‘Central Park’ Recap: ‘The Puffs Go Poof’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode 311 of ‘Central Park’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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There are times in our lives where we simply do not feel comfortable in our skin. Sometimes this discomfort is external in nature. Say when we decide to hang out with friends at a place or at an event that is completely and utterly out of our comfort zone, or if we take the time to hang out with people who we don’t know in a similar setting. Heck, sometimes we don’t even feel comfortable in a new job. But there are simple ways to fix all that. In that, we simply remove ourselves from the situation or bury ourselves in our work to find the comfort we need. But sometimes our discomfort goes beyond that simple fix and is something that we carry with us every day. 

It could be related to a rough memory or recent trauma since those hang heavy over every moment of every day or it could be related to something we don’t talk about all that often… in that… we aren’t always one-hundred percent comfortable with our body or our appearance or an aspect of who we are physically. And it is those latter aspects of discomfort that are supremely difficult to overcome. Because sometimes, those issues cannot be altered or changed, which then begs the question… how do we find peace then, with who we are and who we will forever be? Well as it turns out, there is a way as evidenced by this week’s episode of Central Park on Apple TV+.  

For ‘The Puffs Go Poof’ is a story that spent a great deal of time in Fista Puffs world. Wherein she was dealing with a crisis. In that, since her hair was the source of her power, it often required great care after a hard day’s work of beating up the bad guys. But that impacted Fista’s private time greatly and prompted her to remove the puff portion of her life to try and see what life was like without having that nonstop care regiment that she dealt with. Which at first, brought joy and peace to her mind, and even rest and rejuvenation since she could use devices to fight crime. But the arrival of a super villain made of water, forced Fista Puffs to dig deep and realize that her old hair had to be in her life and had to be always with her… since it was the only way to properly keep her city safe.

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Which as it turned out served as a metaphor for a struggle that Molly was going through. Because her heritage gave her hair that is different from that of her friends. The kind that required different care when she went swimming in the pool and a push from her friends to hit up the pool and then push right to a movie, made her feel alienated and different and uncomfortable in her own skin. But the comic made it clear, that when we feel akin to Molly… we need time. Time to process that we do have a slight difference from others, and how that isn’t a hindrance to life or something that makes us weird or alienates us. It just means, we need to be aware of it and handle it accordingly and be honest with others about it and that’s what Molly did here.
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That in turn, allowed for her to just delay the movie so she could properly care for her hair and still have all the fun she anticipated having with her friends all because she a took a moment to objectively think on the situation over letting it consume her. Making for a beautiful story that truly tackled a topic that we don’t think about all that often in a positive manner. One that can help so many of us when we look in the mirror and wonder if there’s something wrong with us or when we feel off about our appearance, and it is wonderful to see this show speak to the importance of body positivity and self-acceptance, and how to handle those weird little moments where our brain briefly thinks that there is something wrong, when there isn’t. For we are all beautiful and special and it takes time to make the brain embrace that over doubt and worry. 

However, while that alone could have carried this tale, this concept was oddly extended to Bitsy as well. Who googled herself and found out that she has a sour reputation online, which prompted her to try and hire a PR firm to make her look better on the web. A move that of course… ended in disaster and the decision to just buy out the websites talking trash, inadvertently hammering home the point to just… be yourself. Albeit in a far more quirky and wild manner, but that’s to be expected. For this is a comedy show through and through and it will always find a way to make us smile, even when it ponders deep and well, with only two episodes to go in season three, it will be interesting to see what other fascinating observations about life this series is going to send our way.  Until next time.

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