S02.E01: Zoey’s Extraordinary Return

[formerlyfreedom]

Quote

Zoey returns to the world after an extended time away and discovers that a lot has changed at work and in her personal life in her absence.

Airing Tuesday, January 5, 2021.

[Empress1]

I had a hard time watching this, as my father passed away recently (not COVID-related). I loved hearing Mo singing at the beginning, though - I love his voice.

Simon remains hot.

The line "it's cute that you shop at Etsy" made me laugh.

More generally, it's interesting to see which shows address COVID and which do not. I'm watching This Is Us right now and COVID is part of the world those characters live in (they mention it, wear masks, etc.), but this one apparently isn't going to. All the singing kind of made me nervous, although I'm sure they're testing on set.

[ams1001]

7 minutes ago, Empress1 said:

The line "it's cute that you shop at Etsy" made me laugh.

I liked that line, too.

I was glad to see covid didn't seem to be part of this world. Just nice to have a bit of a reprieve. 

"Carry On' had me bawling for some reason. I feel like it was supposed to have more of an uplifting effect.

 

[shipmate]

This is the show I'm excited to see every week! Love every second of it (but the commercials seemed extensive tonight!)

Love the Max, Simon, Mo interaction and looking forward to more this season.

[ams1001]

6 minutes ago, shipmate said:

This is the show I'm excited to see every week! Love every second of it (but the commercials seemed extensive tonight!)

I didn't even realize it was coming back until I saw it on the TV Guide listings the other day. I was just checking to see what was on this week that I would want to watch. Pleasant surprise. (Edit: lol...just started a video on youtube and the ad before it was for tonight's episode.)

I hope they tone down the new guy, though. He was annoying.

[phalange]

I'm so happy this show is back. The "Carry On" number with Zoey, Maggie, David, and Emily was perfect, and I may or may not have teared up a little.

Max giving Zoey the shield ring was really sweet and I laughed when she held it up at work like it would keep her from hearing a heart song. And Zoey/Max there at the end! Lots of shows drag out love triangles forever, so I'm happy this seems to not be the case here.

I love Mo, Simon, and Max's friendship and Max and Mo working together on a new project. I'm glad Zoey got a promotion, though I will miss Joan/Lauren Graham. 

[Guest]

I’m so happy that this show is back. Zoey annoyed me at points but it was worth it for her to get to the point at the end. It also helps that Mo is there is give her a reality check.

Surprisingly, I loved what they did with the love triangle. Having Simon and Max become friends with each other and with Mo was a smart choice. Mainly I’m just glad Zoey made a decision. Max and Zoey were so sweet in their first scene. It’s probably not the end of the love triangle but hopefully it will be on the back burner for awhile. 

The music was hit and miss for me. It didn’t seem quite as natural as it did in the first season. I did love Rise Up and Carry On worked well thematically even if it wasn’t my favorite performance. 

[chaifan]

Oh, I'm so glad this show is back.  This is what I needed to start off 2021.  I'm glad the producers decided to not incorporate Covid into the show. 

I hope Lauren Graham really isn't leaving.  (I haven't read anything about her character one way or the other.)  But I really liked her in this episode!  Next to Mary S., she's the weak link as far as singing/dancing talent goes with this cast, and her musical numbers the first season weren't great.  But I love the character, and I think it would be great to keep her on as maybe the one character Zoey can't "read". 

Carry On made me tear up, and I almost never do that with a TV show.  But yeah, it brought back my own dad's death and all the stuff that had to be done, and the frustration of dealing with it all on top of the grief.   They could have done a nice PSA (or even paid advertisement) on digital wills at the end of the episode.  (And if you're all "digital what?", google it and do it.  Everyone.  Now.)

Be My Girl was fantastic!  Max and Simon should do more duos.  Mo's opening number was, of course, fabulous, and I loved their takedown of Zoey's "champagne" problems.  Don't Cry Out Loud with Guillermo, oops, I mean George, was the perfect bit of camp this episode needed to keep it from being a downer. 

And I so so so hope this is the end of the love triangle.  Don't have her go back and forth all season, or have Max's long lost girlfriend along with their (previously unbeknownst to Max) identical triplets show up, just to announce they were married during that 3 day drunkfest in Vegas 5 years ago. 

 

 

[formerlyfreedom]

I really enjoyed this, and since I'm a huge What We Do In The Shadows fan, I'm super glad to see Guillermo, er, GEORGE has found a new job! His song was beautiful.

I follow several of the actors on instagram - the only time they're not masked is for actual filming, and they're doing testing regularly. And I did notice that there seemed to be extra distance between people in many scenes.

[DanaK]

Man, this show. Emotional and funny and entertaining

[Cthulhudrew]

I don't know what it is, but something seems different about Skylar Astin. It looks like they got someone who looks almost exactly like him to replace him- appearance is almost precise, voice is almost exact- but everytime he speaks and expresses himself (only at the first scene with Max and Zoey), something just seems off. Like CGI Skylar or something. 

It's not just the facial scruff.

Am I completely whacky here?

[Phebemarie]

I loved “Hello, Dolly”.  I’m a proud theatre nerd and appreciate a good showstopper. 
The new character reminded me of Olaf a bit, annoying but also endearing.  

[tennisgurl]

I am so happy to see this show back again, and we are off to a great start. Everyone still dealing with Mitch's passing was heartbreakingly sad, I admit to tearing up a bit during Carry On at the end. Zoey was so upset that she lost her heart song powers, but now they have retuned with a vengeance and all kinds of songs. The songs were all good, Carry On was definitely my favorite but I also loved Mo's song, just because I love Mo's voice so much. Hello Dolly was also a nice way to open up the season again, especially after last seasons sad ending.

The line about the baby having Mitch's eyebrows made me laugh. 

Loved seeing Max, Mo, and Simon all hanging out and I am excited to see Max and Mo apparently start a business together. I am very glad that Simon and Max are friends now, that is a much better way to handle a love triangle than everyone being pissed off at each other all of the time. I wonder if they will stay committed to Zoey/Max for real or if they will reignite the triangle later on? 

Well if Zoey has any trouble with vampires, then I know who she should call. So much fun seeing Guillermo (fine I can call him George) here and he got a great song as well. 

Edited January 6, 2021 by tennisgurl

[Cthulhudrew]

Okay, maybe it is just the facial scruff. Plus a realllly subdued performance in his first scene.

He seems to be the genuine Skylar in his second scene.

[possibilities]

I was really surprised by how Hello Dolly seemed to imply that everybody at work really likes her and was very happy to have her back. I liked it, and I wish Zoey had taken that message form it, rather than just feeling bummed that her "powers" are back.

It's totally unlike Mitch to not leave his password for his wife. 

I like everything about this show right now, except for the love triangle. I really hope that shit is over, but I doubt it is. 

 

[childeroland]

3 hours ago, chaifan said:

Oh, I'm so glad this show is back.  This is what I needed to start off 2021.  I'm glad the producers decided to not incorporate Covid into the show. 

I hope Lauren Graham really isn't leaving.  (I haven't read anything about her character one way or the other.)  But I really liked her in this episode!  Next to Mary S., she's the weak link as far as singing/dancing talent goes with this cast, and her musical numbers the first season weren't great.  But I love the character, and I think it would be great to keep her on as maybe the one character Zoey can't "read". 

Carry On made me tear up, and I almost never do that with a TV show.  But yeah, it brought back my own dad's death and all the stuff that had to be done, and the frustration of dealing with it all on top of the grief.   They could have done a nice PSA (or even paid advertisement) on digital wills at the end of the episode.  (And if you're all "digital what?", google it and do it.  Everyone.  Now.)

Be My Girl was fantastic!  Max and Simon should do more duos.  Mo's opening number was, of course, fabulous, and I loved their takedown of Zoey's "champagne" problems.  Don't Cry Out Loud with Guillermo, oops, I mean George, was the perfect bit of camp this episode needed to keep it from being a downer. 

And I so so so hope this is the end of the love triangle.  Don't have her go back and forth all season, or have Max's long lost girlfriend along with their (previously unbeknownst to Max) identical triplets show up, just to announce they were married during that 3 day drunkfest in Vegas 5 years ago. 

 

 

Spoiler

She is, according to The Hollywood Reporter or Variety (I forget which). There was a scheduling conflict with her Disney+ show, which contractually has dibs on her.

 

[brokenwing29]

Whoever designed Zoey's old bedroom has either never seen a teenager's room or thinks Zoey has no other personality trait besides "science geek." A periodic table on her wall? Really?

I'm pleasantly surprised by the writers' decision to end the triangle. Not because Zoey is too old for that kind of thing so much as she was already displaying some insensitivity towards others...IMO stringing the two of them along would make her more unlikable. It's just that I'm not yet convinced of her feelings for Max in particular. She wanted to move forward in life...but what if Simon had visited her room at that moment instead? Would she be moving on with him? It just felt rushed. I will give the show a chance to show how she really feels, though. 

 

[Trini]

On one hand, I'm impressed they decided to end the love triangle so soon; on the other hand, I'm Team Simon (although I like both guys), and was hoping that we'd at least get to see Zoey and Simon together for a little while. Because I figured that Zoey/Max was their endgame anyway.

So if Joan is leaving, I need them to bring in another female colleague for Zoey at Sprq Point. Maybe Whatshername on the 6th floor?

So how big a role does the new guy have? I'm just not sure what role he's going play in the office. Guess we'll see.

Hmm -- Mo/Max - that's a fun new pairiing. Interested to see where that goes.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

I'm glad that the show is dealing with the aftermath of Mitch's death. On so many other shows, death is A Very Special Episode and then everything goes back to normal which is not very realistic. Even if you go through the motions (like going back to work right away), there is still so much to deal with from the grieving to going through their clothes to the financial stuff.

But I have to admit that I was a little annoyed about the whole "I can't get a copy of our marriage license because my husband had it in his email and I don't have the password for his laptop." He didn't die suddenly and he wasn't in a coma (While You Were Sleeping). He was sick for a long time but they found a way for him to communicate. Someone in that family should have thought to ask for his password while he was still alive! And if Maggie wanted a way around that, you can always order another copy of your marriage license from the county where you got married. You can request it online which makes it a lot easier if you no longer live in the same county.

Harvey Guillén will always be Alistair from Huge to me (I also liked him as Benedict Pickwick the mapmaker on The Magicians). If you haven't seen Huge, it's only one season (ten episodes). I loved it and was so disappointed that it didn't get another season. It's sad that he was SO GRATEFUL for Zoey telling Tobin to knock it the fuck off. He has clearly been bullied all his life and has never had someone stand up for him. I hope we see him become more confident now that he has been accepted by Tobin and Leif. Even if they become nothing more than occasional foosball teammates, just not being picked on constantly sounds like it will be an improvement for him. But I would love to see Tobin take George under his wing and become friends with him.

I have a feeling that we are going to get some kind of post partum storyline with Emily. She's clearly not doing well and she's trying to keep it together because she knows that David is still dealing with Mitch's death.

I'm glad that Zoey decided to take that promotion even though it sounds like it will be a lot of responsibility. She was so hesitant to commit to the new job or make a decision about ANYTHING which reminded me of that saying about how not making a decision is actually making a decision to not make any changes.

Zoey is really lucky that her boss and her company have been so kind during this time. I don't know many places that would let you have six weeks off for a death in the family. The last place I worked had a whopping TWO DAYS off and that was only if it was an immediate family member. I really understood when she got a little snippy with Simon because she was tired of everyone asking if she was okay. Everyone means well when they ask but they don't realize that they are the 9374778275th person to ask that today. I'm glad that Simon didn't take it personally and told her she didn't have to apologize for being incommunicado.

I have issues with Zoey's relationships with both Max and Simon, but I think that right now Max is the right choice because he knows her secret. If she had chosen Simon, it would have made me uncomfortable because he doesn't know that she can read his emotions by hearing him sing in her head, which seems like a really unfair advantage to have. I'm not saying that Zoey needs to tell everyone about her powers but being in a romantic relationship with someone who doesn't know you can read their thoughts/emotions is a pretty big thing to keep from them.

I always liked Zoey and Max as friends, and the scene with the ring reminded me why. They can be supportive and kind to each other while still joking around and being silly.

I totally get why it was so weird for Zoey to see Mo, Max, and Simon hanging out together without her. I've been in a kind of similar situation where two of my friends who only knew each other through me became friends and at first I was like wait, when did this happen? It wasn't a huge deal, but it was momentarily weird and I'm sure it was even weirder for Zoey since she knew that both Max and Simon had feelings for her.

I continue to love the mix of music they choose for the show. A Broadway song (I'm always here for the big musical numbers - and props to John Clarence Stewart for having the highest kicks!), a beautiful ballad, and a rocking song! Musical trivia: Peter Allen, who wrote Don't Cry Out Loud, was LIza Minelli's first husband and he cowrote Arthur's Theme with Christopher Cross, Burt Bacharach, and Carole Bayer Sager. Bernadette Peters said that the Don't Cry Out Loud lyrics about keeping everything inside were about Peter's father's death.

I don't know how Maggie and Zoey were able to resist watching those videos of Mitch. My dad died almost six years ago and if he had left a video, I would have watched it immediately (and repeatedly). I know they felt it was too painful, but I would have gladly taken anything like that if I had the chance. I'm glad David ended up watching them.

Even though Lauren Graham is one of the two weakest singers in the cast, I'm going to miss her friendship with Zoey.

Edited January 6, 2021 by ElectricBoogaloo

[Mermaid Under]

Quote

I will miss Joan/Lauren Graham. 

I won't.  I found the character annoying and clichéd (woman in charge on the coat tails of her husband, has to be a crazy bitch) and Lauren Graham was the weakest singing link. Although the title of weakest singing link might be a toss up with Mary Steenburgen, and I hope Ted Danson gave her that hair cut, because I would hate to think she paid for it.

When David played Mitch's message to Maggie, I thought for a minute that he or Zoe had performed some CGI magic to make it smoother.  It would be nice to see Mitch's messages to David and Zoe, although I bet they won't follow that string.

Glad to have it back.  Good first episode.

 

[Empress1]

2 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

But I have to admit that I was a little annoyed about the whole "I can't get a copy of our marriage license because my husband had it in his email and I don't have the password for his laptop." He didn't die suddenly and he wasn't in a coma (While You Were Sleeping). He was sick for a long time but they found a way for him to communicate. Someone in that family should have thought to ask for his password while he was still alive! And if Maggie wanted a way around that, you can always order another copy of your marriage license from the county where you got married. You can request it online which makes it a lot easier if you no longer live in the same county.

It is also disturbingly easy to change a laptop password. My brother and I did it after our father died and neither of us are coders. It took about five minutes.

Maggie sitting amidst a pile of papers was very familiar though. Oof.

2 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

Zoey is really lucky that her boss and her company have been so kind during this time. I don't know many places that would let you have six weeks off for a death in the family. The last place I worked had a whopping TWO DAYS off and that was only if it was an immediate family member.

I worked somewhere that gave you a week’s bereavement leave for immediate family (bio, step, and adoptive parents, grandparents, siblings, and God forbid children) and three days for everybody else. My grandmother died when I was there so I took a week off. I lost my job shortly before losing my father (2020 was so awful) so I didn’t have that issue for that. Six weeks bereavement leave is incredibly generous. Most American companies don’t let you take six weeks off in a row for anything except parental leave.

I would have watched the videos, I think. I have a bunch of my father’s voicemails and I listen to them when I need to.

[ams1001]

59 minutes ago, Empress1 said:

It is also disturbingly easy to change a laptop password. My brother and I did it after our father died and neither of us are coders. It took about five minutes.

I think it was his email password, not the laptop itself. Though it's probably not that hard to go through the "forgot password" link and reset that, too.

Did she say why she didn't have the hard copy of their marriage license? Was it lost? Did he scan it and then shred the original (because why would you do that?)? And why would you just scan it to your email and not save the file somewhere on your computer? (I know, I'm overthinking these things.)

When my grandmother died I got three official bereavement days, but my boss would have let me take more time if I needed to (not six weeks, though, I'm sure). I took the three days but not in a row (stayed at my parents' the night she passed and took the next day off (I lived an hour away at the time), but then I had two more days between then and the funeral so I just went home and went to work because what else was I supposed to do?).

[Wavy]

Great episode.  Loved Mo's line about "Champagne problems."  Yup.

[dubbel zout]

10 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

The line about the baby having Mitch's eyebrows made me laugh. 

I think that might have been my favorite line of the show.

10 hours ago, possibilities said:

It's totally unlike Mitch to not leave his password for his wife. 

Yeah, they didn't need that to show how overwhelmed Maggie was with estate stuff.

5 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I would love to see Tobin take George under his wing and become friends with him.

I can see this happening, though I hope Tobin does it sincerely.

5 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I don't know how Maggie and Zoey were able to resist watching those videos of Mitch. My dad died almost six years ago and if he had left a video, I would have watched it immediately (and repeatedly).

I get why they couldn't watch it so soon. After my dad died, one of the first things my mom did was change the answering machine message, because it was too creepy for her to hear his voice. She never regretted it. 

1 hour ago, ams1001 said:

Did she say why she didn't have the hard copy of their marriage license? Was it lost? Did he scan it and then shred the original (because why would you do that?)?

He scanned it, definitely, and then I guess tossed it or shredded it? A lot of places will want the original document (or a legal copy) with watermarks/seals/etc., so getting rid of it was dumb. My mom's house was broken into and a giant safe stolen (we still can't figure that out, as it weighed a TON and was in the furnace room in the basement, but whatever), and she had to jump through more than few hoops to get replacement documents. She could make online requests for some of them, but that didn't mean they were immediately forthcoming. She was still on the phone a lot.

[ElectricBoogaloo]

22 minutes ago, Wavy said:

Loved Mo's line about "Champagne problems." 

It reminded me of what Chandler said to Ross on Friends: “Oh, I know, this must be so hard. ‘Oh no, two women love me. They're both gorgeous and sexy. My wallet’s too small for my fifties and my diamond shoes are too tight!’”

[dubbel zout]

15 minutes ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

"My wallet’s too small for my fifties and my diamond shoes are too tight!”

I use this constantly. It's very effective.

[MooCat Pretzel]

My mom passed away this past September and my dad is currently dealing with accelerated dementia thanks to a COVID infection.  It may not have been the best idea to watch this show right now, because holy tears, Batman!  But I did appreciate the message behind Carry On and felt just a tad bit lighter when the episode ended. Thanks, ZEP!

[ElectricBoogaloo]

18 hours ago, tennisgurl said:

The line about the baby having Mitch's eyebrows made me laugh. 

If the baby had Mitch’s eyebrows, he would look like this!

[EyewatchTV211]

On 1/5/2021 at 9:21 PM, Empress1 said:

More generally, it's interesting to see which shows address COVID and which do not. I'm watching This Is Us right now and COVID is part of the world those characters live in (they mention it, wear masks, etc.), but this one apparently isn't going to. All the singing kind of made me nervous, although I'm sure they're testing on set.

The singing made me nervous, too. It's crazy to think about how we're going to see things that used to be "normal" so differently from now on. 

[KaveDweller]

12 hours ago, Empress1 said:

I worked somewhere that gave you a week’s bereavement leave for immediate family (bio, step, and adoptive parents, grandparents, siblings, and God forbid children) and three days for everybody else. My grandmother died when I was there so I took a week off. I lost my job shortly before losing my father (2020 was so awful) so I didn’t have that issue for that. Six weeks bereavement leave is incredibly generous. Most American companies don’t let you take six weeks off in a row for anything except parental leave.

I had a colleague who's very young child died and she didn't even take six weeks.

But I know there are actually tech companies in San Francisco that offer unlimited time off. Apparently this has the effect of people taking LESS time off, while still letting the company sound cool and progressive. So I can see Zoey's company having a policy like that.

9 hours ago, dubbel zout said:

He scanned it, definitely, and then I guess tossed it or shredded it? A lot of places will want the original document (or a legal copy) with watermarks/seals/etc., so getting rid of it was dumb. My mom's house was broken into and a giant safe stolen (we still can't figure that out, as it weighed a TON and was in the furnace room in the basement, but whatever), and she had to jump through more than few hoops to get replacement documents. She could make online requests for some of them, but that didn't mean they were immediately forthcoming. She was still on the phone a lot.

Maybe they lost the original license and Mitch was emailed a copy from the state (or county or whatever)? It still is odd that he wouldn't have downloaded a copy, but I guess they just needed a plot device for Maggie to be extra stressed and needing to get into the email.

[bros402]

That was a good episode.

I have to imagine that with the license, maybe they got married somewhere abroad or maybe somewhere that had a fire that damaged records or maybe a vital records scandal (like Hudson County, NJ) - or maybe they moved at some point and it was lost, but Mitch had scanned it so there was a copy. But yeah, barring some big thing like a foreign country and not knowing the language or a lost record, no reason why they couldn't have been able to get it.

Also, GIZMO! HE SINGS!

[Insert Username]

So much to love about this episode, but I was distracted by Mart Steenburgen's horrible haircut. It seems even worse than last season. She is a beautiful woman, who looks great with soft, fluffy hair. The haircut they have her in does not look good on anyone over the age of 5.

[Guest]

2 hours ago, Insert Username said:

So much to love about this episode, but I was distracted by Mart Steenburgen's horrible haircut. It seems even worse than last season. She is a beautiful woman, who looks great with soft, fluffy hair. The haircut they have her in does not look good on anyone over the age of 5.

I head-canoned to myself that she grief cut her own hair.  Because it was horrible.

[Lady Calypso]

I really enjoyed this premiere. I was about as ecstatic as the Hello Dolly number for the show's return.

I get that, realistically, Zoey probably wouldn't have been given six whole weeks, but I think it worked well in the context of the show. My grandmother just passed in November and I've had to listen to my father help my grandfather close accounts and wrap up paperwork and everything since then. So all of this was all too familiar, especially recently. No surprise this show made me tear up with Carry On and the video messages. I can imagine that it would be hard to see a recently deceased loved one on screen so soon after his death, especially if he wasn't at his healthiest when he made some of the videos. 

It seems like Zoey is starting to pick up her life again, especially at work. It was nice to see her stand up for George, who she didn't even know. Hearing him sing probably helped that a lot. George is a solid character, although he got on my nerves when he initially would not leave Zoey alone. Hopefully they don't keep him as some bumbling idiot. He seems sweet and I'd love to see how he interacts with others.

Simon, Max and Mo hanging out is a surprising trio and I hope it continues. Not a whole lot of Simon, but I hope they find him a good story this season, especially now that Zoey has seemingly chosen Max. I do think a part of it might be choosing him through her grief. Not that she doesn't have feelings for him, but she's also trying to get back to a sense of normalcy without properly processing her grief. Going from being a complete hermit to running an entire floor at the company and starting a new relationship is going to be a lot. 

Mo and Max's idea...it's better than the creepy idea that Leif and Joan had last season, but I'm still hesitant on how it'll work out for them. 

The songs this episode were delightful and I appreciate the variety that this show has. 

[HappyBerry]

I hope this is the end of the love triangle (I know it isn't....they need that drama), especially since out of the two I prefer Max. I don't even dislike Simon, I just think that he needs a good therapist more than he needs a girlfriend. 

Really though, it just made me wish polyamory was an option in network television. Zoey is into both guys, both guys are into Zoey, and the guys have figured out how to open communicate with each other. It seems like the basis for a healthy poly relationship if they were willing to go there. 

I'm interested to see if George ends up being sweet and endearing or annoying and a little creepy. I did appreciate him asking if a hug was okay rather than just going for it. 

It's not a perfect show, but I'm looking forward to having this fun bit of fluff back on my TV. 

[bros402]

10 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

I really enjoyed this premiere. I was about as ecstatic as the Hello Dolly number for the show's return.

I get that, realistically, Zoey probably wouldn't have been given six whole weeks, but I think it worked well in the context of the show. My grandmother just passed in November and I've had to listen to my father help my grandfather close accounts and wrap up paperwork and everything since then. So all of this was all too familiar, especially recently. No surprise this show made me tear up with Carry On and the video messages. I can imagine that it would be hard to see a recently deceased loved one on screen so soon after his death, especially if he wasn't at his healthiest when he made some of the videos. 

It seems like Zoey is starting to pick up her life again, especially at work. It was nice to see her stand up for George, who she didn't even know. Hearing him sing probably helped that a lot. George is a solid character, although he got on my nerves when he initially would not leave Zoey alone. Hopefully they don't keep him as some bumbling idiot. He seems sweet and I'd love to see how he interacts with others.

Simon, Max and Mo hanging out is a surprising trio and I hope it continues. Not a whole lot of Simon, but I hope they find him a good story this season, especially now that Zoey has seemingly chosen Max. I do think a part of it might be choosing him through her grief. Not that she doesn't have feelings for him, but she's also trying to get back to a sense of normalcy without properly processing her grief. Going from being a complete hermit to running an entire floor at the company and starting a new relationship is going to be a lot. 

Mo and Max's idea...it's better than the creepy idea that Leif and Joan had last season, but I'm still hesitant on how it'll work out for them. 

The songs this episode were delightful and I appreciate the variety that this show has. 

The idea seems pretty much "have chefs trained in different types of cooking in a commercial kitchen, and cook dishes on demand"

which seems, uhhhh, difficult to manage - especially with dietary needs.

3 hours ago, HappyBerry said:

I hope this is the end of the love triangle (I know it isn't....they need that drama), especially since out of the two I prefer Max. I don't even dislike Simon, I just think that he needs a good therapist more than he needs a girlfriend. 

Really though, it just made me wish polyamory was an option in network television. Zoey is into both guys, both guys are into Zoey, and the guys have figured out how to open communicate with each other. It seems like the basis for a healthy poly relationship if they were willing to go there. 

I'm interested to see if George ends up being sweet and endearing or annoying and a little creepy. I did appreciate him asking if a hug was okay rather than just going for it. 

It's not a perfect show, but I'm looking forward to having this fun bit of fluff back on my TV. 

There was a polyamorous couple on Single Parents (which aired on ABC)

I hope Guillermo George ends up being nice.

[Guest]

27 minutes ago, bros402 said:

The idea seems pretty much "have chefs trained in different types of cooking in a commercial kitchen, and cook dishes on demand"

which seems, uhhhh, difficult to manage - especially with dietary needs.

Is it? Besides being really impractical neither of them have the skill set to make that work. It sounded like they were describing something more tech based like a physical Uber eats location. 

[ElectricBoogaloo]

13 hours ago, Lady Calypso said:

Mo and Max's idea...it's better than the creepy idea that Leif and Joan had last season, but I'm still hesitant on how it'll work out for them. 

When Mo said she wished there was a restaurant where you could eat food from different restaurants, I was like uhhh, isn't that called having your friends come over to your house and ordering from Postmates/DoorDash/Caviar/UberEats aka what you're doing right now? Why do you need a restaurant space where you can do that? Are you really too lazy to put your own takeaway containers in the garbage when you're done?

[Machiabelly]

Some people like the idea of going out to eat. The problem I see is that the price would have to be 20% higher than what you would pay at the actual location. That is a high premium for convenience. 

[shapeshifter]

I had missed this episode when it aired because of real life stuff, but it was up on free Peacock last night.

 

On 1/6/2021 at 8:31 AM, Empress1 said:

It is also disturbingly easy to change a laptop password. My brother and I did it after our father died and neither of us are coders. It took about five minutes.

Yes, but could a grieving spouse figure it out? Maybe we need to fanwank that Zoey only flaunted her coding abilities so Mom wouldn't have to feel incompetent.

I appreciate seeing the very real grief. My mom finally died in August, but she began the process when Dad died 5 years ago. 

But, much more, I appreciated the very positive writing throughout, like Zoey getting a superhero ring and then being called a superhero when she slew the bullies. 

The music numbers were wonderful, but they kept giving me Covid distancing anxiety. 
I kept wondering if the scene on the bench was really shot with them 6 feet apart; the blurring of the closer person suggested that to me.

 

[chaifan]

6 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

When Mo said she wished there was a restaurant where you could eat food from different restaurants, I was like uhhh, isn't that called having your friends come over to your house and ordering from Postmates/DoorDash/Caviar/UberEats aka what you're doing right now? Why do you need a restaurant space where you can do that? Are you really too lazy to put your own takeaway containers in the garbage when you're done?

Yeah, but remember, Zoey is in a non-Covid world, so people are going out to eat.  So it's like being at a bar that doesn't serve food and allows you to bring in your own.  (Yes, we have some of those in our area.)  Two people order pizza to be delivered, one person walks in with their own takeout sushi, and the other goes across the street to Subway and brings back a sandwich.  But we're all eating off plastic containers and paper plates, and everyone's food arrives at different times.  Wouldn't it be so nice if the bar would coordinate orders, have everything brought to the bar's kitchen so it could be put on real plates and served all at one time like you do at a normal restaurant?  I think this is what they're going for, but Restaurant A allows you to order food in from Restaurants B, C and D.  I'm guessing they're building an app that streamlines this down to one order, and also allows the host restaurant to get a little of the $ from this.  In the real world, this would bring a slew of insurance/legal issues. 

[Clanstarling]

On 1/6/2021 at 3:39 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

I have a feeling that we are going to get some kind of post partum storyline with Emily. She's clearly not doing well and she's trying to keep it together because she knows that David is still dealing with Mitch's death.

You're probably right - though I got a sense that she could be a big help to Maggie (she's a lawyer or something like that, isn't she?) which would in turn help her by being a help.

On 1/6/2021 at 9:23 AM, dubbel zout said:

Yeah, they didn't need that to show how overwhelmed Maggie was with estate stuff.

True. The regular everyday version of that is overwhelming enough. I was my father's conservator/executor, and though much of the estate stuff was dealt with before he died, there's still a lot to go through when it's final.

My husband and I have already shared our passwords to emails and other accounts that will have to be dealt with in when one of us passes. I vaguely remember it wasn't so much that Mitch didn't leave the password, but that Maggie couldn't find it. But I could certainly be wrong, I wasn't paying close attention in that scene because even now the topic brings back bad memories.

On 1/6/2021 at 6:45 PM, KaveDweller said:

I had a colleague who's very young child died and she didn't even take six weeks.

But I know there are actually tech companies in San Francisco that offer unlimited time off. Apparently this has the effect of people taking LESS time off, while still letting the company sound cool and progressive. So I can see Zoey's company having a policy like that.

Really? That's extraordinary (sorry, no pun intended). I used to work in tech, and while the benefits were generous at some jobs, no one offered more that a short amount of time off for the death of a close relative.

8 hours ago, Dani said:

Is it? Besides being really impractical neither of them have the skill set to make that work. It sounded like they were describing something more tech based like a physical Uber eats location. 

That's what I got out of it.

4 hours ago, Machiabelly said:

Some people like the idea of going out to eat. The problem I see is that the price would have to be 20% higher than what you would pay at the actual location. That is a high premium for convenience. 

Sure, but I'd assume that in addition to the food, the place would have a nice bar - a bigger selection than anyone would have at home.

On 1/5/2021 at 10:11 PM, Cthulhudrew said:

I don't know what it is, but something seems different about Skylar Astin. It looks like they got someone who looks almost exactly like him to replace him- appearance is almost precise, voice is almost exact- but everytime he speaks and expresses himself (only at the first scene with Max and Zoey), something just seems off. Like CGI Skylar or something. 

It's not just the facial scruff.

Am I completely whacky here?

Nope, unless we're both wacky (always a possibility).  I spent a lot of time wondering if it was a different guy.

[Guest]

On 1/8/2021 at 1:00 AM, ElectricBoogaloo said:

When Mo said she wished there was a restaurant where you could eat food from different restaurants, I was like uhhh, isn't that called having your friends come over to your house and ordering from Postmates/DoorDash/Caviar/UberEats aka what you're doing right now? Why do you need a restaurant space where you can do that? Are you really too lazy to put your own takeaway containers in the garbage when you're done?

Sure it worked fine for the three of them at Mo’s but what if it was a group of 6. There’s not enough space. It’s not an idea that wouldn’t work everywhere but it’s a pretty good concept for a city like San Francisco. 

On 1/8/2021 at 3:19 AM, Machiabelly said:

Some people like the idea of going out to eat. The problem I see is that the price would have to be 20% higher than what you would pay at the actual location. That is a high premium for convenience. 

The markup for food delivery apps can be a lot higher than 20%. 

Edited January 12, 2021 by Guest

[D Angel]

The central question of the narrative is where Zoey's "gift" comes from and why. It can't be called a "power" since she has no control over it. While the Max v. Simon drama is (or at least was) compelling for a while but then just annoying, and SPRQ Point offers a good backdrop for some low-stakes drama and high-concept comedy, Zoey's spiritual journey is what gives the story its forward motion and they've only just started it. I'm hopeful that Season 2 digs into it more and suspect that it will.

One could have argued that Zoey receive her special ability (or sometimes curse) so she could connect to her beloved father, but since it's back there has to be a deeper purpose from an external source. That begs the corellary question: Why her? Random?

Note that Zoey told Max, who ultimately believed her and accepted her "extraordinary" claim without "extraordinary" evidence, but she didn't tell Simon and I'd guess that's a pretty significant factor. She also used that gift to her own benefit to connect with Simon and advance her romantic interests with him, essentially under false pretenses. She always felt guilty about that, too.

Zoey also told he father, who also believed her, but hasn't told her mother or brother or anyone else except Mo. When challenged on how she could be so perceptive, Zoey bluffs her way through. But there's something deeper going on and I suspect that only showrunner and lead writer Austin Winsberg knows what that is. The show is too good for them to be winging it. Zoey is a prophet.

There have been two hints I noticed. First, in S1 E4, Mo's kindly and hip pastor gives Zoey her first opportunity to seek counsel from someone with spiritual training. And he proceeds to throw three dart bullseyes in a row. Then after telling Zoey that "empathy is a gift", Zoey throws a bullseye without even aiming when she got nowhere near the dartboard on her first three tosses. Second, in S1 E12, Zoey's at the hospital to meet Emily who her brother indicated was in labor. Despite it being a false alarm, Zoey comes face to face with both the MRI machine where she received the gift, and the MRI technician who says that that machine has "helped so many people", then whistles "I've got the music in me." Zoey notices.

If Austin Winsberg gets the big reveal right on Zoey's spiritual journey, this will be a special TV show on par with great works of art.

[Good Queen Jane]

12 hours ago, ElectricBoogaloo said:

When Mo said she wished there was a restaurant where you could eat food from different restaurants, I was like uhhh, isn't that called having your friends come over to your house and ordering from Postmates/DoorDash/Caviar/UberEats aka what you're doing right now? Why do you need a restaurant space where you can do that? Are you really too lazy to put your own takeaway containers in the garbage when you're done?

What if you don't want to clean up your apartment or, as @Dani said above, you don't have the space for a big group? A lot of restaurants make most of their profit from liquor sales, so they wouldn't have to make much of a mark up on the food. Also, the Mo/Max's place could have their own delivery/pick up service rather than pay fees to outside groups.

Edited January 8, 2021 by Good Queen Jane

[LisaM]

While I liked seeing Guillermo from my favorite, What we do in the Shadows, -- and I liked his speech to Zoey thanking her for sticking up for the bullied - I thought there was too much emphasis on him. I thought the dogs, standing desks and foosball were too much of a cliche. 

I lost my mother over the summer -- and have been overwhelmed at times dealing with the post-death paperwork; IMO Maggie's reactions were perfect. The most mundane issues - an email password and the security questions for a lost one - can become huge impediments to getting anything done. They really nailed that. 

Loved Hello Dolly and Mo waking Zoey on her first day back. Will miss Lauren Graham. I found this show because of her and liked her relationship with Zoey. 

The videos that Mitch left for his family killed me. When my dad died, the very first thing I did was to search my phone to see if I had a voice mail message so that I could hear his voice again. 

[shapeshifter]

10 minutes ago, LisaM said:

I lost my mother over the summer -- and have been overwhelmed at times dealing with the post-death paperwork; IMO Maggie's reactions were perfect. The most mundane issues - an email password and the security questions for a lost one - can become huge impediments to getting anything done. They really nailed that. 

Agreed. Especially during the pandemic.

 

11 minutes ago, LisaM said:

The videos that Mitch left for his family killed me. When my dad died, the very first thing I did was to search my phone to see if I had a voice mail message so that I could hear his voice again. 

Mom couldn't speak the last 2 years. I found a faint "hi" and saved it.

[Electruck]

On 1/5/2021 at 10:11 PM, Cthulhudrew said:

I don't know what it is, but something seems different about Skylar Astin. It looks like they got someone who looks almost exactly like him to replace him- appearance is almost precise, voice is almost exact- but everytime he speaks and expresses himself (only at the first scene with Max and Zoey), something just seems off. Like CGI Skylar or something. 

It's not just the facial scruff.

Am I completely whacky here?

OMG! I had the EXACT same reaction! I don't know what it was... Are his eyebrows different? Was it the scruffiness? It was so weird!

Ah, you also mentioned perhaps it was the subdued-edness of his performance -- I did think that was part of it, too. The replicant feeling was very strong.

Edited January 10, 2021 by Electruck
to address OP's additional comment

[bros402]

also, I don't think anyone mentioned it, but imo the best part of the episode was when Max & Simon were singing to Zoey, and Simon had the line "long brown hair" and Zoey grabs her hair and looks at it - timestamped the video in case you wanted to see

 

[zoey1996]

On 1/7/2021 at 10:46 AM, Insert Username said:

So much to love about this episode, but I was distracted by Mart Steenburgen's horrible haircut. It seems even worse than last season. She is a beautiful woman, who looks great with soft, fluffy hair. The haircut they have her in does not look good on anyone over the age of 5.

I thought her hair demonstrated/symbolized the difficulties she was having following Mitch's death.  

I remember criticizing Ann's hair in One Day at a Time (the original) in the episodes when she was dealing with The Runaways (Julie & Chuck).  My friend commented that it was probably more realistic because Ann was so upset and worried.  

Edited January 11, 2021 by zoey1996