Look, at this point pretty much everything is pointing towards 2 Broke Girls not getting a Season 7. I have a Google Alert set up for any related news, and week after week I’m sent articles tracking its flagging viewership and overall ratings. At 4.6 million, last month’s “And the Alley Oops” marks the smallest audience the show has ever had throughout the course of it airing. What’s more, at the time of this writing CBS still has yet to renew the sitcom for its 2017 fall lineup.
With all of that being said, and this very likely being the penultimate episode, I’m definitely realizing very late in the game that this show is all about Ms. Caroline Channing.
It’s an odd prospect to consider given how much the sitcom has focused on Kat Dennings’ Max Black. Dennings objectively has the larger personality and star power, given her minor role in the Thor franchise. Considering how much 2 Broke Girls has doubled down on their crass humour and one-liners, Max shares the title role but commands a larger portion of the spotlight. So what do I mean when I say it’s really all about Caroline?
Because Caroline is the entire reason the premise of 2 Broke Girls exists.
Sure, without Caroline in the picture Max continues working in The Williamsburg Diner, which she does now, but there are some significant differences. Max never learns to expand on her baking ability, or get her GED, or co-own not one, but several, businesses, or, and this is most important to the show, make close connections to the people around her.
It’s very easy to argue that without having met and befriended and lived with Caroline the chances of Max one day witnessing a baby ride around in its own little car, and considering that baby’s mother one of her friends, drop down to zero.
They see me rolin’, they hatin’-
Caroline Channing is the catalyst of 2 Broke Girls, the reason there’s a New Total tally at the end of every episode to begin with. Not that we’re trying to count up to any particular number at this point, but right now her and Max are profiting and keeping track, as opposed to whatever hand-to-mouth lifestyle the latter was living previously.
So why does everything feel so abruptly centred around her now?
The answer to that, which I’ve intimated in past reviews, is that “2 Broke Girls has never been great about balance.” As far as a central focus the pendulum tends to swing from one extreme to the next, a strong emphasis on Max’s relationship with Randy that eventually makes way for Caroline and Bobby. It’s so much more jarring here at the end, however, because, well . . . it’s the end. Or at least we think it is.
With the last 2 Broke Girls episode ever possibly in our sights what we expect as viewers is for there to be some kind of end goal for both Broke Girls. Previous finales have ramped up to their reaching a particular milestone in their business, a shared triumph for the two of them.
I suppose that Caroline’s big movie could be that, sort of. Remember that? Both her and Max spent almost a fifth of Season 5 in Hollywood, starting with “And the Lost Baggage” and wrapping things up by “And the Pity Party”. The film based on her life story of riches to rags to somewhat-richer-but-still-poor-at-least-by-the-standards-of-this-show is finally being released, and the only reason no one knew about it is because Sophie is terrible at forwarding mail.
It’s a potentially exciting time for them, but it’s all about Caroline when it’s revealed that Candy Andy, who we last saw getting married at the start of Season 5, is who she ends up with in the movie. As a result he’s also invited to the press junket, and due to his marriage falling apart ends up wanting her back.
There’s a bit of fun with her current beau Bobby stifling and becoming “violently jealous”, though Caroline’s indecision over what to do given that some screenwriter though Andy was the one for her isn’t nearly as compelling. What’s more, Andy’s confessing that he’s ludicrously wealthy [he tripped on a fat kid and fell on a skinny kid at Six Flags], in the lame hopes of beating out Bobby in that way, is likewise poorly executed. There’s no real conflict for Caroline, in spite of the fact that he’s offering her a shot at her old life. She appears to want what he’s teasing her with, but no more than Bobby, it turns out, and it’s ultimately played up as a joke.
At the end of it all Caroline commands the narrative of the episode, and doesn’t end up doing much with it. Max does her own thing on the sidelines. This episode, with the next being the finale, has them coming up on the premiere of a “2 Broke Girls Movie“, but then what? Whatever the conclusion is, at least to this season, I’m hoping it’s a satisfying one for both leads.
Current Total: $7,836.72.
New Total: $9,999.12. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The Title Refers To: A dais, which is “a low platform for a lectern, seats of honor, or a throne,” which in this case is clearly where the press junket takes place. My best guess is that “Rock Me on the Dais” is a play on words on “Rock Me Amadeus”, a 1985 song by Austrian pop star Falco. Not that the episode itself has anything to do with that hit at all.
Stray Observations:
- Max’s accountant, who she met in a dumpster, said “[They’re] not doing great, by the way,” though they very clearly are.
- The heart machine at Rite-Aid said Max was 80 and printed her a prescription for a wheelchair.
- “And Barbara wanted to show off her car, because- you girls are poor.” Again, this can hardly be true anymore.
- “Shouldn’t he be old enough to go by ‘Candrew Andrew’ at this point?” This is referenced again later, but to diminishing returns.
- “I get it, why break your six-year streak?” I’m not even going to pretend I care about continuity in this show anymore.
- Daisy, on the PR team, has such big pupils because Kylie Jenner threw a full can of Sprite at her head once. I have no idea if this episode was written and filmed when her sister’s Pepsi fiasco took place or not.
- Caroline to the actor playing Candy Andy: “Should it be awkward between us since you’re playing one of a long string of two ex-boyfriends?”
- If this is the penultimate episode ever of 2 Broke Girls, aren’t we glad they broke out the pedophilia jokes again?
“You two are like me and my 8th Grade science teacher. Just can’t keep your hands off each other.
“Max you ruined Mr. Brillstein’s life.”
- “You’re sweating like skinny Jonah Hill trying to be funny or fat Jonah Hill trying to be serious-“
- “CAN YOU AT LEAST GIVE ME ONE THING OF MY OWN, EARL?” Typically Sophie yelling is grating, but that line was really funny.
- “My mom said I had to start helping out in this family if I wanted unlimited data.”
- “I’m sorry, Caroline, I just couldn’t stand the thought of you doing it with another guy once a week. In the beginning.”
Han had a line about children’s programming, and given that I’m somewhat of an aficionado of live action sitcoms for a demographic I aged out of long ago, I think it’s time for-
Evan Shows Off His Knowledge of Children’s Programming
Max’s character, in the movie based on Caroline’s life, is being played by an actress named Vanessa Robinson. Han excited shares, upon finding this out:
“Vanessa Robinson is on my favourite Disney show: That’s So Vanessa Robinson!”
Matthew Moy, who plays Han, has actually starred on his fair share of tween sitcoms, starring with a three episode stint on iCarly. He was also on one episode of Big Time Rush, with those two shows together created by, and airing on, Nickelodeon.
When it comes to Disney, however, he’s done much more. Moy appeared on Zeke and Luther, Big Time Rush, and Good Luck Charlie in 2010, all of which are live action sitcoms for either the Disney Channel or Disney XD. Two years later, after he was already a solid part of the 2 Broke Girls cast, he had a role in Kickin’ It, also for the latter channel.
It’s just an interesting connection I couldn’t ignore. Unfortunately he doesn’t have a reel anywhere that I could find, but if you do some digging it shouldn’t be too hard to locate the specific episodes.
Also Disney has never, ever made another show with the same title format as the hit That’s So Raven.
