‘Central Park’ Recap: ‘Money Candy’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 310 of ‘Central Park’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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One particular word that good parents are familiar with in this life, is sacrifice. Because in order to be a good parent and raise your kids right, one must sacrifice a great deal. Time and energy for instance must go to the little ones to make sure their needs are met in their early years. And of course, there are physical sacrifices that come into play as well. Since sleep is almost an impossibility with an infant and not to mention, a child is a financial sacrifice as well since it takes a bank to raise a baby. But good parents understand this and have no qualms with it. Because they know these sacrifices will pay off in the end and help to raise a happy and healthy child, one that will hopefully take on the world and change it for the better.
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But what we don’t talk about enough when it comes to the sacrifices good parents make, are the little ones that really make the day special for their kids. For instance, making sure that the one special thing they want for their birthday, or the holidays pops up on their table of gifts or under the tree. Or that they get the chance to see their favorite movies and shows with their parents. Because those little moments validate a child and make them feel special, and while their parents may have no interest in a talking dog on television nor do they care about what a particular toy does, sacrificing the time and energy to get that to them and sacrificing one’s thoughts on the matter… really do go a long way in making a child feel special and loved.

If anything, that more subtle sacrifice is top of mind today, simply because it was on full display in the next episode of Central Park on Apple TV+. For ‘Money Candy’ saw the hottest K-pop band in the world, one that shared the namesake of this tale, arrive in Manhattan to provide their fans with the show of a lifetime and of course… Owen and Paige made a point to take an interest in them. Not because they had a clue what the heck this band was about, nor was K-pop their top music choice, but because they wanted the kids… and Abby, since she also loved the band… to not feel silly about their joy and enjoy the wonder of celebrating what they love and that pushed mom and dad, to go the extra mile for their kids.

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All by heading down to the venue to try and land them tickets and trinkets. The latter of which was easy to accomplish. After all, there were trucks galore out front, including ones that featured knock-off trinkets like nail clippers that read: Money Cand. Which were also priced right. But the tickets, that was another story altogether. For they sold out ages ago and well, that prompted Owen and Paige to try and do something special to really create some unique memories for the kids. In that, they would travel around the city with the kids to see if by chance, they could spot Money Candy. Which would have sent them over the moon. But alas, that too went belly up, even when they were supposedly in Central Park. Since decoys were all that anyone found.
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But while the kids were trying to figure out their next move and their next search grid, Owen and Paige were forced to return home. For someone had broken into the house and wouldn’t you know it? It was the band. Who needed to use the restroom because the park’s toilets were in bad shape and well, being kind to the band and going the extra mile to get them out of the park with some hot dogs and no one the wiser they were there, allowed for these intrepid parents to get their hands on a bundle of VIP tickets. The kind that sent the kids over the moon, regardless of how little they believed the story of how mom and dad got the tickets in the first place. But while it was great to see the family take in a Money Candy concert and enjoy a wonderful evening, the ending of this story is immaterial.

After all, that’s nothing more than TV Magic. Which is great because who doesn’t love a happy ending? But what matters more here, is the sheer fact that Paige and Owen did everything within their power to keep their kids happy and make their passion feel validated. And they scarified along the way to make that happen as well, and that’s beautiful. Because that is truly what makes a parent a parent and helps their kids grow and it was wonderful to see that there and to just… enjoy a flat-out feel-good tale. One that even kept Bitsy’s storyline in a positive place. Wherein she opted to not clone Shampagne because she didn’t want to sully his memory his memory when he passed and well… all of this just goes to show that this series really is one of the best family shows out there right now and it will be interesting to see what feel-good moments await us, come next week. Until then.

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