Recap / Central Park S1E1 "Episode One"

RECAP:
Index
Season One: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10
Season Two: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13 | 14 | 15 | 16
Season Three: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12 | 13

Original release date: May 29, 2020

Written by: Loren Bouchard, Nora Smith, & Regina Hicks
Directed by: Gavin Dell

♫ I'm gonna own it
And my name is
Yeah, my name is Owen and I own it
And I like my
And I like my flowers when they bloom
In the moon like the fruit of the loom
You can say I'm a loon, but I'll celebrate my turtleheads and own it ♫

—Owen, "Own It"

Owen tries to get his family excited about "Turtlehead Day" at Central Park. Bitsy is upset that her dog, Shampagne, has disappeared and puts out a $55,000 award money to whoever can find her dog, who was last seen in Central Park.

Songs

• "Central In My Heart" - Birdie
  Written by: Kate Anderson & Elyssa Samsel
  Performed by: Josh Gad
  Additional Vocals: Sally Stevens, Angie Jaree, Randy Crenshaw, Rory O'Malley, Nick Cafero, Katie Crown, Kelvin Yu, Elyssa Samsel, Kate Anderson, & Leo Birenberg
• "Heiress To A Fortune" - Birdie
  Written by: Kate Anderson & Elyssa Samsel
  Performed by: Josh Gad
• "Own It" - Owen, Paige, Cole, Molly, Bitsy, Helen, & Birdie.
  Written by: Kate Anderson & Elyssa Samsel
  Performed by: Leslie Odom Jr., Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, Tituss Burgess, Stanley Tucci, Daveed Diggs, & Josh Gad,
• "Poops I'll Pick It Up" - Cole & Owen
  Written by: Steven Davis, Nora Smith, & Loren Bouchard
  Performed by: Tituss Burgess & Leslie Odom Jr.
• "Shampagne Was My Best Friend" - Cole and Owen
  Lyrics by: Kate Anderson & Elyssa Samsel
  Music by: Nora Smith
  Performed by: Tituss Burgess & Leslie Odom Jr.
• "Central To My Plot" - Bitsy
  Written by: Kate Anderson & Elyssa Samsel
  Performed by: Stanley Tucci
  Additional Vocals: Kate Anderson & Elyssa Samsel

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Tropes:

• And Your Little Dog, Too!: Or rather "...and my little dog, too", Bitsy's lyric in "Own It".
• Bad Liar: When Cole runs into Owen, he tries to pretend he doesn't know anything to poor results. Including barking when Shampange starts to make noise.
• Battle Rapping: "Poops I'll Pick It Up" takes on this form somewhat, although it's really more of a rap argument.
• Book Ends: The episode starts with "Central in My Heart", but end with a Dark Reprise version of it called "Central to My Plot".
• Chekhov's Gun: Lampshaded by Birdie when Owen gets suspicious about the sausages missing from his breakfast. Cole was giving the sausages to Shampagne.
• Cultural Translation: In the European French dub, the hot lips turtlehead flowers is called gladiolus flowers instead, despite the fact Central Park doesn't have those flowers in real-life.
• Dark Reprise:
  • "Shampagne Was My Best Friend" is one for "Poops I'll Pick It Up", in which Cole mourns no longer being with Shampagne and is consoled by his father.
  • "Central to My Plot" is Bitsy singing about their plot for Central Park, to the tune of "Central In My Heart".
• Distant Duet: Cole and Molly sing their parts of "Own It" in different parts of the park.
• Flashback Cut: Bitsy wonders how could the dog walker lose Shampagne, but Helen assures her that he seemed competent when she interviewed him. A quick flashback revealed that Helen purposely hired an incompetent dog walker so Shampagne can get lost so she would be next in line to inherit Bitsy's fortune.
• Funny Background Event: During "Own It", during the Split Screen, Birdie can be seen walking behind each of the Singers in the Park, waving to the audience and singing about how he's still there.
• Insistent Terminology: Cole insists to both his parents that he did not dognap Champagne, he rescued him. His mother and father do not view that the same way.
• "I Want" Song: "Own It" has Owen singing about wanting the Turtleheads to be appreciated, Paige wanting to be an Intrepid Reporter, Molly singing about her crush, Cole & Bitsy about Shampagne, and Helen about inheriting the Brandenham Fortune.
• Incredibly Lame Fun: Owen is the only person in the park excited about the turtlehead flower blooming in the park.
• Nice Job Breaking It, Hero: Due to Cole's dognapping, Bitsy puts out a hefty reward for whoever finds her beloved dog. As a result, people start invading Central Park in search of the dog just for the money, destroying stuff in the process, including Owen's Turtlehead beds.
• Setting Introduction Song: "Central in My Heart".
• Stalker without a Crush: Birdie introduces the Tillermans to the audience by peeking through their window and pointing out it's not creepy.
• Suspiciously Specific Denial: Molly wants to go into the park to watch a boy she likes and draw him, but says she doesn't think he's cute, and not into appearances or "athletic shoulders".
• That Came Out Wrong: Owen is so excited about "Turtlehead Day" that he made sticks for everyone that reads "Everyone's Turtleheading". Molly and Cole points out that "turtleheading" has a second meaning that involves when you really have to use the bathroom. Owen immediately regrets making so many stickers.
• "The Villain Sucks" Song: "Heiress to a Fortune".
• Wham Line: "Good boy, Shampagne.", said by Cole revealing he has the dog.
• What the Hell, Hero?: Owen chastises Cole for not only stealing the dog, but because of this, his actions caused Park visitors looking for Champagne for the reward to ruin the Turtlehead beds that Owen made.

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Owen: ♫ Son, we gotta think about the consequence
What if we are sent to doggy jail for this?
Can't keep this dog ♫
Cole: ♫ Papa, I believe this puppy's heaven-sent
I promise to pick up his every excrement ♫

—"Poops I'll Pick It Up (End Credits)"