‘Central Park’ Recap: ‘Celeste We Forget’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 213 of ‘Central Park’.  To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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One of the hardest skills that we have to learn in life, is how to communicate properly with others, and it isn’t from a lack of trying that makes this task so difficult. No, what makes it so tough, is the sheer fact that every single person out there… communicates in vastly differently ways. Since some people communicate through actions or emotions, while others use as little words as possible to communicate and expect others to quickly understand them through their mysterious style, and our struggles with this skill set don’t end with learning the external aspects of communication. Because we have to figure out how to express ourselves as well, so we can properly inform others of what we want and need.
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Which is why it takes some folks years to properly learn this. To the point where sometimes they don’t figure it out until they are well into adulthood and for that matter, it’s so tough a process that some people don’t figure out at all and go through life communicating as best they can. But it is an essential skill that we have to do our best to learn and understand. Because without communication or some form of it, life can be extremely frustrating. Especially when it prevents us from getting the emotional fulfillment we need or prevents us from providing it to others. But we simply have to keep trying at it, because eventually we will crack the code and have a breakthrough… as evidenced by the next episode of Central Park on Apple TV+.

For ‘Celeste We Forget’ is an episode that saw Owen finally learn how to properly communicate with someone that he’s always struggled to connect with, his mother Celeste, and this breakthrough in their relationship came about in the most unique of circumstances. For when we catch up with Owen, here… he’s excited to take the kids to see a once in a seven-year event, the blossoming of a Corpse Flower. in fact, he is so amped about this, that he has the day planned out to a tee so they can get there for the blooming (and the stench) right on time. But when mom pops by, things don’t quite go as planned, largely because she is such the polar opposite of Owen.

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Because Celeste is all about living in the moment and letting the day dictate where one should go. Which brings about chaos and delays for Owen and the kids, since mom needs to just… do her thing. But alas, her desire to enjoy so many moments… forces the family to miss the blooming and well, despite having tried to express his desire to see it and why for hours on end, Owen couldn’t get through to her. Because he didn’t know how to communicate with his own mother, despite knowing her a lifetime. But at last, he decided now was the time to try something new and he opened up to her about his disappointment, and how he lives, and how he learns and how he needs her to acknowledge and respect that. And by being open and honest with her at last, and completely blunt about his emotions… they finally found common ground and mom even went out of her way to ensure that everyone’s noses got a whiff of that stinky flower. 
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Which is a plot that made for some powerful observations on communication and how we become better at it. But before we break all that down in depth, we need to take a moment and talk about Paige’s journey in this tale. Since it reminded us of how ethical and good, she is as a person and that exploration came about, by way of a chance encounter with Bitsy. Because while Paige was covering a story about beauty products at a beauty convention, she ran into Bitsy and followed her close. Since she was eager to finish her story about the corruption that Bitsy is involved in at City Hall and she realized as she tailed her, that if she could get a chance to look at her phone… she could break this story wide open and eventually, she got that opportunity, through Helen. But when faced with Helen’s disdain for such a plan, an act that oddly speaks to her moral core as well… Paige realized this was the approach of a scuzzy journalist, one that put their morals aside for the scoop and fame.

Which motivated her to stand down and find another way to get the truth and it was just wonderful to be reminded of how great a person Paige is, and how much integrity matters to her, and it was equally as incredible to see Owen learn how to communicate with his mother and help those of us struggling with such matters in the process. Since his push to find common ground with her informs us that sometimes… we simply need to not beat around the bush and say what’s on our mind with someone we are close to and trust, so that we can create understanding when there is an issue, and we need to sometimes be direct with those that we struggle to communicate with and ask them how best to reach them. So, we can learn how they do it and vice versa and well… it is just comforting to know that Central Park is going to continue to inject life lessons into its storytelling, and it will be fascinating to see what other lessons await us as we continue our journey with the Tillerman family. Until next time.  

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