Is this 2 Broke Girls‘ most daring episode? I say that, of course, because this episode features Max and Caroline spending a very short amount in jail, a place that is interchangeably referred to by a handful of characters as “prison”. What I’m referring to is the very reason, as it so happens, that I missed reviewing this last night as I usually do:
It’s Orange is the New Black.
Arguably Netflix’s most well-known original series [sorry, House of Cards], Orange is the New Black has been a cultural phenomenon that has only been hindered, however briefly, by the extreme pause between seasons caused by their released in their entirety all at once. Incarcerated women now bring to mind Flaca [sorry, Piper, we all have our favourites] and the other inmates at Litchfield Penitentiary and the hardships and comforts their stays have awarded them. There’s a lot of pop culture baggage surrounding the topic, and yesterday night . . . well . . .
Yesterday night was your average twenty-some minutes of 2 Broke Girls.
After last week’s installment which concentrated heavily on the maturing relationship between two heavily accented Eastern Europeans [and took the spotlight off of the titular characters] for a very refreshing change of pace, we start things off with a cold open in the diner, Max serving yet another pack of eccentrics. What’s worse, she spouts off a rape joke just short of the 40 second mark. Yes, it’s the only one, but it ultimately feels like two steps forwards and one step back.
The plot is about as threadbare as it gets, with their first big order of t-shirts coming in to tie it loosely into the season’s overall narrative arc. There’s some flirtation between Caroline and a Jesus doppelganger that I’m surprised made it past the censors that results in her sleeping with him [twice, to her immense pride]. She forgets her rings at his place, however, and she and Max must break into his place due to him not texting her within the span of two weeks, something referred to as “The 2 Week Rule”. I’ve gotta pause here, if only because Max’s rules don’t quite approach the myriad that Barney Stinson introduced on another CBS sitcom that used to air on the same night.
Carrying along, their botched burglary results in them being thrown in the slammer where . . . nothing happens. I’m serious about that, too. Once they’re in the holding cell there’s a pretty weak joke about the tough tattooed inmate being very nice and inviting them to take part in a talent show that’s being put on. Soon after that they’re out again after making bail. They spend about 1/3 of the
episode in jail, but it seemed so short I felt I could have blinked and missed it. The fact that it doesn’t even approach the kind of depth [or humour, let’s be fair] of the aforementioned series kind of goes without saying.
I suppose I should mention that it also ties back into the Oleg-Sophie marriage storyline, as it’s Max agreeing to be Sophie’s maid of honour that convinces the Polish businesswoman to help them out. Between that and them following up on their t-shirt venture this episode appears to want to move things forward without actually doing much of anything. It’s filler at absolute best, and disappointing even without comparison to Orange is the New Black.
Last week appeared to be a real turning point for the show. My hope, however mild, is that we get more surprises and much, much less of the same.
Current Total: $13,395.
New Total: $3,395. Assuming that bail was $10K, this means that their entire bank loan has now been used up. No, this was never mentioned once.
The Title Refers To: Caroline loses some rings and they commit a crime. Pretty weak.
Stray Observations:
- Max serving a table of smokers: “Like I’m back in my mother’s womb, only there’s food here!”
- They got a bunch of Gildan shirts printed. That’s the same brand my college used to use for all their events.
- Their shirts number in the hundreds and they’re only selling 20 to that fancy boutique. How does that even work? If they’re selling them like this doesn’t that keep them from being unique?
- “I have an animal attraction to him.” / “What animal, the horny nerd?”
- “What are you two celebrating? I know it’s not a job well done.”
- The audience reacted audibly to that last line, which was new.
- “Skinny jeans are just boner x-rays.”
- “We don’t have crack here!”
- “I don’t have a game face. Unless the game is I-Give-Up-My-Life-Is-Over, then this‘ll do.”
- Caroline and Max’s gang names: White Lightning and The Blade
- “Well, orange you the new black?” Ah, there it is.
- Oleg owns 17 XXX movies with the title “Women’s Prison”.
- Maybe It’s Maxoline: Max almost runs away, leaving Caroline stuck for the cops to find her. She turns back to help and they don’t make a big deal out of it like they normally would. Weird.
- 2 Broke Girls Cheesecake Menu: Nein. But you can have this great shot of Caroline hamming it up for her mugshot:
