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

Left to right: Ben Lawson 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 column for Family Tree (Thursdays) right here on Optigrab.

James Van Der Beek

If there is one aspect about Don't Trust the B in Apt. 23, it is when it deals with broad topics and infidelity in ways that is supposed to make Chloe (Krysten Ritter) seem more bizarre. It isn't that it is a terrible concept, it is just that when the show deals with it, it tends to feel contrived and monotonous. However, combine it with the ongoing story of Benjamin, who we last saw in "Teddy Trouble," it does enter into an interesting, new zone that manages to pull new material. If this episode has one thing going for it, it is twists and shock. Otherwise, it may be one of the weaker of the last stretch.

The episode begins with June (Dreama Walker) and Chloe getting along so much that they don't care about sharing a bathroom together while one is in the bath. This is when the news comes out that Benjamin is back, and he is directing a commercial for sunglasses. Chloe has managed to get James Van Der Beek into the inner circle and cannot wait to begin having sex with him. Where exactly? In bathrooms, because they are are sexy.

One of the downsides is that Benjamin immediately overshadows Van Der Beek in front of the crew members with a rousing speech. He is not looking forward to the shoot and looks to Luther (Ray Ford) for advice. However, Chloe takes this opportunity to begin flirting with him and suggesting that they have sex. Also, they talk about how they are seeing multiple people, which they refer to as rotation, cycle, and even loop. 

Dreama Walker

After having sex in a bathtub, Ben injures himself as he steps out. Chloe realizes how vulnerable he is and stops wanting to do crazy things with him. During this time, June decides to share some advice on a high school relationship she had. She was dating Aaraon Demayo and on a bathroom wall, she discovered that Theresa was dating him. Instead of expelling her when it was discovered that Theresa smoked, June just let things go, considering him the one that got away. She would play "Linger" by the Cranberries. It drove her parents (Eve Gordon and Peter Mackenzie) crazy and so it was to Chloe.

But Chloe isn't phased. She just tries to move on, but keeps finding herself attracted to Benjamin. Van Der Beek takes control over the production, only to reveal that they don't need to shoot anything else. It creates problems and tension among the crew. Instead of pursuing him, Chloe has Benjamin deported... because she felt like it. 

During this time, Chloe decides to teach June a lesson and tracks down Aaron (Tyler Langdon). In fact, she finds him in a bathroom at a lobster restaurant. When June tries to talk about how much he meant to her, it only gets weirder. Aaron married Theresa (Mamrie Hart) and now has a child. June learns to move on and now it is just down to trying to get Benjamin back.

Chloe manages to call Benjamin on a plane by calling the captain, who is on her rotation. Again in a bathroom, Chloe apologizes for having him deported. She reveals that she was jealous about the rest of his cycle and wanted to show him a lesson. Everything works out and June decides to celebrate with drinks and more high school-like music. This causes Chloe to destroy the radio that June has been using.

The episode ends with the brilliantly absurd sunglasses commercial that chooses to be artistic and suggest that bathrooms, indeed, are sexy.

Rating: 3 out of 5

Left to right: Walker and Ritter

I know that infidelity is a huge part of the Chloe character, but after awhile, it almost feels like there are only two ways that a story can center around her. She either ruins someone's life, or has to deal with sex. It isn't that there can't be humor drawn from it, but it happens so often that it loses taboo or really any of the muster. It is something that I felt season 2 managed to overcome at great lengths and made her feel more like a character. Also, the Benjamin/Chloe dynamic isn't quite as interesting as I would have hoped.

True, it started off the season and it only makes sense that it ends around the final batch, but what is really learned? "Teddy Trouble" was great because it pitted the relationship into an allegorical study on how she was changing as a person. In "Ocupado...," we discover that she dates a lot of people, which already diminishes the impact of the relationship. Also, the only real moment of inspiration came when she accidentally deported him out of jealousy. It is in her character for sure, but it was hard to accept that Benjamin was just fine with everything.

It even felt odd that June was there trying to be the supportive best friend who played cheesy music and tried to be a hero. There's some innocent humor in it, though I have had trouble with June trying to express herself in terms of relationships. She always came off as a little bit odd and while it is great culture clash to Chloe's lifestyle, it feels almost too simplistic of a mindset and it doesn't really benefit the story in ways beyond making June seem somewhat weak willed when it comes to boys and letting go. The episode succeeds in these two women letting go, but the overall premise wasn't quite that strong for it to work entirely.

The part that did work, and proof that this show is great at writing, is how the stories dovetailed towards the end. With June worrying about Aaron being the man who got away, Chloe tracks him down. I do love that most of the big reveals in this episode happen in the bathrooms of random places, because bathrooms are sexy. It is subtle, awkward, and a nice touch. Still, the moment when everything is revealed that June lost Aaron to Theresa is just great writing, even if everyone piling into the men's room does seem like a little much.

I just want to give a large shout out to the closing credits of this episode, which may be one of the best in the show's history. Van Der Beek, in black and white, does this bizarre commercial for sunglasses in a bathroom. It makes no sense, but the artistic nuance is just juicy. I would have clipped more of it had the credits not ran across majority of the scenes. Still, the greatest laugh of the entire episode came towards the last second when on the screen the words "Like a bathroom for your eyes" flashed. If that isn't the best mix of a mission statement for the episode with satire of foreign commercials, I don't know.

The only real weird thing though was that Icona Pop's "I Love It" was used frequently, almost as transition music and almost entirely over footage of toilets. I know it is fitting with the theme, but the show doesn't use music this familiar so dominantly. Even the time that they used "Shorty Got That What What?" seemed odd, but worked within the awkward context of the episode. Here, it feels like blatant statement that "I don't care." It personally didn't make sense, though if the episode had theoretically aired on ABC, there is a strong chance that it could have ridden the coattails of the song's current success. It is still odd that this song gets used, if just because it came to my attention originally back in January in my least favorite episode of Girls. I thank them for launching the song, but the origin still baffles me.