Recap / Central Park S1E6 "Rival Busker"

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 26, 2020

Written by: Sanjay Shah
Directed by: Corey Barnes

Griffin: ♫ When there's a boy who loves his piggy ♫
Birdie: ♫Sounds like a great piggy ♫
Griffin: ♫ But the pig gets really biggy ♫
Birdie: ♫ Piggy's gotta grow, gotta fly ♫
Griffin: ♫ And his daddy says, "It's time to gimme Piggy" ♫
Birdie: ♫ What? ♫
Griffin: ♫ He's coming with me ♫
Birdie: ♫ Oh no! ♫
Griffin: ♫ The boy forgot that they were farmers ♫
Birdie: ♫ Pig farmers ♫
Griffin: ♫ And he knows that he is ♫
Both: ♫ Way too close, way too close ♫
♫ Now he can barely eat his bacon
And he knows that he was
Way too close, way too close ♫
Griffin: ♫ Wouldn't you agree he got too close? ♫

—"Too Close"

Birdie has to deal with the fact that he's been replaced as the narrator. Bitsy agrees to allow Dmitry, one of the investors, to have his daughter's wedding at her hotel in her secret ballroom in exchange for talking business. After getting a tip about Bitsy's secret ballroom, Paige and Molly stay at the hotel so Paige can get some info. Owen and Cole watch a livestream of an owl's nest at the park.

Songs

• First Class Hands - Griffin and Birdie
  Written by: Darren Criss
  Performed by: Andrew Rannells & Josh Gad
• Too Close - Griffin and Birdie
  Written by: Kate Anderson & Elyssa Samsel
  Performed by: Andrew Rannells & Josh Gad
• Show Up - Paige, Molly & Anya
  Written by: Kate Anderson & Elyssa Samsel
  Performed by: Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Bell, & Jessica Lowe
• What Could Go Wrong?
  Written by: Brent Knopf
  Performed by: Angelica Cox & Dan Sheron

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Tropes:

• Alien Non-Interference Clause: Griffin explains to Birdie that Birdie lost his job as narrator because a narrator isn't supposed to insert themselves in the plot, get "too close" to the main characters, or be their Guardian Angel- in his own words, "they gotta make their own decisions, we just get to watch". However, after Birdie risks being forced out of the story completely to help Owen and Cole out of a tree, the cosmic narrative force they both serve seems to believe that narrators can be guardian angels and makes Birdie the narrator again, despite Griffin's protests that he "broke the rules".
• Ambiguous Syntax: When Paige is trying to get past the Russian guards:
  Russian Guard: Give me a name, please.
  Paige: Um, you look like a Derrick. Okay, bye.
  Russian Guard: No. Your name.
• Arson, Murder, and Jaywalking: Dmitry and his family deals with murder, arms dealing, and fixing the Oscars.
• Callback: The Russian investor seen back in "Skater's Circle" appears again and his name is revealed to be Dmitry.
• Chekhov's Gun: When a hotel staff brings Paige and Molly to their room, the staff explains what a dumbwaiter is to Molly when she thinks it's an elevator for short people. Later on when Anya runs away from her wedding, Molly walks past the dumbwaiter and hears Anya calling out for help when she gets stuck inside and Molly frees her.
• Copycat Mockery: When Paige tries to get into the secret ballroom and the Russian guards won't let her through, Paige groans in frustration and one of the guards imitates her groan and tells her that's what she sounds like.
• Cultural Translation: During Griffin's song "First Class Hands", he mentioned that he once met Limp Bizkit. In the Italian dub, they replaced Fred Durst with Michael Bublé, a Canadian singer who's an Italian descendent.
• Cute Owl: Owen and Cole watches a live stream of an owl's nest that has a mother owl and her babies, one of which they name Tito. When Tito falls out of its nest, they both decide to go save it despite this interfering with nature.
• Description Cut: After Birdie rescues Owen and Cole from a tree while they were being attacked by an owl, Cole thinks Paige and Molly blew it by not watching the live steam with them, until we cut to Anya's wedding reception where everyone, including Molly and Paige, is dancing and Paige is able to get a picture of Bitsy and Dmitry together.
• Didn't Think This Through: Dmitry accidentally set the hotel he was planning to have his daughter's wedding at on fire because they made the wedding theme fire and did it inside instead of outside.
• For Want Of A Nail: Anya's wedding, Bitsy discussing business with Dmitry, and Paige getting a photo of Bitsy and Dmitry only happened because Dmitry accidentally set the hotel he was planning to have his daughter's wedding at on fire and Bitsy allows Dmitry to have the wedding in her hotel’s secret ballroom in exchange for talking business. When he meets with Bitsy, he accidentally reveals the secret ballroom in front of Paige's co-worker, who tells Paige about it, and she and Molly stay one night at the Brandenham Hotel to investigate. At the hotel, Anya runs away from the wedding and gets stuck in a dumbwaiter until Molly finds her and hides her in her room. After Anya reveals her problem to Paige and Molly, they convince her to go through with the wedding. The grateful Anya then invites them to join her, which gives Paige the opportunity to take a picture confirming Dmitry and Bitsy's partnership.
• From Bad to Worse: When Owen and Cole sees a baby owl jump out of its nest during the live stream, they both go to the tree to put the chick back in its nest. Owen climbs the tree to put the chick back in, but Cole also climbs on and his actions leads to the branch they need to get down to be broken off. Not only do they get stuck in the tree and no one is around, besides Griffin who refuses to interfere in the story, but the mother owl returns and attacks Owen and Cole for going near her babies, endangering them even further.
• "I Am Great!" Song: Griffin introduces himself with "First Class Hands," emphasizing how much better he is as a narrator than the show's usual narrator, Birdie, and speaking down to Birdie himself when he shows up. Justified in that Birdie is revealed to have been fired for accidentally breaking a major narrator rule. No surprise the song was written by Harry Freakin' Potter himself.
• Immediate Self-Contradiction: When looking at the shrimp appetizers for the wedding, Anya say they're terrible but continues to eat them. Dmitry explains she's a nervous eater who gets it from her mother, then he proceeds to eat all the shrimp due to being nervous about the wedding.
• Incredibly Lame Fun: Owen brings his family to a tree where the Natural History Museum will be live streaming an owl nest. Paige and Molly are unimpressed, but Cole likes it due to being an Animal Lover.
• Insecure Love Interest: Anya does genuinely love her fiance, but she's concerned because he's from a "normal" family, while she's from from a crime family.
• In-Universe Camera: Birdie accepts that he's been fired since he broke the rules and walks away while Griffin narrates. However, they both quickly realize that the shot is panning with Birdie and he happily runs around while the camera follows, knowing he can once again narrate while helping the Tillermans. When Griffin complains it should be his job, the other narrator simply forces him to leave the scene by walking until Griffin's out of the shot.
  Birdie: (Turns to the camera) Wait.
  Griffin: (From offscreen) Umm, what is happening? (Walks into the shot and stares at the camera) No. There must be some mistake.
  Birdie: Ha ha ha ha! I'm in charge again!
• Is This Thing Still On?: When Dmitry asks Bitsy if he could have his daughter's wedding at her hotel on the phone, Bitsy tells Helen to mute the call and then tells her she's going to pretend her hotel is fully book so she can leverage with him, until Helen tells her she hasn't muted it yet. With the secret out, Bitsy tells Dmitry he could have his daughter's wedding in the secret ballroom in her hotel in exchange for talking business, until Helen reveals she muted the call, frustrating Bitsy.
• Lawful Stupid: Griffin follows the narrator rules religiously and doesn’t interfere with the people he watches. When Owen and Cole land themselves in real danger, Griffin calmly continues the story and doesn’t lift a finger to help, even as the pair are being attacked by an owl. Birdie eventually saves them and the rules appear to be amended so narrators can help, much to Griffin's shock.
• Literal-Minded: When a hotel staff explains what a dumbwaiter is to Molly, she thinks an actual dumb waiter comes out of the elevator to bring them food.
• Loose Lips: Paige is able to get a tip about Bitsy's activities when Doug sees Bitsy greet Dmitry at her hotel and Dmitry tells her he looks forward to see Bitsy's secret ballroom, which Bitsy points out it's not a secret anymore since he said it out loud. After they enter the hotel, Doug calls Paige and tells her about it.
• The Mafiya: Dmitry and his family is revealed to be this when Anya reveals the illegal activities they do.
• Pep-Talk Song: "Show Up", where Paige and Molly sings to Anya, and would later join in, to pep her up when she gets cold feet for her wedding, telling her she needs to trust her gut and take a chance.
• Post-Stress Overeating: Anya is so nervous about marrying her fiance because of her criminal family, that she starts eating a lot before the wedding ceremony. Eventually, she took some meat from the hotel kitchen and runs away. Molly finds her and hides her in her hotel room where she eats all the snacks that Paige forbade Molly from eating.
• Punny Name: Mixed with Genius Bonus and A Dog Named "Dog" - Owen and Cole name one of the barn owl chicks "Tito." Tyto is the genus name for True Barn Owls.
• Quarreling Song: "Too Close"- Griffin argues that Birdie's "way too close" to the Tillermans and should keep himself at a distance, giving examples of how getting "too close" physically (a window washer and an undressed person on the other side of the glass) or emotionally (a farmer's son who loves a pig that ends up being taken away by the father to be slaughtered for bacon) leads to discomfort and heartbreak. Birdie claims that none of the examples apply to him, the Tillermans are his family, and that he's "never too close".
• "The Reason You Suck" Speech: In "First Class", Griffin calls out Birdie for breaking the rules of revealing spoilers and tells him how he got himself fired for it.
• Runaway Bride: Anya loves her fiance but can't go through with the wedding because of the illegal activities her family does. She ends up running into Molly and Paige, who convince her to go through with the wedding.
• Screw the Rules, I'm Doing What's Right!: After seeing Owen and Cole stuck up in a tree with an owl attacking them, Birdie rushes in to help, ignoring Griffin's warning that he could be forced out of the story altogether if he interferes again. Despite breaking the rules twice, whatever cosmic narrative force the narrators serve approves of Birdie's selfless act and reinstates him as narrator (much to Griffin's dismay).
• Shown Their Work: Owen correctly points out that the The Owl-Knowing One trope is false.
• Sidetracked by the Analogy: Near the end of "Too Close", Birdie and Griffin sings how the boy who got too close to the pig is now a vegan after it got slaughtered. Then they go off-topic saying that the boy has it hard now since vegans don't have a lot of food options and they both agree on it.
• Special Guest: "First Class Hands" was written by Darren Criss.
• Stating the Simple Solution: When Birdie tries to rescue Owen & Cole from the tree, he suggests getting one of the Macy's Thanksgiving Parade balloons (a Pikachu or Garfield) to cushion their fall. Owen just tells him to get a ladder from the park's storage shed.
• Stealing the Credit: After Anya runs off from the wedding, Bitsy and Helen has to find her so they can have their business talk with Dmitry. They failed to find her, but Paige and Molly convinces Anya to return to the wedding, so when Anya returns with Paige and Molly, Bitsy quickly runs up to Anya and grabs her hand and tells Dmitry she found her.
• What Could Possibly Go Wrong?: "What Could Go Wrong?", a song entirely in Russian that plays at the wedding.
• Worse with Context: Anya does not want to marry her fiance because his family is normal while her family does bad things. Molly tells her every family has issues, until Anya reveals her family deals with murder, arms dealing, and fixing the Oscars.

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♫ It's way too close, way to close
None of this applies to me
This family's my family
Never too close, never too close ♫

—Birdie, "Too Close (End Credits)"

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