Despite being early in its run, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist is clearly willing to take risks. The show’s penchant for exploring difficult topics continues in Zoey’s Extraordinary Neighbor and results in one of the best episodes of television this year.
Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist is currently streaming on Hulu and Peacock.
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Zoey’s Extraordinary Neighbor is a Masterpiece
After being a compelling supportive voice for Zoey, Mo takes the spotlight in an episode that explores religion. Alex Newell’s inimitable singing voice is put to spotlight-claiming use 3 times (Mo sings different parts of The Great Pretender by The Platters twice in different parts of the episode) in this episode.
While Newell’s voice is breathtaking, it’s his heart-wrenching performance that’s transcendent. Whether it’s Mo’s confrontation with Zoey outside the church, a late in the episode discussion on hypocrisy or Zoey’s resilience in trying to help Mo, every scene between Newell and Jane Levy is flawlessly executed. The script by Gretchen J. Berg and Aaron Harberts does an excellent job of navigating faith.
A late in the episode conversation between Mo and Zoey reveals Mo’s ongoing struggle with faith. As a child, Mo was treated horribly by members of the choir, so much so that it forced his Mom and the family to relocate to different churches. Mo delivers a fitting encore to end the episode with “This Little Light of Mine” by Harry Dixon Loes. Man oh man does Mo’s voice shine brightest and a happy ending to the episode.
While the episode definitely frames the religious bigotry exhibited in Mo’s story as shameful, it never denigrates having faith as a whole by portraying Mo’s faith as steadfast. One of the best examples of this is in a scene featuring Zoey and Pastor Steve (Dohn Norwood).
Zoey arrives at a bar to discuss Mo’s fear of being a hypocrite and her seeming inability to help anyone. The pastor talks to Zoey using terms that she would understand. She says the universe is talking to her and he uses the word “universe” not God to relate to Zoey’s current spiritual situation. Since he can tell that Zoey is a practical type, he uses terms like signposts, empathy assurances and miracles to motivate Zoey towards continued use of her musical gift. Just a terrific scene that frames Zoey’s power as an ability to empathize with others.
The Other Neighbor
Zoey’s development takes another jump. She’s no longer trying to avoid difficult situations. The promising character trait not only applies to Mo’s crisis of faith, but also in a separate storyline revolving around a reclusive neighbor. Bonnie played by Naoko Mori is an agoraphobic neighbor who lives down the hall, but Zoey and Mo have never seen her.
Shortly after Mo serenades Zoey with her “Great Pretender” rendition, Zoey receives a double dose of heart songs from Bonnie. Each of these songs indicates Bonnie’s longing to escape and visit the world. The first is “Kokomo” by The Beach Boys, which elicits a response from Zoey. However, despite multiple attempts, Zoey is unable to garner a response from the shut-in.
Zoey is finally able to elicit a response after hearing Bonnie sing the Jimmy Buffet hit “Margaritaville.” Her reaction to just hearing Bonnie’s voice is really sweet and is akin to a parent hearing a child speak, crawl or walk for the first time. In a nice carryover from Zoey’s Extraordinary Boss, Zoey continues to try to help Bonnie even after the heart songs have stopped.
Her persistence eventually pays off. The episode wisely weaves the solution for Bonnie and Mo together. Once Bonnie opens the door and asks Zoey to accompany her to the mailbox, Zoey makes a slight counterproposal to walk together to Mo’s apartment to deliver the rent in person. Zoey’s effort and Bonnie’s courage provide Mo with the boost he needs to return to church.
Clarke Family Time
On the Clarke family front, we get some father-son time that involves watching an old tape of David and Emma’s (Alice Lee) wedding and leads to Mitch crying uncontrollably as a symptom of his PSP (progressive supranuclear palsy).
SPRQpoint
Zoey’s Extraordinary Neighbor doesn’t spend too much time with Zoey’s coworkers. Max’s relationship with Autumn is progressing at an “Operatic” pace. Simon and Jessica are working with Maggie on plans for their engagement party at the house. Zoey awkwardly enters the scene and Maggie catches the hurt etched on Zoey’s face, which leads to a discussion on religion and Zoey’s attachment to Simon.
While Maggie’s input on Simon is interesting, ultimately Maggie’s advice is a tad redundant as Mo essentially offers the same advice at the beginning of the episode:
Mo: All I see is a single lady texting an engaged man before 9 a.m.
Zoey: This is just innocent fun
Mo: Said no innocent person ever
As for Joan, despite her denials, she’s still struggling with her separation from Charlie. After her two-song set in the last episode, Joan gets another heart-song that lays bare all of her heartbreak over Charlie: Wrecking Ball by Miley Cyrus. It’s actually a really nice vocal performance from Lauren Graham. Given Zoey’s relationship struggles it makes sense that she would accept Joan’s denials as gospel.
Final Thoughts on Zoey’s Extraordinary Boss
Just like Mo this episode had perfect pitch. Equal parts heartbreaking and heartwarming, Zoey’s Extraordinary Boss is a fantastic episode in every measure.
Diving deeper into Mo’s backstory helped flesh out a character that was pretty much just a fun on-the-surface level character up to this point. I’m not taking anything away from Peter Gallagher’s terrific performance in the pilot. However, Alex Newell’s performance in this episode is the best performance by a supporting cast member so far.
Zoey’s continued character evolution and newfound resilience is a lovely development for the series. I think in light of the small signposts that Zoey tried to follow in helping out Mo, Joan and Bonnie, this song could be just the thing to help others in need.
The Review
Zoey's Extraordinary Neighbor
PROS
- Fantastic performance in every facet by Alex Newell
- Zoey's newfound resilience in trying to help out Mo and their reclusive neighbor is terrific.
- The episode handles faith with nuance.
- This is a Masterpiece.
