2 Broke Girls, S3E6 “And the Piece of Sheet”: A TV Review

I had written this whole intro about how 2 Broke Girls is so slow to address trends while they’re still hot [see the Kickstarter and cronuts episodes] because I saw the above promo pic with Oleg twerking, but I’ve just finished the episode and didn’t see a single twerk. That’s all mildly disappointing, somehow.

Last week in the Stray Observations I promised that I’d share a “theory” with you about Max, and in thinking on how to write about it I realized that it’s not so much a theory as it is a strange realization about the character. To put it simply, we’re constantly regaled by the show about what a terrible childhood Max had and how promiscuous she is now, but none of that is ever backed up. In this episode she jokes about losing NuvaRing birth control in the lettuce, but when’s the last time she actually had sex on the show? Certainly not so far this season. As far as I can remember not at all last season . . .

One reason for this could be that being too real when it comes to Max’s life could make the show turn really dark, really fast, but the more I mull it over the more I beg to differ. For one thing, terrible parents are no stranger to sitcoms [see: The Simpsons, Family Guy, Arrested Development, the list goes on], and more than that their status as terrible parents can be milked for a fair number of laughs.

You know what would have been a great running joke in this episode? If Max really didn’t know who Santa Claus was because she had a terrible mother, and they continued that on with the Tooth Fairy and the Easter Bunny.

Very, very early this year I wrote about Don’t Trust The B—- In Apartment 23 [a sitcom that left us altogether to soon] and how important it was that a) the show didn’t shy away from Chloe’s sexual promiscuity and b) how it didn’t deride her for it. Max’s sexual escapades are a list longer than this blog post looks to be, but they don’t feel real because the show feels content to hide them away. I’m not asking to see a revolving door of guys walking in and out of her bedroom, but I’m going to need something for it not to seem like they’re just dirty jokes and quips for the sake of laughs with no lasting intentional effects on her as an actual character.

Anyway. On to the episode.

The theme this week was material possessions, which is a great when the stars are two “broke girls” but probably less effective when they have jobs, a very spacious apartment, a privately-owned cupcake business, and a pony. A little extra money leads Caroline to buy Max new sheets and throw out her old ones, but it turns out that the pillowcase has sentimental value. Max is forced to give up her attachment to her pillowcase as Caroline is forced to give up what is literally attached to her head, i.e. hair extensions [just a few, for volume]. I guess they learn that they’re allowed to be attached to things in the end; to each their own, et cetera.

In spite of that rather humdrum-sounding premise I’m going to declare that this episode was really rather good. I’m not just saying that because of a distinct lack of twerking or Miley Cyrus references, either. Caroline’s performance was a virtual tour de force of comedy this Monday, folks. Girl was killin’ it.

Never change, Beth Behrs.

There was her hilariously bad flirting at the onset of the episode; that was great. There was the way she said “the story of how we found a blonde hair extension out of nowhere that night” that trailed off into hysterical fake laughter. There was her horsey sleepy voice that always started with “Wh-h-h-h-hyyy” that got funnier each time they brought it back. Most of this review’s Stray Observations are dedicated to her.

Not only that but Max, who I generally find to be pretty thoroughly grating delivered the line “Are you trying to hurt me or turn me on?” flawlessly. It was free of snark and had just a hint of irritation; it was a beautiful thing. Also Luis was back for a bit and you should’ve seen my face light up when he came onscreen. There wasn’t a lot for the ensemble as a whole [Han has three or so lines] but overall it was a fairly enjoyable twenty-something minutes.

That is all to say that the show is doing surprisingly well so far this season. I’m never one for complacency in media, though, and there’s certainly more they could be doing, with Max at least. Her past is a potential goldmine for more comedy, and they need to be okay with digging it up. Caroline is . . . . well, Caroline is doing just fine.

Current Total: $2,012.

New Total: $2,162 [I don’t know where all of this “extra money” is coming from, but they’re a few hundred dollars short of their usual $200-$300 weekly profit, so maybe they must miscalculated this time around].

The Title Refers To: Either the new sheets that Caroline buys Max or the pillowcase she loses, which is not technically a sheet by my standards. Also a play on the words “piece of sh-t,” obviously.

Stray Observations:

• Max’s extra money dance involves ping pong balls.
• Earl’s favourite: a half-Black half-Chinese belly dancer.
•  Caroline is well-aware that Max will kill her one day. She chooses to accept it as a fact of life.
•  “Why? Wh-h-hyyy are you calling me a bitch at ni-i-ight? I was sleeping in my new ja-a-ammies.”
• “Max, I feel like we’re not even acknowledging our low points anymore.”
• The wig that Max makes Caroline wear makes her look like Joe Dirt. Anyone know what David Spade is up to nowadays?
• In case you didn’t know there are official CBS-approved 2 Broke Girls Comics and they are awful.
• 2 Broke Girls Cheesecake Menu: Caroline’s new Eiffel Tower jammies deal a great blow to this feature. A great blow indeed.