‘2 Broke Girls’ Recap/Review: “And the Two Openings”

Devika Syal ’18 / Emertainment Monthly TV Section Contributor
Season six of 2 Broke Girls premiered this Monday, October 11. Following a real-world timeline, the show picked up after a three-month hiatus, continuing the story line in which Max (Kat Dennings) and Caroline (Beth Behrs) bought the diner to save Han (Matthew Moy) from debt. Han has been taking multiple jobs to repay his debt. Meanwhile, Max is trying to get over her long-distance ex-boyfriend Randy (Ed Quinn), much to Caroline’s dismay.
Sometimes it is surprising to see that 2 Broke Girls has lasted up to six seasons. The show definitely has a niche audience. Unless one is an exceptional binge watcher, those who watched the premiere this Monday have probably been watching for years, and they have developed close attachments to the characters over time. The daring sexual humor and blatant celebrity call-outs push the envelope, but in the past five years nobody has ever been so offended that the show has suffered. It may be chalked up to the fact that the show airs on CBS at 9 p.m. Mondays. The people watching the show know they are there and want to be.

That being said, the season premiere launched viewers right back into the Williamsburg Diner. The premiere was weird – Sophie gave birth to the baby by way of a powerful sneeze, 2Chainz appeared for 20 seconds, and Han became an Uber driver – but it was a premiere. The show runners opened with an hour-long episode to welcome viewers back to the show and celebrate the return of a new season. The actual stories will begin starting next week, as Max and Caroline officially open the dessert bar, Oleg and Sophie adjust to being parents, and Max and Randy rekindle their relationship.
The show is pretty consistent; one can watch a season one episode followed by a season five episode and feel that the core of the show and the characters haven’t changed too drastically. However, it may not always work in the show’s favor.

Let’s take, for example, the biggest storyline in the show’s history: the dessert shop. From season one, Max and Caroline have aspired to create a popular Williamsburg dessert spot. For the past five seasons, they have tried and failed at making this dream a reality. In the season premiere, they are finally ready to open their new dessert bar only to – guess what – be stopped in their tracks when an old nemesis, J. Petto (Andy Dick), prevents them from getting their liquor license. Add on the fact that Sophie (Jennifer Coolidge) and Oleg (Jonathan Kite) are having their baby on the night of the opening, and we have enough problems for Max and Caroline as they try to start yet another business.
Is this what the show is always going to come to? It’s rather frustrating to know that the chances of the dessert bar failing are at least ninety percent. After all, the show cannot remain 2 Broke Girls if they aren’t, well, broke. But does this mean the end of the show? The girls create a semi-successful business, Max and Randy get back together seriously, and everyone lives happily ever after?

If we weren’t in the cut-throat world of show business where gaining viewership and making money didn’t drive the industry, one could assume this. But since we are, the show will continue in this cycle until it simply cannot anymore.
But, many viewers aren’t complaining. The show offers promise to long-time fans for the remainder of the season. After all, 2 Broke Girls takes viewers out of their lives for half an hour each week, and into a world of two funny, very real girls who have the guts to speak what most people think, but are too afraid to say.
2 Broke Girls airs Mondays at 9/8c on CBS
Overall Episode Grade: B