2 Broke Girls, S3E16 “And the ATM”: A TV Review

After so many weeks where the focus of this show has been decidedly anything but what the title implies we have an episode that is all about the Benjamins. Last time we were with Max and Caroline the snarky one had found out that her boyfriend [yeah, things were getting serious] Deke was a rich kid. Cue the feeling of betrayal, brace yourselves for the emotional fallout.

Her decision is to break up by breaking into his dumpster house and taking back her toothbrush and her second favourite gnome, Gnomosexual, both clear signs to Caroline that this relationship might actually have a pretty decent foundation. Even though Deke catches her in the act and speaks to the heart of her actions [“you’re too big a babypants to tell me you’re breaking up with me”] her reason is unassailable: the rich and poor don’t mix. 

A rom-com-esque scheme to have the two reconcile backfires on Caroline, and leads to Max more firmly stating her beliefs [a correction of her friend’s assessment] : similar to people of two different religions [Smurfs and witches, in this case], a rich person and a poor person have so little in common that a relationship between them could never, ever work out.

So Deke, who is a smart guy, decides to show her what the other side is like and deposits a cool million bucks into her bank account. That’s when we get some money talk, and reactions that are actually very true to form.

To begin with, Max is so proud of her status pre-million that she decides to really splurge and buy gifts for her pastry classmates, spending all of $143 and intending to return the remainder to Deke. After he refuses it’s put out of her mind, that is until the lovely customer on the right sits in her booth and behaves, albeit a little rudely, like a normal sane person who is receiving terrible service.

Max shows the woman her ATM receipt showing her riches, and when the woman asks her what she’s doing working in a diner she has an epiphany. Why is she working in diner? Why is she working at all? As her and Caroline get more and more excited Max reveals that she doesn’t need dreams when she has money, because what more could you need when you already have it all?

The 2005 Showtime documentary Reversal of Fortune follows a homeless man who was given $100,000 to do with what he liked. He began from working in a recycling plant to having more cash than he knew what to do with, and then what? This man didn’t have a plan, but he had money and the idea that working would no longer have to be an option for someone in his position.

All of which brings on a second, status quo returning epiphany: Max being rich means Max no longer being Max. She writes another cheque to Deke and, seeing where she’s coming from, he accepts it. 

Seeing as how similar the two of them are [something Caroline will not stop going on about this entire episode] there was definitely some conflict needed, and it’s nice that it turns out to be exactly what the first two seasons were devoted to attaining. Whenever compatibility ramps up like this, with romantic obstacles overcome in one to two episodes, you have to wonder where all of this is leading. Will Eric Andre become a regular? I highly doubt it, so it remains to be seen where he and Max, “the Romeo and Juliet of ball banter,” will end up.

Current Total: $560.

New Total: $1,000,560. Heh, psyche! It’s really just $560 because Max returned the money, and apparently they didn’t profit at all this week [maybe it was the $143 spent on gifts?].

The Title Refers To: The diner’s new ATM, which is apparently deserving of a ribbon-cutting ceremony. Key because it’s how Max discovers her newfound riches.

Stray Observations:

• Seeing as how I’m constantly checking out tumblr for 2BG gifs and things, the “ATM: Asian Transgender Male” joke stood out for me as being poorly chosen for that scene. Then again, the site does have a pretty diverse crowd.
• Max pees standing up. Yes, this is possible.
• “Do you look at life as a game of “Set new lows for Caroline?”
• Occupy Wall Street joke just to stay relevant.
• In this world of easy jokes Caroline mentions Bing and no one says anything.
• Yes, we get it, Earl is old. “I forgot because I’m a hundred and twenty.”
• Caroline’s breathy distraught voice slayed me.
• Deke’s alter-egos: The Monopoly Man, Deke McRichyMcNeverHadToWorkForAnything, Deke RichyRichPretendedHeWasPoorenstein
• This and last week’s episodes were directed by Phill Lewis, who you may know better as Mr. Moseby from The Suite Life of Zack & Cody.
• Caroline’s joke that made me feel legitimately uncomfortable: “Max, who is Uncle Pennypags? Is he one of the ones who touched you?”
• 2 Broke Girls Cheesecake Menu: