Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist Review: Zoey’s Extraordinary Girls’ Night (Season 2 Episode 10)

Zoey makes it her mission to help her sister-in-law on Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist Season 2 Episode 10, “Zoey’s Extraordinary Girls’ Night.”

That’s a difficult task considering Emily isn’t all that willing to admit there’s a problem. Even after breaking down in tears in front of Zoey, she brushes it off.

And she hides the fact that she’s upset as best she can from her husband. She doesn’t “want him to worry.”

Emily’s used to putting on a brave face and handling what comes her way. We’ve seen that a little already. She’s been a rock for the family through their recent loss, and she supported David when he wanted to quit his job. 

David, also, is in a bit of denial. He has a hard time believing she’s struggling with anything at first, at least on the surface. Though the heart song Zoey hears from him — a really gorgeous performance of “Make You Feel My Love,” as if that’s any surprise here — suggests something different.

He admits to his sister quickly enough that he has noticed a problem with his wife, and they hatch a plan to get her to open up. 

It’s a cheesy, adorably sweet plan that involves plates of chicken parmesan. “Check-in Chicken Dinner” is a tradition from their childhood where Maggie apparently makes amazing chicken parm and everyone opens up about their feelings. 

Zoey and David are both a little too obvious at the dinner, though. It’s clear Emily feels put on the spot.

The dinner also fails because Debbie shows up just as it’s Emily’s turn to open up. That’s the perfect opportunity for Emily to avoid sharing anything at all.

And based on everything I mentioned above about her character, it makes perfect sense that she’d try to hide what she’s going through, especially considering the stigma still unfortunately attached to postpartum depression. 

In fact, how that’s dealt with is one of the things I love best about this episode. No one seems alarmed by the fact that Emily is likely suffering from postpartum depression, besides a genuine worry for her well-being. It’s not stigmatized in the slightest, and Emily is simply encouraged to open up. 

It’s all very honest with the realities of motherhood, too. It might be funny that Emily has to carry in such a large bag with her breast pump to the club or that she starts leaking breast milk in the middle of the place if wasn’t also a little tragic.

Emily is grasping at straws to feel something and get away from her regular life, desperate to “dance it out” and keep that brave face of hers on. 

In the club bathroom, we get a very different performance from the one on Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist Season 2 Episode 9.

But it’s another one that reveals a deep sadness, as Emily sings about her body being a machine as she throws herself up against the bathroom stall. It’s relatable and raw, and leaves Zoey starting to feel like she identifies with Emily a bit herself.

Emily finally opens up to her sister-in-law once they settle into the kind of girls’ night Zoey intended in the first place — complete with comfy slippers and pajama pants. 

Part of Emily’s hesitation has been due to the loss of Zoey and David’s dad. She didn’t want to share her problems when they were dealing with such a tragic loss. But as Zoey says, and this is a statement I’d expect to hit home for most viewers in one way or another:

Zoey: You have the right to feel what you’re feeling too.

Of course, Zoey’s not just talking about Emily in that moment. There’s a parallel being drawn. I suppose it has to be, but Zoey’s superpowers serving as a parallel with Emily’s postpartum depression doesn’t totally add up. 

We had to circle back to this somehow, though. And her powers are making her life more difficult. However, they’re often helping the people around her more than anything, which seems to be the point. 

But they are getting in the way of her leading any normal kind of life. Her relationship with Simon is already suffering (cue a rendition of “Tearin’ Up My Heart”) and they’re interfering with her daily life regularly. 

Inspired by her talk with Emily, where she also tells her that “maybe some problems are too big for us to handle on our own,” as well as by Mo’s amazing performance at church, she decides it’s time to seek help too.

So while we see Emily admitting to David that she needs professional help, we end with Zoey meeting with a therapist. I’ll be interested to see how that plays out. 

Other thoughts:

• It seems like we need to keep our eye on Maggie, who’s having her own identity crisis of sorts. She has fun pretending to be someone else at the casino for a while, but returning alone the way she does may be cause for alarm.
• I love that Mo and Perry made progress so quickly, and it’s sweet how much Perry’s kids like Mo right away. It’s a great moment.
• Simon is so close to figuring out that Zoey has something going on. Surely, he’ll be the next to find out about Zoey’s powers?

What did you think of this episode of Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist airs Sundays at 9/8c on NBC.

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Alice Lee Talks ‘Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist’ and Emily’s Struggle with Postpartum Depression