Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist: Season 2/ Episode 5 “Zoey’s Extraordinary Trip” – Recap/ Review (with Spoilers)

With the help of Aiden, Zoey tries to shake up her life. For many, this couldn’t have worst timing, for they need the old Zoey, badly.

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Director(s)	John Terlesky
Writer(s)	Joe Port, Joe Wiseman
Aired (NBC)	2/2/2021
Newly Noted Characters
Allan	Chip Zien

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Recap

You Went Too Far – Maggie, Jenna, Emily, Roger, Zoey

Suddenly, Roger is starting to have an attitude, and Jenna doesn’t like it. So, she decides to fill his car with manure, which leads to Maggie being forced to fire Jenna. But, it doesn’t end there since Maggie also twists the knife a bit as Jenna confronts her and brings up how Emily feels about her older sister.

This, luckily, doesn’t affect any healing that Jenna and Emily’s relationship had, but it does end the dream team. At least until Jenna makes it clear she is leaving and Zoey pushes Maggie to maybe say something rather than let things end on a sour note. Leading to the two reconciling and exchanging compliments.

Daddy Issues – Allan, Mo, Zoey, Max

Max’s father, Allan, comes to San Francisco for a dental conference, and with Max and Mo not being able to find financing from their network, Allan seems like a possibility. Max even asks Zoey to join since Allan likes Zoey. But Max’s need isn’t just for his father’s money but approval. Which, with Allan unwilling to give Max enthusiastic support, it makes Allan being willing to sign a check over to Max a moot point.  Thus, Max and Mo are back to struggling to try to find financing.

To Care Or Not To Care? – Zoey, Aiden, Danny, Simon, Mo, Tatiana

Zoey continues her journey to find bliss, and she attempts to see if Aiden’s way of caring less, and the occasional drug use, could work for her. She even takes a personal day to really try to enjoy herself, but that day coincides with Danny getting off house arrest and the Chirp app experiencing another glitch. This one deals with it not recognizing people of color that well, which is a major issue – one that Simon, one of the company’s few Black employees, is tasked with being the face of.

But, before we get to that, because that’s a doozy, it needs to be noted that Danny hunts down Zoey since he is very used to Joan being at his beck and call. However, with her in Singapore, Zoey is the new Joan. So Danny decides to spend the day with her and Aiden, which almost leads to him selling the company.

Why? Well, Zoey pushes the idea there is no point in him caring as much as he does because what does it matter anyway? And considering all the issues the company has had and him wondering if he is even invested enough to deal with the pressure, he wants out.

Mind you, that whole conversation comes with him and Zoey being high, and when they’re sober again, Zoey backtracks since she and everyone else would lose their jobs if Danny did sell the company. So she convinces Danny to give them some time.

This brings us back to Simon. Him being made the face of the Chirp scandal doesn’t sit right with him, and with Zoey unavailable, he seeks Mo and Tatiana’s opinion. Mo is very much for Simon quitting, for they aren’t down with the BS. On the other hand, Tatiana, considering how few Black people, and people of color, are at SprqPoint, sees this as an opportunity to show loyalty and potentially move up.

Ultimately, Simon doesn’t quit, but he doesn’t toe the line either. Instead, he notes the issue and calls out the company. Which, considering his relationship with Danny, let’s see if he may get away with this action.

Things To Note | Question(s) Left Unanswered

1. Considering Ava quit when Joan got promoted over her, does this mean we won’t see Renee Elise Goldberry on the show again?

Review

Highlights

The Conversation Between Mo, Simon, and Tatiana

Similar to when The Bold Type does it, we appreciate seeing when a group of Black characters check in on each other and even give advice. Especially when it provides viewers insight into the complicated feelings which can come with being one of the few who look like you in a company.

Because there are times when you really have the thought, you can either be a pioneer or trailblazer like Tatiana says or that maybe you should just quit and work somewhere else, as Mo mentioned. And that back and forth is hard to deal with. Especially if, like Simon, you have been promoted, due have some sort of clout and don’t want to toss that away to start over. Yet, who wants to be rolled out to show a company isn’t racist, they have a Black employee speaking on their behalf?

Max and His Father’s Relationship

Max has been talking about his dad for a while, and when it comes to his relationship with Zoey, I must admit there was this desire to understand why he acted the way he did? Especially when he was competing with Simon for her love and attention, and with meeting Allan, you get it. Max wanted that validating, feeling see and still chosen, that only Zoey was offering him. And while, yes, Autumn did in some form as well? She was also trying to mold him to become the kind of guy she wanted. With Zoey, he didn’t have to change who he was to get her approval, as Allan asks of him. Max got to be who he is.

On The Fence

Jenna Leaving

I feel like we could have gotten more out of Jenna. She didn’t have many scenes with Emily, which could have given us more of their dynamic. Also, she and David haven’t gotten to interact either and show how maybe he does see some good in her, despite him being a square in comparison. And just in general, considering how much she did with Maggie and got her to open up, one could say that if Jenna got involved more in Zoey’s life, it could compensate for Mo not pushing her out of her comfort zone like they used to.

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