Christy and Bonnie try to help Jodi (Emily Osment), a teenage addict they met at their meeting.
Christy and Bonnie are always struggling. Getting clean and sober is only the beginning of their journey towards a better life. Without drugs, they can't just escape the problems of their reality. They have to face those hardships headfirst. New problems can arise at any moment. It can still feel like the world is actively working against them. It's as if they only find success just to be knocked down again. Even though Christy is dealing with a lot in "Thigh Gap and a Rack of Lamb," she also has to remember that her problems are no where close to the pain and struggle of those first days getting sober after years of addiction.In this episode, Bonnie and Christy attempt to help a teen addict named Jodi as she's going through her first attempt at giving up drugs. Bonnie and Christy are at the point in their own relationship where they feel comfortable reaching out to help others. They have come to accept the other in their lives. It's still a contentious relationship. Christy is upset that Bonnie doesn't thank her during her big moment at a meeting. But both are looking out for each other's best interests during these times of struggle. They both feel the need to help this young woman when they see her laying on the sidewalk following the meeting. Both are at a much more stable point in their lives to actually do some good work helping people at the beginning of this journey. The last time they tried sponsoring someone it didn't go that well. Sure, Jill is an effective member of the ensemble now but Christy and Bonnie barely did anything to help her last season deal with this addiction. The dynamic with Jodi could be just as complex. But right now, Christy and Bonnie are in a much better place to handle.
Or at least Christy was at the start of the episode. She was a manager at the restaurant and taking college classes to help get an even better job in the future. Sure, she has somewhat lost her children - Violet to an older fiancé and Roscoe to his father. But she is still happy with the progress she has made in her life. That all starts to change when she goes to Claudia to ask for a raise and instead gets fired. It's not because she did anything wrong on the job - despite her constantly stealing food to feed her and Bonnie. She is no longer the manager because Claudia's brother needed a job. Nepotism is what is ruining Christy's life right now. It's unfair. She makes those objections known to Claudia. And yet, she still needs a job as a waitress. She can't support herself by relying on Bonnie's job as an apartment manager. She needs money in order to support her new dreams. Being a waitress again could be more flexible for her schedule. But it also comes at the detriment of her standing up for herself.
Christy was hesitant to even ask for the raise in the first place. She's awkward when it comes to dealing with people in positions of authority who are much more polished and impressive than her. She is able to lecture the rest of the staff about the issues currently affecting the restaurant. But she's still so reserved when it comes to her own personal happiness and comfort. She is capable of expressing herself when it comes to Baxter and Candace wanting to take Roscoe on their boat during what was suppose to be her weekend with him. And yet, that too comes back to hurt her. She wants this relationship with her son. But she is also depriving him of what could be a fantastic memory. His happiness could lead to an even more damaged relationship between him and her. And yet, she still wants him to be happy. That's why she backs down on standing up to Baxter and Claudia. She needs the job to have money and she needs her son to be happy. It just comes at the expense of her own dignity and happiness.
But as Christy soon realizes, all of these problems are trivial when compared to Jodi going back to her abusive, drug dealer boyfriend. Bonnie and Christy were very kind in giving Jodi some food to eat and welcoming her into their home. Sure, they were afraid that she would steal from them. But it also opened up an interesting dialogue about generational differences when it comes to sobriety. No one from the main group understands the street names for all of their favorite drugs anymore. Plus, it's easier for Jodi to party than the rest of them. And yet, they all have this shared connection of wanting to get sober. An abusive boyfriend causing bodily harm could have happened to any of these women. It just so happens that it's Jodi, the youngest member of the group. But it's still a reality check for everyone else. They see what has happened to her and want to protect her. They forget all of their problems just to make sure that she is okay. Jodi faces an uncertain future but has also found a strong support system in the women from the meeting. That's one very good thing to have come out of coming to AA. Hopefully, it's not the only good thing.
Some more thoughts:
- "Thigh Gap and a Rack of Lamb" was directed by James Widdoes with story by Chuck Lorre & Marco Pennette and teleplay by Gemma Baker, Adam Chase and Anne Flett-Giordano.
- Bonnie really has learned a lesson from her recent relapse and court ordered community service. She has a new appreciation for life and is being more cautious than ever before. Now whenever she gets in to drive, she has her own personal breathalyzer. That was a very fun reveal.
- Bonnie also likes to change up her middle name in order to sound more interesting. When she's talking to the group at AA, it's Charlize. But Christy remembers times in the past when it was Winona.
- It's easy to speculate that one day Violet is going to come home to Christy and Bonnie, run into Jodi and think that her mom and grandmother just replaced her with someone they could actually relate to.
- Jill and Wendy are still just coming together as characters but their back-and-forth about the food they immediately ate after withdrawal was amusing. Jill ate and purged deep dish pizza while Wendy went to a Cinnabon and ate everything in sight.
- Jodi is such a different role for Emily Osment to play. And yet, she was pretty great at it too. She nailed the darkness of the character while still making her a sympathetic character. I wonder how often she'll appear considering her regular job on ABC Family's Young & Hungry.
