator together. Zoey asks him why he didn’t talk with her and he points out he did. To Zoey’s credit, she realizes that he’s right and she apologizes for being so focused on the solution, she didn’t really listen to him. She wants to help him now but he’s not sure she can as he walks off the elevator, leaving her behind to figure out her next steps.
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| (Reality crashes down) |
Zoey tells Mo and Max about the press conference and Mo is proud of Simon. She confesses that she got high with Danny Michael Davis the other day and says he now texts her all the time. Apparently he’s in a guilt spiral after Simon’s press conference and is trying to spend money to alleviate it. Mo figures he and Max should try to hit up Danny Michael Davis for some money for their restaurant and Zoey agrees to get them on his schedule.
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| (They sense an opportunity) |
The next day, Zoey hosts a townhall on the Fourth Floor to give the BIPOC staff on her floor a safe place to discuss their experiences. Simon is less than enthused about it but joins her and I just know that this going to backfire spectacularly.
And backfire spectacularly it does. Leif suggests they use something to designate who is speaking and someone tosses in a Koosh ball. He starts and really centers it around him and his own white guilt while patting himself on the bat for being so inclusive. As you can imagine, it then spirals into other white people dominating the space and trying to show how they aren’t racist while all the BIPOC staff members stay quiet with the exception of Tobin, who just quips that racism is bad. It reaches its peak when one blonde woman uses the moment to announce that she’s engaged.
Music starts playing and Zoey hears Simon start singing “Black Man in a White World.” He’s joined by the BIPOC staff and when it ends, she asks if he has anything to say. Simon says he doesn’t and he leaves. Zoey ends the town hall and realizes she doesn’t know anything as we get the title card.
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| (This was just amazing) |
After the title card, Zoey catches up with Simon. He tells her that he hasn’t heard from Danny Michael Davis since the press conference and he’s worried he’s about to lose his job. Simon then goes to have lunch with Tatiana and Zoey goes back to her office, composing longer and longer apologies to him using her phone.
Mo and Max show up for their meeting with Danny Michael Davis. They give him the pitch and Max even shows him how ordering would work on his tablet. But there is a glitch that Danny gets fascinated by and suggests that Max tap into the coders at SPRQ Point to help fix it. Danny then agrees to finance the restaurant and Max suggests $150,000. Danny was going to give them $2 million which Mo tries to take but it’s too late. Mo and Danny connect over some artwork and then he tells them to take some phones from the office as he hurries out.
Danny heads down to Zoey’s office. He says the board of directors is not happy with Simon’s statement at the press conference. So he needs Simon to retract his statement and wants Zoey to talk to him about it. She’s not sure that should come from her but it’s clear Danny will avoid actually doing the job of running a company as he runs away, leaving her with the job of telling a black man he needs to retract his truth.
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| (A mood) |
Danny Michael Davis sucks.
Max shows up in the coder section looking for the two coders who were moved to the fifth floor. McKenzie is clearly into Max and it seems like Zoey might have some competition. Max explains his problems and was hoping some coders could help. Leif and Tobin offer to help with McKenzie joining in and Max accepts their help.
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| (Everyone seems eager to work on the project. I guess things are slow at SPRQ Point?) |
Zoey visits Maximo’s and finds Mo hard at work on a mural for the restaurant with some friends. She asks Mo for help in how to talk with Simon but Mo refuses. He tells Zoey that he’s her friend but he’s not her Magical Black Best Friend who will help her deal with all her problems. He then sings “No More Drama” and tells her to figure out the Simon situation on her own. Zoey accepts this and compliments the mural before leaving.
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| (Mo's had enough) |
Tobin compliments Simon on his speech but Simon feels this is disingenuous given Tobin’s jokey attitude at the townhall. Tobin tries to explain that he’s more lowkey about everything but Simon’s not in the mood to hear that.
Zoey meets with Simon and delivers Danny Michael Davis’ message. He is naturally offended and says that he’s dealt with microaggressions his whole life and career, constantly having to prove himself to everyone. Zoey starts to commiserate as a woman in the tech industry but Simon tells her it’s not the same. He has to fight twice as hard for respect and to be recognized. Zoey says she just sees him when she looks at him but he points out that he is a black man, so if she doesn’t see that then she doesn’t really see him. He also tells her that by asking him to deny his statement, she’s asking him to deny who he really is and says that he feels so alone in this. Zoey tries to tell him that she’s with him but he shuts that down too. The meeting ends with Simon feelings unheard and unseen while Zoey realizes that there’s a lot she doesn’t understand.
After meeting with Simon, Zoey goes to talk with Danny Michael Davis. She tells him that it’s clear SPRQ Point has a diversity problem and he immediately gets defensive, insisting that he’s not racist and that he has a foundation. Zoey tries to get him to realize what’s really going on but she’s not sure if she does when she leaves his office.
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| (I don't think this is what he meant and you know it) |
Back on the fourth floor, she’s surprised to find Max there. He explains he needed help with the code for his app. She congratulates him on the money and hopes they can fix his issue. As she walks away, Tobin stumbles upon the solution. One of the coders calls him Slumdog as they praise him and Zoey watches with sad eyes. Tobin joins in the laughter but then he starts singing “The Track of My Tears.” Kapil Talkwalkar does an amazing job expressing Tobin’s inner pain and absolutely nails this song.
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| (Tobin is bearing his soul) |
Zoey calls him into the office and talks to him about the nickname situation. Tobin drops his carefree attitude and admits that it’s painful. He says that he uses humor and joke as a way to diffuse the situations and to fit in because he’s keenly aware as a first generation American how out of place he is. She tells him that he can always talk to HR about it but he says that it wouldn’t go well. He’s an Indian man and it would sound silly to complain about being treated like an Indian man. Zoey then says that Simon feels he’s alone in his feelings at SPRQ Point and it might be helpful for Tobin to also share his experiences. Tobin says he doesn’t feel comfortable doing that and leaves as Max thanks the coders for their help and McKenzie for objectifying him.
Simon talks to Mo, still wrestling with whether he stays at SPRQ Point and keeps his head down, hoping to eventually make changes from within, or leaving and finding a place where he doesn’t have to hide himself to make his white colleagues feel better. Mo gives him support and reassurance that he needs to do what he feels is best. So when Zoey returns home and gives them a subdued greeting, Simon informs her that he’s going to resign. She thanks him for letting her know and he asks if she’s going to say anything else. Zoey admits that she clearly is out of her depth with this situation but Simon is her friend, so she is going to support him in whatever he feels is best for himself. Simon thanks her and she heads into her apartment.
The next day, Zoey finds everyone fixated on their phones. She asks McKenzie what’s going on and McKenzie asks her if she saw what Tobin did. McKenzie shows Zoey her phone and Zoey takes it, running over to Tobin and giving him a hug. Apparently, he decided to break his silence and posted about his experiences at SPRQ Point on Twitter. It inspired a hashtag that soon took off and employees from all across SPRQ Point started sharing their experiences, proving that the company does have a problem and Simon is not alone. She says they need to show Simon before he resigns and drags Tobin away as he flirts with the women DMing him.
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| (Tobin saves the day!) |
Zoey and Tobin burst into Danny Michael Davis’ office and tell him all about Tobin’s hashtag. Simon and Danny say they are aware and have been going through some of the tweets together. Danny says he’s disheartened to hear the stories and starts grandstanding, which gets quickly shut down by Simon, Tobin and Zoey. Danny Michael gets notified that his board is gathering for a meeting and he invites Simon to speak to them.
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| (No one is going to let Danny pretend he's the hero) |
Simon talks to the board as tweets from the hashtag scroll on screens behind them. He tells them that they have a problem and that it is pervasive throughout the company. But he says they have a chance to change that and lead others to the same. He says change has to start at the top, in that boardroom, and he challenges the board members to do just that.
That night, Leif approaches Tobin and apologizes for any racist remarks he may have made. Tobin assures him that they are cool but advises Leif to make sure he doesn’t keep centering conversations about race around himself. Leif promises to do that and they go get drinks together.
At Maximo’s that night, Mo hosts a celebration of SPRQ Point’s newfound commitment to diversity in all levels of the company, starting with the board of directors. Zoey makes a joke about someone being as crazy as a white girl on spring break and at Simon’s and Tatiana’s looks insist they don’t know everything about her. All the non-white cast then performs Janelle Mone’s “Tightrope” as they celebrate this small victory. The episode ends with Zoey asking Simon how he’s feeling and he responds that he’s feeling good. They continue drinking as the party rages on.
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| (All's well that ends well) |
Wow. That was certainly an intense episode and I give the show props for deciding to tackle such a difficult topic. And it sounded like they tried to be as conscientious as possible while doing so – the episode writer is Black, the director is Black, they brought on a choreographer who is Black, and they consulted John Clarence Stewart (Simon) about the issues as well.
This is also felt like a good, old-fashioned Zoey episode. Zoey hears a heart song and discovers an issue she needs to resolve, learning something about herself along the way. She makes a few mistakes but comes out the better for it while also helping the person resolve their issue or find strength to make a change.
But this episode wasn’t about Zoey and it gave Stewart and Alex Newell even more chances to shine as well as Kapil Takwalkar. He’s not often given such meaty material and I hope that changes. There’s clearly a lot more to him than just the “bro” attitude he shows the world and I’d love to get to know more about Tobin.
I also hope this marks a turning point in Zoey’s friendship with Stewart and they can start bonding over more than just the fact they both lost their fathers. We saw glimmers of it and I hope it continues.
I feel this was a good episode to head into the hiatus on and it makes me excited for the back half of the season. Hopefully we get to focus on some other characters in the remaining episodes and we maybe Zoey finally starts coping with her grief in healthier ways.
AKA still hoping for Zoey’s Extraordinary Therapist.
Though I hope I can watch the new episode live – I’m scheduled to get my second dose of the Moderna vaccine the day before and that dose took out my sister for a day so I figure I will be the same. I guess we’ll have to see.
I’ll see all you Zoey fans in April!
Next time: Maximo’s Grand Opening!
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