‘Central Park’ Recap: ‘Hot Oven’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

THIS IS THE EMERGENCY SPOILER ALERT SYSTEM. YOU ARE ADVISED TO READ AT YOUR OWN RISK.

As we continue our journey through season one of the delightful AppleTV+ series, Central Park, it is starting to become apparent just what series creator Loren Bouchard and the creative team are hoping to accomplish with this particular animated series. In that, everyone pondered upon the possibility as to whether or not an adult cartoon could feature plotting and structure that resembles an everyday television series and it just so happens, that they are indeed achieving this ambitious goal. And for proof, well look no further than this week’s episode of this magnificent series, since ‘Hot Oven’ pulls off quite the unexpected feat.
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Specifically, this is an episode that begins to bring together all the intricate plot points that this series has been gently nurturing over the course of season one, in subtle and wonderful fashion and it makes this happen, by dropping a pair of important moments into the audience’s lap. By first having Bitsy get extremely bold with her plan to take over the park, because she takes the time to place a full-page ad in the paper that rips Cole and the Park League in epic fashion, all so that she can get the public on her side. An act that stuns the Tillerman family and while they deal with this surprise attack, the other important moment comes into play. In that, Brendan and Molly are talking once again and their romance is budding and well, Paige thinks it is high time that the family meets this young man and plans are made to have dinner.

Something that eventually puts fear into Molly’s heart when she learns the big secret that Brendan is indeed a Brandenham and that revelation, and her desire to keep this fact from the family, since Bitsy is persona non grata in the Tillerman home, leads to some supremely funny moments. The kind full of Chewbacca growls and deflection and the saddest journey for a pizza ever. But eventually the family comes to learn about Brendan’s big secret, and they accept him for who he is because they’re fine people. But what matters more about this particular moment, is that Cole now has an in when it comes to the Brandenham family and potentially a conduit into Bitsy’s wild mind and there is no doubt that going forward, young Brendan is going to be instrumental in helping the Tillerman’s save this beloved park. 

But only time will tell how that is going to play out, and it should be interesting to see how Bitsy is going to react to an uprising. But if this particular episode is any indicator, such a rebellion against her plans will come as quite the surprise to her. Because dear Bitsy is straight up clueless to the fact that there are forces working against her and she seems to have no inclination to worry about the possibility that her plan might fail. As evidenced by her intense focus upon having Shampagne undergo some serious and hilarious dog therapy in this tale for a simple bladder accident. But the fact that Helen tried to use this opportunity to get that sweet pup out of the inheritance picture once again, and that Brendan is now an ally of the Tillerman’s because of his feelings for Molly, it’s only a matter of time before her jaw drops when this house of cards comes tumbling down.

But all future plot possibilities aside, this really was quite the quality episode. One that genuinely did a phenomenal job of bringing together the overall plot in masterful fashion, just like a standard television series. And it handled this crafty and important series of moments in subtle and fun fashion, since they were surrounded by laughs and more beautiful, toe-tapping musical numbers. And now that everything is starting to jell together, it is likely that the final two episodes of season one will bring everything to a head. Because Bitsy is clearly ready to accelerate her timetable, but the Tillermans and Helen don’t seem too keen on letting her carry out her agenda, and that should make for one explosive and hilarious season finale. Until next time.

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