‘Central Park’ Recap: ‘The Ballad of Johnnie Lee’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 214 of ‘Central Park’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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It really is quite amazing how we view embarrassment in our world. For modern man sees embarrassing or goofy moments as something to be avoided or derided or even shameful in nature and there is some merit to that line of thinking. After all, it can suck to be badly embarrassed in front of others, and the severity of the incident, will oft determine how long we languish within embarrassment’s strong power. The kind that fills us with regret and shame and a bevy of other negative emotions that no one ever wants to endure. Plus, it doesn’t help that when it happens… we tend to fixate upon it and let it wash over us at inopportune times, making it seem as though it will never go away, and those are good reasons to despise it so.
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But the fact of the matter is… we really do put too much stock into the nature of embarrassment. Because in the end, those awkward moments are fleeting at best and fade in time in the same manner as an errant cloud on a beautiful summer day. But letting go of the negative feelings they produce, can be easier said than done sometimes, and well, how we let go of them and move forward in life when a juicy embarrassing moment comes our way is top of mind day, simply because it served as the central theme of the next episode of Central Park Apple TV+. For young Cole Tillerman endured quite the embarrassing moment in ‘The Ballad of Johnnie Lee’. One that would be downright devastating to a person of his age.

As it turns out, the moment in question came forth while Cole was in the midst of a costume change during a dress rehearsal of a play at school, shortly after he made a critical error. Wherein an attempt to help his buddy Enrique allowed for him to neglect his belt and uh… that brought about the worst-case scenario for a kid. Because not only did his pants drop while he was bent over, but so did his underwear… just as the curtain went up on what turned out to be a live dress rehearsal. One complete with a fair chunk of the student body and well, mooning most of the school left Cole despondent over the embarrassment of such a surprise… to the point where he was ready to change schools in an effort to avoid the childish backlash that would accompany such an unfortunate moment.

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But that was of course, not feasible in the slightest for the family and that motivated Owen and Molly… to try and lift Cole’s spirits and help him to understand that embarrassment is a part of life and that we can come back from it. A feat they worked to accomplish by using Cole’s imagination to their advantage since they spun unique stories about what Cole could or would become if he didn’t just shake off the embarrassment of the moment and forge ahead. But alas, their attempts to use that part of Cole’s mind to help him cool off from his full moon surprise, didn’t work in the slightest. For he was convinced this was the end of his life and that’s when Paige stepped into save the day with a story that finally resonated with her son.
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For she spoke of how his grandfather, screwed up an entire football game because of his enthusiasm and awkwardness. But rather than let embarrassment grab hold of him and keep him away from what he loved doing, which at the time was being a team water boy, he went back to work and took his lumps and his bravery landed him a date with grandma and a family and well, those words made it clear to Cole that embarrassment is just a part of life and the only way to properly overcome it, is to pick ourselves up and move on and if possible, try again when it comes to the act that left our faces red. Because a singular moment will define us… only if we let it, so it is best we focus our energies on the right defining moment. Not one that people will quickly forget about.

Which was the case for Cole since his decision to stand tall and go for it again, produced no further embarrassment because everyone quickly forgot about it… allowing for the show and life to go on and well, that was just a wonderful way to teach the audience to teach the audience to view embarrassment in a vastly different light, and why. Because time is fleeting and there is so much more of it ahead of us that dwelling on the dumb moments is a waste, and that message just reinforces the fact that Central Park really is one of the smartest and most inspiring television shows on the air right now and the only downside to this particular tale, is that we have to wait another week for more fascinating and uplifting adventures with Central Park’s first family. Until next time.

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