Recap / Central Park S3E02 "Paige's Next Chapter"

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

"What are you waiting for?"

Original release date: September 9, 2022

Written by: Lindsey Stoddart
Directed by: Steven Theis

Paige:
♫ Now, you
You've gotta get one foot in the door
What are you waiting for ♫
Paige & Abby:
♫ And one
One little step will lead to one more
And at the end of the day
At least we both get to say
If we got a foot in the door
That means there's room for one more ♫

—"One Foot in the Door"

As Paige prepares for a big meeting with a book publisher, she welcomes her sister Abby to New York City. Meanwhile, Molly and Cole make desserts for their aunt to see which one of them is her favorite. Elsewhere, Bitsy's piano lounge player is unable to play due to a broken arm so his wife will temporary take his place as a lounge singer.

Songs

• "All Lining Up" - Owen, Paige, Molly, & Cole
  Written by: Kate Anderson & Elyssa Samsel
  Performed by: Leslie Odom Jr., Kathryn Hahn, Emmy Raver-Lampman, & Tituss Burgess
• "Hit the Sweet Spot" - Molly, Cole, & Owen
  Written by: Brent Knopf
  Additional Arrangements by: Emeen Zarookian
  Performed by: Emmy Raver-Lampman, Tituss Burgess, & Leslie Odom Jr.
• "One Foot in the Door" - Paige & Abby
  Written by: Kate Anderson & Elyssa Samsel
  Performed by: Kathryn Hahn & Kristen Bell

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Tropes:

• Big "WHAT?!": Abby does this when Paige admits to her that her meeting that she has that day is about writing a book, something she's been wanting to do since she was 10, and she's almost late for it.
• Brief Accent Imitation: In the taxi, Paige explains to Abby that living in the New York City and not riding the subway is like going to Oshkosh and not having cheese curds. She then suddenly has a desire for cheese curds right now. She and Abby then communicate with each other whilst using thick Canadian accents.
• Buffy Speak: Abby at one point refers to Paige's appointment that day as her "meeting thingy."
• Cooking Duel: Molly and Cole want to prove which of them is Abby's favorite, so they decide to make her what they think is her favorite dessert: Cole wants to make home-made gum, while Molly plans to make a croquembouche, a French dessert made up of pastry puffs held together by caramel. In the end, the gum comes out too chewy and Molly burned most of the caramel and didn't have enough to hold the puffs together, so they decide to combine the two.
• Cuteness Proximity: Paige confronts Lester about his falsehood involving him taking photoshoots of Abby, to which he admits the truth, which includes removing the backdrop to reveal photos of puppies and kittens behind it. Paige is immediately overcome by adoration from these photos, but then composes herself to continue her questioning, asking Lester why he has these photos.
• The End Is Nigh: A random person at the subway has a sign on him saying "The End Is Near," and he asks Paige and Abby where they will be when the doomsday cometh.
• Face Your Fears: Abby has a fear of subways, but she decides to try and overcome it so Paige could make it for her interview.
• Failed Attempt at Drama: Molly starts her cooking battle with Owen by saying, "Desert battle begins now! And right after she says this, an egg that she was going to use that she put on the table rolls off and cracks on the ground, much to her frustration.
• Fun with Acronyms: Bitsy has a meeting in this episode with two gentlemen, whom are members of Capshaw Financial, for their Financial Advisors Regulatory Taskforce.
• Horrible Housing: Abby's apartment has this, as the owners are a couple who can't hear, a roommate who is a DJ that plays loud music, and a very small living area next to a fish market.
• Ode to Family: "All Lining Up" is about the Tillerman singing about how Abby is coming to move to New York and they're going to make it feel like home for her. Then Owen, Molly, and Cole switch to singing about how Paige is going to have a chance to have a book publish and are happy to share her with the world, but Paige is worried she'll miss her family.
• Pep-Talk Song: "One Foot in the Door" is about Abby comforting Paige about her big meeting with a publisher when she's worried that if she becomes a successful writer, then the success would ruin her family or she won't get a chance to be with them. In return, Paige helps Abby deal with her fear of riding the subway.
• Quarreling Song: "Hit the Sweet Spot" is about Molly and Cole arguing that the dessert they're making for Abby will be better than the other.
• Right for the Wrong Reasons: Paige is worried that Lester Posey, the photographer doing Abby's headshots, might be a scam artist due to his obviously fake name and lack of online reviews for him. When they finally meet him, he seems fine, if a bit awkward, but then Paige notices a suspicious tarp covering something, and when she sees what looks like a sex toys under it, she confronts him. It turns out Lester's last name isn't his but his fiance's last name, but that's because it was to hide the fact that he's actually a photographer for animals and wanted to hide that to attract more human clients; the "weapon" was actually a squeaky toy for dogs.
• Scatting: With Bitsy's piano lounge player's arm broken, he has his wife, Devora, fills his spot as the lounge singer. But once she starts performing, all she does is scat the whole time saying any letters or syllables she can think of. Despite how long it goes on, the audience is actually impressed by it, especially after Helen accidentally gets roped into the performance.
• Sleazy Photoshoot: Paige fears that the photographer doing Abby's headshots, Lester Posey, is a scam artist, so she comes along to protect her little sister. Lester, it turns out, is on the up and up, but he's actually a animal photographer, and was hiding that fact to get more human customers.

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Cole:
♫ I can make it batter ♫
Molly:
♫ No, I can make it batter ♫
Molly & Cole:
♫ No. I can make it batter
Than you-hoo ♫
Cole:
♫ I can make it batter ♫
Molly:
♫ No, I can make it batter ♫
Molly & Cole:
♫ No. I can make it batter
Than you
Hit the, hit the sweet spot ♫

—"Hit the Sweet Spot (End Credits)"

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