TV Recap: Don't Trust the B in Apt. 23 - "It's a Miracle..."

Left to right: Dreama Walker and Krysten Ritter

Welcome to the TV Recap column for the ABC comedy Don't Trust the B---- in Apt. 23. Every Wednesday, I will be bringing you a recap of the most recent episode as well as personal insight into why I find the characters to be an infectious version of what 2 Broke Girls wishes it was. So please join me for a fun season as we deal with the bitch, the Beek, and June as they get into wacky adventures. Also, make sure to check out my columns for Bob's Burgers (Tuesdays) and Parks and Recreation (Thursdays) right here on Optigrab.

Left to right: James Van Der Beek, Ray Ford, and Ronnie Clark

It is the season for holiday episodes. As I just stated yesterday with Bob's Burgers' "An Indecent Thanksgiving Proposal," there is a correct way and a wrong way to do Thanksgiving episodes. From the looks of things, Don't Trust the B in Apt. 23 manages to strike almost perfectly down the center. It is neither too offensively offbeat and not quite able to make anything significant. Basically, remove the holiday and if it feels like a regular episode, then it wasn't really that strong of a plot to begin with. However, that doesn't mean it still cannot be entertaining.

The episode begins with Chloe (Krysten Ritter) choosing to take Thanksgiving morning to call all of her exes and share scandalous lies. She tells many that she is either wearing their clothes, has become pregnant or is some way wrecking their lives. This seems to be bread and butter for Chloe at this point, but a decent way to begin a Thanksgiving episode. It is followed by June (Dreama Walker) trying to consult June on how she just ruined everyone's holiday. For no understandable reason, June runs into an old woman in the hallway and gives a friendly hello only to have her scream "rape" and get a can tossed at June's face. At this point, Chloe walks in to Apt. 23 to see June nursing a wound, curious to know why the old woman cried rape.

The conversation continues to state how June was wanting to go home to Indiana to visit family, but was unable to afford the plane ticket. This gets Chloe all upset and suggests renting out her uterus, because of course she knows someone. At this moment, James Van Der Beek and Luther (Ray Ford) come rushing into the room and share the news that they are helping serve the homeless at 78th Street Shelter. This is mostly because it is prestigious enough to get press attention and would get Van Der Beek a nice spot in People Magazine. 

Since June cannot fly home, Chloe suggests joining her at her Thanksgiving dinner. She reveals that her mother (Marin Hinkle) is wheelchair bound and that her father (Michael Landes) was the man that Chloe hooked June up with in the first season. It will be super awkward, but Chloe promises that everything will go fine if she just follows her lead. June is supposed to be Chloe's emotional Sacajawea. 

Meanwhile, down at 78th Street Shelter, Van Der Beek and Luther are busy serving soup under the watchful eye of Reggie (Rico E. Anderson) and Mike (Patrick Cox). Van Der Beek is pleased to notice that press is rapidly taking pictures of him until suddenly they lose interest in him in favor of one of the Olsen sisters. This immediately defuses their interest in the activities and causes them to leave early.

Convinced they are going to a casino, June is driven to Chloe's parent's house to celebrate the holiday. This is a tactic that she calls a Thanksgiving lie. June is annoyed because it will cut into Black Friday, which Chloe retorts by saying that she can have sex with black men any day of the week. To add another twist, Chloe has told her family that June had gotten injured in a horse riding incident, causing numerous fractures and is now wheelchair bound. Chloe's mom couldn't be more friendlier, helping her in the door and creating a tampon pouch to clip onto the chair. In fact, June doesn't see an issue at all with her. Chloe is the one who is upset that she is offering everyone drinks and being nice.

It is quickly made clear that it will be awkward between June and Chloe's dad on the account of their infidelity. The mom doesn't know, but it leads to some tension. June is convinced that he hates wheelchair people and this creates conflict that Chloe doesn't quite understand. She believes everything is going well. Of course, Chloe has suggested that she will have pointless arguments as the night progresses. 

Back at Van Der Beek's apartment, he shares a few moments with Luther before Mike and Reggie come knocking on their door. They are upset that they left early, though they are not surprised, because celebrities seem to always do that. They threaten to tell People Magazine about this and ruin Van Der Beek's credibility. At this point, Luther just suggests that they forgot their hats. And back to 78th Street Shelter they go.

During dinner, Chloe and June get into a heated discussion about how her father is being a selfish jerk. Chloe, who has taken Ibuprofen, is more relaxed than a drunk June who is ready to just chew out her dad. Chloe, who is freaking out, decides to prove that June's legs work and toss her out of the wheelchair. This results in a mix of shock followed by quick disgust that they lied to her. Suddenly her mom is upset and June is banished from the house.

Back at the 78th Street Shelter, Van Der Beek is miserable. Having sat with a kid listening to his miserable stories and freaking out about reused cups, he returns to work. They have been there no more than 45 minutes when he notices a man wearing his jacket. He believes that it is his because he left it on a nearby chair. The man is Wayne (Ronnie Clark), who has written his name inside a $1500 jacket, claiming that it is wrong for him to assume that a homeless man can't afford a $1500 jacket. When seeing the graffiti in the jacket, Van Der Beek gets into a fight with Wayne.

Outside of Chloe's parents' home, June and Chloe have a final heart to heart. June is banished and Chloe is trying to take it all in. After all, June was the emotional Sacajawea to a very effective extent. As a result, her mom gave her cash with the intention of never seeing June again. Chloe splits the cash with June and tells her that she can now go home to visit her family. After faking a yelling match, Chloe says that she'll pick June up around the corner, if just to keep up appearances.

Back at Apt. 23, the two partake in a little pie. Chloe gets curious and sticks her finger in, wondering why guys have sex with pies. Somehow, she gets it and adds an American Pie reference to this episode. Van Der Beek and Luther come barging in and talk about how they got kicked out of 78th Street Shelter for fighting a homeless man. It all ends on a happy note when Van Der Beek reveals that he has lost weight in spite of everything, giving him hope for the upcoming season.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Left to right: Walker and Marin Hinkle

What a perplexing episode that this turned out to be. While we have Chloe on fire this week, managing to come out with some really strong wit, we still have issues with everything else. True, it is expected that she ruins the holiday and maybe her shtick wasn't that strong, but she still managed to come across as the sane one in this Meet the Parents scenario. Maybe it was the choice to turn June into the emotional Sacajawea and let her take all of the punches, but Chloe was really on this week and we can't fault that.

However, I find it peculiar how the episode dealt with everything else. It almost felt like they were going for a 2 Broke Girls model of broad stereotypes. From the woman shouting rape (which was actually kind of funny) to a homeless man missing a foot, to the homeless, and the wheelchair bound, this episode seemed to be attempting to push limits that I don't know it needed to. True, this show needs to maintain an edge to justify the titled "bitch," but it is still interesting the way that it handled disabilities.

We do get the sense that these people are disadvantaged in some ways, though it gets progressively awkward as it goes along. The one legged homeless man's gag comes from a last second reveal that kind of works, though also serves no purpose other than that he's missing a leg and that June is way too privileged. Even Chloe's mother is a pretty sympathetic character that manages to be one of the more heartfelt and innocent in this episode. However, the way that June handles wheelchair disabilities as the episode progresses seems to be a little outrageous. She doesn't glorify it, but the whole premise reeks of shock humor. If it wasn't for the mother's tenderness, the joke would have failed. However, that doesn't mean that the awkward build up kind of pays off at the end.

Also, James Van Der Beek and People Magazine should probably see other people. Luckily it was only briefly mentioned, but it is still annoying to think that this could be a running gag. It's not like he's Channing Tatum. Also, the way that he dealt with the homeless may have been commentary on his ego, but also seemed to turn into broad stereotypes in itself, as he is appalled by the dirty, stealing culture. 

Overall, the concepts were broad enough and none written too mean spiritedly that it offends. However, as a Thanksgiving episode, it just doesn't work. There is very little use for turkey and the get together could be any day of the week. While I enjoy the sweet ending in which Chloe pays for June's vacation, the build up just seems to be going for an absurdity that only kind of works. Also, it doesn't hurt that this episode is laced with disability jokes, differing in actual quality.

I am totally fine with the show justifying madcap moments in order to get to a nice conclusion, but it better watch out on going overboard. This episode towed that line with some problems. Also, it seemed like June was the "bitch" in this episode even if she was thrusted into an awkward situation. I feel that the episode's downfall is not the amount of creative setups that it has, but the fact that they're all too similar. That, and James Van Der Beek's story is recognizably too plain and boring. Still, it was worth it for all of the Sacajawea jokes. 

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