‘Night Court’ Recap: ‘When Abby Met Gabby’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

NIGHT COURT -- “When Abby Met Gabby” Episode 114 -- Pictured: (l-r) Melissa Rauch as Abby Stone, Kapil Talwalkar as Neil -- (Photo by: Elizabeth Morris/NBC/Warner Bros. Television)

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Fourteen of ‘Night Court’. To revisit the previous episode, click here.
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It is definitely safe to say that people have a strange relationship with the notion of the crush. Because on the one hand, so many of us secretly hope that there is someone out there, thinking about us constantly in that romantic manner… and maybe, just maybe… they’ll confess that crush and we’ll enjoy the love of a lifetime. Provided of course, certain criteria come into play. Such as say… having the right person harbor that crush and it also needs to happen at just the right time. So, we’re ready to see where the magic can take us. Which is… quite the fascinating duality to work with when it comes to our seeming never ending quest for the wonder of love. But it is how it goes and sometimes… sticking to those rules isn’t exactly a bad thing. After all, if you’re in a deeply committed relationship when a crush arrives, that’s problematic.

Because the last thing one wants to do in that situation… is badly hurt the person declaring their love, and deal with the awkwardness that accompanies that. So yes, having a crush come into play is indeed a big issue, one that needs to be dealt with properly. But what is the right way to handle such matters? Well, it just so happens that this week’s episode of Night Court on NBC, explored the answer to that question. A feat that ‘When Abby Met Gabby’ accomplished by putting Abby in that very situation. Because now that she was aware of how Neil felt about her, and how big his crush was, things were getting weird at work. In fact, at times, it was almost impossible to get stuff done in the courtroom. Which meant, Abby needed to address this, especially since she was deeply committed to Rand, and that brought Olivia into the fold.

For she too wanted the old dynamic back and knew she could help since she was no-nonsense. But Abby wasn’t sure about applying her ice-cold approach to this and thought there might be a better way, and she was right. Since an old flame from Neil’s high school days, named Gabby, was finalizing her divorce at the court and well… the chemistry there and the fact that Gabby was very much like Abby… prompted this duo to try and get these two together. Which didn’t go well at first, until Abby stepped in and more or less made it clear in a gentle way, that Neil shouldn’t hold out for the love of one person when he might find happiness in the arms of another. Especially when that love won’t be reciprocated, and that motivated him to give Gabby a shot and in turn taught us… that honesty and a good chat in that vein is the best way to handle this little surprise. So that hearts aren’t shattered and so feelings are funneled into the right direction. 

However, since this series knows how to perfectly balance the sentimental with the funny stuff, Dan and Gurgs’ storyline is the one that leaned into the hilarity. Courtesy of a moment of shame for Gurgs. Because Dan was hit with a mixed drink by a drunken mother in the court, and Gurgs felt she failed Dan and his undoubtedly expensive suit. So, she deemed it best to become his personal protector. To prove her worth and settle this debt and that led to some amazing moments. The kind that saw Gurgs try to get Dan to wear an ankle monitor to properly keep watch over him, and freak people out in the Restroom by trying to secure a safe space for Dan. Which prompted him to try and force the debt into being paid through a staged drink toss, and Dan even tried to hire private security to get Gurgs to back off since this was so hilariously stifling. But when Neil tried to offer up a run-by-hugging of Dan, because of how well his date went with Gabby, and he simply wanted to share the love… Gurgs proved her worth, by intercepting that snuggle.

In the end, this was just… a wonderful episode. A day in the life of Night Court if you will. Since we once again saw the characters and their growth and machinations be the focus of the story, and that’s worked well since day one and it was wonderful to experience again here. As was the interesting tidbit near the end of the story where Abby worried about her and Rand’s future as a couple because of how much they relied on same ol’, same ol’ to keep the spark alive, which brought Gabby’s marriage to an end. And what makes that interesting, is that this series doesn’t waste a singular moment. So, this has significance, and it will be interesting to see what comes of such musings, and what wonderful moments and shenanigans await us as we inch toward the end of season one of this dynamic and delightful new-boot of a television classic. Until next time.     

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