‘Central Park’ Recap: ‘The Lyin’ in Winter’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the season two finale of ‘Central Park’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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Normally in storytelling, a villain is stopped from completing their evil and epic quest in one of two ways. In that… they are outright bested mentally and physically by a superior opponent, which teaches them a valuable lesson about humility and good. One they will never forget as the spend the rest of their days in some form of exile. Or… they have to be stopped by way of the ultimate sacrifice and ultimate act, because they are that freakin’ evil and the world is a scarier place with them in it, and well… how villains receive their ultimate comeuppance is top of mind today… largely because of the fact that no one had a clue as to how the Tillerman family was going to properly defeat Bitsy Brandenham in the season two finale of Central Park on Apple TV+.

Because… the family already humiliated her and bested her by revealing her plot at the end of season one and obviously, that didn’t teach her any particular lesson. Since she merely bided her time before figuring out a new way forward in buying the park and of course… there was zero chance that death would come into play here. Because the Tillermans aren’t capable of that, and this just isn’t that kind of show. But this is an important conundrum for certain. For Bitsy had to be stopped from buying the park and turning it into some ugly and hideous shopping arena and as it turns out… the writers’ room of this already crafty show figured out how to bring an end to her reign of madness (for the time being) in a supremely unique and refreshing manner in ‘The Lyin’ in Winter’.

For this is a story that saw Manhattan be hit by a fast-moving blizzard, the kind that forced just about everyone to stay home post haste and while the Tillermans were bundling up and preparing for the long haul, a surprise came across Paige’s laptop. For she published the story about the mayor and his response on live video to such matters… was his resignation. A move that Owen thought was worth celebrating. Since it was clear that Paige brought down a corrupt tyrant with her fine writing. But the way he spoke about the end of his tenure, gave Paige pause… as though he was up to something, and she was right. Because Bitsy set it up so the deal to sell the park would happen on this day and the family came to learn about that… by having Bitsy and Helen in their home.

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Because while they were driving about the park so Bitsy could gloat about this purchase, the snow forced them off the road and into Castle Tillerman and well, while they were within its walls, Paige was able to learn more about the deal and came to discover… that Bitsy was about to be double crossed. For her brother used this opportunity to set up a shell corporation with which to work a backdoor deal with the mayor. One that would ensure a transfer of ownership of the Brandenham to him, whilst giving Bitsy her precious park and little else and well… when faced with the reality that she was about to lose what she cherished more than money, the Tillermans executed a plan to defeat Bitsy. One that involved outright kindness and charity.

For they offered to help her get to City Hall to stop the deal and Bitsy accepted and that brought forth a powerful showdown in Mayor Whitebottom’s office. One where a grand threat from Paige to make Whitebottom’s life utter hell if he didn’t back out of the deal, finally put an end to this madness. Allowing for the park to remain with the city and for the Brandenham to stay with Bitsy and well, that’s definitely a different way to stand up to a villain for certain, since you don’t usually see, pure kindness be used to put an end to their reign of terror in storytelling. But that sadly, didn’t produce the long-term result everyone wanted in the end. Because Bitsy declared that she was going to have Central Park someday and have her tribute to consumerism built atop its lush green grass. Meaning it is only a matter of time before the family has to get creative in defeating her again… but they are ready to do so on a moment’s notice.

If anything, this was just, a wonderful and fascinating way to wrap up season two. Since it made it inherently clear to the audience that Bitsy is always going to operating in a grey area. Where she’s able to be swayed from evil acts but never fully leaves them behind and that’s wonderful simply because… it means we get more seasons of this amazing show and that’s exactly what we want. For in between those battles between Bitsy and the fam, are beautiful stories about the wonder of life. The kind that are both uplifting and inspirational and that’s really what makes this show so worth our while and the best news of all, is that season three of this magnificent series is a go. And now all we have to do is patiently wait to enjoy more incredible adventures about life with this wonderful, animated family. Until next year.   ​

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