Leave it to Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist to combine “Take Me Out To The Ball Game” and Boys II Men in one scene. “Zoey’s Extraordinary Distraction” is a solid episode.
The episode doesn’t quite reach the emotional heights of the season premiere. However, the comedy is fantastic throughout, Mo’s subplot adds much-needed depth and the workplace scenes were actually better than the family drama.
Skylar Astin’s schizophrenic performance in the final scene of the episode is hilarious. Only to be matched by an irresistibly cute moment of Zoey attempting a duet with the song Max is singing in his head. Every moment between Astin and Jane Levy is magical. Alex Newell once again reduces Zoey to tears with a gorgeous heart-song.
With most of the major non-spoiler details out of the way, here’s a more in-depth look at the songs, workplace and family drama in “Zoey’s Extraordinary Distraction.”
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The Songs in Zoey’s Extraordinary Distraction
There are six heart-song in “Zoey’s Extraordinary Distraction.” With the exceptions of Mo’s song, each song tends to be more enjoyable than emotional.
Poison by Bell Biv DeVoe
Zoey’s sister-in-law Emily takes the spotlight. Emily’s sister comes to town and her arrival makes Emily nervous, to say the least. Jenna is a completely different personality than Emily. The heart-song kicks in as Emily is warning Maggie on the dangers of Jenna.
Alice Lee crushes this number. Mandy Moore’s choreography and Lee’s dancing really is a fun start to the episode.
Too Good at Goodbyes by Sam Smith
Newell takes the spotlight in this heart-song. Mo is nervous about signing a partnership agreement with Max. His dilemma leads into this amazing heart-song. Newell once again forces Zoey to tear up and is another wonder facial reaction from Levy. This is the most beautiful vocal performance in “Zoey’s Extraordinary Distraction.”
Baby Did a Bad Bad Thing by Chris Isaak
Michael Thomas Grant gets his first solo heart-song of the season. Throughout the episode, the SPRQ Point team is trying to fix a mistake that is causing the smartwatch to malfunction. The song serves as Leif’s subconscious admission of guilt. It’s a fun performance, but the song’s theme is really on the nose. However, the song does lead to an amazing scene between Levy and Grant to essentially wrap up this storyline.
Take Me Out to the Ball Game/I’ll Make Love to You
This is by far the best heart-song and performance of the episode. Throughout the episode, Max and Zoey are trying to have sex, but keep getting interrupted. Early in the episode, Mo’s opera music breaks the mood.
In this scene, Max is throwing things off. Since he knows Zoey can hear his heart-songs, he tells Zoey about developing coping techniques he learned from a therapist. These coping techniques are spectacular failures. Max schizophrenically begins singing lines from “Take Me Out to the Ball Game” and Boys II Men’s “I’ll Make Love to You.” The whole scene is perfectly executed.
A Moment Like This by Kelly Clarkson
Immediately following Max’s solo-duet, Zoey proves to Max that the heart-songs aren’t killing the mood. She hears the song in Max’s head and know the lyrics, so Zoey begins trying to do a duet with Max. Initially awkward, the scene builds to a beautiful crescendo and ends the episode on a tender note.
The Distractions in Zoey’s Extraordinary Distraction
Mo and the smartwatch software error serve as the main distractions from Zoey and Max taking Barry White’s advice.
Max and Mo’s partnership is on rocky terrain before it can officially begin. A worrisome Mo is concerned about Max’s partnership agreement. Mo decides to sing some opera music that spoils the mood for Zoey and Max. Luckily, Mo’s reasoning isn’t due to a lack of trust in Max or being spurned by past business partners. Mo’s discomfort is due to cutting a potential partner out of a deal in the past and not wanting to make the same mistake. The Max-Mo partnership is full of potential and this is a great first step in that direction.
Meanwhile, Zoey’s first major task after taking over Joan’s position is to take on a PR and software error in the smartwatches. Simon’s main role in the episode is to offer a helpful PR spin while the engineering team works on a fix. The problem was caused by Leif, who in an attempt to take on an entire project alone, makes a mistake that causes the error. He decides to take on the problem alone after his subordinates refuse to listen to him. When Zoey received her promotion from Joan last season, she attempted to solve the problem herself. In a nice moment between Leif and Zoey, they decide to make some staff changes. The addition of more women to a mostly male-dominated work environment should be fun.
The lesser distraction is the Maggie, Emily and Jenna plot which only pulls away from the superior relationship story arc, Mo and Max’s partnership and the workplace drama..
Final Thought on Zoey’s Extraordinary Distraction
While not reaching the emotional or dramatic heights of the season premiere, “Zoey’s Extraordinary Distraction” is a strong installment for the series. The episode’s focus on heart-songs really pays off and the final scene is a sweet way to kick off the Max-Zoey romance.
