TV Recap: Don't Trust the B in Apt. 23 - "Teddy Trouble"

Left to right: Krysten Ritter and Dreama Walker

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 Maron (Tuesdays) and Family Tree (Thursdays) right here on Optigrab.

Left to right: Ritter and Michael Stahl-David

While suspected of leading to Don't Trust the B in Apt. 23's cancellation, it is interesting what aspects the show chooses to use as continuity. Even with Chloe (Krysten Ritter) gallivanting around, it seems like she resets herself on a weekly basis for better or worse. Still, when the show plans on continuing stories, it is fascinating to see, as it finally pushes the familiar characters into a zone that can only be described as development. True, James Van Der Beek had his whole Dancing with the Stars plot, but what about Chloe or June (Dreama Walker)? What have they done? In this episode, we finally see what that is.

June hears some rustling in Apt. 23 and decides to wake Chloe. This only leads to the discovery that Chloe's friend Teddy (Michael Stahl-David) has been sleeping in a guest room which Chloe has used as a closet. Teddy comes from Chloe's past in that she attended Camp C.U.T.S. (Callous Unemotional Traits Survivors) with him and they both realized that their humdrum approach to life was something to bond over. The camp didn't do them much good, as it only streamlined their psychopathic behaviors.

So what was Teddy doing in town? He was going to help Chloe out with a warehouse sale for a specific dress that was cut down from $4,000 to $399. With limited release, Chloe would need to do her best to get to that dress before anyone else did. Even June is talked into it when she realizes that her choice to wear swimwear when her underwear isn't clean is causing her problems. 

Suddenly, a man from the past comes into Chloe's life. Benjamin (Ben Lawson) shows up to talk to Van Der Beek about his life and the movie Monster Love. Through a series of events, Benjamin and Chloe end up in the same room where they recall their past love. They never had sex or made out and Benjamin tricked her. It was a romantic gesture that Chloe never quite got over. Seeing him in person only made it that more awkward. Upon having dinner with him, she decided to concoct a lie and say that she was dating Teddy along with June. 

James Van Der Beek

With Chloe having planned to wake up at 6 AM, tension between her and Benjamin begin to heat up. Everyone notices that she lied and there may be something more to it. When Chloe storms through the living room naked the morning of the warehouse sale, she realizes that she set her alarm clock for the wrong time. It seems almost too tragic and unlike her.

With Teddy blocking people as to make an easier access to the dresses, Chloe watches as her usual shopping frenzy turns into failure after failure. Her quest to get a dress before nemesis Faith (Annie Little) has failed. June is having more success, even though she does occasionally get phased out by shopper tactics to distract. Even Van Der Beek, who planned to launch his jean line called Beek Jeans isn't going so well. People consider it a relax area from the madness. It causes Van Der Beek to toss his jeans around at people with little success.

Chloe realizes that something is wrong with her. This causes her to confront Benjamin, who she claims to now be in love with. Admitting that she lied, the two begin to make out before heading over to Apt. 23 and seeing the results of the sale. June got a great selection of underwear and Van Der Beek plans to start a whole line of clothes, as he feels that not having a belt or a t-shirt was his financial downfall. Chloe doesn't admit it to everyone, but she and Benjamin may be dating.

Rating: 4 out of 5

Left to right: Ben Lawson and Ritter

While I never really forgot about Benjamin tricking Chloe, it still seems rather shocking that the two ended up together. In reality, it makes sense with the theme of Chloe wanting someone who could outsmart her, but at the same time, she is too promiscuous to let things slow down. That is the genius of this part, as it forces her to juxtapose her personality and try to accept that maybe she actually is in love with someone. While it results in a twisted lie, it eventually leads to the truth and leaves hope that Chloe and Benjamin will actually have a great story develop. Though with the continuity errors and the series coming to an end, that's probably not the case.

I do love that somehow Chloe is radically changed by this one small aspect. She no longer is able to be the complete bitch that she usually is. Her warehouse sale fight for dresses ended in flames and she just can't do anything right. Her web of controls is gone and now she has to realize her mortality. She cannot just go around chasing men. She has to admit her feelings. This is a great tie-in to Teddy's character's introduction, as the camp that they were at together was all about expressing emotion. A subtle touch, but one that amplifies the success of the episode.

Even June had a decent story this week, even if it was rather dumb. Wearing swimwear to compensate for underwear is a common incident, and one that definitely means that you need new wardrobe. The simple gag of her wearing these bright tops while trying to be the voice of wisdom was a nice sight gag and only made you root her on as she looked for underwear. Even if she got a pointy bra and that became the new gag, it still has plenty of merit, especially in an episode that managed to get quite a strong dose of humor from clothes. Whether it was humor involving emotions or just how they look, this episode proves the show's genius by finding a connecting concept and running with it.

I do even enjoy Van Der Beek's desire to become a jeans entrepreneur, especially without any advertisement or effort. I do love this take on Van Der Beek a lot, and his ability to play a satirized celebrity of himself is just juicy. When he's throwing jeans at an angry mob of people, it is almost like desperate magic. He has become the hilarious man, almost on par with Chloe for desire to be recognized while essentially failing. Still, I do wish him luck with the clothing line.

I do enjoy this Chloe. There are inconsistent weeks where she goes from madcap to somewhat more relaxed. Here, she isn't doing too much over the top humor and instead making us better understand who she is. Even in her clothes-obsessed mind, she cannot let go of the man who tricked her. It is almost sweet. I just hope that with the remaining episodes, this is who we get, because she manages to sling infectious one-liners and ridiculous plots side by side and make it one of the best shows that got cancelled this year.