Recap / Central Park S1E3 "Hat Luncheon"

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: June 5, 2020

Written by: Chuck Tatham
Directed by: Ian Hamilton

Park League People: ♫ Ooh, feels just like high noon ♫
City Officials: ♫ Ugh, we're sick of you tycoons
Err, you're all gonna die soon ♫
Park League People: ♫ Ageist! ♫
♫ Well, here comes the typhoon! ♫
City Officials: ♫ The park is mine! ♫
♫ The park is mine! ♫
Park League People: ♫ The park is mine!
The park is mine!
The park is mine! ♫
All: ♫ The park is mine! ♫
City Officials: ♫ The park is mine! ♫
All (Owen): ♫ The park is mine! (The park is all of ours) ♫

—"The Park is Mine"

Owen has to give a speech while presenting the golden rake to a long time employee at the Hat Luncheon in Central Park where important people will be meeting there. Paige is trying to uncover why the park's funding would be cut off. Bitsy goes to the Hat Luncheon to try to sabotage it and stir up trouble between the attendees. Molly wants to spend more time with Brendan.

Songs

• Birdie Busking - Birdie
  Written by: Josh Gad, Elyssa Samsel, Nora Smith, & Loren Bouchard
  Performed by: Josh Gad
• Momma's Got This - Paige, Molly & Cole
  Written by: Kate Anderson & Elyssa Samsel
  Performed by: Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, & Tituss Burgess
  Additional Vocals: Sally Stevens, Angie Jaree, Randy Crenshaw, & Nick Cafero
• Momma's Got This (Reprise) - Paige, Molly & Cole
  Written by: Kate Anderson & Elyssa Samsel
  Performed by: Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, & Tituss Burgess
  Additional Vocals: Jessica Childress, Kate Anderson, & Elyssa Samsel
• Don't Think About the Failures - Owen
  Written by: Kate Anderson & Elyssa Samsel
  Performed by: Leslie Odom Jr.
• The Park is Mine - Politicians, Socialites, Owen, Bitsy, Paige, & Helen
  Written by: Rafael Casal & Utkarsh Ambudkar
  Performed by: Leslie Odom Jr., Stanley Tucci, Kathryn Hahn, Daveed Diggs, Rafael Casal, Jessica Childress, Ginger Gonzaga, Kerri Kenney-Silver, Gary Anthony Williams, Phil LaMarr, Lindsey Stoddardt, Jessica Lowe, & Jesse Payos

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Tropes:

• Actually a Good Idea: Cole has an idea for Molly to meet Brendan without looking like a stalker. Molly thinks it's actually a good idea, but Cole didn't like that she said "actually".
• Continue Your Mission, Dammit!: Birdie sings loudly, trying to get Molly to notice that Brendan is flying his kite in the park.
• Dirty Coward: While a fight between the politicians and socialites breaks out, Mayor Whitebottom hides under the table and doesn't try to pacify the fighting. He even abandons his own people.
• First Kiss: Molly shares her first kiss with Brendan. Unfortunately, we learn Brendan is allergic to peanuts and Molly ate a peanut butter parfait, so he suffers an allergic reaction and his face swells up.
• Flashback Cut: When Owen tells Molly he hates speeches and he's not good at it and Paige tries to reassure him, we get a flashback to Owen bombing his speech twice.
• Food Fight: Bitsy gets the politicians and socialites into a heated argument that results in them getting into a food fight, with some actual fighting mixed in.
• "I Am Great!" Song: "Momma's Got This" is a lovingly downplayed, even subverted version of this. As Paige confidently chases a lead for a story with her kids in tow, insisting she has it all together, her kids gently point out her disheveled appearance, she almost gets off at the wrong stop, and she tries and fails to speak Polish.
• Immediate Self-Contradiction: Paige tells Owen when they get to the Hat Luncheon they're going to be serious people doing their serious job in a serious way, until Molly puts Paige's crazy hat on her which is a miniature train looping a mountain.
• Insane Troll Logic: When one of the Park League members demands to know from the city officials why they froze their contract. One of the city officials tries to flip it back at them by asking them why do they have a contract that got frozen and tells them it works both ways. The socialite points out that doesn't make sense.
• Karma Houdini: Bitsy gets away with ruining the hat luncheon while turning the city officials and the Park League against each other.
• Leave the Two Lovebirds Alone: When Molly and Cole thinks hanging out with Brendan is considered a date and Molly believes there's kissing at the end of a date, Cole leaves Molly alone with Brendan by cartwheeling into some bushes. After Molly and Brendan's first kiss ended badly, Cole pops out of the bush and gives Molly a thumbs up, much to her chagrin.
• Long Game: Helen meets a former maid named Lucy who waited 28 years for her employer to leave everything to her.
  Lucy: Where there's a will, there's a way. Just make sure you're in the will.
• Manipulative Bastard: Bitsy attends the Hat Luncheon to put a rift between city hall and the Park League by constantly reminding the League that city hall froze their contact and telling the city officials that the League said some nasty things about them. Eventually, both of them get fed up with each other and fight.
• Metaphorgotten: Paige tells her children when life gives you lemons you have to take it in stride, and if you get the lemons talking there's a story inside. Molly and Cole tell her that her metaphor is broken.
• My Hovercraft Is Full of Eels: Implied. Paige speaks to two restaurant patrons and tells them "she's alive and very sticky" in Polish. While it's technically true due to how messy she is, it's unknown if she's saying that on purpose or she's doing a bad attempt at speaking Polish. The kids believe it's the latter.
• Off the Record: When Paige questions Councilman Leon in the steam room on why he voted against renewing the Park League's contract, he told her the mayor told him to do it and that's off the record. Paige tells him he can't do that, but a lawyer who overheard their conversion points out he's allow to do that and argues that the source was in an altered state because of the steam room.
• Overly-Nervous Flop Sweat: Owen is so nervous about giving his speech at the Hat Luncheon that he sweat through three of his formal shirts and Paige tells him to just stick with his third shirt since he only owns five formal shirts.
• Pep-Talk Song: "Don't Think About the Failure", after Paige tells Owen to not think about the failure and only think about the future, he sings to himself to focus on giving a good speech.
• Personal Raincloud: The hat Bitsy settles on for the luncheon is a wide brimmed one that has a miniature rain cloud fountain. It works by cycling water that pools in the brim. Bitsy is fond of trolling others by spilling it on them.
• Plot Allergy: The "relationship hitch' variety. When Molly shares her first kiss with Brendan, his face starts swelling up when he reveals he's allergic to peanuts and Molly ate a peanut butter parfait.
• Quarreling Song: "The Park is Mine", Bitsy gets the politicians and socialites into an argument over the park's funds being frozen.
• Staring Contest: Bitsy has a staring contest with Shampagne, and while she always wins, Shampagne doesn't seem to get the purpose of the contest.
• Triumphant Reprise: After Paige gets her quote and found her next clue, she triumphantly sings the reprise of "Momma's Got This".
• Troll: Bitsy messes with Owen by spilling water from her hat onto his pant leg and saying that it looks like he peed on his knee. She's also trying to stir up trouble between the Park League and city hall.
• Vagueness Is Coming: The mayor's response to Paige's question as to why he got Shallenhammer to say "No" to the P3 funding of Central Park: "We think we can do better." He provides no further elaboration on the matter.
• Wham Line: When they see the chaos going on at the Hat Luncheon, Brendan sees Bitsy among them and said "Aunt Bitsy?".

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Paige: ♫ Momma's got this, Momma's got this
Oops- Forgot deodorant ♫
Molly & Cole: ♫ We think our momma's got this ♫
Paige: ♫ Momma's got this, Momma's got this ♫
Cole: ♫ Mom's looking like a boss ♫
Molly: ♫ Did she roll around in sauce? ♫

—"Momma's Got This (End Credits)"